This is Good

Wow, what a road trip for our Flames. 5 consecutive and going for 6 tonight and the best part yet, back in playoff contention. Most of our thanks and praise have to obviously go to the Iggy-Langkow-Huselius line. They have on absolute fire lately. Iginla has to be, be put in the Crosby, Lecavalier argument going on recently for best player in the NHL right now. He got the nod for 1st of the week, is second in NHL scoring with 48 points and really is the one who has helped turned the Flames turn around.

Once again I will bring up the need of another defensemen. We have given up as many goals as the Oilers and that is just terrible. Sarich and Regehr have been doing their part in our own end but guys like Phaneuf and Aucoin have to step up again, like earlier in the year. Before I thought Huselius was expendable for a defensemen but with his play lately he is pretty valuable all of a sudden. Flames might have to give up a high draft pick to get another top-4 defensemen. Who knows maybe some crazy GM will take someone like Nolan or Nilson off our hands.

The Flames are in Columbus tonight and with the Blue Jackets play this year, it will be no easy task. The Flames will have to shut down Nash who hasent scored for 4 straight games and he should be looking to get back on track.It sounds like Nolan is out tonight too, thank the lord. Even better yet it sounds like Boyd will get a chance on the second line. Whether Keenan will ever realize that Lombo should be there in place of Conroy like bloggers at Five Hole Fanatics pointed out is another story. No matter what happens tonight, this road trip has been a success but a win is still necessary for more movement UP in the standings.

Here what the Lines should look like tonight:

1- HUSELIUS-LANGKOW-IGINLA
2- TANGUAY-CONROY-BOYD
3- PRIMEAU-LOMBARDI-YELLE
4- GODARD-SMITH-NYSTROM

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-SARICH
3- ERIKSSON-HALE

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- McELHINNEY

One last point maybe Regehr should play with Aucoin while Sarich be paired with Phaneuf to try and get some defensive play out of both Phaneuf and Aucoin.

How Sweet Was That!

The Flames started off their 6 game road trip, 2-0 after defeating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in a SO last night. From what I heard from reaction off the radio, the Flames played a good game and squeaked it out at the end. Literally at the end. Iggy continued his awesome, awesome season scoring with only 11 seconds left with Kipper pulled. The Flames needed a break like that after they played a pretty good game and after the horrible give away by Langkow on Florida's only goal.

The OT seemed to be actioned packed, the best hockey of the whole game. End to end and a break away for each team. Tanguay got fed away from a pass from Conroy but couldn't beat Vokoun. OT solved nothing so they had to headed to the SO. Huselius scored on the first shot and it was the only goal of the whole SO.

All in all it was a goaltender battle between Kipper and Vokoun. Kipper has now played 4 great games in a row and really seems to be back on track. The Flames head back into Tampa on Thursday for the first time since '04. I really think the Flames are starting to turn it around and I can't wait to watch the game, it should be a good one and hopefully they get some revenge on those bastards who stole the Cup from us.

Finally a Break!

Following the Flames disappointing 3-2 SO loss to the Penguins on Thursday, reports came out that Regehr had broken his foot after blocking a shot in the first which he never returned from and would be out at least 4 weeks. This would have come at the probably the worst time ever for the Flames. We would be forced to go with these defensemen with Regehr out.

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- SARICH-ERIKSSON
3- PARDY-HALE

SCARY!
Anyways a new report came out after Regehr got his foot examined and it is only a bone bruise and some tissue damage. Regehr is now listed day-to-day but we will still have to go with those parings for at least a couple of games but that is way better than a month+. The Flames last two games have been awesome in my opinion. Way more consistent and very hard working. There are still a few things to work on but they are looking like a much better team so far this month. Phaneuf is really going to have to pick up his defensive game in the next couple to make up for Regehr and guys like Hale and recent call-up Adam Pardy even though probably wont get a ton of minutes have to be mistake free and play just solid and not worry about making the big play. Kipper has played more like himself the last two games too so he will have to continue his strong play with Regehr out.

The Flames are heading out on a 6 game road trip, starting in Chicago on Sunday.

Searching For More of This...

.....this is all I have left to say after another tough loss to the Blue Jackets in OT on Saturday

Depressing

Another loss for the Flames, falling to the Ducks last night, 4-1. Their third straight loss and it puts them 3 games under .500.

I really dont know what to say, I have already expressed my opinion on some players play and some potential trades, it has been the same thing over again. Consistency and confidence are the two things people cant stop talking about when they gab back and fourth about the Flames. I should just tape my opinion and replay it after every loss.

Please Flames, please, get back on track and bring some excitement back into the city and to the fans.

What Needs to be Done?

After two of the Flames stronger showings at home against Chicago and in Colorado, which was probably their best game this season, the Flames have gone right back to the way they were playing before, losing 3-0 against the Blues on Sunday and 5-3 last night versus the Red Wings. For some reason they took Boyd out of the line-up last night, I'm not sure if was for his play against St.Louis because I dint see that game but they put in Mark Smith and we all know how good he is. I am glad that they brought Boyd up to shake things up a little bit, hopefully he will be right back in the line-up tomorrow against the Ducks.

Anyways I think this is the perfect time for a trade. Something needs to be done to get this ship back on track and really if you look at it, the only thing is a trade. Like I have said so many times, I think the Flames need another defensemen especially with Warrener out. I think we also need another forward who can score goals and plays hard consistently. With Huselius playing so bad lately I think he is the perfect trade bait while his value is still high. I mentioned Huselius's name after last years first round playoff loss to the Red Wings too. He isn't playing well like I said, maybe it is a Keenan thing, who knows and he is not a playoff guy. Lots of people are saying that the Flames might get a veteran back-up to help and push Kipper to get him back on track. I wouldn't might that either but we shouldn't give up to much for that but I highly doubt we would either. There was rumors whether Sutter would pick up Alex Auld off waivers from the Coyotes last week, but that never happened but I think it will be a waiver move to fill in that veteran back-up spot if the move is even made at all. Anyways back to the first trade, here are a couple of possible trades that I think could help the Flames alot.

1) Calgary trades LW Kristian Huselius(1.4 mill/1 year) to Ottawa for RW Chris Neil(3.3 mill/3 years) & D Christoph Schubert(1.75 mill/3 years)
Now I doubt this trade is that likely but I love it and it makes so much sense. All you ever really hear out of Ottawa with them playing so well(maybe not lately) is how they need another top 6 forward. Huselius matches their need perfectly, he only has the one year remaining on his contract and has proven that he can be a top 6 forward. He would help their 2nd PP unit and their 2nd line. He could look very good alongside guys like Fisher and Vermette. Neil comes to Calgary and fits in perfectly with his style of play. He works hard every shift and has the speed and talent to keep up and score goals. Schubert has really come along in the last couple of years. He has a good shot from the point and can be very physical. He has the speed and smarts to play either forward or defense. He would look great on the Flames blueline, maybe even take a shift at forward since the Flames liked what Phaneuf brought when he was up there for a couple of shifts. Schubert could bring the same thing. I think this would be a perfect trade for the Flames right now and it is an out of conference trade which makes it even better.

