Darryl Sutter is No More

Goosebumps can be caused by many things. Being scared, excited, nervous, cold, anxious, etc.


So is it wrong that I had them running down my arms when I heard the news that Darryl Sutter was no longer the General Manager of the Calgary Flames today?

To say I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time would be an understatement. It all happened so fast. One minute I’m strapping on my own skates to take part in a Canadian winter tradition of playing hockey outdoors. The next thing I know my phone is erupting with text messages and phone calls informing me that Darryl Sutter resigned/was forcefully told that his services were no longer needed.

I didn’t know whether to keep playing, go into full celebration mode or rush home to my keyboard.

It’s exciting, is what it is. It’s a step in the right direction for a franchise that desperately needs a direction other than a downward spiral.

Flames like the holiday season

Courtesy: AP

The Flames are on a roll – sort of.


Winners of their last two games, and four of their last five under the Dome, the Flames climbed to within six points of 8th spot in the western conference. Let’s just ignore the fact that the Flames have played more games than pretty well everyone else in the conference save the Ducks.

Olli Jokinen has six goals in his last nine forcing most people to hide their distaste for the Finnish centerman. He’s playing how he should be playing, and that’s what the Flames him to do. Let’s hope he keeps it up.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the Dome,
Not a creature was stirring, not even Jarome.
The Jerseys were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Stanley soon would be there.

The Flames were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of hockey pucks danced in their heads.
And Sutter in his ‘kerchief, and King in his cap,
Had just settled their brains for a long winter’s nap.




When atop the Dome there arose such a clatter,
They sprang from their beds to see what was the matter.
Away to Dutton’s they headed for a beer,
Tore open the doors for some good Christmas cheer.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what did their eyes suddenly view,
A Tiny zamboni, with the Fire ‘n Ice crew.

With a little old driver, his face all lit up,
They knew it was Stanley, Lord of the Cup.
More rapid than eagles the players they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Iggy! Now Gio! Now, Reggie with joy!
On Kipper! On, J-Bo! On Moss and Conroy!
To the end of the bench, to the edge of the rink!
Skate away! Skate away! Fast as a wink!"

With X’s and O’s from their pre-game plans,
They readied to play in front of their fans.
So out on the ice, the players they flew,
All with their sticks and St. Stanley too.

And then from the PA, they heard a dull whine,
It was announced the return of famed #9.
They drew their heads up to the roof in a flash,
Down from the rafters came that red ‘stache.

He was wearing a tux, he was all dressed up,
To tell them all about Lord Stanley’s Cup.
A bundle of stories he had in his head,
The glory of winning, to the players he spread.

Of Vancouver, LA and Chicago he talked,
Facing Montreal that year, it was the Cup they stalked.
“Play as a team,” he said, “giving your best,
Not until June will you be able to rest.

“The New Year will come, and your games will improve,
With each passing win, you’re finding your groove!
That is my gift, to each of you now,
When you win the big trophy, take a big bow!"

He sprang to the roof, to the girls gave a whistle,
And away they all flew fast as a missle.
But they heard him exclaim, ‘ere he flew out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

-TheRev


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Flames Infomercial a Real Winner

“Do you struggle to save the puck? Are you having trouble stopping that little black piece of rubber from going in the net? Do you find yourself riding the pine more than you think you should? If so, we believe we have the answer for you. Come on over to Calgary where the Flames will show you what true hospitality is all about. Their under-achieving band of overpaid hockey players will shoot it right into your logo. They will miss the net when you are out of position. They will even fire nice softball perimeter blasts with no screen, just so you can boost your confidence. It’s that easy. So give them a call at: 403-777-SUCK.  Multiple visits encouraged if you are REALLY struggling.


WARNING: IF YOUR HAPPINESS LASTS MORE THAN 4 HOURS PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR.”

Sounds like this could really sell!

Flames options moving forward

In light of the Flames facing off against Toronto tonight, the team they partnered off with to make last year's blockbuster deal, I thought it would be interesting to look at some of the Flames options moving forward.

The Flames have issues. That’s clearly apparent. But fixing those issues -- therein lies the true work of art.

How do you get yourself out from under this mess? A mess that includes but is not restricted to: Locked in contracts to over rated players (cough...Stajan); no-trade/movement clauses to anyone and everyone (Iginla, Langkow, Stajan, Bourque, Kotalik, Jokinen, Tanguay, Bouwmeester, Regehr, Sarich, Kiprusoff).

These problems, among others, are reasons why the the Flames are going nowhere fast, just so everyone is aware.

So let’s look into some possible options to fixing this crap storm of poor managing.

The Return of Dion

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames will face off on Thursday night at the Dome.


You would think a game between the 22nd and 26th ranked team in the league wouldn’t exactly be a must see affair, but this upcoming tilt between two cellar dwellers has a little more oomph than your run of the mill basement clash.

Did I mention Dion Phaneuf will be making his much anticipated return to where it all began? Well he is, and it’s become quite a big deal.

Drafted 9th overall by the Flames in 2003, Dion was the most anticipated Flames prospect since the hay day of the late 80’s. This wasn’t Rico Fata, or Daniel Tkaczuk, or even Chris Dingman, this was a player who played for Team Canada at the World Juniors and dominated and a player who the coach/GM at the time knew very very well. Well enough to hug on draft day, and Darryl is not a hugger.

Flames get single point in California

California dreamin’ or California nightmare?


