Rocket Robyn Regehr

Let’s do some role-play.

Robyn Regehr plays Maverick , Jordan Leopold is Goose, and Dion Phaneuf is the Iceman. Maverick and Goose were a great pair, as documented, but once Goose was blown up (traded) Maverick has never been able to find that perfect wingman.

“You can be my wingman anytime.” Iceman finally accepts Maverick, and vice-versa, at the end of Top gun.

The only difference was at the end of the Flames version of Top Gun the Iceman never utters that homo-erotic line to Maverick; and trust me Maverick would never reciprocate.

Regehr and Phaneuf hated each other off the ice, and so it made it even worse when Coach Sutter decided to pair to two together to start the season.

And for this reason, when Dion was traded, no other player benefited more than Robyn Regehr.

Are you Jokinen?

Following the aftermath of the Phaneuf trade, late on Sunday night, TSN reported that Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust had been traded to the New York Rangers for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins. However, by Monday morning there still had not been any confirmation from either team. Was the deal happening or wasn’t it? There had been some speculation throughout the morning that Ales Kotalik, with a no-trade clause, would not approve the move. The trade was eventually finalized late Monday night though and Jokinen and Prust (again) were no longer members of the Calgary Flames.

I have to say I am not impressed with how this was handled by the Calgary Flames organization. After news of the trade first broke, there wasn’t any reaction from the team. This left two players in the lurch, wondering whether or not their tenure with the Flames was finished, and knowing for certain that they were no longer wanted by the team. Now I know hockey players are compensated very well for what they do, and one of the sacrifices is the possibility of being traded to another team, in another city, but this fiasco wasn’t only unfair to the players being traded, but also the rest of the players on the team.

I can’t imagine what yesterday’s morning skate was like for the players and coaching staff arriving at the Saddledome, knowing that two of their players are no longer wanted by the organization. I don’t imagine it would be possible to have an effective practice with that black cloud hanging over everybody. Why even have Jokinen participate? Was Sutter going to be achieving anything? “Hey Olli, you need to keep working on your face-offs; the Rangers will appreciate it.”

However, I think the practice would be a picnic compared to the game last night. Not only is it impossible to expect anything from Prust or Jokinen, it is also difficult to expect anything out of the rest of the team as well. Two players were about to be traded, and four players were playing their first game in a Flames uniform, following the Phaneuf trade the day before. A third of the skaters were either new to the team or about to be off the team and I don’t imagine there was much of a positive attitude around the dressing room. Perhaps Sutter gave a speech before they hit the ice, “Hagman, Stajan, meet your new teammates; but don’t worry about introducing yourselves to 21 and 33 though, they’re going to be traded after the game. Now let’s play great!”

It’s no wonder the team came out flat and uninspired in losing to the Flyers three to nothing. The blame of this fiasco should fall squarely on the organization. First off, the trade shouldn’t be leaked out to the media before it has been finalized. Secondly, after it was leaked, at least one of the teams should have addressed the issue, both for the players and the fans. I typically hear about how “classy” the Flames organization is, and would usually agree, but as it concerns the Jokinen trade, the team really dropped the ball.

-TheRev

Photo from: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Flames+finally+pull+trigger+controversial+Jokinen+trade/2510662/story.html

The "TRADES" That Rocked the Dome

Read down for Analysis of Potential Jokinen-Kotalik Deal




To Toronto:

Dion Phaneuf- 7 Mill
Fredrik Sjostrom- .750 Mill
Keith Aulie- Prospect

Total $: 7.750 Million

To Calgary

Niklas Hagman- 3 Mill +2 yrs
Matt Stajan- 1.75 mill-UFA
Ian White-.950 mill-RFA
Jamal Mayers-1.4 mill-UFA

Total: $7.1 Million

When I first heard about the deal I went through a series of emotions from shock, to anger, to curiosity, and finally acceptance. Here is how the trade breaks down in my eyes.

