In 2016-17, the Calgary Flames featured, arguably, the best first pair in the NHL. The second pair was middling to below average, something that the late season acquisition of Michael Stone didn’t really solve. The third pair was bad. Entering 2017-18, the Flames look like they’ve got a real chance at having one of the best top fours in the league. In the absence of a surprise though, the third pair will likely continue to be a drag.



One of the trickier things to talk about in the aggregate when it comes to hockey is how a team’s defence pairs did over the course of the season. The problem is that pairs have a tendency to change all of the time, as players move in and out and up and down the lineup. Dougie Hamilton spent time on all three pairs for the Flames last year, as an example, while also on his way to a ninth place finish in Norris Trophy voting.



There’s no one correct answer to the problem of aggregating defence pairs. I’ve got...