Wow, what a game! The Calgary Flames hand the San Jose Sharks their first regulation home loss of the season. In fact, it’s the first time the Sharks have lost in regulation in the Shark Tank since February 14 of last season (that is truly unbelievable). This game was intense and had everything you would expect from two of the premiere teams in the NHL. It felt very much like this game was being played in May.

Watching the Oilers vs. Wild game just prior to watching the Flames vs. Sharks was like watching a WHL pre-season game prior to an NHL playoff game.

I don’t recall seeing a Flames squad with this much confidence. They seem undaunted. They are calm, cool, and collective in any situation and don’t seem to panic when they fall behind by a goal or two. This speaks to the maturity of the club and the fantastic job being done by the coaching staff.

Curtis Glencross (one of the phenomenal off-season pickups by Sutter) was incredible at both ends of the ice in the game. It’s unfortunate that his name didn’t show up on the score sheet - he very much deserved a point or two tonight. I am curious to know what the Oilers management was thinking when they let this guy go. It was also nice to see Phaneuf get that monkey off his back. A hard working goal and a game winner to boot.

Kipper continued his stellar play tonight. His confidence level seems to be rising exponentially along with the rest of the team. After his shaky start to the season, he has really picked up his game. He leads the NHL with games won and is now 4 games ahead of Nabokov in second place. I know Kipper really likes to play a ton of games, and he seems to be handling the pressure fine. I only hope he can continue to perform at this level while playing so many games.

This weekends games should be amazing!

This off season was a busy one for the Calgary Flames. Gone, are some of the finesse players like Tanguay and Huselius and in, are several new gritty players like Bertuzzi, Cammalleri, Glencross, and Bourque. This season could prove to be very interesting. What are my thoughts on some of the key moves?

Alex Tanguay
First, I give full props to Alex - this guy is a complete class act and is one of the most talented left wingers in the NHL. I’m sure he knew for a while that he would probably end up being traded, but never once did he complain and he always played with full intensity. He will be sorely missed on the power play as his puck moving, passing, and puck handling skills were fantastic. My only complaint of Tanguay was his lack of ability to finish plays. How many times last season did we see Tanguay in on a 2-1 break and almost EVERY time he opted to pass to his partner. He became too predictable for the opposing defense.

Kristian Huselius
There were times last season that this guy was a magician with the puck. His control and accuracy were unparalleled. The only problem… the rest of the time he was invisible. He could score in streaks but he could also disappear for weeks at a time. I must admit, Huselius grew to be one of my all time favourite Flames and I thoroughly enjoyed watching his creativity. I think the Flames will will miss him greatly this year and realize how important of a player he actually was.

Mike Cammalleri
Any feelings of despair that I had seeing Tanguay leave were quickly replaced with excitement when I heard the news of Cammalleri becoming a Flame. This guy is young, quick, and great with the puck and should fit well into the Flames longterm plans. His obvious downfall is his proneness to injury - if he can stay healthy, this will be a fantastic pickup for the Flames and will easily replace Tanguay in the Flames lineup.

Todd Bertuzzi
Hmmmmm. Based on Bertuzzi’s past, I think this particular signing will go down in Flames history as one of the most controversial signings ever. I know for a fact there were a LOT of unhappy Flames fans as a result. I still am not sure what to think. I am trying to find the silver lining in the situation but sometimes it seems difficult. I cannot say that I like him as as a person, I can only hope that he can contribute to the team as a player and have a successful year. His play alone could make or break the Calgary Flames this year. The Flames are looking for him to put up some big numbers and make some big plays. In order to do this, he will need to overcome and ignore the large amount of media attention that he will receive now that he’s back in a true “hockey city”.

One thing for sure, he will add a huge physical presence and be a constant threat in front of the opposing net. This should increase the Flames power play efficiency as we now have our own “Holmstom”.

Rene Bourque
I don’t think anyone is expecting Rene to come into town and be a superstar. He will, however, come in and play consistantly on the 3rd or 4th line, and add some secondary scoring and depth to the Flames forward lines. I suspect a successful season for him would see him rack up 35-40 points.

Curtis Glencross
Regardless of how well Curtis plays this year, I like this guy simply based on the fact that he was smart enough to leave the Oilers and come play for the Flames. It’s always nice to scoop a player from our provincial rivals. Curtis is will be a solid player that will fit in well on the 3rd for 4th line.

Those are my thoughts, let’s hear yours!