Okay, so we’ve won two of our last three… as Shania would say, “That don’t impress me much!”

I’m sorry to say this but the Flames are supposed to win these games with or without the Stajan’s, Hagman’s and the Kotalik’s.  Simply put, they’re getting their feet wet and to do it against teams like Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay is a good thing.  Wait ’til next week when we’ll play the surging Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks… that’ll be the true measure for the Flames.

Being at last nights game, it was great to see the new guys in action and to be honest, they didn’t play well but well enough to win.  Good things included Kotalik, who looked like he wanted to play, Higgins and his Green hard hat style play, Boyd who really worked his butt off and Glencross with his resurgence of an all around player.  My highlight was the Giordano hit on Pitkanen.

4 wins in the next 5 games will solidify my faith in the trades but anything less than 3 wins and it’s going to be like walking on egg shells around the management offices of the Calgary Flames.

Always a pleasure.

naoto

Now that we’ve seen each team in the Flames-Leafs blockbuster play a game how does the deal work?

For Calgary:

This was a move that sent a message to the team… Play to the expectations or we’ll find guys who are hungry enough to do it, plain and simple.  I have an inkling that Dion wasn’t being the best locker room guy and wanted out.  It’s emotional enough to be traded and it seems like his emotions were from the shock but seeing him in the interviews over in Toronto suggests that he wanted out… BAD! 

IAN WHITE is a steady defenceman who is getting better at reading the play offesively and his stick work and ability to shut down players will make up for anything Dion could’ve been doing.  Some more food for thought… Ian White was rumored to be in line for the Captaincy in Toronto, which has now been left vacant for Dion…

MATT STAJAN, remember folks, he broke into the league playing with guys like Mats Sundin, Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Alex Mogilny, Ron Francis (briefly), Brian Leetch (briefly) and Owen Nolan… He can definitely play alongside Iginla and by the way, he had flashes of good playmaking for Iggy during the Philly game, just seems like the timing is off… And for the icing on the cake, Stajan can and does win face offs, which is more than all the Centermen can say on the Flames…

JAMAL MAYERS is tough, gritty and Sutter brand hockey.  He’s fast, wins faceoffs and is a team-first guy (Yes, he asked to be traded from Toronto, only because he’s 35 and won’t be in their short term plans of rebuilding)…

NIKLAS HAGMAN is happy to be back in the Western Conference (had some good years with the Stars in Dallas) and was the Flames best player among these 4.  Quick with his hands, has a knack for the net and likes to shoot.  He was Toronto’s leading goal scorer for good reason and guess who he often played with??? Yep, Matt Stajan… these two and Iggy will be an upgrade from any other line combo seen this year with Iggy.

For Toronto…

DION PHANEUF has become the official face of the Toronto Maple Leafs and by the looks of it, he’s enjoying every bit of the spotlight.  Something that he may have wanted here but instead became the whipping boy for everything gone bad with the Flames… (He scored an F on my report card!) After seeing his first game as a Leaf, I couldn’t help but wonder why he stopped doing those things for Calgary.  He was hitting, fighting, shooting and being a leader… Yikes!

FREDRICK SJOSTROM was Fredrick Sjostrom… fast, hard working and feisty.  He worked well on the Peanlty Kill tonight and got an assist on the first Maple Leaf goal by Nikolai Kulemin… He showed flashes of this in Calgary but seemed lost in the system Sutter was instilling into the players.  He’ll continue on his steady-ness in Toronto.

KEITH AULIE is all potential and a kid who stands at 6.6ft.  He was coveted by Brian Burke and was a key piece as to why 4 established players were given up.

Winner: I hate to say it but this stinks of a Toronto Maple Leaf steal… The Flames will kick themselves when Dion steps it up to next level, superstardom ala Doug Gilmour back in 1990.  Why do I say this? He’s changed the culture of the Toronto Maple Leafs… He’s stepped up to the plate as a leader and the players are feeding off of this.  His ego has now found a home.  For the Flames, these are just four guys trying their best to improve a struggling club.  They’re not expected to be saviours but are expected to contribute to the club with their steady play…

Always a pleasure!

naoto

Sutter’s been a busy guy this weekend. TSN is reporting another deal by the Flames’ GM, this one sending Jokinen and Prust to the Rangers for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik.

