Gio To Russia?

A report surfaced yesterday on tsn.ca that Flames defensemen Mark Giordano has signed a 1 year contract with Moscow Dynamo of the Russian Super League for 800,000 dollars. It is reported that the Flames offered Giordano a two-way contract to stay with the Flames but obviously Giordano wants to play all the time in the bigs.

This move is easily the worst move that Sutter has made this off-season. Last year Giordano was really coming into his own. He scored 7 goals to go along with 15 points while appearing in 48 games last year. I was looking forward to watching the Flames bring up some young players this year but instead Sutter has gone with vet's to fill in those spots, he re-signed RW Marcus Nilson
for the 4th line which I didn't like at all and then he brought in Andres Eriksson to fill in the last spot on the defensive corps. I just think youth was something the Flames needed last year, look at the Ducks and how they won the Cup, yea they had their key vet's but their youth helped them alot. It is too bad cause the development of Giordano as our 6th defensemen could have been huge along with the forward spots on the 4th line. There is still 1 spot opened but it would have been nice for two of them to be opened.

Hopefully Giordano will be back next year with the Flames and be a better defensemen considering he is playing against men and playing every night over there in Russia. Giordano could have a bright future in the NHL and with the Flames if he ever comes back.

The Banner

Thank you to M4 from nhltopshelf for making our new banner for our blog which also introduces the new name for the blog, Igniting the Flame. Gotta love Iggy, Kipper and Phaneuf the 3 corner stones of the Flames franchise and the blog teams name in the corner.

I thought since the Flames and the whole NHL is getting a new look with the new Reebok jersey's, I would get a new more original name for the blog. So thanks again to M4 of nhltopshelf and hope you all like the new banner.

Flames Getting New #'s

With training camp and the season fat approaching for the Calgary Flames and the NHL, Calgary's new faces and old are switching old numbers and getting new ones.

Stephane Yelle is giving new-comer Owen Nolan his #11 and will be wearing #7 for the year. David Moss is taking advantage of Darren McCarty not be a member of the Flames organization anymore by taking his old #25, Moss wore #58 last year.

Other new-comers of the Flames organization getting their new numbers are Cory Sarich who will wear #6 switching from #21 he wore with the Lightning, Adrian Aucoin will stay with his #33 and finally Andres Eriksson will wear #8.

The Flames training camp opens on September 14th and will be held at our beloved Pengrowth Saddledome. I can't wait!

New Captains

With so much movement of players this off-season there are some teams that will be looking to name a new captain to lead their team in the future and hopefully to the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup Championship.

Anaheim Ducks- It looks like Scott Niedermayer has full-filled his career by helping his brother, Rob win a Stanley Cup and will probably retire. Teemu Selanne who would be the captain on the Ducks is Niedermayer wasn't there is also probably going to retire. So the Ducks have a lack of leadership too. Possible players to be named the captain are Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant, Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin.
My Pick is Chris Pronger even though I hate him, because he has the most experience out of all the other guys and he is their best player.He was huge in the playoffs even though he is a dirty player but contributed huge when the Ducks needed him. When you think of the Ducks, you think of Pronger, now.

Atlanta Thrashers- Scott Mellenby also retired this offseason so the Thrashers also are looking for a new captain. Possible players to be named the captain are Niclas Havelid, Slava Kozlov, Bobby Holik and Marian Hossa.
My Pick is Slava Kozlov because he is really the only player on the Thrashers who has played in a ton of playoff games and won a Stanley Cup not including Bobby Holik, but he was so valuable to the Thrashers and to Marian Hossa who if the Thrashers lock up long term could be the captain in the future.

Buffalo Sabres- Co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere both bolted in the offseason, leaving the Sabres with a lack of leadership. Possible players to be named the captain are Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Teppo Numinen and Toni Lydman.
My Pick is Brian Campbell because he just seems ready to take the captaincy. He has been with the Sabres his whole career and is probably their best defensemen. He seems ready to take the next step in his career.

Chicago Blackhawks- The Hawks traded away their often injured captain Adrian Aucion to the Flames this off-season, so they will be looking to fill in their captain spot. Possible players to be named the captain are Martin Havlat, Martin Lapointe, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith or newly acquired Kevyn Adams.
My Pick is Martin Havlat because this is Martin Havlat's team. Dave Tallon and the Blackhawks organization are building a team around him. Havlat only played in 56 games last year but still managed to lead the team in points and was clearly their MVP.

