Nikita Nikitin in a November 11, 2011, trade. The deal reunited Russell with Ken Hitchcock, who had previously coached him in Columbus before becoming the head coach of the Blues. In 55 games combined between Columbus and St. Louis, Russell scored 12 points and he made his second Stanley Cup playoff appearance by playing nine post-season games with St. Louis. When the 2012–13 NHL season was delayed by a labour dispute, he signed with TPS in the Finnish SM-liiga. He suffered a slight tear to his Medial collateral ligament early in the season and missed some time before rejoining TPS. He recorded 14 points in 15 games before returning to St. Louis when the NHL season finally began. With the Blues, Russell recorded seven points in 33 games but dropped down the Blues' depth chart and did not appear in any 2013 playoff games for the team. A restricted free agent following the season, Blues management expressed doubt he would be one of the club's top seven defencemen. He was placed on waivers and went unclaimed. The Calgary Flames acquired Russell on July 5, 2013, in exchange for a fifth round selection at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Calgary Flames Russell was leaned on heavily in his first year in Calgary, emerging as a top-four defensively-oriented defenseman. Paired most frequently with Dennis Wideman, the two formed the Flames' second pairing for the majority of the season. Russell set new career-highs in assists and points in 2013–14, tallying 22 and 29 in those respective categories. He also finished second on the team in blocked shots with 201, only behind Chris Butler (211). As the Flames improved significantly in 2014–15, so did Russell. Once again, he posted new career-highs in assists and points, with 30 and 34, respectively, and he also led the NHL in blocked shots with 283. This mark currently sits as the NHL record for most shots blocked by a single player in a season. With star and captain Mark Giordano injured late in the season as the Flames pushed towards a playoff spot, Russell emerged as a temporary top-pairing defenseman in lieu, forming a dangerous shutdown tandem with Wideman once again. This continued into the 2015 playoffs, as Russell proved to be a clutch force throughout the Flames' six-game victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. One