2) Calgary trades LW Kristian Huselius(1.4 mill/1 year) to Dallas for D Stephane Robidas(4.5 mill/3 years) and C/W Joel Lundqvist(1.45 mill/2 years).
This trade could also work in a very similar way. The Flames would acquire Robidas who is a very good defensemen and would fit in so well in our top 4 especially playing beside Regehr. Also acquiring Lundqvist would give the Flames a gritty, hard-working player who has the potential to be a top 6 forward. Huselius would once again give the Stars another top-6 forward and one who can put the puck in the net, who they have been looking for, for the past couple of seasons. Either one of these trades I definitely wouldn't mind, both trades are pretty equal but I think I like this one a little more cause the Flames would get more help on the back-end. This trade is also an inner-conference trade but there isn't really much to worry about there.

3) Calgary trades D Andres Eriksson(3 mill/2 years) and a 2nd Round Draft Pick to Philadelphia for C Jeff Carter(1.884 mill/2 years).
This trade would be necessary if the Flames did trade away Huselius and acquired some help at the back-end, like Robidas. Carter has been rumored to maybe be on the move with the emergence of Mike Richards and the great play of their new #1 center Daniel Briere. The Flyers have been reportedly looking for a little extra help on the back-end too. Eriksson has played way better lately but I still think he is worth giving up if you can get a player like Carter. Throw a 2nd rounder in there, maybe even a 1st and I think you got yourself a good looking deal.

So let's say, just for fun, the Flames do do trades 2 and 3 lets look at some possible line combinations.

1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- CARTER-LANGKOW-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- BOYD-YELLE-LUNDQVIST
EXTRA- PRIMEAU, GODARD, SMITH, NILSON

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-ROBIDAS
3- SARICH-WARRENER
EXTRA- HALE

1- KIPRUSOFF
2- McELHINNEY

I think that looks very improved. Maybe I'm dreaming a bit but I think all 3 of those deals are pretty fair and fill in holes that both teams would need.

Really I dont mind Huselius when he is playing good and setting up the PP, etc, but when he plays bad he is very bad. There doesn't seem to be any motivation and just doesn't put in the extra effort needed for success. I just think that maybe there is something behind him and Keenan cause he really hasn't played well in the last month. He becomes a free agent at the end of the summer and who know is we can even re-sign him since we have Phaneuf to lock up too. His value is still high and there are some teams that are looking for a top-6 forward who can put the puck in the net.

Anyways November has been a very rough month for the Flames and it isn't going to get much easier. The Ducks are in town tomorrow and they are coming off a very un-discipline loss to the Canucks last night. They will come out hard and hopefully so will the Flames. I think the Flames will come out hard and will get the victory at home for all the fans.

Tough One

Once again I missed the Flames game but was able to catch all the post-game analysis from the radio. It sounded like the Flames played a awesome game, even Chicago forward Patrick Sharp said without Khabibulin, the Blackhawks would have lost. Really the only negative that came from the game was that both Chicago's goals where SH but the first one did take a horrible bounce over Aucoin's stick and right in Chicago's favor. Here are some other notes from the game:

-Iginla scored his 13th goal of the season from a nice pass Phaneuf. Phaneuf had a stint at forward on a couple of the PP's, he just stood in from of the net and caused some commotion.

-Khabibulin really has Calgary's number, he stood on his head and like I said before he was really the only reason the Blackhawks won.

-I still haven't figured out why Tanguay just didn't touch the puck on the Blackhawks first SH goal. He couldn't say that he didn't see Sharp coming down on him, cause Sharp was pretty much at full speed once he got the puck. That was a huge brain fart on Tanguay's behalf, he should of just touched the puck and took the too many men on the ice penalty.

-Finally, my head hurts keep thinking about this but Conroy was once again in between Iggy and Tanguay for most of the game. I heard he did play well but maybe perhaps his talent like I have said over and over again brings down the whole line and that is why the Flames could only muster 1 goal last night. Like did Keenan not see what Lombo and Iggy did in the game against Colorado??

Young Guns

The Chicago Blackhawks head into the Saddledome tonight to face the Flames. The Blackhawks are a very young team, they are the young guns of the NHL and have some very, very good young players. I wanted to head to tonights game to see the young guys like Kane and Toews play but my own hockey is getting in the way again, oh well no big deal. One last point about tonight's game, it marks the return of the great Andrei Zyuzin, every Flames fan favourite player last year, hopefully he will screw up, and give us a couple of easy goals to pay us back for every mistake he made last year. I should say to make up for some mistakes because there are to many mistakes to make up for goals, the goals wouldn't all fit on the scoreboard.

The Flames are coming off a 4-1 win against Colorado on Tuesday and the score doesn't really suggest what kind of game it was. It was kind of a boring game, not very many shots or scoring chances at all. The difference was that the Flames were able to bury the chances they got. Nolan finally played like he had some life in side of him potting 2 goals and was one of the best players on the ice. Lombo finally got a fair chance in between Tanguay and Iggy and set up the GWG to Iggy on a very pretty play. Moss potted his first goal too, so hopefully his line will be able to get some chemistry together. It wasn't the prettiest game but like you can see some good came from it.

Dustin Boyd has been called up from Quad Cities and will play tonight for a uncertain player who has the flu. Like I said before, hopefully Boyd takes full advantage of this and plays well enough to kick someone like Nilson or Smith out of the line-up. Two things I have said the Flames should do(Put Lombo on the top line and bring up a player from the farm), the Flames have done recently, now hopefully it works and I look like a genius and not an idiot. So adding Boyd and from what the lines looked like on Tuesday, here are what the lines should look like tonight.

1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LANGKOW-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD/BOYD
INJURED- NILSON, PRIMEAU

The Defensive pairs I dont think have really changed at all this year, the only noticeable change I notice was more ice-time for Eriksson, who is playing like a completely different player right now. Here are what the pairings will probably look like.

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-SARICH
3- ERIKSSON-WARRENER
EXTRA- HALE

Kipper will most likely will get the start tonight sine the Hawks have gotten off to a very good start. Look for McElhinney to get a start probably/hopefully on our up-coming 3 game road trip.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- McELHINNEY

Digging Out

The Flames ended their short 2 game winning streak losing to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1, in from what I heard another dismal performance. I have missed the Flames last two games completely have have only been able to catch the highlights and like everyone knows, those only show you so much and are alot better to watch when your team is winning. So I really dont have much to say about those two games but since the Flames hit the 20 game mark or 1/4 way through the season last night I can talk more about the Flames season so far....not very good.

I first like to say that we all came to the conclusion way to quickly about the the Flames getting off to a good start after a 6-3-3 record in October. Every since we mentioned that the Flames have gone 2-6 and their weakness's have become more evident then ever but that is usually what happens after this kind of a streak.

The Forwards...

For some very strange reason Conroy is still on the top line in between Iggy and Tanguay and why Keenan thinks that line or should I say Conroy can be productive and help the team win playing there is way beyond me. He did score last game but that was his 3rd goal of the season, amazing eh! From the highlights and reaction from the Edmonton game on Saturday Lombo and Nolan seemed to click a little bit, what they did last night or if they even played together I dont no but it could be something to build on especially since Nolan's numbers so far are projected to be worse than Tony Amonte's, UGLY!! Anyways he better pick it up, I did have sort of a quezzy feeling when they first signed him in the off-season but he has lots of time to make up for himself. More production is needed for the bottom 6 on the team this including Nolan so bottom 7 I guess. In the offseason I mentioned that I thought the Flames should add youth rather than aging veterans and typical Sutter went and signed the aging veterans and now it's the vet's who are killing us. Yelle is not the player he has been in recent years, he is still good but not helping the club as much as he had in the past. Primeau is injured and still probably out another 3-4 weeks and the longer he is out the worse that Kobasew, Ference-Primeau, Stuart trade looks. Primeau gives the Flames a ton of energy when he is in the line-up but thats not really what the Flames need right now. He is also locked up for the next two years, kind of scary. Moss has to figure out a way to score some goals. He was lined-up with Huselius and Langkow for the last couple of games so that could help his cause. His lack of scoring hasent been reflected on his play, he works hard very shift and the goals should just come as long as he keeps his work ethic up. Finally Nilson, the guy I thought we should of never re-signed in the first place has been terrible. He is so bad, waste of time and waste of money and is also locked up for another year after this one, very very scary. Good news though, Nilson suffered a concussion in the Vancouver game from a hit dished out by Trevor Linden and will miss at least the game against Colorado. Hopefully the Flames will bring up a guy from the farm like Dustin Boyd or Brandon Prust and will out play Nilson and keep him off the ice.
So like I have done a couple of other times this season, here is what I think the Flames lines should look like for the next game against Colorado.