Edmonton Oilers- The Oilers traded away the heart and soul of their defense, Jason Smith to the Flyers this offseason to acquire young puck moving defensemen Joni Pitkanen, A dumb move in my opinion on Lowe's part. Anyways, possible players to be named the captain are Jarret Stoll, Ethan Moreau, Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pisani and Steve Staios.
My Pick is Jarret Stoll because the Oilers lost lots of their heart and soul last year by trading away Ryan Smyth and Jason Smith. They still have Ethan Moreau but Stoll is young and plays with his heart and soul on his sleeve. He is ready to take the next step too and is alot like Brendan Morrow in Dallas.

Los Angeles Kings- The Kings traded away their captain Mattias Norstrom to the Dallas Stars away back at the trade deadline and haven't named a new one since. Possible players to be named the captain are Rob Blake, Mike Cammalleri, Lubomir Visnovsky and Scott Thornton.
My Pick is Rob Blake because he is clearly the veteran of this very young team. He only has a couple of years left so he will be able to help one of the younger guys, so that they can become captain when he retires.

Nashville Predators- The Preds realized in the offseason that they wouldn't be able to afford their captain Kimmo Timonen, so they traded his rights to the Philadelphia Flyers. Possible players to be named the captain are Jason Arnott, Steve Sullivan, Shea Weber, J-P Dumont and Dan Hamhuis.
My Pick is Shea Weber because he is young and is one of the best young players on the Preds very very young team. Yea you could say give it to Jason Arnott but he can still stay as an assistant at least. Just with all the moves the Preds made this offseason getting rid of their vets(Timonen, Forsberg, Vokoun etc.) the Preds have made themselves a young team and why not let a young guy like Weber carry them.

Philadelphia Flyers- Since the Flyers season was so miserable last year, they traded their captain Peter Forsberg to the Preds at the trade deadline. They named Derian Hatcher the captain for the rest of the season but I guess it is up for grabs again. Possible players to be named the captain are Derian Hatcher, Simon Gagne, Daniel Briere, Mike Knuble, Mike Richards, Sami Kapanen, Kimmo Timonen and Jason Smith. Man this team is loaded with leadership.
My Pick is Simon Gagne because even though they signed Briere to a huge contract this season and acquired a ton of leadership in Jason Smith and Kimmo Timonen, Gagne is the face of this franchise. He is just another player ready to take the next step in his career after posting back to back 40 goal seasons.

St.Louis Blues- Blues former captain Dallas Drake was seen as a player who they could dump this offseason. Thus the Blues bought-out his contract and they are now looking for a new captain. Erik Johnson could be the Blues captain in a couple of years but isn't ready yet considering his is only a rookie. Possible players to be named the captain are Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Paul Kariya, Barret Jackman, Jay McKee, Eric Brewer and Jamal Mayers.
My Pick is Doug Weight this one was a tough choice, I wanted to say McKee but Weight couldn't be passed on with me. I just think Weight recently won the Cup with the Hurricanes so he knows what needs to be done to win in the new NHL and even though the Blues traded him to the Canes that year, he signed right back with the Blues during that offseason. So obviously Weight wants to be a part of the Blues and the Blues want him to be a part of their team.

Peca added to the Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets officially announced the signing of C Mike Peca today to a 1 year contract, terms were not disclosed. Peca who is 33 will be joining his 6 NHL team.

Peca who last year was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs had a injury filled season which made him only appear in 35 games. He scored 4 goals along with 11 assists to give him 15 points. Peca recently made a new name for himself after his brilliant performance with the Edmonton Oilers during their 2006 playoff run. He was one of the Leafs big signings last summer but after his injury filled season, he was left out of the Leafs future plans. For the last couple of weeks there was rumors that Peca would sign on with the Rangers to fill in the void left by Matt Cullen. He would have fit in great there but contract talks fell through and after the Rangers didn't meet Peca and his agent, Don Meehan's deadline, Peca was there for Columbus to take.