I think Sutter is sending out a message loud and clear today; that message being: “I’m cutting lose the deadweight”.

When Dion Phaneuf scored on a one-timer to put the Flames up 4-1 on the Oilers last night, I couldn’t help but wonder how many more times we would see Phaneuf celebrating as a Flame. Daryl Sutter didn’t keep me waiting long for the answer.

I won’t belabour the details of the trade, since you can get those from any of a variety of reputable (or not) news sources. I do have some thoughts of my own to add to the analysis, though.

It’s all about goals

This is a very simplified take on things, but take a look at the goals scored among the players traded in this deal. Phaneuf and Sjostrom total 11 goals, while the foursome on their way to Calgary have tallied 47 this season (point totals are 28 and 108, respectively). Obviously there are plenty more variables at play here, but one thing is obvious to me: this trade is meant to address Calgary’s scoring troubles. Matt Stajan’s 41 point immediately make him the Flames’ second-leading scorer, trailing only Jarome Iginla (by 10 points), and leading Rene Bourque by a single point. This leads me to agree with Pierre McGuire; on NBC this morning he called this trade a great short-term deal for the Flames, but good in the long-term for the Leafs. Obviously there’s the whole prospect thing at play where Aulie is concerned, but I suspect that McGuire is suggesting Phaneuf will pay dividends in Toronto as well. I’m not so sure…

Phaneuf in Toronto

Dion Phanuef strikes me as the type of player who is susceptible to distraction and pressure. If you’re a Maple Leaf, Toronto boasts distractions and pressure aplenty; I don’t think Toronto is the change of scenery that this guy needs. My prediction is that he will be wearing a different team’s colours within three years. Much like Joe Thornton, I think Dion Phaneuf would benefit from the obscurity of playing in a non-traditional hockey market.

The dollars and cents

The Flames have been making use of pretty much their full cap space since the beginning of the salary cap era. How does this deal affect the cap situation? In short, it frees up 4.25 million dollars for next season. Between Sjostrom and Phaneuf, the Flames are moving $7.25 million, and in return are accepting $6.93 million in return; however, Stajan, Mayers, and White are all free agents after this year (White being RFA, currently making $850,000). This means that Hagman is the only player committed to beyond next season. Meanwhile, the Flames rid themselves of Phaneuf’s $6.5 million cap hit that extends to 2014. This certainly opens up more opportunities for what Sutter can do in the off-season (spoiler: Bourque and Giordano get their earned raises AND stay in Calgary).

The verdict

The writing has been on the wall for a while where Phaneuf is concerned. Despite the repeated denials by Sutter and Phaneuf, you got the feeling that something was going to go down. By trading for several players like this as opposed to trying to land a one-for-one marquee deal or a high cost rental (ie. Kovalchuk), Sutter is spreading out the risk at the cost of potential impact. This deal should immediately give the Flames some improved scoring depth, dipping into an area where they already have considerable talent in order to pay for it. In the long-term it allows them to unload a contract that is starting to look overpriced. Ultimately, this trade gets my approval for that reason.

What next?

Think Sutter’s going to call it quits after this deal? I doubt it. I tend to agree with Kent Wilson over on Matchsticks and Gasoline about Martin Biron being an attractive target as a back-up for Kipper. I’ve heard some positive sentiment towards Curtis McElhinney lately, but consider this quote from Kent’s article:

Curtis McElhinney is currently 71st in the league in terms of ES SV%. That’s the single worst 5on5 save rate of any goalie that has appeared in 10 games this year.

It would make sense to add a little insurance if this team wants to be a serious contender.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming

Hey, did you hear we won a game last night? And we scored six goals. It was against the Oilers, so take it for what it’s worth, but still, it’s nice to break out of that rut. On the topic of that game, I think Sheldon Souray would be well advised to stay away from Jarome Iginla; nothing good comes of that (so far this season: concussion and fractured hand). Come to think of it, he should maybe try to avoid fighting altogether (see: fight with Byron Ritchie where he suffered a separated shoulder).