I’d say the latter was a more apt description of the result of the two game road trip. Two games, one point – simply put, it’s just not good enough.

Despite late charges in both games, the Flames fell short in each game – stretching it to the shootout in Anaheim while falling in regulation in LA.

They fall behind early only to fight back and fall short in the end. The story is all too familiar, and so are the cast of characters, both on the ice and off of it.

Lightning go up in Flames

On a day in which Sylvester Stallone got elected into the boxing hall of fame (huh?) and Graham James gets out on bail(you have to be kidding me right?), the Calgary Flames climbed out of last place – at least for the time being.

With the Oilers shootout loss, the Flames sit one point ahead of the junior high school misfits, but unfortunately the Flames have played one more game.

Really, Flames fans should’ve known this was coming, what with the seven, now eight, game string in which the Flames have yet to record two of the same result in back-to-back games.

Inconsistent.

Road Trip XV Re-Cap

Well now that I've had time to settle back into Calgary, I thought I'd put together a little summary of the East Coast swing that was my road trip last week.

While it obviously would have been nicer to see the Flames go 4-0, I never really thought that would happen.  Let's be honest, this team isn't very good, so I never really expected too many wins.  Plus, I have to admit I have a spectacularly poor record at away games, having gone 10-13-4 in the past six seasons.  Of course this isn't to say there aren't any positives from this trip.  They did manage three points, which is better than many of my trips.  Also, they didn't get shutout, which is always an empty feeling leaving an enemy's arena.

Here's a look at the numbers for the trip:

Stated and provinces visited: 6
Distances Driven: 2495km
Distance Flown: 2690km
Trains Taken: 3
Big Apples Visited: 2
Toll Booths passed: 11
Amount of Tolls: $56.50

NHL arenas: 4
Former NHL Arenas: 2
Total cost of tickets: $315
Cost of equivelant tickets at the Saddledome: $540
Flames goals: 6
Flames goals witnessed: 5

White Castle Sliders eaten: 11
Street Vendors Patronized: 8
Different Fast Food joints visited: 6
Different beers drank: 11

To View photos of the Trip, click here.

View a map of the Trip below:

View Road Trip XV in a larger map


Not sure where the next trip will be, but there are still 13 arenas to see the Flames play in!

-TheRev

twitter.com/TheRevBW
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Flames goals against not the problem

Just a few things I wanted to touch upon following the Flames 3-2 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild.


Thing #1: Darryl Sutter and his claim that goals against are the Flames big problem

Yes, the Flames rank 24th in the league in goals against per game. But, if you dig a little deeper you will see that these numbers are quickly skewed due to a couple blow out games. The recent 7-2 loss to the Canucks where the Flames basically gave up following the Canucks 4th goal, coupled with the Caps dismantling of the Flames on Halloween night, also a 7-2 beat down, are the two cases I speak of. Subtract those two bizarre outings and the Flames sit tied for 11th in GA. The Flames problems have never been stopping the puck – take last year as an example where the Flames finished 5th in the league for GA.

Mo-Vember is over, bring on Mo-Cember!

One of the finest Stache's EVER!

With the win tonight the Flames finished the month of November with a 4-7-2 record – a far cry from last year’s 10-2-2 domination over the month of Moustaches.


For his part, Jarome Iginla continued his November tirade scoring eight goals and adding five assists in 13 games. Not only did he score more, but Iginla began asserting himself more in the play. He was the Iggy of old and it really couldn’t have come at a better time.

Funny enough, Alex Tanguay had 13 points (2G 11A) as well in the 13 games in November. This has been a definite bright spot for the Flames this year as Tanguay and Iginla actually have chemistry – which has been hard to come by recently.

Arena #17 - Consol Energy Center

My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…


November 27, 2010 – Pittsburgh, PA



Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA

 After visiting New York and Philadelphia, Pittsburgh seems quite docile.  There doesn't seem to be any energy or any character, and fans don't yell things at opposing fans or players, or at vendors, or at passing cars.  The people of Pittsburgh seem to be more like, well, Canadians.  With their timidness, there wasn't a lot of anxiety walking into the Consol Energy Center on Saturday afternoon.

Pittsburgh is home to the NHL's newest arena, with the Flames being the opponent in only the 13th game there.  Tickets had been hard to find leading up to the game, so much so that we didn't have any yet when we arrived in Pittsburgh following the Flyers game on Friday.  In the morning before the game, tickets started to become available on the Penguins' website, but wouldn't accept my credit card because I don't have a ZIP code!  Furious, and worried we wouldn't be able to see the game, we raced to the arena to check the box office.  The same tickets I had seen on-line were available, so we weren't going to be watching from the pub across the street.

Flames return from road trip un-changed

Here are some numbers from the five game road-trip the Flames just came back from:


A record of 1-2-2.

Outscored 14-9.

Average of 2.8 goals against per game.

Average of 1.8 goals for per game.

Outshot 161-146.

1 for 15 on the PP or 6.67% completion, including going 0 for 12 in the final four games.

16 for 21 on the PK or 76.19% efficiency

1 -1 in shootouts

Only one blown lead – to blow a lead, you must first have a lead and those were few and far between.

1-2-1 against the Atlantic division.

Injuries: Stajan (2 games), Regehr (1 game). Both returned before the trip was done.