Now the question is why did the Blue Jackets sign Mike Peca? To me this was a waste of money for the Columbus Blue Jackets, yeah they need a center but they dont need a 3rd or 4th liner. They need a 1st or 2nd liner, someone to play with Nash. With this signing by the Blue Jackets, 1 less roster spot is taken away from a guy like Derrick Brassard, who should make the team because he is their future at center. He needs to learn the NHL game and fast for the Blue Jackets to have any chance of making the playoffs in a couple of years. Brassard is a very talented prospect who could learn monstrous things playing along side Rick Nash, who at a young age was thrown into the Blue Jackets line-up. The Blue Jackets need their young player like Brassard and Gilbert Brule to develop and with a young team around them, the best way for them to learn is for them to be on the team, in my opinion anyways. The Blue Jackets wont contend this year so it can also teach the kids what it feels like to loose. In no way I'm I saying that the AHL cant do that for players too but the Blue Jackets are desperate right now and Sergei Fedorov is no longer a 1st line center.

Europe

Here is a list of now former NHL players who have signed to play over seas in Europe.

Petr Nedved(EDM/PHI), Signed with the HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraleague
Alexei Yashin(NYI), Signed with the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian League
Josh Green(VAN), Signed with the Red Bulls Salzburg (Austria)
Jussi Markkanen(EDM), Signed with the Jokerit Helsinki of the SM-Liiga (Finland)
Oleg Saprykin(OTT), Signed with CSKA Moskva of the Russian Hockey League
Dmirty Afanasenkov(PHI), Signed with Dynamo Moskva of the Russian Hockey League
Richard Jackman(FLA/ANA), Signed with the Red Bulls Salzburg (Austria)
J-P Vigier(ATL), Signed with HC Geneve-Servette of the Swiss National League
Juraj Kolnik(FLA), Signed with HC Geneve-Servette of the Swiss National League
Stanislav Chistov(BOS), Signed with the Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian League
Nils Ekman(PITT), Signed with the Khimik Mytischy of the Russian League
Jamie Heward(WSH/LA), Signed with the SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian League
Patrik Stefan(DAL), Signed with the SC Bern of the Swiss National League

Frustration

Finally back on my computer, after 2 weeks of my internet being completely crap. Oh well I got lucky, since there has been no big news from the Flames or the NHL but it has been like that from pretty much July 3rd. There were a few topics i did want to talk about though....

Starting with our beloved Calgary Flames,
it has been quiet around the city of Calgary were you can hear a pin drop when it comes to any news coming from the front office. The only news is that the new Flames Reebok jerseys, the ones the whole league is going too are coming out in September. I'm thinking and hoping they will look similar but just without horizontal stripes on them. I want one, but I did just get a new Phaneuf jersey last February, so we will have to see.

The team making the most moves with a trade, a signing and a retirement was the lonely Phoenix Coyotes.
They started the week by trading former Stanley Cup winner C Kevyn Adams to the Chicago Blackhawks for LW Radim Vrbata. I personally think this is a great move for the Coyotes, who are just starting to re-build and Vrbata just starting to find his form in the NHL. Vrbata is coming off a 41 point season which included 14 goals. Putting him with Shane Doan and either former Flame Steven Reinprecht or prospect Peter Mueller on the top line could give the Coyotes at least one decent line. They then signed G Alex Auld to a one year contract. This signing came to a surprise to me considering the Coyotes just signed G David Aebischer, they already had Mikael Tellqvist and they also have a possible NHL goalie in David LeNeveu in the minors. Auld is currently list #3 on the Coyotes depth chart list so that moves LeNeveu to #4. I think they should of left Aebischer for some other team and just signed Auld, since Auld is still young and still has a bright future even though he had a dismal year in Florida last year. Finally C Mike Ricci retired, this came to really no surprise to anyone since Ricci only played 5 games for the Coyotes last year before taking the rest of the year off.

The only other team that really made any moves was the New York Islanders.
They started by signing big 6 foot 5 defensemen Andy Sutton to a 3 year contract. Sutton will fit in nicely for the departed Sean Hill who signed with the Wild this offseason. The one thing that comes to my mind when I hear Sutton's name is after the Oilers traded away Chris Pronger, some crazy Oiler suggested the Oilers should pick up Sutton who he thought would be able to fill in for Pronger no problem. Ok there buddy. Then today the Islanders added C Josef Vasicek. He will fill in their vacancy of a 3rd line center.

Some other notes....