1- TANGUAY-LANGKOW-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LOMBARDI-NOLAN
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-MOSS
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD
INJURED- PRIMEAU-NILSON

The Defense...

Other than Phaneuf and Regehr and Aucoin in recent games, the group has been terrible. Phaneuf has been awesome and if he keeps it up could very well be in the running for the Norris trophy at the end of the season. Regehr got off to a terrible start but has improved drastically over the past couple of games. Aucoin is much of the same as Regehr but hasent played as well as him but still has improved. Sarich has been pretty consistent but needs to pick it up a notch to help the Flames top four. Warrener seemed to add a spark to the Flames D since he returned from injury. So there is something to build on. Eriksson was more than terrible at the start of the season and could of very well of gotten away with wearing a Zyuzin jersey for a game. He has improved the last couple of games but I think the Flames could definitely acquire another defensemen to take his place on the blueline. I really dont know who the Flames could get, I mentioned Danny Markov but he has signed to play in Russia this season. The problem with a trade is that the Flames might have to give up a top 6 forward like Huselius to get something in return and I dont think that is the way to go yet. Here is what I think the pairings should look like.

1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-ERIKSSON
3- WARRENER-SARICH
EXTRA- HALE

The Goalie

Kipper has not played up his full self yet this season through 20 games. His SP is .881% and that is worst in the league among starters. He is not to blame for all the goals but he has let in some very soft and very not like Kipper goals and that needs to change. I really dont have much to say about Kipper who has played every game so far for the Flames cause I'm not worried at all that it will continue. One last note, the Flames swapped Keetley for McElhinney for their back-up role, mostly to get Keetley playing in some games.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- McELHINNEY

All in all, the Flames have to be way more consistent, like you haven't heard that before. It is really the same old story, game after game. I am expecting a trade later on this month or early in December, hopefully for a defensemen but who knows. There has been rumors that the Flames have been talking with the Sharks about acquiring Patrick Marleau but I dont think that is the way to go. Sutter has to do something to make up for his so-so offseason based on the results so far. What the Flames really need is another Kiprusoff trade, a diamond in the rough player. Someone who no one has really ever heard of but will be a top player and over play his contract for the next couple of years. Please Sutter work your magic.

Finally the Flames should be fortunate that this hole they've dug themselves really isn't that deep when you look at it. They are only 5 points back of the division leading Wild and 2 points out of a playoff spot. Work still needs to be done but I think the Flames can do, lets hope anyways.

Finally

The Flames were finally able to break their 5 game losing streak last night against the Wild beating them 3-2. Huselius scored the winning goal with just 52 seconds remaining. Phaneuf and Iginla scored the other 2 while Kipper made 26 saves for the win. I was unable to watch the game but here are some notes from what I heard from post game reaction from the radio and from my friends who were at the game.

- It was a very sloppy win for the Flames but they finally got some bounces and right now we will take any win we can get. Obviously there is still some hard work lacking, but at least the players can loosen the grip on their sticks a little bit now.

- For some really strange reason Conroy once again started in between Iginla and Tanguay and once again(what a surprise!) didn't look in place. He missed a back-check on Mikko Koivu on the Wild's 1st goal but was finally replaced by Lombo, just like I said should happen later on in the game. Lombo was once again one of the better players on the ice and fit in well between Iggy and Tanguay. If Lombo isn't between them to start the game against Edmonton on Saturday, I will really question what Keenan sees in Conroy.

- Regehr was very good from my friends view point. He was hitting people again and playing more like his old shut down shelf again. He is very key to getting the Flames back on track and the goals against down.

- Aucoin went down late in the game with what looked to be an ankle injury. I have not heard any further word on the injury, so lets all hope that is was nothing serious because that isn't what the Flames need right now.

Now the Flames will prepare for their game against the Oilers on Saturday and hopefully get some revenge on our hated rivals.

Healthy Bodies!

Going into tonight's game against the Wild, the Flames look like they will have both Daymond Langkow and Rhett Warrener back in the line-up. With that said here is how I think the lines should look.

FORWARDS
1- TANGUAY-LOMBARDI-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LANGKOW-NOLAN
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-MOSS
4- SMITH-YELLE-GODARD
EXTRA- NILSON

D-PAIRINGS
1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-WARRENER
3- SARICH-ERIKSSON
EXTRA- HALE

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- KEETLEY

Lombo needs a chance in between Iggy and Tanguay who are the Flames leading scorers. I thought Lombo was probably the best player on the ice Saturday against the Oilers and should be rewarded for his play. Lombo has 11 points this season to Conroy's 4 and Lombo has spent most of the season on the 3rd line. Really I just dont want Conroy in between Iggy and Tanguay anymore, it is obviously not working and on a 5 game losing streak, the Flames need some change. Nolan has played much better the last 2 games in my opinion and with the return of Langkow, along with Huselius the Flames could finally get some secondary scoring help. Putting Conroy between the young guys could spark him and Moss to start producing more. Mark Smith gets the nod over Nilson since I thought Smith played very well against the Oilers.

The defensive pairings need a switch up along with the rest of the team to try to end this horrendous 5 game losing streak, aside from the Phaneuf, Aucoin pairing. Warrener is also slated to return tonight and maybe his presences will help the Flames in their own zone. Regehr played better against Edmonton but still not his best maybe a healthy and very-well known Warrener will help his play. Eriksson has been pretty decent the last couple of games and will, hopefully, hopefully keep this decent play up. Continuing to switch up the pairings, Sarich in my mind should be paired up with him and could make a good 3rd pairing. Hale is the odd man out, he had another bad game against Edmonton and I think maybe needs some time in the minors.

Kipper is back in net obviously and is the biggest factor to getting himself and the Flames back on track.

Frustration

On the night where a whole lot of Flames fans were banking on a win and a awesome effort from their beloved team to get themselves back into it early on this season, the Flames didn't come out with the effort everyone thought was going to come and came out with a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. This marks the 4th straight loss of the Flames and their 4th straight against a division opponent. Frustration is starting to mount on Flames fans and I dont blame them one bit.

Some notes I got from watching the game:

-For some weird reason Rhett Warrener was a healthy scratch in favor of Andres Eriksson, why this happened is mind boggling to me. Eriksson was on for 2 of the Canucks goals but sort of redeemed himself by notching the 1st Flames goal. On the 3rd Canucks goal, a whopping 16 seconds from their last, the Flames turn the puck over, I think it was Hale but not 100% sure on that one, did anyone notice Eriksson just standing completely still right beside Kipper, watching as Alex Burrows scored the goal? In no way am I blaming the whole goal on Eriksson but what on earth was he doing, the Canucks just scored 16 seconds ago, does he even care? Those kind of plays are exactly why most every Flames fans already hate Eriksson. The Hale, Eriksson pairing is a no-no, please Keenan do everyone a favor and take Eriksson out of the line-up.

