Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Dive??
Wow, how in the world did the refs miss that blatant dive by John-Michael Liles in OT last night. That just pissed me off and it cost the Flames a valuable point. That was terrible, the ref could of at least gave both players a penalty, Iggy for tripping and Liles for the dive, which just doesn't make sense overall, like was it a trip or a dive it shouldn't be able to be both, but at least that would have kept things even. It was clearly a dive and the Flames are the ones who should have been on the PP, at least the Flames were able to get the one point.
Deadline '08 RECAP
Well with the deadline come and gone I thought I would express my opinion on some of the trades, mainly the bigger ones. Throughout the weeks coming into the deadline I dont think anyone could have predicted that the deadline would have been this busy. A total of 24 trades were made involving 44 players, that is the 4th highest all-time. This is a shock after what had been all talk heading up to the deadline.
Unfortunately, our beloved Flames did not make any moves yesterday which came to a surprise to me. I thought for sure the Flames were gonna pick up a third line player who could put the puck in the net, but I guess the asking price was just too high. Anyways here are some thoughts on the trades.
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire RW Marian Hossa and LW Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for C/RW Erik Christensen, RW Colby Armstrong, prospect Angelo Esposito and a 2008 1st round draft pick.
-In my mind this was the best deal of the day. Hossa is an elite player who has had a pretty shaking past when it comes to the playoffs but I think when you put any player with his kind of talent alongside Sidney Crosby, special things can happen. I think this deal instantly makes the Penguins the team to beat out of the east, they now have even more punch to their offense, their defense has been getting better recently and their riding a smoking hot goaltender in Ty Conklin who has come out of now where and helped keep the Penguins in the race. The their top two lines will be two of the best. The Malone-Malkin-Sykora have been on absolute fire lately, alot of thanks goes to Malkin but they have carried the Penguins ever since Sid went down. The Penguins did loose some good youth in this deal, no doubt but they still have a ton of it left. Armstrong will be the one the miss the most, he is a energy player who can bring it every shift. Christensen and Esposito still have a long ways to go, especially Esposito who has just fallen like a rock down the top prospects list in the past year. Pascal Dupuis can fill in nicely as depth on their 3rd or 4th lines. Finally, the Penguins have enough cap space to maybe even keep Hossa there next year and into the future, scary, eh!
Dallas Stars acquire C Brad Richards and G Johan Holmqvist from the Tampa Bay Lightning for C Jeff Halpern, C Jussi Jokinen, G Mike Smith and a 2009 4th round draft pick.
-The Stars just got even more scarier than they even were. They are the hottest team in the league right now and with last years playoff run even though they lost to Vancouver in seven, they looked like a team ready to break out and go on a big playoff run. Richard's is very pricey, way over paid but he is an excellent player. He has put up relatively decent numbers(18-33-51 in 61 games) for playing with pretty average players in Tampa. He is a -25 which is a little scary but once again pretty tough when your playing with average players. The biggest thing is that he is a playoff guy and that is exactly what Dallas needed. The only question I have left to be answered is, will Stars coach Dave Tippett move Richards to the wing to play alongside Modano? Now the Lightning's side of the deal. Mike Smith was probably one of the best if not the best back-up goaltender in the league before this deal. Now he's got his chance to be a #1, will he take it and succeed? I think he will. Jokinen adds some flare up front but still has some work to do before he becomes a legitimate top six forward. The only thing about this deal is that I am surprised that the Lightning didn't go after one of Dallas's highly touted young defensemen. Matt Niskanen, Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric all seem to have bright futures, so I'm shocked the Lightning didn't go after one of them since their defensive corps are just above average.
Washington Capitals acquire G Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2009 2nd round draft pick.
-This to me is the surprising move of the day. The Canadiens after so much talk that they were going after the big guns in Hossa, Tanguay and Sundin did nothing except trade their #1 goaltender. UH???? Does this even make sense? I dont know yet and no one will until we see how far the Canadiens go in the playoffs riding young Carey Price. No doubt this was a huge risk for Canadiens GM Bob Gainey to take but obviously he has more confidence in Price than we all thought him and the whole organization would have. If you really look at this though, at the start of the year Gainey was the one who kept Price up with the club and over powered head coach Guy Carbonneau from sending him to Hamilton of the AHL so obviously Gainey likes this kid. The Canadiens seem to like to ride rookie goalies in the playoffs, do the names Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden ring a bell? and they have seemed to have success with it too, so who knows what could happen.
