Showing posts with label Calgary Flames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Calgary Flames. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2011
Cream of the Crop UFA's
Chuck Kobasew- the guy is 29 but it feels just like yesterday he was lighting it up for the Penticton Panthers in the BCHL; and do i ever mean lighting it up cause the guy had over 100 points in 58 games and was playing at nearly a goal-a-game pace. Nowadays the guy can't buy a goal. He was making 2.3 million last year with Minnesota. Expect him to take a serious pay-cut to play somewhere else this season. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up playing in the AHL this season.
Scottie Upshall- back in the day my boy Scotty here got traded for a cat named Peter Forsberg. Upshall never really lived up to the hype until the past two seasons where he averaged 20 goals per season. Scottie is still a young player with a lot of juice left in the bottle. Somebody should take a run at this guy. He's from Fort McMurray, Alberta so it is possible that the Flames would sign him. they have the cap space to lock a player like this up that would be looking for around the 2-3 million dollar mark.
Brooks Laich- The Saskatchewan native had 16 goals this past season but 25 the year before. Washington doesn't want him back. Rumours have him coming to the Vancouver Canucks, however I'm not sure he'd be willing to take the paycut that is required to play in Vancouver. Given that Gillis signed Samuellsson to 3 years at 2.5 per, Laich would probably recieve a contract of 3 years at 3 million per by Gillis and company. Wherever Laich ends up he is one tough cookie! On his personal website there's a picture Brooksie doing bicep curls with a bar that I would not even be able to deadlift. Apparently Laich is working out 6 days a week for 5 hours a day. The guys a beast and whoever locks him up will be happy to be stuck with him.
Joel Ward- After scoring ten goals and 30 points for the Nashville Predators this season and securing a spot on the teams third line, many players would be satisfied. Joel Ward wasnt! In the playoffs Ward went out and scored seven goals and 13 points in 12 games of the playoffs. He did this as the third line of the Predators whose roll is to shutdown the best lines in the league. Not only was he able to shutdown the Sedin's but he was capable of making them minus players. Ward is making 1.5 million a season. Expect him to take a pay raise as he is capable of making any third line in the league much better. He'll probably end up staying in Nashville, as david Poille would be crazy to let him walk after his spectacular playoofs.
Max Talbot- this guy scored the game winner of game 7 of the stanley cup finals in 09. Nuff said! Somebody sign this guy. Maybe Detroit would take a run at this guy to play on their fourth line.
Matt D'agostini and Tyler Kennedy- These boys have done everything together. Both grew up in the small town of Sault Saint Marie, Ontario and both were drafted in the 2006 draft. These boys love chilling it up old school in the summer when tyler Kennedy isn't too busy winning Stanley Cups. And I have a feeling that D'agostini and Tyler Kennedy will sign as a pair this off season so they can play together. Don't be surprised if they take their talents to South Beach and play for the Panthers, because that's what all old-school homeboys do. Either way, expect the tandem to recieve 5 year 30 million dollar deal. These players might fit into NY nicely with the opportunity to play with Calahan and Dubinsky. But everyone knows Glen Sather only signs overpriced washed up bums and not young, affordable and valuable assets with potential.
-Hark
Saturday, June 25, 2011
New Best Case Scenario for the Calgary Flames
Right now the Flames have 7.5 million in Cap Space. You add Rastis Ivanins contract to that and you have 8 million. You add Langkows contract to that and you have a possible extra 4.5 million. Langkow will be allowed to go on IR whenever he wants to heal his ailing back. That leaves flames with somewhere between 8-12.5 million to spend. Lets go to the higher end of that because there are always injuries and many players get placed on the IR even after training camp and pre-season.
Right now they pretty much have a full lineup of forwards. I can see them resigning Brendan Morrison at 1.5 million. That leaves 11 million to deal with defense. Flames are very thin on defense because they don't have a solid top four anymore with the departure of Regher. Signing Babchuk will not necesarilly fill that void so the Flames will likely sign another player as a free agent.
Babchuk will likely get 3.5 million while the newbie Chris Butler could get 2 million. That uses up half of the flames remaining 11 million.
I could see the Flames sit on the remaining 5.5 million. Sit on the cap space and see if any trade opportunities open up through the course of the year that doesn't sacrifice their future or give up a roster player that is seriously contributing. They could try and sign Ed Jovanoski, Bryan McCabe or Chris Phillips with this money. But again this is still assuming that Langkow is on the IR or playing in Abbotsford or Langkow or someone like Hagman or Stajan are somehow moved to another organization.
-Hark
-Hark
Right now they pretty much have a full lineup of forwards. I can see them resigning Brendan Morrison at 1.5 million. That leaves 11 million to deal with defense. Flames are very thin on defense because they don't have a solid top four anymore with the departure of Regher. Signing Babchuk will not necesarilly fill that void so the Flames will likely sign another player as a free agent.
Babchuk will likely get 3.5 million while the newbie Chris Butler could get 2 million. That uses up half of the flames remaining 11 million.
I could see the Flames sit on the remaining 5.5 million. Sit on the cap space and see if any trade opportunities open up through the course of the year that doesn't sacrifice their future or give up a roster player that is seriously contributing. They could try and sign Ed Jovanoski, Bryan McCabe or Chris Phillips with this money. But again this is still assuming that Langkow is on the IR or playing in Abbotsford or Langkow or someone like Hagman or Stajan are somehow moved to another organization.