The Flames lose a player in Dion Phaneuf who has loads of potential and at the ripe age of 24 has yet to fully reach his prime. He will most likely move on to Toronto and flourish, much like other players that have moved on from Calgary and matured into the players that Calgary originally had hoped they would become (Stillman, St. Louis, Giguere to name a few). Dion was the best player in the deal, and in saying that I think the Flames lost the deal skill wise. They lost a dynamic player who could change the game in an instant, whether it was a monstrous hit or a laser beam point shot to the top corner. He was and is a game changer. The problem that he brings is that he has defensive deficiencies that most of the time overshadows his incredible ‘game-changing’ abilities. He also has an enormous ego, that has been well documented, that clearly went ‘head-to-head’ with a couple of the other personalities in the room, including that of his line-mate and perennial team leader Robyn Regehr. Phaneuf was clearly causing problems in the dressing room and this move was needed both for the player and for the team. Phaneuf was also the Flames point shot on the powerplay and demanded respect with the shot that he possesses, even if it does not hit the net every time. That being said, the Flames powerplay isn’t exactly top grade and maybe this will force them to switch their strategies with the man-advantage. The Flames were in need of a desperate shake-up after going winless in 9 and this, I believe, was the smartest move as it takes a bona-fide ‘hot head’ out of the dressing room and installs fresh blood into the system.

The Flames also traded Freddy Sjostrom and defensive prospect Keith Aulie. Sjostrom had a couple of good games but rendered replaceable in the end. I was upset to see Aulie go as he was our ‘blue-chip’ prospect that, I thought, the team was very high on. He had tremendous upside with his size, 6’5” and 208lbs. He clearly has the potential to be that shut-down defensemen all teams want when he showed what he could do in the 2009 World Juniors. I understand the Flames have immense depth on the blue line, but I believe this kid had the most potential of them all and it surprised me when Sutter included him in the deal.

In return, the Flames receive three players that can make an immediate impact with the team, with the fourth (Mayers) more just window dressing for the deal. Stajan and Hagman provide that offensive depth that the Flames have been desperate for ever since the scoring well went dry early in December. Hagman comes in as the Flames 2nd leading goal scorer with 20 goals, while Stajan comes in 41pts, which ranks him 2nd in team points and a 51.6 face-off percentage (higher than any other Flame, not counting Backlund who has only played 3 games). The Flames add the offence they need and Stajan is still young at 25. They also added Ian White, who at age 25 provides the Flames with another puck moving defenseman. Now White is no Phaneuf, but he might be able to provide some stability (he was a +1 on Toronto!) to a back end that, at times this season, has looked iffy at best.

The Flames needed a shake-up and Sutter provided them with exactly that. He also allowed the Flames a little wiggle room in the salary cap as three of the four players are free agents come July 1st and it gives the team some options when re-signing players like Bourque.

This trade can not help me think of the infamous Gilmour-Leeman debacle in the early 90’s as the Flames gave away the biggest player in the deal and that trade ultimately crippled the franchise for a decade. Phaneuf has a ton of potential and I will not be surprised if and when he flourishes in his new surroundings where he will have more freedom to make the big hit or take the big shot.

The winner and loser of this deal won’t be known until a few years down the road. Hopefully it isn’t 2020 and we look back on this deal thinking, “If only we hadn’t traded away Dion Phaneuf.”

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Wait!

It has just been announced that the Flames just pulled off another deal sending much criticized center Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.

Shocking? Yes. Like it? Yes!

We send a guy away who simply just did not fit with this team. Jokinen never gelled properly with this team and never fit on the top line with Jarome Iginla; probably the biggest problem considering this was the role that he was brought in to do. Good riddands to this super underachiever. The funny part of this whole thing is that Sutter said, when he acquired Olli last winter, was that he had been trying to get him for three years and he had to make the deal…”Hey Darryl, how does your foot taste?” I am just glad Sutter was man enough to realize his error and did what he could to fix it.

Brandon Prust most likely goes into the record books as the only player to be traded by the same team mid-season, two seasons in a row. Astounding! But not a real loss as we have numerous players that can fill his role, including the newly acquired Jamal Mayers.

Calgary gets Kotalik which immediately gives them a solution to their point shot on the powerplay, which was lost with Phaneuf. Kotalik has a cannon of a shot and will be a nice addition to the unit. He makes $3 million a year for the 2 seasons after this one. With the potential to be a better player, Kotalik is probably slightly overpaid at this time, but will hopefully thrive in his new surroundings. Higgins has struggled since being injured in the 08-09 season and never was able to find his footing in the big apple. He becomes an UFA at the end of this season and could end up being a rental player. These two players coupled with the three forwards from Toronto definitely bolster the depth of the Flames forwards.