-The hit on Daymond Langkow by Matt Cooke was a questionable one. Langkow had to leave the game with a concussion and more reports will come out tomorrow with the extent of the concussion. This just adds another one to the head shot/hit from behind debate. Cooke didn't need to hit Langkow, his back was turned to Cooke and the puck had already passed. I dont know if there anything will come of this hit, probably not but I didn't like it and it is bad timing for the Flames and Langkow who has gotten off to such a good start so far.

-Owen Nolan FINALLY potted his first goal as a Flame, just in time too cause I think that monkey on his back was slowly turning into a gorilla. Nolan has been know to be a streaky goal scorer so hopefully this is just one of many especially with Langkow going down.

Anyways, I am very disappointed in the Flames effort excluding the 3rd period but even then they shouldn't of been in that situation in the first place. I mentioned in my last post that I thought it was a must win game for the Flames and the Flames let me down. I'm not really sure what I should say to that other than they better not loose to the Oilers on Saturday. I'll be watching.

What's Going on?

Report from Rob Kerr on the radio is that Dion Phaneuf was not at practice today in favor of going to the doctors' to get x-rays on one of his legs. I am hoping this is just a precaution and that Phaneuf will not miss anytime. Phaneuf has been the Flames best defensemen by a mile so far this season and with the d-corps struggling, this comes at a very bad time.

Anyways things need to be shaken up for Thursday's game against the Canucks so these are what I think the Flames lines should look like to shake things up a little and get things going again.

FORWARDS
1- TANGUAY-LANGKOW-IGINLA
2- HUSELIUS-LOMBARDI-MOSS
3- NYSTROM-CONROY-NOLAN
4- GODARD-YELLE-NILSON
Langkow needs that spark back that he has sort of lost, Conroy just doesn't cut it in between Iggy and Tanguay. Lombardi needs to be given a shot in the top 6 and Moss needs to get some goals. Along side Huselius they could make a very good line.

D-PAIRINGS
1- PHANEUF-AUCOIN
2- REGEHR-HALE
3- SARICH-WARRENER
Warrener practiced today and from Peter Maher was out because of a throat infection. He should be good to go, so now every Flames fan doesn't have to have a heart attack or nervous breakdown every time Eriksson steps onto the ice.

STARTER- KIPRUSOFF
BACK-UP- KEETLEY
No change here, for a must win game in my books anyways.

Some Work Needing to be Done

The Flames lost their 3rd straight game tonight and 3rd straight game against the Colorado Avalanche this year downed by a 4-1 score. Iginla continued his hot start but notching his 10th goal of the season and the only Flames goal off a tip by Tanguay's shot very early in the game to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

Other than the first period and Kiprusoff's performance there were no highlights from this game. The 2nd and 3rd periods where very bad for the Flames especially the 3rd when they only went into it down 2-1. It was anyones game at that point, Kipper had just made two AMAZING saves and the Flames didn't seem to put in any effort at all. These losses against the Aves could really come back to haunt the Flames later on in the year. Kipper was pulled after the Aves scored their 4th goal just for precaution and some rest since he will most likely be in net on Thursday when the Flames play the Vancouver Canucks.

I know it is very early in the season, only 15 games in but I think it is are two things the Flames need in order to take the next step and win a lot more hockey games. One, a top 4 or 5 defensemen who could just step in and be consistent and be able to take Eriksson and Hale out of the line-up. I was thinking about this and the first name that popped into my head was Danny Markov. He would be perfect for the Flames at this point, a little pricey but worth it. The only problem is that he signed with Moscow Dynamo of the Russian Super League on October the 26th. The other name I thought of was Andrew Ference, should have never let that guy go. Very disappointed with that one, he would have been perfect right now.
Now who else could the Flames acquire? Garnet Exelby from the struggling Thrashers, he is only 25 and could fit in well on the Flames d-corps, but the Thrashers are more likely to dump veterans than youngsters at this point, so very unlikely. The only other thing I can come up with is getting one of Dallas's young defensive prospects, either Matt Niskanen or Niklas Grossman. The only thing with this is that they would probably have to give up some scoring and I dont no if the Flames are in a position to do that. Regehr is the last Flames player who really needs to step it up, just like Keenan did with Kipper, Iggy and co. Keenan needs to call out Regehr and tell him to step it up he hasn't been that good this year and needs to regain his form. Giordano's name will not get out of my head until this problem is solved.

The second thing the Flames need is one more scoring winger. Now this is not even as close of a priority as another defensemen but with Nolan struggling, it would be nice to just get one more young guy to take Nolan's spot on the 2nd line and on the PP and let Nolan have a role on the third line. The only player I can see that could fit in this role is J-P Dumont of the Nashville Predators. I have said this before I think he would be a great fit in Calgary even if he is just a rental player, it would work good for the Flames. He is good in the playoffs and good be very good playing alongside Lombo and Huselius.

Anyways from what I saw tonight and through the first 15 games of the season the defensive corps have to step-up and give Kipper some help. Getting help on the back-end I think is a huge priority with the Flames letting in more goals than ever so far this season. The offensive side of it is just a very minor priority that doesn't have to be made for a long time, maybe not until the trade deadline. Like I said at the start of the year, the Flames need some youth. I love what Nystrom has brought to the Flames so far in the few games he has been up. I think the Flames should bring up guys like Boyd and Peters and maybe sit down guys like Nilson, just to see what the youth can bring to the club. I think it could make a difference. Finally, I think it is evident that Langkow should be on the 1st line in between Iggy and Tanguay while Lombo has to be given a chance playing with some offensive players on the 2nd line, with Huselius and Nolan or Moss etc. Conroy just doesn't have the skill to be a top 2 centerman, he is more suited for the 3rd line center role. Those line-up changes and adding another defensemen is what I think will help the Flames win more games and help them down the road.

The Big One!

Looking at the November schedule for the Flames, I realized that this is an unbelievably important month for them. We can call this the Northwest Division month seeing as 9/14 games are against Division opponents, here is how the shakes down:

Sat Nov.3- Minnesota
Mon Nov.5- Colorado
Thurs Nov.8- Vancouver
Sat Nov.10- Edmonton
Tues Nov.13- Minnesota
Sat Nov.17- Edmonton
Sun Nov.18- Vancouver
Tues Nov.20- Colorado
Sat Nov.24- Colorado

So early in the season but so important. As long as the Flames continue their play of recently, excepting the Detroit game the other night, they should do just fine. They play Colorado 3 times and the Flames have already lost to them twice once in OT and once in shootout, so nothing more can be given to them. When you really look at the Flames November schedule it is a little ridiculous and it really shows why the NHL is going to it's old schedule(5 games against Division opponents) next year.

The Flames need a few players to pick up their play and it is mostly the bottom half of their team. Owen Nolan has gotten off to a terrible start this year and really needs to pick it up if he is going to be anymore of an upgrade over Tony Amonte. Stephane Yelle has slowed down this year but should have another notch as the season goes on. Marcus Nilson is injured again, what a surprise and along with that his play has questions why he is still even on the Flames roster, I said that in the summer, let some old guys go and some young guys in. Matthew Lombardi should be given a shot on one of the top two lines in favor of Conroy. Lombo has 9 points compared to Conroy's 3 but Conroy still finds a way to get himself on the top 2 lines and I cant seem to figure out why that is. The defense is getting better but there still needs to be another step taken so we can cut down on the amount of goals we let in. Eriksson needs to go down to Quad Cities. He is so incredibly bad and is definitely our new Andrei Zyuzin, so bad. I wonder what Sutter thinks now about letting Giordano go?