-Hark
-Hark
Monday, June 20, 2011
Best Flames 2012 Roster
Given that the new salary cap has been set today, this is the best possible way for the flames to make use of that cap space.
Flames got 7 million dedicate to goalies in 2012. They have five defenceman making 19 million. They have 31 million tied up to 11 forwards. The flames need a couple more defenseman and a forward or two, and they have 57 million tied up doing this. This gives them 7 million in cap space. It is safe to give teams an extra 2 million in cap space, so we can give the flames 9 million to play with for the 2011-2012 season.
I say they likely spend the 3 million and call up kotalik from the farm. another three million to resign babchuk. let tanguay walk and fill out the final 3 million with young stud players. Nemisz and Lance Bouma are two players that could be called on and could be put on a steady rotation with other prospects from the farm, and even defenders such as keith seabrook. Hopefully Kotalik will go back to Europe and free up the cap space to resign tanguay.
-hark
Flames got 7 million dedicate to goalies in 2012. They have five defenceman making 19 million. They have 31 million tied up to 11 forwards. The flames need a couple more defenseman and a forward or two, and they have 57 million tied up doing this. This gives them 7 million in cap space. It is safe to give teams an extra 2 million in cap space, so we can give the flames 9 million to play with for the 2011-2012 season.
I say they likely spend the 3 million and call up kotalik from the farm. another three million to resign babchuk. let tanguay walk and fill out the final 3 million with young stud players. Nemisz and Lance Bouma are two players that could be called on and could be put on a steady rotation with other prospects from the farm, and even defenders such as keith seabrook. Hopefully Kotalik will go back to Europe and free up the cap space to resign tanguay.
-hark
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Calgary Flames Playoff Record Since 1990
Since the Flames won the cup in 1989, they have only had one year where they have won a playoff series. That was in 2004 when they went to the cup finals. this includes a streak from 1997 to 2003 where they didn't make the playoffs once. Does this make them the worst team in hockey history in the past two decades? quite possibly
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Glen Sathers Award Part I
I thought it'd be a good time to analyze the team's in the NHL that is run by the worst management when it comes to contracts and signings. Hopefully by the end of it, we can determine the most poorly run organization.
Some factors to consider:
1) Amount of money given to players
2) Length of contract
3) How generally negative this is.
1 - Piss poor holy hell what have we done with our franchise
10 - Wow
Let's start off with the NW Division
Vancouver Canucks
Luongo - 100 years @ 6 million : I would say that this is their worst contract since they are strapped with Bobby Poo for so long. However, you could argue that after this season, this is a perfectly fine contract.
Also, the Sedin and Kesler contracts are starting to look brilliant. Fuck off Vancouver
Rating - 9
Colorado Avalanche
Paul Statsny - 5 years @ 6.6 million: This was a pretty bad signing. They overpaid him by like 1.6 million. However, he's not too much of a problem because the rest of the roster is making pocket change so it doesn't affect the situation much. We'll see what they do with Douchene
Rating - 6
Minnesota Wild
Mikko Koivu - 7 year @ 47.25 million: This guy is a point a game player but still, almost 7 million a year seems high. BIt overpaid, but he's the top scorer on their team.
Nick Shultz - 3 years left @ 3.6 million / year: A guy that I don't even know existed should not be making 3.6 million a year.
Rating - 5
Edmonton Oilers
Whorecoff - really long at way too much. If you ever have to feel bad about a contract, just compare it to Whorecoffs and you will probably feel better about yourself. This guy was making 6 million a year!!!!!!!!!! Bad signing.
Drunk Driving Bulin - 3.75 for 3 years. Ouch.
At least Oil have lots of cap room to play with, most of the other players don't make much. Ryan Whitney is at 5mil but he's been a workhorse for the team
Rating - 4
Calgary Flames
Niklas Fagman -1 more year @ 3 million - ugh
Matt Stajan - 4 years @ 3.5 million cap hit - ugh^2
Ales Kotalreke- 1 more year @ million - ugh^3
Jay Blowmemister - 5 more years @ 6.6 million - ugh ^4 - shoots self in face
Rating - 1
Maybe we should rename this to the Darryl Sutter award
-Hal
Editors Note:You will notice i did not use a common method when describing contract length and price/caphit. It's cause I'm too damn lazy to do it that precisely.
Some factors to consider:
1) Amount of money given to players
2) Length of contract
3) How generally negative this is.
1 - Piss poor holy hell what have we done with our franchise
10 - Wow
Let's start off with the NW Division
Vancouver Canucks
Luongo - 100 years @ 6 million : I would say that this is their worst contract since they are strapped with Bobby Poo for so long. However, you could argue that after this season, this is a perfectly fine contract.
Also, the Sedin and Kesler contracts are starting to look brilliant. Fuck off Vancouver
Rating - 9
Colorado Avalanche
Paul Statsny - 5 years @ 6.6 million: This was a pretty bad signing. They overpaid him by like 1.6 million. However, he's not too much of a problem because the rest of the roster is making pocket change so it doesn't affect the situation much. We'll see what they do with Douchene
Rating - 6
Minnesota Wild
Mikko Koivu - 7 year @ 47.25 million: This guy is a point a game player but still, almost 7 million a year seems high. BIt overpaid, but he's the top scorer on their team.