Arena #16 - Wells Fargo Center

My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…

Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA

November 26, 2010 – Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia was an interesting experience, but not at all what I was expecting.  After hearing all the stories, I have to admit, I was ready to have things thrown at me as I walked the concourse, but instead, all I heard throughout the entire game was two "you sucks", one "Iginla sucks" and one "Canada sucks."  It seems that like New Jersey fans, 'sucks' is a big word.  Like at the Devils game, the fans yelled 'sucks!' after each name was read for the Flames starting line up, and the refs were told they suck and, well, you get the idea.

Flames finally win, thanks to Pronger acting like Avery

The Flames beat the best the league had to offer, or at least the best in terms of points coming into today, downing the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout.


The win didn’t come without its share of controversy as the Flyers had an apparent winning goal disallowed in overtime due to Chris Pronger doing his best impersoation of Sean Avery. With the Flyers on a power play with less than two minutes to play in the extra frame, the Flyers Captain Mike Richards appeared to have ended the game with Pronger screening in front. However, the ref waved the goal off immediately and sent Pronger to sin bin for two minutes. Not for goaltender interference, but for acting in an unsportsmanlike manner by waving his hand in front of Miikka Kiprusoff’s face in an attempt to flap the seemingly un-flappable goaltender.

Arena #15 - Prudential Center

My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…


November 24, 2010 – Newark, NJ

I'm now at the halfway point in my mission to see the Flames play at all 30 arenas, after seeing the Flames play the Devils at the Prudential Center in downtown Newark, New Jersey.  Unfortunately, for Calgary, the game was yet another loss, although this time in a shootout.

Road Trip XV - Arena #12.2 - MSG

November 22, 2010 - New York, NY

The World's Most Famous Arena:
Madison Square Garden  circa 2004

 What can I say about last night's game?  Truth be told, I missed most of it.  We left Kingston a little before ten in the morning, but apparently that wasn't early enough to get to a Rangers game on time.  Naturally, I have a long list of excuses, which pretty much absolves me of any responsibility for missing the first 37 minutes of game time.

First off, it rained for a good portion of the drive.  And not like a little drizzle that makes golfers pull out their umbrellas, but a hard, steady rain like the one the Bishop Pickering played through in 'Caddyshack.'  Needless to say, I found myself yelling rat farts more than once, while shaking my fists at the heavens.  We then found ourselves tangled up in New York's rush hour traffic.  The roads are packed in every conceivable direction, making progress nearly impossible.  The last 100km of our trip took almost as long as the first 700km.  Throw a missed exit into the mix and you find yourself in a Clifton, NJ grocery store asking customers how to get to Newark.  As an aside, it seems the people of New Jersey aren't very familiar with their state's largest city, as most times I asked for any directions, I was given a blank stare like they had never heard of it.

Flames continue slide

Photo Courtesy: calgaryherald.com

The Calgary Flames lost 2-1 to the New York Rangers tonight.


The Flames had their chances to tie the game, but were stymied by the post, Martin Biron’s pads/glove, or a combination of both.

This is an all too familiar tale.

So what else can I say that hasn’t be said already. Nothing really, and so instead I will look at some individual efforts that have stuck out recently – both good and bad.

Iggy Ignites, but Flames lose late

From satisfaction to utter shock.


What just happened? Did that just happen? Did I just witness that?

Surely, some of the many responses from shocked Flames fans after they blew a late two goal lead in Detroit to lose 5-4 to the Red Wings.

But really, they didn’t do the things necessary to win the game. They took too many bad penalties (see Stajan tackling Filppula near the end of the game) and when they were HANDED an opportunity to close the game out, they decided to take the conservative route instead.

Let me explain.

Road Trip XV

The Rev is heading out on another Flames Road Trip.  This time, our travels take us to the East Coast, with plans to see the Flames play the Rangers, Devils, Flyers and Penguins.  I say plans, as I currently don't have tickets to the Penguins game.

Penguin tickets have been a little harder to come by than I had originally thought.  It seems that when you have a young exciting team, people enjoy watching you.  But, I think the biggest reason is the new arena.  This will only be the 13th game ever played at the CONSOL Energy Center.  I'll keep searching, and if worst comes to worst, buy something off a scalper outside the arena.  By the by, if anybody has any connections in Pittsburgh, I'd be very grateful!

Whilst on the road, I'll be updating the progress of the trip, so if you'd like to follow along, you can do so in a a variety of ways:

1. On TSR @ the Flames Road Trips page

2. Updates on

3. Progress on The Map

4. Photos on Flickr

Now the only hope is the Flames play like they did against the Hawks on Friday, and less like they played against...most of their other opponents this year.

-TheRev

twitter.com/TheRevBW

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Olli gets 3 games for crosscheck

Olli Jokinen was suspended three games for cross checking Wojtek Wolski in the face last night during the third period of the Flames 3-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.

He is able to return to action next Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils.

This is kind of expected given how harsh the crosscheck was. I thought is was a little too much, and maybe 1-2 games was more appropriate. Having said that, it was an extremely dumb penalty to take and pretty much sank the Flames chances last night. Olli isn't making it easier for himself or the Flames by doing that.

What does this mean for the team? Well it will allow someone (Backlund hopefully) to get a chance for more ice time get a chance to produce on a more consistent level.

The Flames are in trouble regardless. This upcoming string of games (Chicago, Detroit, NYR, Devils, Flyers, Pens) could all but sink this team and cue the official rebuilding process.

Times are a changing.


Newman
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Source: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=341753

The trade that didn't change anything

I’m baaaaaaaack!!!!

