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.

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!