Nick Shultz - 3 years left @ 3.6 million / year: A guy that I don't even know existed should not be making 3.6 million a year.
Rating - 5
Edmonton Oilers
Whorecoff - really long at way too much. If you ever have to feel bad about a contract, just compare it to Whorecoffs and you will probably feel better about yourself. This guy was making 6 million a year!!!!!!!!!! Bad signing.
Drunk Driving Bulin - 3.75 for 3 years. Ouch.
At least Oil have lots of cap room to play with, most of the other players don't make much. Ryan Whitney is at 5mil but he's been a workhorse for the team
Rating - 4
Calgary Flames
Niklas Fagman -1 more year @ 3 million - ugh
Matt Stajan - 4 years @ 3.5 million cap hit - ugh^2
Ales Kotalreke- 1 more year @ million - ugh^3
Jay Blowmemister - 5 more years @ 6.6 million - ugh ^4 - shoots self in face
Rating - 1
Maybe we should rename this to the Darryl Sutter award
-Hal
Editors Note:You will notice i did not use a common method when describing contract length and price/caphit. It's cause I'm too damn lazy to do it that precisely.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Life Support
The Flames beat the Avalanche 2-1 tonight and I had the pleasure to watch this game. Flames had a pretty solid third period, but they didn't show much desperation throughout the night as if they have already given up hope. If it wasn't for Kipper holding the fort in the 2nd period, the Flames surely would have lost. He probably made half a dozen great saves and scrambles and kept them in the game. On another note, Erik Johnson is a bum. He had three MAJOR turnovers in his own end trying to clear the puck. If I was Joe Sacco I'd sac him right in the nads. Chicago also lost so the Flames still have the life support, although their heart rate is dropping fast and are in comatose and their IV drip is running out and the nurses and doctors are understaffed and overworked and they got struck with antibiotic resistance bacteria. GO FLAMES GO -Hal
Monday, March 28, 2011
Time to Draft a Russian?
Trivia time. Who was the last Russian to play on the Calgary Flames?
Did you guys Kristian Huselius? Maybe if his last name was Huselikov. No, it was non other than Oleg Saprykin, an integral part on the 2004 Stanley Cup run. That was 7 years ago. There hasn't been a single Russian on the Flames since.
Now, nobody cares about 2011 draft because all the prospects are supposed to suck. However, check out Nail Yakupov. Not only does he have a first name just begging to be clicheified "Tough as Nails" "Nailed him good" "I wish he'd Nail me"
Check out his scouting report :
http://www.russianprospect.com/nail-yakupov
Doesn't play D? Meh.
He finished 4th in OHL scoring with 101 points as a rookie (although he is 17). Let's put this into perspective
Yakupov: 65 GP/ 49 G/ 52 A/ 101 Pts (1st year, 17 years old)
Johnny T: 56 GP / 58 G/ 46 A / 104 pts (4th year, 18 years old)
Steve Stamkos: 61 GP/ 58 G / 47 A / 105 pts (2nd year, 17 years old)
Faylor Hall: 57 GP / 40 G / 66 A / 106 points (3rd year, 17 years old)
Since Nail's has a late birthday, he is not eligible to be drafted this year (kind of like the Johnny T situation a while back - although Johnny T had that prodigy year where he scored 65 goals and 134 points when he was 16)
As you can see, his rookie year (when he was the same age as all the other 1st overalls) was tremendous and he will definitely be going in the top of the 2012 entry draft. The only question is ... will the Flames be bad enough to get him?
-Hal
Did you guys Kristian Huselius? Maybe if his last name was Huselikov. No, it was non other than Oleg Saprykin, an integral part on the 2004 Stanley Cup run. That was 7 years ago. There hasn't been a single Russian on the Flames since.
Now, nobody cares about 2011 draft because all the prospects are supposed to suck. However, check out Nail Yakupov. Not only does he have a first name just begging to be clicheified "Tough as Nails" "Nailed him good" "I wish he'd Nail me"
Check out his scouting report :
http://www.russianprospect.com/nail-yakupov
Doesn't play D? Meh.
He finished 4th in OHL scoring with 101 points as a rookie (although he is 17). Let's put this into perspective
Yakupov: 65 GP/ 49 G/ 52 A/ 101 Pts (1st year, 17 years old)
Johnny T: 56 GP / 58 G/ 46 A / 104 pts (4th year, 18 years old)
Steve Stamkos: 61 GP/ 58 G / 47 A / 105 pts (2nd year, 17 years old)
Faylor Hall: 57 GP / 40 G / 66 A / 106 points (3rd year, 17 years old)
Since Nail's has a late birthday, he is not eligible to be drafted this year (kind of like the Johnny T situation a while back - although Johnny T had that prodigy year where he scored 65 goals and 134 points when he was 16)
As you can see, his rookie year (when he was the same age as all the other 1st overalls) was tremendous and he will definitely be going in the top of the 2012 entry draft. The only question is ... will the Flames be bad enough to get him?