After spending a week talking about whether Man U could really win the premiership this year or whether the England victory over Australia will really shake the foundation of the rugby world, I am back in North America to talk about the sport we all know and love: ice hockey (or at least that’s what everyone kept calling it over in jolly old England).

Every time I mentioned hockey some guy would say, “Oh yeah, I just came from the pitch from a great hockey game.” And I would respond, “Field hockey?” and he would say, “Yeah, what in the bloody hell are you talking about?”

Well, it’s time to talk some ice hockey. I’m tired of waiting in this damn queue.

Stamps vs. Riders IV

Well, I guess this is what was supposed to happen; the Stampeders and Roughriders will face each other in the Western Conference final, after the men in green beat the Lions on the weekend in double overtime. As a Stamps fan, I would have rather seen the Lions come to Calgary, but for the sake of atmosphere and excitement, it’s better the Riders are here. There isn’t a more intense rivalry in the league.

At first glance, I’d have put my money on the Stampeders winning this game, and advancing to the annual “West vs. Montreal” game, aka the Grey Cup. But I should of course look at the match up a little closer before I fill out any Sports Select tickets.

Crime in Detroit? Shhhh.....

Did you happen to read the Edmonton Sun on Wednesday? I didn’t either, but I did hear about an article written ahead of Edmonton’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Robert Tychkowski, staff writer for the Sun, opened his article with, “Welcome to Detroit, where the forecast, as always, is muggy, with a chance of murder. When you’re trying to breathe a little life back into your year, this is not the place to visit. And not just because they use more white chalk at crime scenes than they ever did in the schools.”


Brilliant. Of course not everybody saw it this way, especially those from Detroit. The outcry has been loud, aggressive, and well, ill informed. Some have called for him to be fired, while one commenter even said he “…should be careful if he ever returns to Detroit, as that chalk will be for (him).”

What the hell has happened to society? Can people not put anything into perspective anymore? To begin, there are a lot of murders in Detroit. In fact, there are almost as many murders each year in Detroit as in all of Canada. So this means people are pissed off because this writer was…telling the truth. Maybe people think that if no one ever says it, it won’t be true. I suppose that strategy is cheaper than social programs or police, but I still have doubts about its’ effectiveness.

I try to avoid reading the comments of any newspaper article, as I’m worried I’ll pop a blood vessel or break something. But the comments on this article were too much to resist. Let’s see, there’s “…you try backing yourself up by saying something is ‘statistically accurate?? So pathetic.” This guy doesn’t have a problem with the comment it seems, but with the fact that it is backed up with ‘statistics.’ Another suggested he should have “…molten glass poured down (his) rectum.” Not sure where that came from, perhaps he just got back from the middle ages.

When I was last in Detroit for a hockey game, in April of 2007, across from my hotel, sat a thirty storey building that had been abandoned. The bottom floor was boarded up, and the other twenty-nine floors didn’t have any windows. Somebody had simply dusted their hands off, threw the keys into the lobby and walked away, washing their hands of an entire skyscraper. This wasn’t the only one either, as the downtown area was filled with abandon buildings. Tiger Stadium, which last hosted a baseball game in 1999 was still standing. The Packard plant, a giant factory complex was still standing even though Packard went out of business in 1956. But, when I was walking away from the arena in my Flames jersey, somebody yelled at me, saying, “…your city’s a dump!” How ironic I thought.

But besides the laissez-fair attitude towards their buildings, there is a lot of crime. The fact that this writer pointed that out, in jest, shouldn’t be a problem. While Detroiters preach their freedoms, including their right to carry a gun, which results in their extremely high murder rate, they obviously don’t include the freedom of speech. Perhaps if their energies were directed at the sources of their crime, instead of people talking about their crime, they could kill (pun intended) two birds with one stone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch my new favourite show, Detroit 187, which I can only assume never mentions murder or crime.

-TheRev




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Guest Columnist: Flames down Avs

Newman is on hiatus for a little while, so I'll be trying to fill the daily negative, I mean reality-check based, Flames' blogs that he is so aptly known for.
Last night the Flames gave up the first goal of the game for the first time in as long as I can remember. Maybe we should get back into the Delorean and get it up to 88 mph ... nope, I'll just use the internet. It was on October 16th against the Edmonton Oilers. Damn. That was almost a month ago; at the very least it was a span of 9 games. What does that mean? Who knows. The Flames are an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, rolled in a slice of bacon right now. There was no way I (or most Flames fans) thought they could turn it around and win after Christ Stewart scored less than two minutes into the third period. But they did.
Credit to B Sutter for changing up his lines and uniting David Moss, Mikael Backlund, and Niklas Hagman together though. That was very Keenan-esque of him, seeing as despite moving Morrison from wing to center and then back to wing, and dropping Jokinen off of the first line (after forcing that combination for an eternity) are the only real line changes he's made all year (edit: I just realized that we're only a handful of games into the season and not an "eternity"; so, why is everyone getting on Iginla already again?).

Round and round we go

Do you remember the scene from National Lampoon’s European Vacation when the Griswold’s enter a traffic circle and then gets stuck in it and goes around and around and around and around, unable to break through and drive in another direction?


Well, the Calgary Flames are the Griswold’s and are stuck in said traffic circle.

With every gut-wrenching 2-1 loss, with every failed power play, with every game where the players say, “We had a really good first period, and then kind of let up.” The same trivial excuses day in and day out: The players haven’t bought in; they weren’t battling hard enough; the power play can’t find ways to score.