C Mike Peca is reportedly going to the New York Rangers. He will play center on the 3rd line to fill the vacancy of Matt Cullen who they traded either on this month. I think this is another great signing for the Rangers who are completely revamping their center position with the signings of Drury, Gomez and now Peca. The Rangers have to be considered as a top 2 team in the east for sure.

I'm Back!

Well just getting back from my 2 weeks of holidays in Idaho were you couldn't find a hockey headline if your life depended on it, I find out that i have missed a few big hockey headlines. I did hear about some of them including the Oilers signing of RW Dustin Penner from a phone message from my mom but not the details of them. My buddy Will12 was still here in Calgary trying to keep the blog updated the best he could till he had trouble signing in while me and a.zimm were wake boarding and sitting on the beach checking out some hot women and enjoying the hot sun rays.

The Penner signing came to a shock to me. I didn't hear the details of the contract till today and the amount of money the Oilers signed him for is ridiculous and the draft picks they had to give up for just to sign him. In my opinion, this is just another dumb move by the Oilers genius GM Kevin Lowe. Penner will not save the Oiler franchise, he is not a 1st line player and is not worth 4+ million a season. Penner will likely play on the 1st line with Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. Penner and Hemsky could be a lethal duo but like I said COULD BE. Penner did score 29 goals and 45 points last season and has tons of potential but 45 point players aren't worth 4+ million a season. I dont blame Brian Burke and the Ducks organization for not matching the Oilers offer, I would take Penner on my hockey team but not for that amount of money. The Ducks still have prospect RW Bobby Ryan who could very well take the place of Dustin Penner in the future especially since they are similar type players. The Ducks also could take advantage of the three 2008 draft picks they acquired form the Oilers especially the 1st round pick since the signing of Dustin Penner will not make the Oilers anymore competitive this year. This signing just adds to the other questionable signing the Oilers made this offseason including the signing of D Sheldon Souray. I wonder what the Oilers fans and the Oilers organization will do if they do finish last in the league and loose the 1st overall pick to the Ducks, I doubt Kevin Lowe thought about that.

Some other news around the league included the Canadiens signing D Patrice Brisebois to a contract, why they would do this I have no idea. I'm pretty sure Brisebois isn't a good defensemen anymore and the Canadiens should let young guys like Josh Gorges and Mark Streit develop, but the Canadiens have always seemed to make weird decisions including to overpay D Roman Hamrlik earlier this summer.

And finally LW Martin Gelinas, the beloved finisher with the Flames signed with the Nashville Predators. I think this is a good signing for the Preds, he will bring some leadership to a team that still has a lot of talent and still has a very good chance to make the playoffs next year.

Free Agency cont cont.....