I imagine we’ll get a look at the new faces tomorrow night against the Flyers. Back in the win column and time to get serious.

OVERALL: C

Yes, they have more wins than losses… HOWEVER, they have grossly underachieved thus far and should NOT be out of the playoff race at any point this season, but here we are… They rank 14th out of 30 teams and are considered to be the Boston Bruins of the West…

A+/-

Mikka Kiprusoff: 23-15-6 with a 2.25 GAA and .925 Save Percentage, he’s back to his old numbers and most of this if not all is about him as a goalie, having to stand on his head to keep his team in the game and not getting any help from his defence.  Kipper has revived himself to the standards he set back in ‘04-’06

B+/-

Rene Bourque: No doubt he’ll score 20 goals and is solid on the second line…. His streaky nature and tendency to stick handle too much keeps him from reaching the A’s in this report card.

Daymond Langkow: Steady vet presence and leadership are seen in his ability to make others better and to find choice scoring chances for himself.  Can play with anyone and is versatile but not spectacular in his play.

Curtis Glencross: Has been what he advertises, a hard nose player who likes to grind and get in the corners.  Needs to stay out of the penalty box at key times and to continue to check hard and often.

Curtis McElhinney: Yes, I have called on him to be moved in the past but management stuck by him for good reason.  He is a steady backup who keeps his team in the game and gives them a shot.  Not spectacular but Not a liability anymore, he just doesn’t have the big game experience like Kipper to make it to the A-list.

Mark Giordano: Stepped up his offensive game in a big way, pinches when he needs to and has a great little fake at the point to lure the D away and he’ll sneak in along the boards for an offensive scoring chance.  Big hits and has matured very nicely into a top Flames D-man… Averaging 20 mins of Ice Time per game.

Jay Bouwmeester: Logs an average of 26 mins of ice time per game and is a steady defensive presence for the Flames.  Although he seems a bit mis-used in this system, and seems lost in the system, he’s the team plus/minus leader at +10 and reminds me of a younger Tomas Kaberle, a steady puck moving defenceman who understands stick work and positioning… his lapses and giveaways keep him off the A-List.

Brent Sutter and Staff: Above average in their performance this far.  Initiating a new system is never easy for a coach but Brent Sutter seems diligent and persevering in his attempt to make this team perform to it’s capability.  Jamie “Noodles” McLennan I think is the reason Kipper is playing the way he is… he was a voice of reason and seemed like a strong mentor to Kippers mental game when McLennan backed him up.  Lowry and McGill are well seasoned well respected and well educated men of Hockey and they’ve really put their noses to the grindstone assisting Brent Sutter.  The only thing that’s going against Brent Sutter is that he is not Darryl Sutter.  I haven’t seen anyone bring out the best in Calgary players like Darryl Sutter and he was the reason guys like Phaneuf and Iginla are stars.

C+/-

Jarome Iginla: Captain Iggy is struggling this year (this based upon standards that he has established) and seems at a loss in what to do to get going again.  Team leader in Goals and Points but only has 5PPG, which is behind players such as… Stephen Weiss FLA, Brooks Laich WAS, and Kristian Husselius CBJ.  Simple fact is that Iggy seems ordinary this year and we NEED him to be consistently EXTRAordinary.  Enough Said.

Robyn Regehr: Was supposed to be an anchor for the defence but seems like he’s struggling to get a grasp on the Brent Sutter system of defence.  Another reason he is in this section on the report card is that he’s not being the leader that the Flames need him to be.  Soft spoken players who have the admiration and respect like Robyn Regehr need to speak up… he gives nice analysis in his interviews but if he got into people’s faces a lot more, I have no doubt they’d listen.