This has been an amazing day for Flames fans and will definitely be a turning point in the Flames season. I am glad that Sutter pulled off these trades now rather than later as it gives the new players added time to gel with their new team.

Olli and Dion gone in a day…I guess there is a giant red PANIC button in Darryl Sutter’s office.

This, once again, has been,

Newman on the Flames

Flames Crown Kings

The Flames were able to extend their longest winning streak of the month, with their second consecutive victory tonight, against the Los Angeles Kings. (what a month!) Coming off a strong 2nd half to their game in Edmonton on Monday, the Flames continued to play a more complete game, despite a couple of early setbacks.

Early in the first period, while chasing down the puck to beat out an icing call, Dion Phaneuf laid a rather large hit on the Kings’ Anze Kopitar. Phaneuf was given a five minute major and a game misconduct. I think the call was little over the top. It wasn’t a boarding penalty, as Kopitar had his back to the boards, and it wasn’t a roughing penalty, as the check was clean. I suppose it could have been called an interference penalty, but that should only merit two minutes in the bin, not an ejection. Either way, Phaneuf was out of the game, and his minutes needed to be picked up. While Bouwmeester played his normal 26-27 minutes, it was Mark Giordano and Adam Pardy who were impressive in taking on the extra work load.

Giordano seemed to be involved in almost every play of the game, issuing several hits, and playing another good game in a season that has become his coming out party. All of this was done while logging an above average 25 minutes of ice time and earning the 2nd star of the game. What really impressed me however was the play of Adam Pardy, who had over 24 minutes on ice, despite not having played 20 minutes or more in a game this year. Besides spending most of the night on the ice, Pardy had a great defensive game, perhaps his best of the year, breaking up two quality Kings’ scoring chances and finishing the contest with a plus 2 rating.

The Phaneuf ejection turned out not be the last blown call of the game, as five minutes into the second period, Giordano was called for a hooking penalty on Dustin Brown, who for some inexplicable reason, was granted a penalty shot. In the replay, it was very clear that Jokinen was between Brown and Kiprusoff and that there wasn’t any type of breakaway taken away from the infraction. It ended up not being an issue however, as Brown made one of the worst penalty shot attempts I’ve ever seen, completely losing control of the puck 20 feet in front of Kiprusoff, causing the puck to be blown dead.

In the third period, I thought the Flames played a little too conservatively in their attempt to shut down the Kings. While they were successful in not allowing any goals, they also didn’t create any changes for themselves, with only three shots on net in the final frame. While I have no problem with a shut-down game, I usually wouldn’t expect to see it in a one goal game. I suppose the proof is in the pudding however, as the game has been recorded as a ‘W’.

-TheRev

Team Canada, eh?

So the team has been named, the moment Canadians had been waiting for since the last Olympics ended in 2006. Now the debate can begin on who should be there and who shouldn’t be there, why this team will win, why this team won’t win, and all the other fun topics. As it concerns the Flames, the debate will be about whether or not Phaneuf, Bouwmeester or Regehr should have been named to the team. Well, I have a confession: I couldn’t care less. I suppose that’s a little harsh, and I guess what I mean is that I’m not concerned, in fact, I’m happy there aren’t many Flames playing in this year’s games.

It isn’t that I won’t be cheering for Team Canada during the Olympics; it’s just that when it comes to hockey, my main concern is the Stanley Cup, not a Gold Medal. I’d rather see the Flames win the cup this year, than Canada win a hundred gold medals. As far as I’m concerned, Bouwmeester, Phaneuf and Regehr not being named to Team Canada only helps the Flames.

This year, there will only be three Flames playing in the Olympics in Vancouver; Iginla for Canada, and Jokinen and Kiprusoff for Finland. These three players won’t have the benefit of a two week break in the middle of the year, and as a result may tire as the season winds down. How often do we hear that Kiprusoff plays too much as it is, and as a result is always tired come playoff time? Well, I wish he wasn’t playing in Vancouver, giving him that time off for some much deserved rest. The Olympics also bring in a risk factor for players getting injured. What would the reaction be of any NHL fan if one of their team’s star players were injured? If Iginla or Kiprusoff were to go down with an injury, the Flames’ season would likely be over. As a fan, I don’t see any reward to this risk, and hence it isn’t one I’m interested in taking.