-Hal
Everything you need to know about the Daymond Langkow Cap Situation
There's a rumour that was started this morning by the Calgary Herald that Langkow is healthy enough to return to the Flames lineup, however there are cap problems with the Flames that prevent the organization from bringing his 4.5 million dollar contract off the LTIR.
It is true that as it stands now, the Flames do not have the cap space to bring Langkow on board, in fact they don't have enough room to bring anybody on board right now; they are pushing cap! (they have the least cap space in the league).
There are a combination of players that Jay Feaster would have to send down to Abbotsford in order to make room for Langkow's 4.5 million dollar contract. But Feaster has to be careful because when he sends players down to the AHL every team in the league gets the opportunity to pick those players up off of waivers for their full salary for the duration of their contract. This is a list of healthy combinations of players that I would send down if i were Feaster:
Hagman + Stajan would do it. But it would be tough to part with two players that have been playing mediocre hockey all season, for the uncertainty of Langkow.
Nemisz + Ivanins + Modin + Kotalik- This is possible. I don't know why Ivanins is still counting against the cap but he is. Modin hasn't done anything since he came here so he's expendable. Kotalik played his best hockey in Abbotsford so it wouldn't be too hard to send him back. It's just tough to say goodbye to four players and bring aboard one when you already have injuries to Morrison and Moss.
The ideal situation would be to pick two of the following three players: Kotalik, Stajan, Hagman. I guess I would do Kotalik and Hagman. It would be great if some other team took one of them through the waiver-wire so the Flames don't have to deal with their fat salaries next year. However anyone that has followed the play of Kotalik and Hagman this year would know that they are not even worth half the salary they are making.
So it's starting to look as if the Flames won't see Langkow until next season, unless some major injuries happen to players on the Flames that are making big money.
-HArk
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Flames Offseason Moves
If the Flames fail to make the 2011 playoffs, there will probably be a major overhaul in the organization. For one thing, two of our key members : Tanguay and Glencross, are UFAs and one can expect them to a) Ask for a pay increase and b) Decent contract extension 3-4 years. I'm not sure we have the money to do that.
Assuming we don't re-sign these two players;
In the 2011/2012 Season our top Forwards will be
1) Iginla
2) Jokinen
3) Bourque
4) Langkow
5) Giordano
Giordano isn't even a forward but our team would be so pathetic that he would still be the 5th best forward.
At least we will have Steve "Pylon" Staois off the books. However, I don't think Flames should go out for any A-list free agents this summer. Keep it simple, stupid and grab some decent cheap plugs for the time being.
The 2012/2013 season is when Langkow, Sarich, Jokinen, Kotareek, Fagman all come off the books. We will have so much room that summer to go and splurge/splooge on free agents and help build a contender.
Wow actually have you seen the 2011 UFA List? As predicted by BoWC two years ago - the free agent crop has withered because of long contracts and is actually the most depressing thing I have ever seen. The only major star is Brad Richards, but we all know he will suck next year anyways.
I say the Flames sign David Backes. He'd be a good fit on our team : 3 years at 3 million. Do it.
Chuck Kobasew is a UFA. I will be routing for him to resign to become the superstar he was projected to be in NHL 2005.
http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/2010/06/01/2011-unrestricted-nhl-free-agents/
-Hal
Assuming we don't re-sign these two players;
In the 2011/2012 Season our top Forwards will be
1) Iginla
2) Jokinen
3) Bourque
4) Langkow
5) Giordano
Giordano isn't even a forward but our team would be so pathetic that he would still be the 5th best forward.
At least we will have Steve "Pylon" Staois off the books. However, I don't think Flames should go out for any A-list free agents this summer. Keep it simple, stupid and grab some decent cheap plugs for the time being.
The 2012/2013 season is when Langkow, Sarich, Jokinen, Kotareek, Fagman all come off the books. We will have so much room that summer to go and splurge/splooge on free agents and help build a contender.
Wow actually have you seen the 2011 UFA List? As predicted by BoWC two years ago - the free agent crop has withered because of long contracts and is actually the most depressing thing I have ever seen. The only major star is Brad Richards, but we all know he will suck next year anyways.
I say the Flames sign David Backes. He'd be a good fit on our team : 3 years at 3 million. Do it.
Chuck Kobasew is a UFA. I will be routing for him to resign to become the superstar he was projected to be in NHL 2005.
http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/2010/06/01/2011-unrestricted-nhl-free-agents/
-Hal
Friday, March 25, 2011
Which team is Worse? The Montreal Canadiens or the Calgary Flames
Sure the Canadiens are in a playoff spot. But I am still a little bit unsure about them. Last year they surprised a lot of people in the league when they upset Pittsburgh and Washington. And even though there goaltending is much better in this years regular season than lasts, I still have a feeling that Habs fans are going to be thoroughly disappointed this off season. In arguable two of the biggest games for the Habs all season they have shown up flat. Once at the Winter Classic, and then again last night in an attempt to avenge Pacciorretti. Cammalerri is starting to become another washed up overpaid bum on the Bleu and Rouge Roster. He is making terrible first passes and causing terrible turnovers in the offensive zone. Last night he was a -4 not including the 5 on 3 shorthanded goal that got scored against the Habs while he was on the ice.