San Jose acquires D Brian Campbell and a 2008 7th round draft pick from the Buffalo Sabres for RW Steve Bernier and a 2008 1st round draft pick
-The Sharks also got a whole lot better with the acquisition of Brian Campbell. I really though and still think Campbell was the biggest fish out of all of them available at the deadline. He is a elite defensemen and will help every part of San Jose's game. even though this is a great move for the Sharks, there are still alot of questions that will need to be answered like can Thornton and Marleau finally become big time playoff producers? These questions will need to be answered in order for the Sharks to make a deep run in the playoffs but the acquisition of Campbell will help. Buffalo has pretty much waved the white flag by giving up Campbell. Once looked as a genius of the new NHL, Buffalo GM Darcy Reiger now doesn't look so good. In the past two years, he and the buffalo organization have lost Briere, Drury and Campbell who were 3 pieces of their core and now have only G Ryan Miller left to build around. The Sabres have turned from Cup favourite to a team that needs a new core and to re-build and they better do it fast since their decline happened so quickly. I am surprised the Sabres didn't try to get young Matt Carle in return, then they at least have something to build around on their back end. The only bright spot in this deal for the Sabres is that at least they got something for Campbell and didn't loose him for nothing.
Other notable moves:
-The Colorado Avalanche solidified their blue-line corps after signing Peter Forsberg Monday in acquiring both Ruslan Salei from the Panthers and Adam Foote from the Blue Jackets. They paid a pretty hefty price for Foote, giving up a 1st round draft pick which in my mind was way too much.
-The Washington Capitals are definitely going to make a push for their division. After acquiring Huet to add some much needed goaltending depth, the Capitals also acquired C Sergei Fedorov from the Blue Jackets who will add some playoff leadership and will fill in for the injured Michael Nylander on the Capitals 2nd line. Finally the Caps added some toughness in acquiring Matt Cooke from the Canucks in exchange for Matt Pettinger.
All in all it was a full and exciting day of trades. A few big names got moved like I said and that is really what everyone wants to see. There were some trades that seemed completely pointless, just to name a few: Vancouver's trade where they acquired Matt Pettinger for Matt Cooke, weren't the Canucks looking for scoring? The J-S Aubin trade to the Ducks,, like if the Ducks do end up having to use Aubin, they can pretty much kiss their repeat hopes good-bye. The Wild acquiring Chris Simon, like this guy is psycho and how on earth is he going to help you he is useless. Hal Gill to the Penguins for a 2nd and 4th round pick, are the Penguins crazy, this guy is a pylon, and a 2nd round draft pick!!! Finally both trades the Panthers made, was there any thought put into these before they were made. how will these helps the Panthers in anyway.
Anyways those are my thoughts on one of my favourite days of the year, hope you enjoy.
Unfortunately, our beloved Flames did not make any moves yesterday which came to a surprise to me. I thought for sure the Flames were gonna pick up a third line player who could put the puck in the net, but I guess the asking price was just too high. Anyways here are some thoughts on the trades.
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire RW Marian Hossa and LW Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for C/RW Erik Christensen, RW Colby Armstrong, prospect Angelo Esposito and a 2008 1st round draft pick.
-In my mind this was the best deal of the day. Hossa is an elite player who has had a pretty shaking past when it comes to the playoffs but I think when you put any player with his kind of talent alongside Sidney Crosby, special things can happen. I think this deal instantly makes the Penguins the team to beat out of the east, they now have even more punch to their offense, their defense has been getting better recently and their riding a smoking hot goaltender in Ty Conklin who has come out of now where and helped keep the Penguins in the race. The their top two lines will be two of the best. The Malone-Malkin-Sykora have been on absolute fire lately, alot of thanks goes to Malkin but they have carried the Penguins ever since Sid went down. The Penguins did loose some good youth in this deal, no doubt but they still have a ton of it left. Armstrong will be the one the miss the most, he is a energy player who can bring it every shift. Christensen and Esposito still have a long ways to go, especially Esposito who has just fallen like a rock down the top prospects list in the past year. Pascal Dupuis can fill in nicely as depth on their 3rd or 4th lines. Finally, the Penguins have enough cap space to maybe even keep Hossa there next year and into the future, scary, eh!
Dallas Stars acquire C Brad Richards and G Johan Holmqvist from the Tampa Bay Lightning for C Jeff Halpern, C Jussi Jokinen, G Mike Smith and a 2009 4th round draft pick.
