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

Again, eh? I know the last time they met was pretty unforgetable.

The poll is on the NHL web site if you’re interested in voting.

So let me get this straight.

Al MacInnis has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has his number retired in St. Louis. A statue has now been erected in his honour outside of the Blues’ home rink. And somehow, despite all of these accolades, #2 still isn’t hanging from the rafters at the Saddledome.

The St. Louis Blues, with whom MacInnis played the final nine seasons of his career (plus 3 games in 2003/04), have bestowed numerous recognitions on the all-star defenceman, known for possessing one of the most powerful slap shots in hockey. The first 12 seasons of his career, however, were spent in Calgary. It was in Calgary that Al MacInnis won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy. It was in Calgary that he scored more than 70 points in five separate seasons (something he never accomplished in St. Louis). In 1990/91 he scored a whopping 103 points. To put that in perspective, Theo lead the team that year with 104, and he had 18 points more than 45 goal man Joe Nieuwendyk. His 103 points was dwarfed by league leader Wayne Gretzky’s 163, but it was a pretty sharp drop off after that, with Hull at 131, and Oates at 115. I don’t care what era you’re playing in, 103 points for a defenceman is outstanding.

How about some other stats from that season? MacInnis was a +42, second only to Theo and Marty McSorley at +48 (McSorley? Really?). He was on the ice for 185 goals for, second again only to that Gretzky guy at 200. His 75 assists were second only to Gretzky (122!) and Oates (90).

And somehow, despite the most productive seasons of MacInnis’ career taking place in Calgary, #2 isn’t yet hanging from the Saddledome rafters next to #9 and #30. If Al MacInnis is such a hero in St. Louis, how come he isn’t getting his due in Calgary?

A few days into the NHL season, I’ve got a couple of questions that I’d like answered.

Who turned the central division standings upside-down?

Who’s been wearing Roberto Luongo’s jersey?

I’m sure things will average out over the course of the season, Luongo will put up all-star numbers, the Red Wings will content for the conference title, and Jarome Iginla will score a truck load of goals. But for now it’s fun to look at the early-season anomalies.

Just a few quick hitters after tonight’s game:

• Looks like Kipper and Phaneuf are back on form. Two of the three Canuck goals off of deflections and the other after a bad clearing attempt. 39 saves in the winning effort is a promising start. Phaneuf seems to be playing with that edge he was lacking last season.
• Coach Sutter said he likes to keep shots against to around 25. We’ve got a ways to go to get that. The guys need to be stronger on the clearing attempts, better at clearing rebounds, and more effective at getting into shooting lanes. I’m seeing a lot of guys going to block shots, but most of the chances still getting through.
• At 2-for-3, the powerplay is showing big improvements.
• Already getting good value from the depth guys. Bourque, Dawes, Prust, Sjostrom, Nystrom, Pardy, and Giordano all found the scoresheet tonight.
• Still can’t believe we picked Dawes off of waivers. I think this guy’s underrated and could do this year what Bourque did last year.

Hopefully we can see more of the hockey that was played in those first 20 minutes consistently this season. If we play like that against the Oil on Sunday, it’ll be a whitewash. Make it so, boys.