The Calgary Flames made some news on Thursday when they announced veteran defenseman Ryan Wilson will be joining the team in training camp on a tryout basis.
Wilson has struggled to stay healthy - the last time he played more than 30 games (59) was in 2011 - but he's actually been an effective player when in the lineup.
Over the last five years Wilson has a +1.1 Corsi For percentage relative to his team when he's not on the ice. That ranks him 67th in the NHL among 180 blue liners who played at least 2,500 minutes at full strength during that span.
Wilson also owns a respectable 50.2 Goals For percentage so Colorado outscored their opponents (although marginally) when he was on the ice.
Due to injury plagued seasons his career high in points is 21 but Wilson has also shown the ability to chip in offensively at even-strength.
Over the last five seasons (again, minimum 2,500 5 vs 5 minutes) Wilson has produced points at a very respectable rate. He owns a .82 points/60 in that span, which ties him with Justin Schultz for 44th among blue liners, and ranks him ahead of the likes of Drew Doughty, Alex Edler and Ryan Suter, among others.
Obviously Wilson played softer minutes and he's scored at that rate over a smaller sample size but the numbers are still impressive nonetheless.
Ladislav Smid isn't very good and Deryk Engelland is much worse so the Flames could certainly use a depth blue liner.
If Wilson is the guy we've seen in the past he could very well earn a roster spot. If not it doesn't do any harm to bring him in for some more internal competition.
This is a no-risk move from GM Brad Treliving that could potentially have a nice payoff.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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