Olli Jokinen: #21 is going to cost the Flames their 1st Round Draft choice this coming June and all we got was a player who was supposed to be playing like he did in 2006-2008 in which he averaged 80+ pts. but instead would struggle to produce 50pts this season.  He has the potential to break out but seems like he’s lost an edge or some confidence in his play, whatever the case is, he’s playing average and is graded as such.

Nigel Dawes: No one would’ve expected Dawes to score 10 goals all year but here he is just past he mid-point with 10 goals.  A nice pickup by the Flames but his streaky-ness in his scoring and his seemingly ability to only connect with Langkow and Bourque limit his potential on this team.

Eric Nystrom: He has a great work ethic and is a perfect fit for this system, however, seems as though he has plateaued in his play.  He grinds, he fights, he pesky and a hard nosed player but with a -4 rating, he’s either a liability defensively or is on a line with Dion Phaneuf one too many times.

Dustin Boyd: His game is improving… I suppose expectations were high on my part seeing him as part of the Sidney Crosby lead Canadian World Junior team under Brent Sutter but really, his game is about cycling the puck, digging in the corners and has the hands to be an average goal scorer in this league.

Brandon Prust: Steady.  A guy who wants to be a spark plug, energy player and one who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves to make a statement to the crowd and his team.  He’s aggressive and tough and the only reason he’s not higher on this report card is his lack of results on the score sheet.

Brian McGrattan: Does what he was signed to do.  Fight and Enforce.  He does it well and makes the passing grade. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj7gb9AKE_w)

Jamie Lundmark: Great call-up and has a great ice vision but again, his -5 rating puts him at the bottom of the Flame barrell and squeaks by for an average report.

Adam Pardy: His game has improved immensely but not to the point where he makes it higher than a C grade.  He was drafted in the same year as Dion but his progress was a lot slower.  Seems to be getting the hang of it as a D man on this team and is a steady contributor to the Flames success.  Always room for improvement and in this system can only get better.

D+/-

David Moss: You would think that he has it made when he uses his 6-3 frame to screen goalies while having guys like Phaneuf, Bouwmeester, Giordano, Jokinen, Iginla…etc. to feed him shots to deflect or passes to tip and bang home but he really needs to get going and I hope that he gets time on a line with Langkow so he has a consistent guy to feed him the puck.  The other reason for a D is his health.  We need him to go deep in the playoffs and be the Dave Andreychuk type player who can score 30 goals without thinking.

Craig Conroy: Yes, he does the little things we may not see on a nightly basis and Yes, he’s a great locker room guy and YES, I’d rather have him than Theo Fleury but age shouldn’t be a factor because he can still skate well and has the Hockey IQ that many players can only pray for.  Once he steps up his game even a notch or two, the points will come and he’ll have even more credibility in the locker room.

Cory Sarich: He was a rock for the Stanley Cup winning Lightning in 2004 and has brought that swagger with him to Calgary but injuries have cost him a lot.  We ’sore’ly missed him in the playoffs last spring against Chicago and the injuries are the only thing keeping him from being a rock on defence for the Flames.  He has great rink vision and seems timid to land the big body check to turn a game around, like he did against the Sharks and Patrick Marleau a couple of years back… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIZdg8Smm78

F

Dion Phaneuf: He could be labelled as a scapegoat or a whipping boy but nothing in his play this year suggests that he has taken his game to the next level and being in his early 20’s, his stats shouldn’t be going down… Let’s not blame Elisha because as a sign read in the Dome, “Calgary LOVES sloppy seconds”!  My observations from the games I’ve attended and watched is that he is too casual in his play.  Moving the puck, chasing the puck, carrying the puck…etc. His Laissez-Faire attitude is driving me nuts and he’s gotten away from the game that made him who he is… Seems like now, he’s looking for the big hit and chasing a big hit instead of letting that big hit come to him.

Always a Pleasure!

Naoto

I shouldn’t be surprised at this after reading Theo’s book, but this recent blog post of his isn’t very classy: http://www.theofleury14.com/about/blog/235/index (via Matchsticks and Gasoline)

Update: Looks like Theo has pulled his blog post down. Lucky for us, Matchsticks and Gasoline still has a copy of it, so you can read it there.