On the otherhand we have the Calgary Flames. Calgary is only two points behind the Montreal Canadieans, only Calgary is out of a playoff spot. The Flames have had good goaltending from Kipper for most of the season and Iginla is on pace to score 35 goals yet again. The Flames have lost 6 of their past 7 games, mostly against teams that are also fighting for a playoff spot in the West. They are unable to out-battle their opposition and for that reason they will be missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
It goes to show the disparity in the two conferences. Habs Fans in the East are saying what a wonderful season they are having after already having locked down a playoff spot. On the other hand Flames fans are angry yet again over the inconsistent play the Flames have shown all year round.
My vote goes for the Habs being the worse of the two teams. The Flames have a consistent goal scorer in Iginla which the Habs lack. The Habs have the edge in goaltending but only slightly considering Kiprusoff is having a slightly off season. and on defence you have to give it to the Flames because the Habs defense was pieced together from Pick-a-Part. All in all, maybe the Winnipeg Jets should try and get into the Eastern Conference when they join the NHL because it is clear the East is a much weaker conference.
-Hark
On the otherhand we have the Calgary Flames. Calgary is only two points behind the Montreal Canadieans, only Calgary is out of a playoff spot. The Flames have had good goaltending from Kipper for most of the season and Iginla is on pace to score 35 goals yet again. The Flames have lost 6 of their past 7 games, mostly against teams that are also fighting for a playoff spot in the West. They are unable to out-battle their opposition and for that reason they will be missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
It goes to show the disparity in the two conferences. Habs Fans in the East are saying what a wonderful season they are having after already having locked down a playoff spot. On the other hand Flames fans are angry yet again over the inconsistent play the Flames have shown all year round.
My vote goes for the Habs being the worse of the two teams. The Flames have a consistent goal scorer in Iginla which the Habs lack. The Habs have the edge in goaltending but only slightly considering Kiprusoff is having a slightly off season. and on defence you have to give it to the Flames because the Habs defense was pieced together from Pick-a-Part. All in all, maybe the Winnipeg Jets should try and get into the Eastern Conference when they join the NHL because it is clear the East is a much weaker conference.
-Hark
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Crazy drunken Hicktown Farmboy Interview
This was such a funny interview after the Flames third loss in a row, 2nd loss in three games to Phoenix. It really goes to how there is a disconnect between Iginla and Sutter. Sutter tells it like it is and isnt afraid to say his team stinks whereas Iginla is Mr. Positive and trying to find a silver lining. Pretty soon one of the two of them is going to have to leave. My favorite part of the video is when Sutter says, "darn rights".
-hark
-hark
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Dec 1
This date will be the turning point of the Flames season.
The reason why the suck is cause we haven't played the Canucks yet. This will turn the tide on both teams and they wil both make playoffs
The reason why the suck is cause we haven't played the Canucks yet. This will turn the tide on both teams and they wil both make playoffs
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Just When I thought the West Couldn't Get Any Better, It totally Redeems Itself!
For one brief second on Friday vs. Chicago the Calgary Flames looked like they might be able to salvage their season. then th played detroit and blew a two goal lead in the third and then could only muster one goal against NY (with a backup in net) in another loss. Edmonton sure will have some competition for that first overall Pick.
But look? In the tail lights. Theres the Vancouver canucks catching up. In their last 6 games they have gone 1-4-1. They have surrendered the first goal in 6 of their past 7 games. The canucks defense can not play a full sixty minutes. And neither the first, second or third line can get anything done.
watch out calgary and edmonton, the canucks might be the cinderella story that steals the pick from you.
-Hark
Friday, October 29, 2010
Stop Sucking Phaneuf 2.0
Ever since Dion Phanuef got reconstructive facial surgery, cut off some of his femur so he would be shorter, and changed his first and last name to Ian White, he has been sucking more than usual. This prolonged stunt has been going on for 8 months now, and the only way you can tell Dion Phanuef 1.0 to 2.0 is because he still wears the number 3.
Forgetting about his stats or +/- and the fact that he doesn’t fight or deliver crushing hits anymore (I can forgive that because of the smaller frame) I thought he would be faster but most of the time this season, I have just seen him getting burnt by Jordan Eberle.
Calgary and Edmonton have already played three of their six match ups, and Jordan Eberle has scored two goals. One highlight reel and the other sparked the massive three goal comeback that Calgary barely pulled through. BOTH goals were around Phaneuf v.2, and when watching the game all you ever see is Eberle dancing around Phaneuf (White) like a little bitch and getting an amazing scoring chance. This might be excusable since Phaneuf is just getting paid 3 million a year now but I swear if he gets beaten by Eberle another time this year I’m gonna force Darryl to trade him to Toronto.
-Hal
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Canucks and Flames
So far the Canucks have not had a great start going 2-3-2. But I am not worried. It is still very early in the season and the canucks have lots of time to turn it around. the canucks home record is decent sitting at 2-1-1. Plus daniel is averaging a goal a game so far, while henrik is on target to get 115 points this season. Luongo is inconsistent but at least he is playing excellent and terrible rather than purely mediocre like last season.