It’s a tad monotonous isn’t it?

Remember, remember, the month of November

“In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate.”

Is that Jarome Iginla? Well, it’s entirely possible.

A man who is both chastised for what he doesn’t do, but loved for what he does. It’s a fascinating situation to be in and now that November is upon us it is historically Jarome’s, and the Calgary Flames time to shine.

Let me explain.

The Weekly Roundup - November 1, 2010

This past week has been an interesting one in the world of the Calgary Flames. It has been a week of blown chances, missed opportunities, and horrendous defence.

The Flames went 1-2 over the seven day span beating Edmonton, and then subsequently losing to Colorado and Washington. They blew a 4-1 lead to the Oilers, only to salvage the win in a shootout. They blew a 3-1 lead to the Avs – eventually falling 6-5. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Washington, before allowing an avalanche (seven) of goals in the next 25 minutes of action. These are not exactly defining characteristics of mentally strong, defensive minded hockey teams – something Calgary was supposedly thought to be.

If a Tree Falls at McMahon...

Last April I wrote about a game between the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild that didn't mean anything.  Neither team was going to the post season, nobody on either team was nearing a significant milestone, and concession prices were not cut in half.  I wondered '...if a hockey game doesn't matter, will anybody be there to see it?'

Last night at McMahon Stadium, the Stampeders and the city found themselves in a similar position.  The Stamps had already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot, already clinched a first-round bye, and already sealed up home field advantage in the Grey Cup pre-cursor.  There wasn't really anything to play for and nothing for the fans to cheer for, except for well played football.  But would this happen when neither team had anything to gain, and like last April's Flames tilt, would the fans be involved in the game, or merely provide the Stamps with a smattering of polite applause?

Flames Problems Have Changed

Well, at least the problem isn’t scoring goals anymore.


The Calgary Flames, after averaging less than two goals for their first half dozen games, have become an offensive powerhouse reminiscent of the 84’ Oilers – averaging nearly four and a half goals per game.

It’s simply ironic that once the Flames start scoring, the defence decides to take a break. They have allowed 10 goals in their last two games. The defence was horrid, but the goaltending wasn't much better.

In his first home start as a Calgary Flame Henrik Karlsson allowed six goals on 33 shots. It wasn’t his finest performance and definitely didn’t instil a bunch of confidence in the team, the coach, or his fans.

Flames Ignited

Who the hell are these guys and what did they do with the Calgary Flames? You know who I’m talking about right? The team that finished 2nd last in goal scoring last season and was averaging less than two goals a game heading into Friday night -- yeah that would be them.


Well, something happened to change the tides and now the Flames are looking like world beaters every time they hit the ice.

This team has scored 10 goals in two games and outscored their opponents by four in both affairs. One reason for the surge in goal scoring has been that every line now seems to be creating chances.

The Farm Boy Theory

Curtis Glencross at the Calgary Stampede

"You don't have to worry about that. He's not going down there to get confidence. But he's an awesome kid. He's a farm kid, and you know clearly what direction he's going.”



-- Darryl Sutter’s comments regarding TJ Brodie and his demotion to the AHL.

The question I pose is this: What is it that makes farm kids such good hockey players? Are they seemingly tougher from growing up on a farm, or has all the time herding cattle and riding horseback made their hockey sense super innate? Does Sutter know every farmer in the world? Is he possibly stereotyping ALL farm kids?

Fantasy Football Lesson

As we near the halfway point of the NFL Fantasy season, I thought it was time I pass on some of the many lessons I’ve learned over the years concerning the obsession that is fantasy football. Or more specifically, the lesson I learned this passed weekend, when, thanks to a healthy mix of misfortune, bad luck, and million-to-one odds, I lost my match up to one of the most hapless opponents to ever take to the simulated field.

I was in rural Ontario this past weekend, where I was attending a wedding. The small Inn we stayed at, while quaint, seemed to be stuck in 1997, or maybe 2003. Either way, they didn’t have Wi-Fi or any other Internet access, nor did anywhere else in town, which consisted only of a Home Hardware, a ‘convenience’ store whose shelves resembled those of a Soviet-era deli, and a pizza/coffee house, which only seemed to be open for about four hours each evening.

The Weekly Roundup - October 18th, 2010

Flames rollercoaster ride continues

With the amount stress Calgary Flames fans have experienced in the past week, one might think you had been riding the emotional highs and lows of a teenage girl who is trying to fit in at a new school. But yet, this all comes thanks to a team destined to pull at the heart strings of its faithful followers to the bitter end. It is the ultimate love-hate relationship.

The Flames began the week by beating an L.A. Kings team that most think will finish in the top of the Western Conference. Spirits were brought back up from the devastating season opening loss to the Oilers and things were looking bright with the Florida Panthers coming into town on Thursday. This should have been a good game to start a small winning streak, however having said that it ended up being two and half hours of some of the worst entertainment you will ever see. Watching the senior lawn bowling championships on the ‘OCHO’ would have out-duelled this snooze fest, but sadly for Flames fans they were left to wallow in self pity for having to pay any sum of money to watch 20 baboons troll around an NHL arena. I felt pity for anyone in attendance as it was difficult enough watching on TV.

Same Pile of...

“SHUT UP! Enough already, Ballstein! Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look, for Christ's sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigra? They're the same face! Doesn't anybody notice this?” – Mugatu


This is how I feel.