My focus of this blog is the Flames but I had the opportunity to attend yesterdays game as a fan of the opposite team.  I was born and raised in Toronto, lived there until I moved to Calgary in 2004 and still bleed Blue and White (only when they play the Flames).  I love the city of Calgary and the Flames are my adopted team and so with that said…

What an atmosphere… I was in the 2nd level behind the Flames Attack Zone (so I got to see Jonas Gustavsson twice) and the Dome was literally a mix of blue and red.  I’m starting to really see the true nature of Flame fans and it was something else.

My thoughts on this game were what I expected.  The Flames were playing a solid game and so were the Leafs except for their usual 3-5 minute lapse in play, which in the end, caused their demise.  I believe that the Leafs can hang with the best of them but what separates them from Great Teams is that 3-5 minutes of play where they’re giving pucks away in their own end and leaving their D men to fend for themselves.

Nigel Dawes, Daymond Langkow, Craig Conroy, Jarome Iginla, Curtis Glencross, Dustin Boyd, Brandon Prust…etc. They all play a solid two way game where they help out the Defence with their stick work and in your face kind of play… what I noticed the Maple Leafs doing was standing around and waiting for an outlet that would never come… If I was to judge the Leafs on this one game, I wouldn’t be able to stomach Phil Kessel just wating for a ripe cherry pick on the opposite Blue Line, Mr. Sutter would never stand for a player like that (Calling Kristian Husselius?!)

One thing the Flames will need to do is not rely on Kipper to stand on his head to keep them in the game.  I like how they played in front of McElhinney the other night because he didn’t have to stand on his head, just make key saves when called upon…

Finally, being a Leaf fan in the Dome was awesome… maybe it was because we really can’t boast about alot but I found that the Fans weren’t obnoxious like Canuck or Oiler fans but a classy bunch of people who will always root for their team no matter what.  We were loud but I was humbled as to how much louder the Flame fans were in the end!

Now back to reality of swimming the C of Red!

Always a Pleasure, Naoto

Warning: This review contains spoilers that may affect your enjoyment when reading the book yourself.

It’s taken me a month, but I’ve finished reading Theo Fleury’s autobiography Playing With Fire. Trevor and I made a lunch-hour trip on release day to pick up the book from our local Chapters, and I promptly began reading it. What awaited were dark revelations about a player I had once idolized.

I’m going to be a little critical here, so I will start off by saying that I do recommend this book. It provided an enlightening glimpse into the struggles and personality of one of the Flames’ marquee players. You are unlikely, however, to be encouraged or inspired by this book. If you grew up admiring Theo Fleury, the portrait of a heroic hockey player that you may remember is likely to be tarnished.

A number of things in the book resonated with me in terms of my perception of Fleury and his character. Immediately, with the image of Fleury holding a loaded gun in his mouth, the book sets a sensational tone. At times, especially early in the book, such as when discussing his childhood arm injury, it seems as though he could be exaggerating things for dramatic flair. I’m not suggesting that Fleury’s account is not factual; however, the storytelling comes across as hyperbolic.

The story quickly reaches the point that I expected to enjoy the most: a long chapter chronicling Fleury’s NHL rookie season and the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup victory. Sadly, most of this chapter read as though Fleury was narrating the 1989 Flames video yearbook (A video that I enjoy a couple times a year). Most of the highlights he spent time discussing may have been taken straight out of the transcript of the video. From this point through the remainder of the years spanning Fleury’s time in Calgary, the pace slows as Theo laments the state of the Flames organization through much of the 90’s. At one point he even asserts that if it were not for him there would not be an NHL team in Calgary today. I would suggest it is at that point that the reader gets the full impression of the size of Fleury’s ego, a trait that is on full display throughout the book.

After Fleury’s departure from Calgary, we get to experience his rapid unravelling. From a purely voyeuristic standpoint, this is where entertainment value of the book picks up again. The excitement wears off as the destructive cycle becomes repetitive, with Fleury bouncing in and out of rehab and back into an assortment of addictions.

