The Calgary Flames could use a winger who can provide offence, but that need may have to be addressed internally, acknowledges Brian Burke.
The team president joined Prime Time Sports Wednesday evening on Sportsnet 590 and discussed the upcoming Feb. 26 trade deadline, saying he speaks daily with general manager Brad Treliving about how to improve the club.
“I think what we need is a winger who can score, but we’re going to get him back,” Burke said, referring to injured winger Kris Versteeg.
The 31-year-old has been sidelined since November with a hip issue, but has returned to the ice and does not appear far from re-joining the Flames lineup.
“He’s important to us,” Burke told host Bob McCown. “That fills one need.”
Calgary currently sits third in the Pacific Division with 62 points. The Flames have been dominant on the road (14-5-5) and Burke says he likes what he sees from the club as it enters the second half of the season, adding that it won’t be parting with draft picks to acquire a rental player.
“We don’t have a lot of picks — we’re not picking until [the third round of the 2018 draft], so we can’t use the deadline to pick up a rental player with a relatively high pick,” he said. “We’re not going into [2019] picks … unless it’s an extraordinary circumstance.”
Listen to the full interview in the audio player below.
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