I see too many downsides to NHL players playing in the Olympics, and I hope this will be the final time we see this. So far, there isn’t an agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA to play in the 2014 games in Russia, and I don’t see one coming together either. I can’t foresee any circumstances where the NHL owners would release their prized assets to play in some games in the middle of the night on the other side of the planet. The argument is that having the NHL players play in the Olympics is good exposure for the league, but is it really? In Salt Lake City at the 2002 games, all the stars were aligned, with a Canada-USA showdown for the gold medal. Did this do anything to expand the game’s audience in the United States? No, TV numbers are lower than ever. In Canada, the game doesn’t need anymore exposure, and if there weren’t any NHL players in the Olympics, Canadians would still be watching and cheering the team on. In fact, if the team was made up of junior players, judging from the annual World Junior tournament I think Canada’s chances for gold would be far greater.

I'll still be cheering on Team Canada, (probably not by yelling Eh, O, Canada Go!), but I’ll make sure to have my fingers crossed that neither Iginla or Kiprusoff (and even Jokinen I guess) are injured as they battle it out for Olympic Gold.

-TheRev


photo from: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/04/24/teamcanada-jerseys.html

Thursday Night Massacre

Well the Flames came out looking good against the Hawks tonight...no, let me start again. The Flames special teams were outstanding tonight…wait, lets try it one more time. The Flames stunk up the Saddledome in one of the most humiliating losses on home ice in recent memory. There, that sums it up better.

In a game that was reasonably close through half the game, turned into a laugher as the Chicago Blackhawk’s demonstrated that they are a far superior hockey team. The Flames allowed a season high four powerplay goals and with no pressure to speak of on the penalty kill, the Hawks were able to work it around with ease and score at will. Kiprusoff had one of worst nights of the year, but also had little to no help in front of him. The turning point of the game came early in the second period. After the Flames managed to tie the score at one, Blackhawk Defenseman Nik Hjalmarsson absolutely obliterated Rene Bourque; a great hit that sent Bourque crashing to ice and out of the game (Not sure if this was true as the TV in bar had no sound, but by looking at Bourque’s TOI, it would seem to be correct). A powerplay goal would follow, and then the Hawks would pile on four more in the period to make it 6-1.

What happened?

Well, the lack of discipline was depressing for a veteran team that are playing like a bunch of rookies. For the second straight game against the Blackhawk’s (a team they should aim to beat) the Flames have been embarrassed on two different levels.

One key problem is the powerplay as they have gone 4 for 38 in their last ten games (no bueno) and failed to even gain the zone on many occasions, which is a serious concern going forward. Once again, why is Lowry consulting Preston about the PP?

Another serious concern is the lack of defensive ability anywhere on the team. Case in point, Colorado’s first goal on Tuesday night when the puck just sat in the slot while 5 Flames players stared at it, and eventually stared at it going into their own net. Tonight’s game; the Hawks control the play and are rarely pressured when handling the puck. Going back to the Leafs game, similar deficiencies can be found as the Leafs controlled much of the game and if it were not for Kipper, the Flames would be on a four game losing streak right now.

All of sudden the Flames can not win at home either. They have lost four of the last five games on home ice, getting outscored 16-6 in those four losses. What happened to teams being intimidated when they came into Calgary? That seems to be a thing of the past now as teams are coming in on a regular basis now and having their way with the Flames.

The Flames have now lost 3 of their last four games overall and have been severely outplayed in two of them (Toronto and Chicago). Maybe a road trip is the best thing for this team, as they need to re-group and re-focus on what it means to play as a team.

One final note, when did Sutter yell louder: during the second intermission tonight or yesterday talking to Phaneuf in his office? Apparently showing his displeasure towards Phaneuf about being selfish after Tuesday loss to the Avalanche, Sutter was witness to an entire team of heartless individuals play a game of hockey tonight.

I feel for the people that paid good money to see that game live…

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Source of Photo:http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/11/20/sp-hockey-wharnsby-take5.html

Three Stars

Three Star Flames players authored very influential performances Tuesday night in the Bell Centre: Mikka Kiprusoff, Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf.

For the fourth straight game the Flames received great, if not amazing, goaltending and subsequently extended their winning streak to four games. Kiprusoff was simply brilliant between the pipes on Tuesday night stopping everything he saw including a Scott Gomez breakaway and a couple of odd man rushes. He is seeing the puck very well and is clearly breathing confidence into the rest of the team. Kipper has stopped 87 of the last 89 shots fired at him, and the main reason for the Flames current situation; 3 points back of the division lead with 2 games in hand.