The Calgary Flames are Derek Zoolander. Derek Zoolander is the Calgary Flames. Regardless of the grammatical nightmare that is that last sentence one thing remains – the 2010-11 Calgary Flames are eerily similar, if not the worse, to the 2009-10 version of the Flames.

Quick Hits

Heading into tonight’s game with the perennial bottom dwelling Florida Panthers, the Calgary Flames are faced with a few interesting decisions.


1. Which veteran defenceman will suit up in place of Adam Pardy: Sarich or Staios?

Well I have to believe Cory Sarich gets the nod here but I have been wrong before. I personally don’t like either option and would rather see Matt Pelech recalled but that is not going to happen just yet. Both Sarich and Staios are very similar in style. Sarich provides possibly steadier defence, while Staios might provide you with a little more offence, but either way both players are interchangeable and might I add very overpriced at this current juncture. With Kotalik eventually having to come off the LTIR, Sutter will have to make a move to free up cap space. One of these two d-men will be either waived/demoted or traded in the not too distant future.

2. Will Matt Stajan actually suit up?

With Bourque set to sit out the Panthers game, it would be a definite plus to have Matt Stajan back in the line-up to help fill the void left by Rene. Stajan was centering he second line with Hagman on the left and Morrison moved over to the wing. Morrison has played wing before so that’s not a huge switch for him and shouldn’t cause too many problems. On a related note I sure hope they move Morrison out and Backlund in when it comes to the powerplay. The unit has yet to score with a goaltender actually in the net, so adding some young creativity might actually help the situation. I know I have stated this time and time again but I’m just hoping that Brent Sutter might read this and he might realize that what he is doing is not working. You know, 1 for 12(really 0 for 11) is good and all but maybe you should try something different. Just saying, either way...

Those were my quick thoughts. Also check out my game summary of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen’s third win of the season here: http://exm.nr/cNqOlG

Newman
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The Weekly Roundup - October 12, 2010

It was a good news bad news type of week for the Calgary Flames.
Good news: They recorded their first win

Bad news: They recorded their first loss

Good: They scored a power play goal

Bad: The goal was scored into an empty net and was one of twelve chances in two games

Good: Calgary beat a very good team in the LA Kings

Bad: Calgary was clobbered by the Oilers—a team they did not lose to all of last year.

Good: Matt Stajan took the ice Monday wearing a ‘non-contact’ jersey and looks to be on the mend

Bad: Both Rene Bourque and Adam Pardy left the game Sunday and did not return. Compile that with Raitis Ivanans concussion on Thursday night and the sick bay total climbs to a staggering eight players (Langkow, Moss, Stone, Kotalik, Stajan, Bourque, Pardy and Ivanans).

Good: The Flames have out-shot their opponents 69-55 in the first two games of the season.

Bad: Of those 69 shots, only a small percentage were actual legitimate scoring chances (mostly referring to Thursday’s game where Calgary maybe had two tangible chances at scoring a goal).

Good: The Saddledome has a new sponsor: Scotiabank

Bad: All the dumb nick names people are trying to come up with: Worst of all was “The Bank.” How about “The Dome”? Seems to have worked for the last 20 some-odd years.

Bloodied and Beaten

What a start to the 2010-11 National Hockey League season for the Calgary Flames.


They looked fast, they looked hungry, and their power play was really clicking. Oh, no wait, that was the Edmonton Oilers. Damn.

I don’t really know where to begin.

How do you describe such a pathetic effort? How do you wait five and a half months to redeem yourself for a disappointing season with an effort like that?

The Ultimate Question

Will the Calgary Flames make the playoffs?

That seems to be the question I hear more than any other when I watch TSN, Sportsnet, TheScore, or drop in on conversations at the local watering hole.

So, will they?

Well it’s a little more complicated than that. It involves beating out seven other teams in a very, very competitive Western Conference.

This and That and Morrison

With the regular season on our doorstep my goal of profiling every single player on the Flames roster came up a little short. But with that being said I will run down, quickly, those players I missed and share my thoughts on the signing of Brendan Morrison.


The Rest of the Healthy Forward Core:

Bourque, Glencross, Conroy, and Meyer

Bourque is coming off a career year and has looked great in camp. I liked the line combination of him Hagman and Backlund but it looks as if the newcomer BM will take Backlund’s spot up the middle. I’m not extremely pleased with this, but I will get to that later. As for Bourque, he is the key to the ‘secondary scoring’ for the Flames. With Stajan and Langkow riding the ambulance for now, Bourque, along with Hagman, really have to provide that next wave of scoring behind the big three.

The Weekly Roundup - October 4th , 2010

Flames star in: General Hospital


The line-up at the Flames infirmary ward is getting longer by the second. All that talk about being over the cap to start the season has gone out the window as the Flames will have more than enough players placed on the Long Term Injured List, making their salary void against the cap. Daymond Langkow (neck), Matt Stajan (Shoulder), Ales Kotalik (Knee), David Moss (shoulder), and Ryan Stone (Knee) are also out indefinitely and have no time table for a return.

You can also add Adam Pardy to the list temporarily as he left Sunday night’s game with an eye injury.

Once faced with too many centers, the Flames now have not enough, as only Jokinen, Backlund, Conroy, and rookie Stefan Meyer are the natural centers left on the team. With all the injuries, the thought of Meyer starting the season with the big club has become a very realistic possibility. He has impressed in camp and has the size that Jon Rheault (just sent down) does not. If Flames fans know nothing else, it’s that Sutter likes bigger players.