The flames have started going 3-2. yet they have recieved so much criticism from even their own media. Its funny that nobody has jumped on the flames are going to win the cup bandwagon yet with their good start. maybe if they can beat detroit tonight. But there is no doubt in my mind the flames will still choke this season. they are going to be too hardpressed for goals when it comes down to it. Iginlas production will drop off again. Jokinen will continue to do nothing. Morrison wont be able to score more than 20. The only person that can step up is bourque and right now sutter has him playing on the third line. Twice already this season the flames have been shutout. Eventually at some point this season i predict the trade iginla rumours will start. At around the trade deadline the flames should trade him to boston for their first round pick (which will be the first overall pick because the leafs will choke too and bostons first pick is the leafs pick), plus johnny boychuk, and blake wheeler. then they should also trade ian white and a third round pick for a first round pick to san jose. plus they should try and move langkow for a second round pick to some borderline playoff team out east like atlanta or florida. then they can fan tank in 2011-2012. and then they can win the stanley cup in 2016. so its a 5-6 year plan but i think it will work.
-hark
The flames have started going 3-2. yet they have recieved so much criticism from even their own media. Its funny that nobody has jumped on the flames are going to win the cup bandwagon yet with their good start. maybe if they can beat detroit tonight. But there is no doubt in my mind the flames will still choke this season. they are going to be too hardpressed for goals when it comes down to it. Iginlas production will drop off again. Jokinen will continue to do nothing. Morrison wont be able to score more than 20. The only person that can step up is bourque and right now sutter has him playing on the third line. Twice already this season the flames have been shutout. Eventually at some point this season i predict the trade iginla rumours will start. At around the trade deadline the flames should trade him to boston for their first round pick (which will be the first overall pick because the leafs will choke too and bostons first pick is the leafs pick), plus johnny boychuk, and blake wheeler. then they should also trade ian white and a third round pick for a first round pick to san jose. plus they should try and move langkow for a second round pick to some borderline playoff team out east like atlanta or florida. then they can fan tank in 2011-2012. and then they can win the stanley cup in 2016. so its a 5-6 year plan but i think it will work.
-hark
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Lack of Competitive Spirit at Flames Camp
With the signing of Tanguay and Jokinen in the summer, many Flames fans were hoping that a line of Iginla, Tanguay and Jokinen would be formed. Rather than waiting until the end of preaseason to see the level of compete amongst all the flames players and then determine who deseveres to play with Iginla, Sutter has decided to just hand the first line positions over to tanguay and jokinen.
How is this fair to Mikael Backlund, Hagman, Stajan or Bourque? All players deserved an equal chance to show what they can bring the team against the likes of lowly tanguay and jokinen. Tanguay played on a team where steven stamkos scored 50 goals and tanguay couldnt even score 15 himself. Jokinen was the biggest washed up bum ever floating around the league not finishing any chance he was given. Yet Sutter has determined that in the old boys club known as the calgary flames, you can earn your position on the top line without working for it, without having a good season the year before and especially without showing heart.
This may be an early forecast but i think the flames might be able to expect more from their second line than their first line this season. A line with bourque, langkow, and backlund could show a hell of a lot more heart than a line with a Gay and a Joke. If the second line outperforms the first it would be similar to the canucks 05-06 season when the sedin line emerged and began to outproduce the nazzy, bert b-mo line.
-hark
How is this fair to Mikael Backlund, Hagman, Stajan or Bourque? All players deserved an equal chance to show what they can bring the team against the likes of lowly tanguay and jokinen. Tanguay played on a team where steven stamkos scored 50 goals and tanguay couldnt even score 15 himself. Jokinen was the biggest washed up bum ever floating around the league not finishing any chance he was given. Yet Sutter has determined that in the old boys club known as the calgary flames, you can earn your position on the top line without working for it, without having a good season the year before and especially without showing heart.
This may be an early forecast but i think the flames might be able to expect more from their second line than their first line this season. A line with bourque, langkow, and backlund could show a hell of a lot more heart than a line with a Gay and a Joke. If the second line outperforms the first it would be similar to the canucks 05-06 season when the sedin line emerged and began to outproduce the nazzy, bert b-mo line.
-hark
Saturday, July 10, 2010
what the flames need
Now that kotalik has signed with the lokomotif in russia, it frees up some additional cap space for the flames. Oviously the majority will go to signing white at whatever price the arbitrator decides is fair. Then their defence will be excellent. Their goaltending situation is stellar as well. It really comes down to offense now.
Projected top three lines:
Iginla-tanguay-bourque
Stajan-hagman-jokinen
Moss-blank-blank
They really don't have much talent that can be expected to be a clutch third line. If there's anything we have learned from the blackwhores run to the cup, is that you need offensive depth on your third line if you expect to win. Flames can't rely on glencross or backlund to have a significant impact on the third line. So they should sign at least one and maybe two players.
Possibles:
Brendan morrison: had a stellar year with washington. Plus he has always played good against calgary. He is in the top ten for regular season overtime goals all time.
Lee stempniak:he had ten goals in ten games with phoenix last year after the trade deadline. He's a good player and has the ability to score.
-hark
Projected top three lines:
Iginla-tanguay-bourque
Stajan-hagman-jokinen
Moss-blank-blank
They really don't have much talent that can be expected to be a clutch third line. If there's anything we have learned from the blackwhores run to the cup, is that you need offensive depth on your third line if you expect to win. Flames can't rely on glencross or backlund to have a significant impact on the third line. So they should sign at least one and maybe two players.