“The First star of the week in the NHL is awarded to Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames.” While on this current winning streak Jarome Iginla has been nothing short of Calgary’s best player not named Kiprusoff. Scoring five goals in the past four games, three of which have been game winners, Iggy has earned those First Star honours. Letting everyone quickly forget about the dreadful month of October, Iginla has made November his time to shine scoring in every game.

How does the old saying go, “A blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.” Well, Dion Phaneuf had a pretty solid game, as he punished numerous members of the Canadiens with his bone crunching hits. Laying out Pacioretty as he was trying to come out of his own zone and levelling Plekanec into the end boards were his highlights as Phaneuf was a man to be reckoned with on this night. The Canadiens tried to get him off his game, sending their goon, Michael Cammalleri, out onto the ice to rough up Dion; only to realize that Cammy is a foot shorter than Dion. The often ridiculed defensemen showed how he is capable of influencing a game not with his stick, but with his smart body checking. Good job Mr. Cuthbert, try and have more games like last night.

One glaring sore spot last night was the play of Cory Sarich, as he was made a fool on numerous occasions. Responsible for the Gomez breakaway, Sarich is showing that his foot injury might be affecting him more than he is letting on. Also Sarich missed the plane ride to Buffalo as he is still looking for his jock strap in the 4th row of the 3rd deck when Cammalleri undressed him late in the game. Sarich has never been the quickest defenseman in the world. Is it time to ship him off and let Aaron Johnson or Staffan Kronwall play a more prominent role on this team? There has been a trade rumour swirling around that would send Sarich to Carolina for Ray Whitney. Sarich’s play from last night might turn that so-called rumour into a reality.

The Flames have won four in a row and head into Buffalo to face a Sabre team that started very hot but has faltered of late losing 3 of its last 4 games. Receiving great goaltending and amazing play from Iginla, the Flames are quickly becoming the team to beat in the Northwest division.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

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Flawless Victory; well sort of...

Well, I believe Mr. Dion Phaneuf must have been reading this blog because he took my advice and gave his body up for the team to save a goal. Good for you “Neon Dion”, you did yourself proud! Not to mention a +2 on the night; a vast improvement from prior games for #3.

In other news the Flames managed to play their most complete game of the season last night, beating the Canucks 5-3. The Flames were up 5-0(Yikes!), and managed to give up a couple late goals to make fans sweat a bit. Luckily Burrows interfered with Kipper, sealing the win for the Flames. A game won by the Flames unsung heroes as the Flames top snipers, Iginla and Jokinen, failed to produce any sort of offence. Brian McGrattan single handily reminded us what it is like to have a good fighter around once again; dropping Hordichuk with one clean punch. Unbelievably, Darcy wanted another go around later on, only to see McGrattan score a goal against his team. McGrattan made a Gordie Howe hat trick look like a walk in the park.

The team played well, they skated hard and forced Vancouver into making mistakes. The Flames team last night looked like the Flames team all fans have been dreaming of; a dominating force.

Kiprusoff was unreal last night when needed to be through the first two periods. He made save after save and even used his Jedi Mind tricks to guess where the puck might be, making an unreal right pad save. Kiprusoff has been the Flames MVP through the first 7 games, and without him they are far from where they are currently sitting. Getting outshot for the 6th game this season (they have only matched the opponents shots once), the Flames are forced to rely on #34.

Iginla was invisible for most of the night, but the scary thing is, the Flames did not need him last night. The days of relying on #12 every night are officially over, but that is not to say that Iggy’s 09’ breakout party is long overdue. He will break out of this funk sooner or later, as players of his calibre do not stay hidden for long.

The question around last nights game is, without D. Sedin and Sami Salo for an extended amount of time, are the Canucks in some serious trouble? If they continue to lose at this pace, will they be so far behind the pack that they will not be able to recover? Looking at last year when they lost Luongo for a number of weeks, they managed to go on a tear at the end of the season and take over the division crown. Arguably Bobby Lu is more important to the team than Sedin or Salo, but put together, and coupled with the injury to Pavol Demitra, do the Canucks slide down the ranks in the Western Conference? I think they might, and that is all the better if the Flames hope to finish ahead of them in the standings.