- C Josef Vasicek signs with the New York Islanders to a 1 year contract
- D Joe DiPenta re-signs with the Anaheim Ducks to a 1 year contract
- G Alex Auld signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract
- C Pierre Parenteau re-signs with the Chicago Blackhawks to a 1 year contract
- G Dimitri Patzold re-signs with the San Jose Sharks to a 1 year contract
- D Andy Sutton signs with the New York Islanders to a 3 year contract
- F Justin Mapleltoft signs with the Ottawa Senators to a 1 year contract
- LW D-J King re-signs with the St.Louis Blues to a 3 year contract
- D Matt Walker, D Jeff Woywitka and G Jason Bacashihua re-sign with the St.Louis Blues to 1 year contracts
- C Joel Perrault re-signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract
- C Kyle Brodziak and D Mathieu Roy re-sign with the Edmonton Oilers to 2 year contracts
- RW Milan Bartovic and D Karel Pilar sign with the Atlanta Thrashers
- G Jordan Sigalet re-signs with the Boston Bruins
- D Mike Weaver signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1 year contract
- D Luke Richardson signs with the Ottawa Senators to a 1 year contract worth 500k
- C Kris Beech signs with the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 1 year contract
- RW Arron Asham signs with the New Jersey Devils
- RW Mike Cammalleri re-signs with the Los Angeles Kings to a 2 year contract worth 6.7 million dollars
- LW Ryan Craig re-signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 1 year contract worth 850k
- LW Trent Hunter re-signs with the New York Islanders to a 1 year contract worth 1.55 million dollars
- D Patrice Brisebois signs with the Montreal Canadiens to a 1 year contract
- RW Dustin Penner signs with the Edmonton Oilers to a 5 year contract worth 21.25 million dollars. This comes after the Duck's declined to match the Oiler's offer sheet given to Penner earlier on during last week, the Oiler's will have to give their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks to the Duck's in return for Penner, since Penner was a RFA.
- RW Zach Parise re-signs with the New Jersey Devils to a 4 year contract worth 12.5 million dollars
- LW Sean Avery re-signs with the New York Rangers to a 1 year contract worth 1.9 million dollars
- LW Marcel Hossa re-signs with the New York Rangers to a 1 year contract worth 780k
- D Nathan Paetsch re-signs with the Buffalo Sabres to a 3 year contract worth 2.55 million dollars
- C Chris Kelly re-signs with the Ottawa Senators to a 1 year contract worth 1.26 million dollars
- RW Michael Ryder re-signs with the Montreal Canadiens to a 1 year contract worth 2.95 million dollars
- D Prestin Ryan and D Jim Fahey signs with the Chicago Blackhawks
- D Ryan Lannon re-signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1 year contract
- C Derek Roy re-signs with the Buffalo Sabres to a 6 year contract worth 24 million dollars
- LW Martin Gelinas signs with the Nashville Predators to a 1 year contract worth 1.25 million dollars
- LW Boyd Kane and LW Riley Cote re-sign with the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2 year and 1 year contract, respectively
- C Brooks Laich re-signs with the Washington Capitals to a 1 year contract worth 725k
- D Doug Janik re-signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning to a two-way contract
- C Jim Slater re-signs with the Atlanta Thrashers to a 2 year contract worth 1.55 million dollars
- LW Lee Stempniak re-signs with the St.Louis Blues to a 3 year contract worth 7.5 million dollars
- F Noah Clarke, D Ian Moran and D Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre sign with the New Jersey Devils
- F Olivier Magnan, F Grant Marshall and RW Cam Janssen re-sign with the New Jersey Devils
- LW Tomas Plihal re-signs with the San Jose Sharks to a 1 year contract
- F/D Christoph Schubert re-signs with the Ottawa Senators to a 3 year contract
- LW Karl Stewart re-signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning to a two-way contract
- G Ray Emery re-signs with the Ottawa Senators to a 3 year contract worth 9.49 million dollars
- D Nick Schultz re-signs with the Minnesota Wild to a 1 year contract worth 1.85 million dollars
- F Ryan Caldwell signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract
- F Jeff Hoggan re-signs with the Boston Bruins
- LW Chris Simon re-signs with the New York Islanders to a 1 year contract worth 475k
- D Alain Nasreddine re-signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1 year contract
- LW Matt Murley signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract
- RW John Zeiler re-signs with the Los Angeles Kings to a 1 year contract
- F Jonathon Ferland re-signs with the Montreal Canadiens to a 1 year contract
- LW Daniel Paille re-signs with the Buffalo Sabres to a 1 year contract
- D Joni Pitkanen re-signs with the Edmonton Oilers to a 1 year contract worth 2.4 million dollars
- C Tim Brent signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1 year contract
- LW Colin Stuart re-signs with the Atlanta Thrashers
- G David Aebischer signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract worth 600k
- F Chris Thorburn re-signs with the Atlanta Thrashers to a 2 year contract worth 1.02 million dollars
- D Craig Weller signs with the Phoenix Coyotes to a 1 year contract worth 475k
- D Jamie Hunt and F David Steckel re-sign with the Washington Capitals
- G Ty Conklin signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1 year contract worth 500k
- D Brett Skinner, RW Dan LaCouture, RW Jason King sign with the Anaheim Ducks to 1 year contracts
- D Alex Foster, D Derrick Walser and F Jeremy Williams sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs
- RW Mike Iggulden re-signs with the San Jose Sharks to a 1 year contract worth 495k
- C Tom Cavanagh and F Riley Armstrong re-sign with the San Jose Sharks to 1 year contracts worth 475k
- C Vern Fiddler re-signs with the Nashville Predators to a 2 year contract worth 1.7 million dollars
- G Michael Brodeur, D Dan Richmond and D Jim Vandermeer re-sign with the Chicago Blackhawks to 1 year contracts
- LW Derek Boogaard re-signs with the Minnesota Wild
- F Ryan Shannon signs with the Vancouver Canucks