Possibles:
Brendan morrison: had a stellar year with washington. Plus he has always played good against calgary. He is in the top ten for regular season overtime goals all time.
Lee stempniak:he had ten goals in ten games with phoenix last year after the trade deadline. He's a good player and has the ability to score.
-hark
Friday, April 24, 2009
How the Playoffs could Unfold
With Anaheim's win over san jose last night, they have nearly put the nails to the coffin of the Sharks tremendous year. Bobby Ryan has looked amazing in the playoffs so far. He has had 4 goals in 4 games, and has been playing tremendous on the line with Getzlaf and Perry. Getzlaf is the set up man and Bobby Ryan is the finisher.
I am really hoping for anaheim to win this series, because then canucks will have home ice advantage next round. if the ducks win, they will play detroit next round, while the canucks will play the winner of calgary/chicago.
The calgary chicago series is definitely the best series of the first round. the blackhawks definitely look like the favorite at this point for two reasons. 1) the blackhawks have home ice advantage for the final best of 3 series. 2) the flames roster is very depleted. i have been saying that this one will go to seven games for a while and i still believe it will. tsn injury update is saying that lang-con-bourque are all questionable for saturdays game.
having a lot of injuries this time of year is not bad luck. it is a sign that your players have been overworked and have not had enough time to rest. for the canucks past 3 years there have been massive injuries on their defensive core. i first thought that we were just unlucky, and that we had the curse of the jade groin. but it was really because we were asking our players to do too much. even while their groins were soar, we were asking them to play because its better to have an injured willie mitchell than a healthy ossi vanaanen.
the fact of the matter for the flames is that they have lost two of their best faceoff men in langkow and conroy. they have lost their best defenseman in regher. and they have lost their best secondary scorer in rene bourque, who has likely reinjured his ankle. while the chicago blackwhores have no injuries to contend with, although they probably have some sore players on the ice like patrick kane. if the flames can find a way to beat the blackhawks with this injury riddled team, then if they are able to get some of their injured players back in the second round, they will be a force to contend with. for now, iginla needs to keep on scoring, you need to keep getting secondary scoring from guys like nystrom, and phaneuf has to keep playing effective.
interesting note: todd bertuzzi is leading the team in plus/minus with a plus 4. he is tied with jordan leopold who i have not been very impressed with so far this series. leopold has already taken 4 minor penalties this playoffs.
I am really hoping for anaheim to win this series, because then canucks will have home ice advantage next round. if the ducks win, they will play detroit next round, while the canucks will play the winner of calgary/chicago.
The calgary chicago series is definitely the best series of the first round. the blackhawks definitely look like the favorite at this point for two reasons. 1) the blackhawks have home ice advantage for the final best of 3 series. 2) the flames roster is very depleted. i have been saying that this one will go to seven games for a while and i still believe it will. tsn injury update is saying that lang-con-bourque are all questionable for saturdays game.
having a lot of injuries this time of year is not bad luck. it is a sign that your players have been overworked and have not had enough time to rest. for the canucks past 3 years there have been massive injuries on their defensive core. i first thought that we were just unlucky, and that we had the curse of the jade groin. but it was really because we were asking our players to do too much. even while their groins were soar, we were asking them to play because its better to have an injured willie mitchell than a healthy ossi vanaanen.
the fact of the matter for the flames is that they have lost two of their best faceoff men in langkow and conroy. they have lost their best defenseman in regher. and they have lost their best secondary scorer in rene bourque, who has likely reinjured his ankle. while the chicago blackwhores have no injuries to contend with, although they probably have some sore players on the ice like patrick kane. if the flames can find a way to beat the blackhawks with this injury riddled team, then if they are able to get some of their injured players back in the second round, they will be a force to contend with. for now, iginla needs to keep on scoring, you need to keep getting secondary scoring from guys like nystrom, and phaneuf has to keep playing effective.
interesting note: todd bertuzzi is leading the team in plus/minus with a plus 4. he is tied with jordan leopold who i have not been very impressed with so far this series. leopold has already taken 4 minor penalties this playoffs.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
400th Post: the Calgary Flames injury Update
Congrats guys, we made it to 400. We will have paid our dues to the devil and will stop being slaves to this blog once we post 30,000. lets keep up the good work, we're almost there.
this post is about injuries, which is a very important topic if you are a calgary flames fan. the flames lost last night, kindly handing the division to the vancouver canucks. it is now looking like flames will finish 5th, and play chicago in the first round. it will be a good matchup and probably one of the best series in the first round, just because both teams are so even. only a couple of points separate them and both teams have a real physical element to their game. It will be beautiful hockey.
when it comes to injuries in chi-town, currently patrick sharp is injured for the blackwhores. he's one of their star players. however its an injury that he's working through and he should be back in the lineup tonight. versteeg is suffering the same type of injury. overall, the only other b'whores player with a long term injury is brent sopel, but he is expendable.
the flames on the otherhand have more pressing injury concerns. firstly, superstar forward rene bourque has been injured since he was slew-footed way back in february. he has been sadly missed in the goal scoring department since his departure. furthermore, 3 of calgary's 4 best defenseman are injured. regher and sarich have both been out ten days, and the IR states them as being "out indefinitely". Then there's the case of dion phaneuf. he's been playing awful lately, and many flames fans should question if they actually want him back. but he is a clutch playoff performer so its crucial that he comes back to the lineup soon. he got injured off of a hit by alex burrows in the game against vancouver the other day.