The Flames are 4-0 against the division; a fantastic start to a very young season. Ever since Darryl arrived here, he made it a priority to beat Edmonton and Vancouver. It seems Darryl and Brent share similar minds when winning the games that matter most.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Line Juggling

A quick hit on this Friday afternoon.

Coach Sutter manufactured some interesting line juggling in preparation for tonight’s tilt with the Canucks. Seperating Iginla and Jokinen might have been his smartest move as this tandem has not clicked since Jokinen landed in Calgary last winter. I like the fact he kept the line of Langkow-Dawes-Bourque together as that has been great throughout all 6 games. The Forward line up like this tonight:

Dawes-Langkow-Bourque

Glencross-Conroy-Iginla

Sjostrom-Jokinen-Nystrom

Prust-Boyd-McGrattan

One thing Sutter did not do was separate Phaneuf and Regehr, a tremendous oversight on his part. A combined
-12 playing together, I am thinking a separation would be right at the top of Sutter's list. Instead he moved Bouwmeester with Sarich, and Gio with Pardy. Why wouldn’t he maybe put Regehr with Bouwmeester and maybe put Dion on the bench...err with Pardy, and then have Gio and Sarich play together? I think that evens out the lines a little better, but then again I am not an NHL Coach. I hope the line juggling pays dividends.
Playing against a Canucks team that is depleted of two of its stars should bode well for a Flames team chomping at the bit for a win. I am predicting a goalie battle: 2-1 Flames.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

A Day to Forget for Number 3

Tonight marked the first night the Dallas Stars looked like the Dallas Stars everyone is used to seeing; minus giving up 37 shots on net. And to solve that problem they had Marty Turco at his finest. He stole the game away for the Stars and did not give the home town Flames much all night.The Flames stuck to their game plan all night, getting pressure on the forecheck and cycling the puck, and cycling the puck, and cycling the puck...The problem was, real scoring chances were few and far between and when they did get an opportunity, they would miss the net wide or Turco would come up with a great save. Turco didn't look like a goalie with a .868 SP and a 3.68 GAA, he looked like the Turco who had 5 straight 30 win seasons. He snapped up rebounds and made numerous key saves to keep the Stars in the lead. Not to mention he hancles the puck better than any goalie not named Martin Brodeur, and even then he might handle better than Brody. The Flames did their darndest to keep it away from him most of the night but whenever given the slightest second he would fire a clearing pass out harder and more accurate than most Defensemen ever thought possible. Looking at the Flames tonight, they did not necessarily play a bad game of hockey, they just could not thwart the Turco fortress. This might be due in part to the lack of PP time the team had all night. One man advantage to speak of all night spaced out over the 1st and 2nd stanzas produced the momentum the Flames needed and the following shift David Moss tied the game up at one. The crowd was into it, the Flames were flying, shift after shift Calgary was pressuring in the Stars end but could not find the net. Then a defensive lapse and Fabian Brunnstrom( supposedly the best player not in the NHL last year, or so you may have heard) went through the Flames resident Pylons of the night, in this case Dion Phaneuf and Mark Giordano, and took the lead at 7:38 of the 2nd. This killed the Flames momentum, and the crowd was totally taken out of the game. On a night when the most talked about player was not even on the ice, Sean Avery, his target earlier in the day Dion Phaneuf had his head in the clouds most of the night. A horrible minus 3 on the night and a key reason for the first goal, did not clear the puck when given the chance, and the 2nd goal, see above twin pylon comment. A game the young talented D man would most like to soon forget, but one that will help him learn down the road. If he thought dating a Hollywood actress would be all glitz and glamour, I guess he did not fully look into what kind of baggage it could possibly bring, and one can only guess how it affected him mentally? Phaneuf, who is still only 23 years old remember, looked like a 23 year old kid tonight. And I guess some nights, until he really matures Flames fans have to expect that. He is going to make mistakes(insert throwing it up the middle in your own zone) he is going to be selfish(trying to go through 2 Dallas Stars in the neutral zone when two of his teammates are open for the pass) and he is simply not always going to be the All-Star that he is made out to be. He has got a long way to go, and hopefully he keeps maturing and getting better, especially in the defensive zone. Right now in my mind Robyn Regehr is 5 times more valuable to the success of the Calgary Flames than Dion Phaneuf is. Phaneuf has the potential to be a great defenseman but he has a longer road ahead than some might think.


Newman on the Flames