As the book winds down, we reach a familiar storyline of redemption where Fleury gets clean, gets involved with his kids again, and becomes a successful member of the Calgary business community. While still carrying the impression of Fleury being cocky and self-serving, I encountered one of the most memorable quotes of the book. When telling about his return to hockey after a stint in rehab Fleury recalls still being an agitator on the ice and states that he quit drinking, he didn’t get a personality transplant. Theo Fleury is who he is, and despite his sizeable ego, he has accomplished great things and overcome great adversity. That, I think, is the overarching theme of this book.

It may sound like I’m being harsh and looking to pick the book apart, but that’s not my goal here. I believe this was an important book for Theo to write for the sake of finding closure. In that regard, I don’t think this book is written for us as fans and readers, but more as a way for Fleury to tell his story. Further to that, I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for him to write this book. I respect the bravery to put his life out in the open like this.

Perhaps the most redeeming moment in the book was contained in the epilogue when Fleury recalls his first full reading of the entire book and realizing how selfish he’d been. Maybe there was a personality transplant somewhere along the way after all.

Buy Playing With Fire at Chapters

So it would appear I’m not the only one that thinks Al MacInnis deserves a little recognition for his accomplishments in a Flames sweater.

Over at Inside the Flames today is a guest blog from Bill Dunphy, sports editor of The Inverness Oran, a community newspaper in Cape Breton. He’s put together a much more thorough argument than I did the other day. I’d encourage you to give that article a read for yourself:

http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/insideflames/archive/2009/10/19/guest-column-why-flames-should-honour-macinnis.aspx

Another season has started, some great posts have appeared and the Flames as of this post are 5-2-1.  I won’t be going into the meltdown in the Windy City but  I was at the last game vs. the Canuckleheads and the enigmatic Luongo and the entire night, I was thinking about the play of Iggy.  Jarome Iginla, heart and soul of the Flames since Theo left and he’s been everything that the Flames asked him to be.  But what’s happening now?  The Jokinen experiment is put on hold as they were separated and he was on a line with Connie and Curtis, he has 2G-2A-4Pts. and has seem to lost the spotlight… what’s going on???

My Answser: NOTHING

Iginla for the most part is still Iginla.  He still has his speed, he still fights for the puck in the corner, he still has eagle eyes for passing the puck and can still find the net.  Is it because he’s a slow starter? Not at all.  Something that happened last year was that often times, it was up to Iginla to put up the dukes and it was Iginla being baited into fights he needed not be in… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmEDbTi7XOs this fight was a doozy when he fells Willie Mitchell) However, this year, there are solid troopers like Brandon Prust and Brian McGratten to take up that mantle (By the way, Congrats to McGratten for the Gordie Howe Hat-Trick, sorry Darcy, gotta show it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj7gb9AKE_w). Every great team has guys to throw down so that the talented top players need not to… From the Cup run in 2004, we’ve seemed to have lost the edge on guys that can fight or at least take that burden away from Iginla.  Krysztov Oliwa was the last Flame to amass over 200 PIM and that was back in 2004, since then we’ve had Darren McCarty, Dion Phaneuf, Jim Vandermeer and Eric Goddard all try to relive Iginla of that role but none have really done it well.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to see Iggy throw down when the team needs it but lets face it, we’d rather see him score!  The 2006 Jim Playfair year had NO Flame with over 100 PIM… go figure, with guys like Husselius and Tanguay… yikes!

Iginla has the target on him every game and that’s great! He works just as hard as he did before but now he is surrounded by guys who take the burden of the little jobs Iginla shouldn’t have been doing so that he can concentrate on his all around play.  I still belive that Iginla has just as much talent as the Ovechkins and the Crosby’s but he’s more than that, he fights, checks, and pours his heart out every shift and so I don’t look at numbers and wonder what is going on, I see Iginla for what he’s always been, the heart and soul of the Calgary Flames leading by example and walking the talk.

Always a pleasure!

Naoto