All in all, the first round should be a good series for chi-town and cal-city. but with all the flames injuries they are going to have their work set out for their against the blackhawks. if they can emerge out of the first round without many more injuries, they can hopefully expect to be a healthy team for the second round. but who knows? maybe the flames will lose in the first round for the 4th straight year.
-hark
this post is about injuries, which is a very important topic if you are a calgary flames fan. the flames lost last night, kindly handing the division to the vancouver canucks. it is now looking like flames will finish 5th, and play chicago in the first round. it will be a good matchup and probably one of the best series in the first round, just because both teams are so even. only a couple of points separate them and both teams have a real physical element to their game. It will be beautiful hockey.
when it comes to injuries in chi-town, currently patrick sharp is injured for the blackwhores. he's one of their star players. however its an injury that he's working through and he should be back in the lineup tonight. versteeg is suffering the same type of injury. overall, the only other b'whores player with a long term injury is brent sopel, but he is expendable.
the flames on the otherhand have more pressing injury concerns. firstly, superstar forward rene bourque has been injured since he was slew-footed way back in february. he has been sadly missed in the goal scoring department since his departure. furthermore, 3 of calgary's 4 best defenseman are injured. regher and sarich have both been out ten days, and the IR states them as being "out indefinitely". Then there's the case of dion phaneuf. he's been playing awful lately, and many flames fans should question if they actually want him back. but he is a clutch playoff performer so its crucial that he comes back to the lineup soon. he got injured off of a hit by alex burrows in the game against vancouver the other day.
All in all, the first round should be a good series for chi-town and cal-city. but with all the flames injuries they are going to have their work set out for their against the blackhawks. if they can emerge out of the first round without many more injuries, they can hopefully expect to be a healthy team for the second round. but who knows? maybe the flames will lose in the first round for the 4th straight year.
-hark
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Nux/Flames Game Tonight and Your Sean Avery Tri-weekly update
This is the most important game of the season for the canucks tonight. they have to win!!
on offense the advantage definitely goes to the flames. canucks got limited to 1 goal the other night against peter budaj and a bunch of callups from the AHL. iginla and cammalari must come through for the flames. bertuzzi tried the spin-o-rama last time these two teams played. Will he try it again?
The flames looked good last night against LA. they completely dominated them. But the flames are an injury riddled team right now. with regher and sarich both out of the lineup, this means pardy and van dermeer will be playing on the second line. that is a fairly weak second line and canucks should be able to put up a lot of shots on kipper tonight.
the battle between kipper and luongo should be good. both goalies have been playing bad lately. but last time these two teams played, kipper had one of the best performances of his career, dishing out some of the best third period saves i have ever seen. in the vid below, look at how wellwood has a gaping wide open net to shoot at, and kipper somehow stops him. the only other time in my life where i've seen someone fail to complete in front of such a wide open gaping hole, was the time i got really drunk and past out at graham's sisters birthday party.
Heres another video of a sick move that bertuzzi tried on luongo in the 2006 olympics training camp. its amazing that bertuzzi is not afraid to try his dangles out on the best goalies in the league. many superstars would save their fancy moves for andrew raycroft and nittimaki. not bert.
Avery gets a 2 minute minor for this one. look at how angry tim thomas got. talk about getting under the oppositions skin. good job avery. its too bad NY still got shutout in this game. only watch the first 10 seconds of the vid, it gets repetitive after that:
-hark
on offense the advantage definitely goes to the flames. canucks got limited to 1 goal the other night against peter budaj and a bunch of callups from the AHL. iginla and cammalari must come through for the flames. bertuzzi tried the spin-o-rama last time these two teams played. Will he try it again?
The flames looked good last night against LA. they completely dominated them. But the flames are an injury riddled team right now. with regher and sarich both out of the lineup, this means pardy and van dermeer will be playing on the second line. that is a fairly weak second line and canucks should be able to put up a lot of shots on kipper tonight.
the battle between kipper and luongo should be good. both goalies have been playing bad lately. but last time these two teams played, kipper had one of the best performances of his career, dishing out some of the best third period saves i have ever seen. in the vid below, look at how wellwood has a gaping wide open net to shoot at, and kipper somehow stops him. the only other time in my life where i've seen someone fail to complete in front of such a wide open gaping hole, was the time i got really drunk and past out at graham's sisters birthday party.
Heres another video of a sick move that bertuzzi tried on luongo in the 2006 olympics training camp. its amazing that bertuzzi is not afraid to try his dangles out on the best goalies in the league. many superstars would save their fancy moves for andrew raycroft and nittimaki. not bert.
Avery gets a 2 minute minor for this one. look at how angry tim thomas got. talk about getting under the oppositions skin. good job avery. its too bad NY still got shutout in this game. only watch the first 10 seconds of the vid, it gets repetitive after that:
-hark
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