Huge Win For the Flames!

The Flames defeated the Nashville Predators tonight 5-1!

The Flames got out-shot 40-33 but they were just too much to handle. Kiprusoff easily had his best game after signing the huge contract extension last night. This is Kipper's 12 game this season and it was his 12th game last year when he really got going. The Flames top players continue to be their best. Iggy had 2 goals and an assist to put his point total to 19 tied for second in the league. Despite the the trade rumors involving Alex Tanguay and how he doesn't like playing for Keenan definitely seems fishy. I admit I got caught up in them but I never thought for a second that Tanguay was going anywhere. Tanguay had 3 assists tonight to bring his total to 15. Nothing more can be said about Daymond Langkow's play either, he has been unbelievable, he got another 2 assists to put his total to 18 points which is tied for 3rd in the league. Him and Phaneuf are definitely the top priorities to sign before next summer now that Kipper is locked up. The Flames now have Iggy,Langkow and Tanguay all in the top 15 in scoring and Huselius rounds out in the top 30 in the league. Eric Nystrom also gets a mention for playing a very good hockey game and for potting his 1st career NHL goal. Nystrom finally looks poised to hopefully stay consistent and stick with the Flames. Him, Lombardi and Moss give the Flames a very good and young 3rd line.

The Flames are playing great hockey right now and finish off October with a 6-3-3 record which is their best start since 2001.

Kipper Locked Up!

Today, GM Darryl Sutter and the Flames organization announced the re-signing of G Miikka Kiprusoff to a 6 year contract extension worth 35 million dollars. Kiprusoff's contract would had been up at the end of the season so this comes to a relief to every Flames fan.

Kipper has been nothing but remarkable since coming over from San Jose back in 2004. He is easily one of the top 3 goaltenders in the league along with Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo. He won the Vezina trophy in 2005 and makes the Flames a threat year after year. Kipper said in a release " I would like to thank the Calgary Flames owners for making this long term commitment to me and my family so we can remain in this city and be part of this organization... I look forward to the responsibility and challenge that comes with this contract. Calgary is a loyal hockey community that expects and deserves the very best from its home team.”

I can't describe how happy I am for this contract getting done. I knew that it was going to happen sooner than later but am so happy it was sooner not later. Kipper is loved by every Flames fan and should continue to treat us to spectacular goaltending and hopefully back stop us to a Stanley Cup. Kipper finishes off our big three UFA's going into this summer along with Iggy and Regehr.

Flames vs. Avalanche Oct. 26 '07

The Flames lost to the Avalanche for the second time in a row this year and for the second time in extra time. Both times the Flames have blown a 3rd period lead, with the game tonight being not as bad as a 4-0 lead back on October 16th in Colorado.

Marek Svatos tied it up for the Avalanche with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. The old Oiler's nemesis, Ryan Smyth potted the winner for the Aves only 23 seconds into OT. Alex Tanguay scored again to really get the monkey off his back for his third of the year and Matthew Lombardi also potted one for the Flames for his 4th of the year.

Once again I was unable to watch the game due to hockey so I haven't gotten much feed back on how the Flames played or anything. I guess I will have to listen to the radio or talk to my friends for more input about the game and how the Flames played. The Flames have now collected 7 of 10 possible points on this home stand and will have a few days off until they play the Nashville Predators on the 30th.

Huge Comeback for the Flames!

The Flames were able to hand the Minnesota Wild their first regulation loss last night with a 5-3 come from behind victory. I was watching the Canucks, Red Wings game since the Flames game was only on radio and during the 2nd intermission they had out of town scores. Up came the Flames game along with a Wild 3-0 lead after only the 1st period. This didn't make me very happy at all, but I had to do homework anyways so I went in my room and turned the game on. Pretty much as soon as I turned the game on Stephane Yelle took a hooking penalty, not good!

The Flames killed the penalty and immediately after they got a 5-3 PP. Nothing came of that either. Still wasn't looking good for them and time wasn't on their side. Then Keenan put Langkow back on the top line with Iggy and Tanguay and they produced right away. Iggy potted a goal and on the play Tanguay very, very slightly bumped Wild goaltender Nicklas Backstrom and that seemed to throw Backstrom off his game. After that goal the Flames didn't look back at all. Tanguay finally got his 1st goal of the season and later on got his 2nd as the Flames tied the game by the end of the 2nd and added two more in the third to finish off the comeback for a 5-3 win.

Even though it was a horrendous start for the Flames, they needed a game like that to show what character they had and if there was any heart in the dressing room. Not enough can be said about captains Iggy's and Langkow start this year. they are respectively 3rd and 4th in scoring and Langkow is 2nd in the league with 8 goals. Kipper is really the only big star who hasent got really going yet, I'm not worried and I doubt every many Flames fans are either. He has let in some weak goals but his high GAA is also to blame on the defense, except Phaneuf. Phaneuf has been amazing so far this season and if he keeps it up he will be a candidate for the Norris trophy. The defense is improving every game so I'm not too worried about that either. With a 5-3-2 record the Flames are off to a very good start compared to the last couple of years.

Kovalev coming to Calgary?

Trade rumors have been flying on the radio and on the web about Alexei Kovalev coming to the Flames from the Canadiens for Alex Tanguay. Rumors say that Kovalev isn't happy in Montreal like most everyone has heard and that Tanguay isn't happy playing under Keenan. Kovalev is another player who use to play for Keenan way back with the Rangers. This move would not make me happy, I really hope that it isn't true.

Anyways I have fallen behind on this blog and didn't even finish my season preview, very embarrassed but what can you do. Missed out on the Pacific and Northwest Division, which is of course the Flames which makes it even worse. My Predicted Finish for the Pacific is from 1st to worst, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix and for the Northwest, Calgary, Minnesota, Vancouver, Colorado and of course Edmonton.

The Flames are 2-2-2 so far and I really haven't been able to watch any of the games due to hockey, school and work. Very disappointing but I have caught the highlights and post game comments from the radio. Phaneuf looks like he could contend for the Norris in the next couple of years with his defensive play improving drastically. While Iggy, Langkow and Huselius have all gotten off to good starts. Kipper has started a little slow but his defense in front of him are to blame too. Last nights game was crap with the Flames blowing a 4-0 lead with 3 gay goals off of Flames defensemen, terrible. Oh well the Flames have gotten off to worst starts before so we shouldn't be that frustrated.