Side Note: How good is Backlund looking these last couple games? He centered Iggy and Tanguay on Friday night and picked up two assists, while last night, playing with Hagman and Bourque, he looked great. He is reading the play much better and you can almost see the confidence grow in his game each and every night. Could a first round pick for the Flames actually pan out the way fans and management have hoped? Fingers are crossed.

For the 'what ifs' in life

“You may say that I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”- John Lennon 

What if...

What if the Flames won the Stanley Cup this year?

What if the Flames don’t make the playoffs this year?

What if Darryl Sutter doesn’t make it through the season?

What if Iginla scores 50 again?

What if Olli scores 40?

What if Olli scores 10?

What if Tanguay has 50 assists this year?

What if Kipper wins the vezina?

What if Kipper got hurt?

What if Calgary skipped over the Keenan era?

What if the lockout never happened?

What if the lockout never ended?

What if the Gelinas goal actually counted?

What if Turek never got hurt?

What if the Flames never hired Sutter?

What if the Young Guns were actually good?

What if Darth Vader wasn’t actually Luke’s father?

What if the Flames never traded for Iginla?

What if the Flames never traded Gilmour?

What if 1989 never happened?

What if the Flames never drafted Theo Fleury?

What if the Flames didn’t trade Brett Hull?

What if 1986 actually happened?

What if Marty was in fact stuck in 1955?

What if the Flames never acquired Lanny McDonald?

What if Calgary never acquired the Flames?

As sports fans, as in life, we are bombarded with a million ‘what ifs’ every single day.

For the Calgary Flames, this has been a pre-season filled with too many ‘what ifs’ to even count.

Never has a season been such a question mark at the beginning of the year. Ok, maybe I’m over exaggerating a tad, but not too many people in the sports world can make heads or tails of this current Flames team. Sutter has successfully confused the entire hockey world with his irregular maneuvers.

Maybe he IS the mastermind he makes himself out to be. Then again, maybe not.

Either way I think John Lennon was onto something, because it’s fun to think ‘what if,’ and it’s fun to dream up endless scenarios and possibilities for something you care far too much about.

Go Flames Go!

Have a good weekend!

Newman

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Cowboys and Bonhommes

You may have noticed I haven't written about the Stamps since their loss against the Roughriders two weeks ago.  The truth is, I've been in hiding from angry gamblers who told me they lost on Sports Select because they went with my prediction of a Stampeder victory.  Remember, when you're right 51% of the time, you're wrong 49% of the time!  Well now I'm back to talk about tonight's game against the Alouettes.

I don't know what happen the last two weeks, but I'm confident the Stamps are better team than they have shown in losses to Saskatchewan and BC.  Before these two losses, I wouldn't have worried about playing Montreal in the least bit, but I'm not so sure now.  I'm still picking the Stamps for a few reasons though.  Firstly, they really do have a good team, and they've proven that many times this year.  They still have the number one defence in the league and their offence is no slouch either.  Secondly, Montreal isn't as good as many think.  Sure, they dominate the Eastern Conference, but so could the Lions; the Detroit Lions that is.  The East is weak, and when you play the bulk of your games against Toronto, Hamilton and Winnipeg, of course you're going to win a lot.

The Stampeders aren't going to lose three games in a row, they're too good.  After losing to such a weak opponent in the BC Lions, they'll need to avenge themselves to prove once again, they're the best team in the league.  Tonight's game at McMahon and next week's game in Montreal, between the two first place teams, will be the evidence needed to back up that claim.  I'm confident they can do it.


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Ryder Fatigue

Former Assistant Captain Olazabal and his team.

The Ryder Cup takes place this weekend. What used to be one of the most anticipated events on the golfing calendar seems to have lost a lot of its lustre. What happened to this once prestigious event? Like a Greek tragedy, the Ryder Cup's slow death can be attributed to its evil brother, the President's Cup.

Formally, the Ryder Cup offered golf fans a different sort of tournament; a match play event pitting once country against another. The unique format made it exciting and different, the fact it only happened every two years added to the prestige. Add to that, the top quality players who participated, and you had quite the event on your hands, exciting for fans and profitable for the organizers, the PGA. But by the early 1990's, golf began to change, as players from different parts of the world rose to prominence. Names like Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Nick Price. Not being from Europe or the Untied States, they were not eligible for the Ryder Cup, and the PGA was unable to showcase many of the game's top names. Unfortunately, greed crept into play, and brought the world the President's Cup, a bastardization of the Ryder Cup, played under the false pretence of "patriotism." A more contrived event has never existed in the world of golf, and I'm including the 84 Lumber Classic.

It's a Numbers Game

Every year the NHL has individuals that surpass a milestone like having scored the most goals on Tuesdays in the month of November … on the road in afternoon games. So let’s look ahead and see what kind of movement we’ll see on the all-time lists going into this season.



Martin Brodeur is often referred to as the best goalie of all time. It’s a valid argument to make. The man has the most wins and shutouts ever. That’s pretty impressive. However, often goalies that win a lot play a lot, and when that happens you lose a lot too (over time obviously). Brodeur has a chance to become the all time losingest (that’s not a word apparently) goalie. Brodeur has 324 career regular season losses and sits in 9th, just 28 behind Curtis Joseph who sits in first. Brodeur should also pass Roy for total saves made. In the same category, Roberto Luongo should make it past 20,000 career saves, which is a large number considering he is entering his 12th NHL season; I guess the Panthers are good for something.