-The Stars just got even more scarier than they even were. They are the hottest team in the league right now and with last years playoff run even though they lost to Vancouver in seven, they looked like a team ready to break out and go on a big playoff run. Richard's is very pricey, way over paid but he is an excellent player. He has put up relatively decent numbers(18-33-51 in 61 games) for playing with pretty average players in Tampa. He is a -25 which is a little scary but once again pretty tough when your playing with average players. The biggest thing is that he is a playoff guy and that is exactly what Dallas needed. The only question I have left to be answered is, will Stars coach Dave Tippett move Richards to the wing to play alongside Modano? Now the Lightning's side of the deal. Mike Smith was probably one of the best if not the best back-up goaltender in the league before this deal. Now he's got his chance to be a #1, will he take it and succeed? I think he will. Jokinen adds some flare up front but still has some work to do before he becomes a legitimate top six forward. The only thing about this deal is that I am surprised that the Lightning didn't go after one of Dallas's highly touted young defensemen. Matt Niskanen, Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric all seem to have bright futures, so I'm shocked the Lightning didn't go after one of them since their defensive corps are just above average.
Washington Capitals acquire G Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2009 2nd round draft pick.
-This to me is the surprising move of the day. The Canadiens after so much talk that they were going after the big guns in Hossa, Tanguay and Sundin did nothing except trade their #1 goaltender. UH???? Does this even make sense? I dont know yet and no one will until we see how far the Canadiens go in the playoffs riding young Carey Price. No doubt this was a huge risk for Canadiens GM Bob Gainey to take but obviously he has more confidence in Price than we all thought him and the whole organization would have. If you really look at this though, at the start of the year Gainey was the one who kept Price up with the club and over powered head coach Guy Carbonneau from sending him to Hamilton of the AHL so obviously Gainey likes this kid. The Canadiens seem to like to ride rookie goalies in the playoffs, do the names Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden ring a bell? and they have seemed to have success with it too, so who knows what could happen.
San Jose acquires D Brian Campbell and a 2008 7th round draft pick from the Buffalo Sabres for RW Steve Bernier and a 2008 1st round draft pick
-The Sharks also got a whole lot better with the acquisition of Brian Campbell. I really though and still think Campbell was the biggest fish out of all of them available at the deadline. He is a elite defensemen and will help every part of San Jose's game. even though this is a great move for the Sharks, there are still alot of questions that will need to be answered like can Thornton and Marleau finally become big time playoff producers? These questions will need to be answered in order for the Sharks to make a deep run in the playoffs but the acquisition of Campbell will help. Buffalo has pretty much waved the white flag by giving up Campbell. Once looked as a genius of the new NHL, Buffalo GM Darcy Reiger now doesn't look so good. In the past two years, he and the buffalo organization have lost Briere, Drury and Campbell who were 3 pieces of their core and now have only G Ryan Miller left to build around. The Sabres have turned from Cup favourite to a team that needs a new core and to re-build and they better do it fast since their decline happened so quickly. I am surprised the Sabres didn't try to get young Matt Carle in return, then they at least have something to build around on their back end. The only bright spot in this deal for the Sabres is that at least they got something for Campbell and didn't loose him for nothing.
Other notable moves:
-The Colorado Avalanche solidified their blue-line corps after signing Peter Forsberg Monday in acquiring both Ruslan Salei from the Panthers and Adam Foote from the Blue Jackets. They paid a pretty hefty price for Foote, giving up a 1st round draft pick which in my mind was way too much.
-The Washington Capitals are definitely going to make a push for their division. After acquiring Huet to add some much needed goaltending depth, the Capitals also acquired C Sergei Fedorov from the Blue Jackets who will add some playoff leadership and will fill in for the injured Michael Nylander on the Capitals 2nd line. Finally the Caps added some toughness in acquiring Matt Cooke from the Canucks in exchange for Matt Pettinger.
All in all it was a full and exciting day of trades. A few big names got moved like I said and that is really what everyone wants to see. There were some trades that seemed completely pointless, just to name a few: Vancouver's trade where they acquired Matt Pettinger for Matt Cooke, weren't the Canucks looking for scoring? The J-S Aubin trade to the Ducks,, like if the Ducks do end up having to use Aubin, they can pretty much kiss their repeat hopes good-bye. The Wild acquiring Chris Simon, like this guy is psycho and how on earth is he going to help you he is useless. Hal Gill to the Penguins for a 2nd and 4th round pick, are the Penguins crazy, this guy is a pylon, and a 2nd round draft pick!!! Finally both trades the Panthers made, was there any thought put into these before they were made. how will these helps the Panthers in anyway.