WESTERN CONFERENCE: The Central

Chicago Blackhawks
Last season record: 31-42-2-7 71 points
Division: 5th
Conference: 13th

OFF-SEASON
arrivals: C Yanic Perreault(PHO/TOR), C Robert Lang(DET), G Wade Flaherty(CHI), D Jim Fahey(NJ), LW Sergei Samsonov(t-MON), D Andrei Zyuzin(t-CGY), D Magnus Johansson(EUR), C/W Kevyn Adams(t-PHO)
departures: D Adrian Aucoin, RW Nikita Alexeev(EUR), C Denis Arkipov(EUR), RW Peter Bondra,D Jassen Cullimore, C Jeff Hamilton, C Michal Handzus, RW Mikael Holmqvist, RW Tony Salmelainen, LW Radim Vrbata

The Blackhawks made a ton of changes this off-season more than many expected anyways. The Blackhawks were weak down the middle especially after Michal Handzus only made it through 8 games. The Blackhawks answered the need right on July 1st signing face-off specialist Yanic Perreault and former Red Wing Robert Lang, who could be in a for a comeback year with more ice time. The Hawks also acquired big risk Sergei Samsonov from the Montreal Canadiens who was probably the worst signing last summer. He struggled right off the bat and was immediately in Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau's dog house, but he with more ice time could rebound just like Lang. The Blackhawks will be looking for a new captain too this year after trading away often injured Adrian Aucoin. The Calder Trophy has a very good chance to come to Chicago at the end of the year. Jonathan Toews after a great World Juniors and World Championships where he struck double gold last season, looks ready to be a star in the NHL and is very likely to center a line with Martin Havlat. Patrick Kane the 1st overall pick in Junes draft also looks poised to crack the Blackhawks line-up. Kane is very crafty and could learn alot playing on a line with Lang.

FORWARDS
My Projected Lines:
1- T.RUUTU-J.TOEWS-M.HAVLAT
2- S.SAMSONOV-R.LANG-P.KANE
3- P.SHARP-Y.PERREAULT-J.WILLIAMS
4- R.BOURQUE-K.ADAMS-M.LAPOINTE
E- D.KOCI-D.BOLLAND-J.SKILLE
The Blackhawks have the potential to score alot of goals but in order to do that there are a few questions that need to be answered. Starting on the 1st line, will Havlat and Tuomo Ruutu be able to stay healthy in order to give the Blackhawks a very potent #1 line along with Toews? Havlat was clearly the Blackhawks MVP last year after only playing 56 games and is probably the likely player to be named team captain. Ruutu hasent been able to live up to his 9th overall pick status because of injuries. In Ruutu's second year, he only played 15 games and even though he played in 71 last year he didn't seem like the same player, well at least offensively. Ruutu has to stay healthy and show he can become more of a point producer or else he will be a half decent grinder/scorer 2nd liner for the rest of his career. I think this line will be fine and will produce huge for the Hawks. Toews is my pick for the Calder and I think Havlat will pot 50 goals, as for Ruutu he will be sturdy, netting 20-30 goals and bringing the physicality to the line. Now, will Samsonov be able to rebound from a dismal year with the Canadiens? After he seemed to find a new part of his game during the Oilers 2005 playoff run, he was completely terrible last year. I think Samsonov wont be great but he will be better than last year, if not Samsonov's NHL career could be over. Can Lang be able to be a legitimate scoring center again? Lang was half decent last year and should improve with more ice time. The Blackhawks are banking on both players to have better seasons and to help #1 overall pick Patrick Kane develop if they are on a line all together. The rest of the group should be ok and bring leadership to the squad. Chicago's 3rd line has potential with 20 goal man Patrick Sharp, Perrault and Jason Williams who played way better after coming over in a trade from Detroit late last season.

DEFENSE
My Projected Pairings:
1- B.SEABROOK-C.BARKER
2- J.WISENIEWSKI-D.KEITH
3- J.VANDERMEER-A.ZYUZIN
E- D.BYFUGLIEN-M.JOHANSSON
This could be an area of weakness for Chicago just because of the lack of leadership and the overflowing pool of youth. Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith are the cornerstones of this defense and could be the new Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger of the future type of duo. Cam Barker struggled last year with the Hawks in his short call-up and will need to rebound and continue to develop into a #1 defensemen the Hawks hoped for when they selected him 3rd overall in the 04 draft. James Wiseniewski and Jim Vandermeer both went down with injuries late last year after being very solid on the Hawks back end. Both will be looked on to recover and continue right where they left off. Andrei Zyuzin is a questionable pick-up after being so terrible with the Flames last season. The Hawks cant put too much pressure of him since he is the most experienced of the group. Dustin Byfuglien could also crack the squad and if he does he will bring alot of physicality.

GOALIES
1- N.KHABIBULIN
2- P.LALIME
3- C.CRAWFORD
The Blackhawks need way more out of Nikolai Khabibulin this season. He hasn't been anywhere near the kind of goalie from his Stanley Cup win with the Tampa Bay Lightning which earned him a 4 year 27 million dollar contract. If Khabibulin really re-gains his form the Hawks could be very dangerous. Patrick Lalime gives the Hawks alot of insurance and there will be no problem putting him in net.

OVERALL
The Hawks will be a very good team in a couple of years. Right now though there are too many, if Khabibulin regains his '04 form, if Seabrook, Keith and co. can bring quality defense, if Havlat and Ruutu can stay healthy, etc.... Just too many ifs. If the Hawks are able to answer those ifs then they could be in the run for the playoffs and with only 40 million dollars locked up be able to make some moves late in the season.

Predicted Finish- 4th Division, 12th Conference

Columbus Blue Jackets
Last season record: 33-42-2-5 73 points
Division: 4th
Conference: 11th

OFF-SEASON
arrivals: D Sheldon Brookbank(NAS), C Jiri Novotny(BUFF/WSH), D Jan Hejda(EDM), C Derek MacKenzie(ATL), C Kris Beech(WSH), C Mike Peca(TOR)
departures: G Brian Boucher, D Byran Berard, D Andres Eriksson, D Aaron Johnson, C Alexander Svitov(EUR)

The Blue Jackets had a fairly quiet off-season signing mostly depth players for there weak center position. The biggest signing was the latest signing when the Blue Jackets signed C Mike Peca to a 1 year contract. Peca is a very good 3rd line center but that is not what the Jackets needed. You can see why the Jackets brought him in though, he brings experience and new GM Scott Howson knows him from their days in Edmonton, that also goes for Jan Hejda. I think the signing of Peca was a terrible one by the Jackets, they already have a 3rd line center in Manny Malhotra and with Peca on the team the chances of someone young like Derick Brassard making the team are slimmer. Just doesn't make sense to me. The Jackets also brought in C Jiri Novotny and C Kris Beech. Neither player has been able to establish himself as a everyday NHLer so questions surround these signings too about why did Columbus even waste their time. Hejda showed some potential with the Oilers and he could continue to develop into a regular top 6 defensemen with more ice time.

FORWARDS
My Projected Lines:
1- R.NASH-D.BRASSARD-D.VYBORNY
2- F.MODIN-S.FEDOROV-G.BRULE
3- J.CHIMERA-M.PECA-N.ZHERDEV
4- A.PICARD-M.MALHOTRA-D.FRITSCHE
E- J.SHELLEY-J.NOVOTNY-G.PLATT
The Blue Jackets would be a way better team if they only had a #1 center. Reports said that Nikolai Zherdev got a shot in training camp playing in the middle of Rick Nash and David Vyborny and did very well together. I like the sound of that line and Zherdev could do well at the center position but I just think he is too inconsistent to be a #1 center. Saying that I think the Jackets should let Brassard on the team and let him develop on the 1st line with Nash and Vyborny guiding the way. He is the future at center for them and I think now is the time to bring him to the big club. The only thing against this is that the Jackets tried this with Gilbert Brule last year and didn't have huge success with it, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Brassard back in the QMJHL this season. The Blue Jackets do have pretty decent depth through the rest of the 4 lines. Sergei Fedorov could be better playing as the #2 center behind Brassard or Zherdev. Less pressure could mean higher numbers for Fedorov. Fredrik Modin had another solid year and with Fedorov and Brule, the Jackets could have a very nice 2nd line. The 3rd line will also be strong with the signing of Peca. He will join Jason Chimera who is coming off 15 and 17 goal seasons and either Zherdev or Dan Fritsche. Malhotra will support the 4th line and who joins him is still up in the air.

