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!

Before we sound the alarms and start preparing for playoffs without the Flames lets remember how good this team is. We can’t forget that the Flames scored four goals last game, easily enough to win the game…so why didn’t they, because our d-core were still in Washington looking for their jock straps…which were later found in Ovechkins locker.

Last night the team was celebrating a huge win over the lowly Thrashers on the bench during the second period. Hand shakes, high-fives, and good game taps where going around when the Flames realized that a player wearing the #17 had other plans (by the way that player got me 4 points in my draft :)…back to business). Like an unwanted guest, he ate our food, drank our booze and ravaged the women. By the time the Flames realized what had just happened it was too late. Their skates were already off and most of them were already making their way to the airport with two points in their pockets, including Iron Mike.

What’s the moral of the story? Work hard for 60 minutes and the rest will take care of itself (and the women will come back!).

So do we panic? Big fat NO! Lets just play some solid D (like the Flames have a rep of doing), the forwards need to keep scoring, and don’t let Huselius try to defend Iggy with his stick, and we’ll be fine. But I can’t stress enough how much we need the next 4 points (against Chicago and Columbus)…which we WILL get. And the only way to do this is to bring your lunch pale, boots and your hard hats (this includes you Lombardi…if you jump over one more shot Iron Mike will shoot you). If not, the button will be pressed!

Hoser & Shooter