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

twitter.com/TSRNewman

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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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