Olli Jokinen: Here We Go Again

Jokinen at the Red vs. White game

With the news that Olli Jokinen has suffered a minor injury in last night’s pre-season tilt with the Phoenix Coyotes, I thought it was time to look deeper into the man they call the Joker.


If you read my column, and I believe there is maybe one person out there who does (Hi Dad!), you know I have never, how can I best put it, enjoyed having Olli Jokinen troll the ice wearing the Flaming C. When he was traded in the fire sale last season, I was elated, even if the Flames received two NHL wash-outs in return.

But to understand the situation in its present state, let us go back to the beginning when the Flames initially traded for Olli.

Upon his arrival in Calgary Jokinen blossomed instantaneously.

He scored eight goals and added another two assists in those first six games with the Flames; including a five-point night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Flames lost four for those six games and blew one of the biggest division leads ever to the Vancouver Canucks and ended up facing Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. And, well, we all know how that turned out.

Flames in Net

The goaltending position in Calgary has never been a worry for the past half decade, and considering Flames fans tend to worry about pretty much everything else, it’s nice to have one less thing. This season, Calgary looks to have its strongest tandem to date in between the pipes with Miikka Kiprusoff and newcomer Henrik Karlsson manning the 4X6.

Kipper for his part, was the lone bright spot and hands down MVP of the Calgary Flames last season. Was he smoking a new kind of weed? No one really knows.

Regardless of what dope he may or may not be into, Miikka Kiprusoff is a world class goaltender that deserved a better fate last season.

The Weekly Roundup - September 27, 2010

From Wade waiving bye bye to Jose Bautista hitting dingers, this is the weekly roundup!

Flames Form Heat

Late last week the Flames sent 14 players down to the minors to form the better portion of the Abbotsford Heat. The list included 2008 2nd round pick Mitch Wahl who impressed in his limited time with the big club. When Matt Stajan went down with an injury, Wahl took full advantage and had two assists in his one pre-season game in Vancouver. Wahl needs more seasoning, but something tells me Calgary fans will be seeing Wahl at some point this season wearing the Flaming C. The cupboard isn’t totally dry at least.

Niklas Hagman: A Good Fit

Coming over in “The Trade” from the Toronto in late January of last season, Niklas Hagman was considered to be the most highly skilled player that took the westbound trip to Calgary.

A six foot tall, quick, Finnish forward with loads of unused potential was bound to help the Calgary offence going forward.

The following 27 games didn’t exactly yield the projected returns that so many fans had hoped for; only five goals and six assists.

Is it tough for new players to fit into a new team mid-season? Of course it is, and that’s why I’m willing to cut Hagman a bit of slack for the end of last season. Face it, nobody in a Flames jersey outside of Kiprusoff, had a March to remember.

So what can Flames fans expect from a full season of the “New” Number 10?

Mikael Backlund: The Time is Now

Answer: Trevor Kidd, Niklas Sunblad, Cory Stillman, Jesper Mattsson, Chris Dingman, Denis Gauthier, Derek Morris, Daniel Tkaczuk, Rico Fata, Oleg Saprykin, Brent Krahn, Chuck Kobasew, Eric Nystrom, Dion Phaneuf, Kris Chucko, Matt Pelech, Leland Irving, Mikael Backlund, Greg Nemisz, and Tim Erixon.

Question: Name the Calgary Flames first round picks for the last 20 years.

Not many gems on that list are there?

Is the Tour out of the Woods?

Wake up the kids, fire up the VCR, the TOUR Championship begins today; the tournament that pits the top 30 players on the money list...er...FedEx Cup points list against each other, in a winner take all, no-holds barred format. Oh sorry, that''s a different sport.  The TOUR Championship is the final event of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup, and pits the top 30 players in the Cup standings against each other, giving four or five players a realistic chance to win, while the rest simply play out the string and perhaps pad their wallet.  Few times does a sport's final event evoke so little drama and interest as this year's TOUR Championship, and while many of the problems can be blamed on the TOUR, there are also a few that are out of their control.

Alex Tanguay: Back in the Saddle

Tanguay before the Red vs. White game

Brought back from the depths of darkness, Alex Tanguay is back in a city he loves and playing with a player, Jarome Iginla, which he dearly missed.

Tanguay spent the last year wallowing away in Tampa Bay, getting ever so slowly pushed out of the team picture. By the time the season ended, it was clear that Tanguay did not want to be in Tampa, and Tampa did not want any part of Alex Tanguay.

And so, on July 1st 2010, Alex responded to a call from his former boss Darryl Sutter and signed on the dotted line. He was excited to come back to a place he knew and place that loved hockey.

He self-admitted last year that “hockey was no longer fun” and he wasn’t enjoying himself in Tampa Bay.

His stats were clear cut evidence of this as he posted his lowest totals of his career with only 10 goals and 27 assists in 80 games.

Far From Dead Birds

It is June 12, 2009. The Pittsburgh Penguins have just walked into Joe Louis Arena and beaten the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings, exacting their revenge on the team that robbed them one year prior. Move ahead one year to the 2009-10season, where the Penguins finished the season in fourth place in the Eastern conference, only to run into a hot goalie and be bounced from the playoffs in the second round. Since October 2007, the team had played a total of 303 games in slightly more than 1000 days. That is an astounding amount of hockey, going to the finals in two of those seasons, leaving very little time off to rest, relax, and recharge the batteries.