DEFENSE
My Projected Pairings:
1- A.FOOTE-R.HAINSEY
2- R.KLESLA-J.HEJDA
3- D.WESTCOTT-O-K.TOLLEFSEN
E- F.NOVAK-M.METHOT
This is definitely the weak spot on the Blue Jackets team. Their best defensemen and captain, Adam Foote has looked very shaky ever since the lock out and probably isn't a top 2 defensemen anymore. Ron Hainsey finally developed into an everyday defensemen last year and now the next step is if he can be a top 4 defensemen. Rositaslav Klesla also finally showed promise last year but still has to be better to contribute more to Columbus's defense. Hejda is a risky signing but it could pay off. Hejda showed flashes of consistency on the Oilers blueline last season. Duvie Westcott and O-K Tollefsen are still young and are the future of the Blue Jackets blueline.

GOALIES
1- F.NORRENA
2- P.LECLAIRE
3- T.POPPERLE
This is also a weak position for the Blue Jackets. Fredrik Norrena showed promise late last year but the verdict is still out on whether he can carry a full workload. Pascal Leclaire missed 22 games last year and struggled in the games that he did play in. He is only 24 and has shown potential but it is still uncertain whether the former 1st round draft pick will be Columbus's future #1 goaltender.

OVERALL
The Blue Jackets did make one good move in the off-season when they fired Doug MacLean and hired Howson as their new GM. MacLean is responsible for taking Fedorov's huge contract from the Ducks and signing under achieving Foote after the lockout. The Jackets are still rebuilding and wont be in the playoff hunt for another couple years. The Jackets do have cap space if needed with only 39 million dollars locked up.

Predicted Finish- 5th Division, 14th Conference.

Detroit Red Wings
Last season record: 50-19-5-8 113 points
Division: 1st
Conference: 1st

OFF-SEASON
arrivals: D Brian Rafalski(NJ), LW Dallas Drake(STL), D Garrett Stafford(SJ), D Brad Ference(CGY), C Mark Hartigan(CBM), RW Randall Gelech(FLA), C Mark Cullen(PHI), RW Carl Corazzini(CHI), G Adam Berkhoel(ATL)
departures: RW Todd Bertuzzi, LW Kyle Calder, C Robert Lang, D Dany Markov, D Mathieu Schneider

The Detroit Red Wings quite a few moves this off-season but most were minor except for the signing of Michigan born D Brian Rafalski. Rafalski was brought in right on July 1st to fill in for Mathieu Schneider who signed with Anaheim the same day. Rafalski is seen in my eyes as an upgrade over Schneider. He has more playoff experience than Schneider and is younger. Rafalski and Lidstrom could some major damage on the Red Wings powerplay and Rafalski gives the Red Wings just another year of solid, solid defense. Dallas Drake was also brought in to add some leadership to the bottom two lines, even though I'm not sure they need it. The only position not addressed was a 2nd line center after Robert Lang was left to sign with the Blackhawks. Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler are possible candidates to take over that spot.

FORWARDS
My Projected Lines:
1- H.ZETTERBERG-P.DATSYUK-T.HOLMSTROM
2- M.SAMUELSSON-V.FILPPULA-J.HUDLER
3- J.FRANZEN-K.DRAPER-D.CLEARY
4- D.DRAKE-D.HELM-K.MATLBY
E-T.KOPECKY-M.HARTIGAN-I.GRIGORENKO
Other than the top line, the Red Wings dont have alot of goal scoring forwards. The line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom probably will account for about 40-50% of Detroit's goals. Datsyuk and Zetterberg if both stay healthy will probably score in the 90-100 point range easily. Holmstrom can just continue to stand in front of the net and can probably be counted on for 25-35 goals. The 2nd line could be a problem. Mikael Samuelsson scored 34 points last year but only appeared in 53 games so he should be a lock on the 2nd line. Filppula and Hudler are the question marks for the Red Wings to have more goal scoring success this year. Filppula didn't produce much at all playing mostly on the 3rd and 4th line last year but showed flashes of offensive production in the playoffs. The Red Wings will base Filppula's play in the playoffs and hope that it is good enough to produce as a 2nd line center. Hudler has always had the hype around him as being a goal scoring/point producing player but hasent showed it yet. This is the year for him to do it and if he doesn't, he may never be better than a 3rd line player. The rest of the teams is full of veterans who love to grind. Lead by Kris Draper and Kirk Matlby there should be a shift from the 3rd and 4th lines where the players aren't going 110 and grinding the heck out of opposing teams best players.

DEFENSE
My Projected Pairings:
1- N.LIDSTROM-B.LEBDA
2- B.RAFALSKI-N.KRONWALL
3- A.LILJA-C.CHELIOS
E- B.FERENCE-K.QUINCEY
This is easily the strength of the Red Wings. Lead by reigning and now 5-time Norris Trophy winner, Nicklas Lidstrom the Wings will have no problem shutting down the oppositions best player, killing penalties, setting up PP's, and keeping the puck out of the net. Rafalski like I said already is an upgrade in my mind over Schneider and if Niklas Kronwall can stay healthy, the two could make one of the best pairings in the whole league. Andres Lilja played very well last year and probably rounds out Detroit's top 4. Chris Chelios and Brett Lebda are very capable #5 and 6 defensemen. There is really no hole in this defense.

GOALIES
1- D.HASEK
2- C.OSGOOD
3- J.HOWARD
Dominik Hasek surprised alot of people last year with his stellar play. He proved that he can still be a #1 goaltender and even top 5 in the league. There are still questions on whether he can stay healthy for a full season but if that year proved anything, he should be ok as long as head coach Mike Babcock doesn't over play him but Babcock is no idiot. Chris Osgood gives the Red Wings a pretty good back-up but if Hasek were to ever go down, Osgood would be a question mark.

OVERALL
The Red Wings are good enough to win their division and the Western Conference again. The biggest flaw on this team which could burn them in the playoffs is where is the secondary scoring going to come from? Last year guys like Dan Cleary stepped up and had a career year, so who will do it this year? Filppula? Hudler? Who knows but I just have the feeling someone will just like every other year whether it will be good enough in the playoffs, I dont know. The Red Wings have 45 million dollars locked up so there is room if necessary.

Predicted Finish- 1st Division, 1st Conference

Nashville Predators
Last season record: 51-23-3-5 110 points
Division: 2nd
Conference: 4th

OFF-SEASON
arrivals: RW Jed Ortmeyer(NYR), C Radek Bonk(MON), D Greg De Vries(ATL), LW Martin Gelinas(FLA), RW Josh Langfeld(DET)
departures: C Peter Forsberg, LW Scott Hartnell, LW Paul Kariya, D Kimmo Timonen, G Tomas Vokoun

OFF-SEASON
Early on in the off-season, all indications coming from the Predators organization was that they were a desperate team, trying to be sold and they were going on a fire sale. The Preds started right on draft day trading away star goaltender Tomas Vokoun to the Florida Panthers for a couple of draft picks. They then traded the rights to both D Kimmo Timonen and LW Scott Hartnell to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 1st round draft pick they had originally given to the Flyers in the Peter Forsberg deal. The Preds were all of a sudden down three very good hockey players and the whole hockey world thought they were more to come. An offer came in from Blackberry inventor Jim Balsillie to buy the team. He wanted to move the team to Canada but the league voted against the offer. The Preds did sign D Greg De Vries for some extra defensive depth along with C Radek Bonk, RW Jed Ortmeyer for some grit on the 3rd and 4th lines. The Preds off-season didn't finish well either after they learned that LW Steve Sullivan will be out until at least December. To fill in this hole, the Preds added veteran LW Martin Gelinas.