Anyways those are my thoughts on one of my favourite days of the year, hope you enjoy.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Deadline '08
Just one day left for NHL teams to make trades and every Flame fan has been wondering what will the Flames do. Well it was cleared up a little bit today with Darryl Sutter telling reporters that he will not move Alex Tanguay before the deadline. THANK THE LORD! Now those awful, awful rumors about Tanguay for Ryder and Pierre McGuire's dumb opinion about how that would be an offensive upgrade for the Flames can be thrown away never to be talked about again.
So far th Flames have only made one minor move in acquiring Jim Vandermeer from the Philadelphia Flyers last week. So far in the two games he has played against he has looked very solid defensively and moving the puck, which was just what the Flames needed, maybe a little better offensive guy but he will do for now and down the stretch. He has looked good alongside Phaneuf and is definitely an upgrade over Eriksson. Well even a pylon would be in that case.
I think the Flames have one more move to make and I think it will be for a player who will play on their third line and add a little more offense. Who this player could be, it is really hard to tell with so many teams still in the playoff hunt, it is hard to tell who will be sellers and who will be buyers. I think this kind of move will be the final piece for Calgary and help them down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Finally I mentioned his name before, and with Mike Cammalleri's name coming up in recent rumors, what about a Huselius for Cammalleri trade? It is really far fetched but I just thought I'd throw it out there for a thinker.
So far th Flames have only made one minor move in acquiring Jim Vandermeer from the Philadelphia Flyers last week. So far in the two games he has played against he has looked very solid defensively and moving the puck, which was just what the Flames needed, maybe a little better offensive guy but he will do for now and down the stretch. He has looked good alongside Phaneuf and is definitely an upgrade over Eriksson. Well even a pylon would be in that case.
I think the Flames have one more move to make and I think it will be for a player who will play on their third line and add a little more offense. Who this player could be, it is really hard to tell with so many teams still in the playoff hunt, it is hard to tell who will be sellers and who will be buyers. I think this kind of move will be the final piece for Calgary and help them down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Finally I mentioned his name before, and with Mike Cammalleri's name coming up in recent rumors, what about a Huselius for Cammalleri trade? It is really far fetched but I just thought I'd throw it out there for a thinker.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
RIP Mickey Renaud
I just wanted to say R.I.P. to Mickey Renaud who collapsed and died on the weekend. This is a tragic event and my condolences go out to his family friends and the Windsor Spitfires. Renaud was a 5th round draft pick of the Flames and was the captain of the Windsor Spitfires. It is too bad we will not be able to see what his future could have brought and what kind of success he could have had with the Flames or whatever else he did.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Phaneuf Signs On!
Finally!!, the Flames made the signing of Dion Phaneuf official today. It is a 6 year deal worth reportedly 39 million dollars. I am very excited about this signing and with the way Phaneuf's career has gone so far I think at roughly 6.5 million dollars a year is a steal.Phaneuf has had some rocky points in his career but that is all part of becoming an NHLer. He has developed into an All-Star defensemen and there are bigger things to come with him. He has been great lately and will no doubt be a Norris trophy candidate one day. He strikes fear in his opponents eyes every time they step on the ice, they know where he is at every second and when a player has that kind of impact, you just got to love him, well at least if he is on your team. I am excited about the future for Phaneuf and for the future of the Calgary Flames. Their core is now locked up and now the missing parts around it can be filled out.
With that said Calgary now has roughly 45 million dollars locked up for next season, with guys like Langkow and Huselius still to lock up. I have talked about this over and over again. I think guys like Aucoin, Eriksson, Primeau and Nilson have got to go. Their contracts are just too pricey and other than Aucoin none of them have been playing very well. With that said I could go on about this for a long time but I say lets just not worry about it now, cause it really doesn't matter. Yea deals can be done before the deadline but once again that is a subject that could go on forever. This is our team now and for the rest of the season and I think unless deals are done that shake up the line-up for next year, we should just sit back and let it play out. Wait for the off-season and then worry about it then. With all of Sutter's moves he has made excluding the Ference/Kobasew one, I have faith that he will be able to figure things out and be able to give our core players some guys to play with and continue to keep the Flames competitive in the future.
Finally I didn't get to watch the game at all last night but did catch the last eight minutes, OT and the shootout. It was a very exciting ending and I am glad the boys pulled it out. Thank the lord Iggy is out of his scoring funk, I have a feeling that another hot streak is upon him.
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