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.

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!

Forget the sophmore jinx, Calgary is more familiar with the big contract jinx. Remember Roman Turek? It seemed his play tanked the moment he signed a big contract. I dare say that Phaneuf’s signing was a more responsible one than that of Turek, simply because the Flames have had more time to evaluate Phaneuf; Dion Phaneuf is the real deal.

Still, a $7M contract will put more pressure on Phaneuf to perform, and that pressure could affect his performance. Some guys react very positively to pressure and expectations, while others crumble under it. If he can continue doing what earned him the big contract in the first place, Phaneuf will be fine.

And what is it that got him here? Let’s take a look:

Yup, that’s what we want to see more of!

When the Flames made their run at the Stanley Cup in 2004 they showed a surprising amount of depth on the blue line. Even as injuries mounted, the supporting cast stepped up their play to keep the Flames in the post-season. This year the defensive depth cannot be questioned. Here’s a quick rundown of who is currently on the roster:

Adrian Aucoin - a big shot and good offensive zone awareness make Aucoin a good two way player. Rumours abound that Sutter would like to deal him to Los Angeles to shed his $4M salary.

Anders Eriksson - A minus-5 last season, Eriksson was rather inconsistent in his play. At times his defensive zone play was outstanding, but other times he seemed to disappear. He is a career plus-41, though, suggesting that he gets the job done in his own end of the rink.

Mark Giordano - Giordano showed great promise with the Flames two seasons ago, but departed for Russia last year as a restricted free agent after not coming to terms with the Flames. He is another young defenceman with good skating ability who can score the odd goal; a good player to have providing depth.

Dion Phaneuf - Calgary’s premier defenceman begins the first year of his new contract this season. Phaneuf has quickly become the cornerstone of Calgary’s blueline, quarterbacking the powerplay, scoring goals with his big shot and strong skating, and using his size to throw huge hits.

Robyn Regehr - This guy is the reason the Theo Fleury trade was totally worthwhile. Consistently in the 20 point vicinity and in double-digit plus-minus, Regehr is a solid two way player who can play in any situation.

Cory Sarich - If you don’t hear about Cory Sarich, he’s doing his job. I hear a lot of negative about Sarich, but I think it has mostly to do with him not putting up offensive numbers. We’ve got Aucoin, Phaneuf, and Regehr doing that, folks; Cory Sarich is a defence-first player who serves well in penalty killing roles or in a tight game. Oh, and he can throw a hit now and then as well.

Jim Vandermeer - Or as we call him: “Vandeneuf”. Vendermeer is another former Red Deer Rebel who has a physical presence on the ice. This guy won’t put up scoring numbers, but he will make life miserable for the opponent in Calgary’s zone.

Rhett Warrener - Warrener has the dubious track-record of losing in the Stanley Cup Final with three different “Cinderella” teams (Florida, Buffalo, and Calgary). A veteran presence comes with him, but he has averaged 25 games missed per season in his time with the Flames. Given Calgary’s depth and Warrener’s injury frequency, buy-out talks were rampant this summer. Evidently, the team still sees him as a valuable member of the team, and you can bet he’ll be out to prove them right.

Obviously, even beyond the star defencemen (Phaneuf and Regehr) the Flames are carrying a bevy of talent on defence. If these guys can stay healthy, Calgary’s defence should be among the best in the league. Remember too that TJ Brodie, John Negrin, Adam Pardy, and Matt Pelech are among the promising prospects that are currently developing in the CHL or AHL.

I’ve been away for the blog for a few days, enjoying a brief vacation in the Rockies. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the Kicking Horse Line, so was subject to SportsNet Pacific. It’s good to be back to SportsNet West this evening.

And while we’re at it, it’s good to have the big three back as well. Not that they’ve really gone anywhere lately, but Iginla, Phaneuf, and Kipprusoff have been playing outstanding hockey lately. With Iginla in striking distance of his single season scoring mark, Phaneuf scoring both pretty goals as well as his trademark rifle, and Kipper providing solid backing, the Flames look to be in good shape for the playoffs.

Still, the 40-minute efforts are a little troubling to me. Being badly outplayed for 20 minutes can mean the difference between wins and losses. Once this team can start playing full 60-minute outings, I think they will be contenders in the post-season.