FORWARDS
My Projected Lines:
1- M.ERAT-J.ARNOTT-A.RADULOV
2- M.GELINAS-D.LEGWAND-J-P.DUMONT
3- V.FIDDLER-R.BONK-J.TOOTOO
4- S.NICHOL-J.SMTIHSON-J.ORTMEYER
E- J.LANGFELD-R.PEVERLY-D.HORDICHUK
INJURED- S.SULLIVAN
The Preds definitely wont score as many goals as last year with the losses of Hartnell, Timonen, Forsberg, Paul Kariya and now Sullivan till at least December. The Preds will still have two potential solid lines. Martin Erat, Jason Arnott and Alexander Radulov could do some damage. This line has everything, size in Arnott, playmaking ability of Erat and pure goal scoring talent with Radulov. This line should have success together. The second line would be better with Sullivan but Gelinas will have to fill in to give the Preds some secondary scoring. David Legwand and J-P Dumont should had solid years and are key to the Preds success. The rest of the forwards are pure grinders and will have to score some goals this year for the Preds to have success. Newly signed Bonk and LW Vern Fiddler will be relied on to give grit to the team but pressure will be on for them to produce offensively.

DEFENSE
My Projected Pairings:
1- R.SUTER-S.WEBER
2- M.ZIDLICKY-D.HAMHUIS
3- G.ZANON-G. DE VRIES
E- K.KLEIN-V.KOISTINEN
The defense is probably the strongest position for the Preds lead by Shea Weber. This corps are young but all know what it takes to shut down the opposing team. Weber is alot like Dion Phaneuf, with similar offensive numbers and same kind of physical game. Thats why they had so much success playing together at the world juniors with team Canada. Ryan Suter really cam along last year and proved he is a legitimate top 4 defensemen. Marek Zidlicky will be looked upon to put up better offensive numbers in place of Timonen and along with Dan Hamhuis finish off a very strong top 4 for the Preds. De Vries will bring the leadership to this group and if paired with Greg Zanon, the pairing will bring the physicality.

GOALIES
1- C.MASON
2- P.RINNE
3- D.ELLIS
There is alot of pressure at this position surrounding Chris Mason. Mason filled in for Vokoun last year admirably but it is whether he can do it for a full year is the question. Most people are divided on this topic. I dont think he will be as good as he was last year but he will do the job. The other question is who will back-up Mason since there isn't much there after him. I thought it would be Pekka Rinne but it looks as though Dan Ellis has won the job in camp.

OVERALL
The Preds will obviously not be as good as last year. The question now is whether they are even good enough to make the playoffs. I dont think they are. Mason has proven himself enough to give me confidence in him and I think the loss of Sullivan will really hurt the Preds. If the Preds are in contention which I do think they will be they will need to pick up another forward and possibly a goaltender if they want to make the next push and with only 33 million dollars locked up that is possible.

Predicted Finish- 3rd Division, 10th Conference

St.Louis Blues
Last season record: 34-35-7-6 81 points
Division: 3rd
Conference: 10th

OFF-SEASON
arrivals: G Hannu Toivonen(t-BOS), LW Paul Kariya(NAS), RW Martin Kariya(EUR), C Keith Tkachuk(STL/ATL)
departures: RW Dallas Drake, RW Radek Dvorak, C Glen Metropolit, RW Vladimir Orszagh, D Jamie Rivers, G Curtis Sanford

The Blues were very quiet in the off-season with only making one significant signing in LWer Paul Kariya. They way over paid for him signing him to a 3 year contract worth 6 million dollars a season. Kariya will had some consistent offense and bring a ton of leadership. The Blues also re-acquired C Keith Tkachuk before the July 1st deadline from the Atlanta Thrashers. I now like to refer Tkachuk to 'fat' Tkachuk now but that is just a joke with my friends. The only other move made by the Blues was acquiring G Hannu Toivonen from the Boston Bruins for some extra goaltending depth. Toivonen should win the back-up job behind Manny Legace.

FORWARDS
My Projected Lines:
1- P.KARIYA-D.WEIGHT-L.STEMPNIAK
2- M.RUCINSKY-K.TKACHUK-B.BOYES
3- D.BACKES-J.McCLEMENT-J.MAYERS
4- D-J KING-R.JOHNSON-D.HINOTE
E- P.CAJANEK-T.WHITFIELD-M.GLUMAC
The Blues shouldn't have a problem scoring goals but they are some old players that have to really produce. The pressure will be on Kariya, Tkachuk and Doug Weight to lead the team and still produce top-6 forward points. I would be more worried about Weight and Tkachuk than Kariya, both Weight's and Tkachuk's production has gone done the last couple of years and they are still making a fair price money wise. If they both score in the 60-70 point range the Blues should be in the hunt for the playoffs all year. Lee Stempniak and Brad Boyes both finished off very, very good last year. Stempniak is ready to become a superstar in my mind, he scored 27 goals last year and if he plays alongside Weight and Kariya, look for him to score 30 goals easily. Boyes really found himself after being traded from Boston last season and also should produce well playing alongside Tkachuk and Martin Rucinsky. The Blues 3rd line is full of dark horses. David Backes, Jay McClement and Jamal Mayers all had pretty good years last year and McClement and Mayers looked very good at the world championships. This line could be a very vital part of the Blues team. One last player to watch is winger David Perron who was magical in the Super Series. He has made the Blues roster out of training camp, it is just whether if he will stick past the 8 games. I dont think he will but could push for a full-time roster spot next year.

DEFENSE
My Projected Pairings:
1- E.BREWER-E.JOHNSON
2- B.JACKMAN-C.BACKMAN
3- B.SALVADOR-M.WALKER
E- J.WOYWITKA-S.WAGNER
INJURED- J.McKEE
This is the strongest position for the Blues and will be stronger when Jay McKee returns from his injury(what a surprise). McKee is turning out to be a bust signing for the Blues, he hasent been able to stay healthy at all since he signed on with the Blues. No worries though, Erik Johnson should take his place and ice-time easily and is probably a top 3 contender for the Calder trophy. If paired with Eric Brewer, they could form one of the best pairings in the NHL. The rest of the defense is no slouch either. Barrett Jackman and Christian Backman make very capable 3-4 defensemen, while Bryce Salvador and Matt Walker round out the top 6.

GOALIES
1- M.LEGACE
2- H.TOIVONEN
3- J.BACASHIHUA
Legace has proved that he is legitimate #1 goaltender and should get a ton of help from the solid group in front of him. Legace will have no trouble keeping the Blues in contention and maybe even making the playoffs. Toivonen has won the back-up job out of camp and should do well when put in net.

OVERALL
The Blues should improve even more from last year. The forwards have more depth and players like Stempniak and Boyes are ready to break out. The blueline is solid and Johnson should be the cornerstone of the franchise for years. I think the Blues will make the playoffs but not by very much. They only have 44 million dollars in cap taken up so if moves are needed, they will be able to get done.

Predicted Finish- 2nd Division, 8th Conference