Preview of Road Trip XVI

After over a year, my mission of seeing the Flames play in every NHL arena continues this week, with a short sojurn to the Sunshine State, Florida.  The timing couldn't be better, as it's always nice to visit somewhere warm in the middle of a Calgary December.  The current forecast calls for temperatures int he mid-20's, meaning I'll be wearing my flippy-floppies to the hockey arena.  Tomorrow night, it will be a rematch of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, with a Flames-Lightning tilt at the St. Pete Times Forum, followed by a game against the Panthers on Friday night, in Sunrise.

I've actually never visited Florida, despite having been to 44 other states, so I'm pretty excited to be scratching another off the list, but of course it's the two hockey games that are the most important and visiting my 18th and 19th NHL arenas.

This will mark the first time Newman is joining us on the road!  While he made the trip to Edmonton a few years ago, he's never been along for a Flames game South of the border.  I forecast sun, beer, and hockey.  Plus a little Jai Alai.

You can follow Road Trip XVI thw following ways:

1. On TSR @ the Flames Road Trips page

2. Updates on

3. Progress on The Map

4. Photos on Flickr

-TheRev


Keep an eye out for some Florida Jersey Fouls!
twitter.com/TSRNewman
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What's Happening in the Press Box?

by Bryan Wright

There is a new trend in hockey broadcasts that really, really bothers me.  One that makes my blood boil.  It bothers me for several reasons, but mostly because I can’t figure out the reason it is done.  I’m talking about when a broadcast shows the GM after a goal.  This seems to be a pointless camera shot meant to…well to…well that’s the problem, I don’t understand why this is done.

Don't pay for the whole seat,
you'll only need the edge!!

If my memory serves me correctly, this trend really took off when Brian Burke became the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The team was terrible and Burke had a reputation for being a curmudgeon; a combination that meant the Leafs would surrender a lot of goals causing Burke to blow his top.  Of course the only thing that we ever saw was Burke sitting in his press box, hands folded in front of his face, grimacing.  Great stuff!  It quickly expanded to include times when the Leafs scored, as if we might get to see Burke jumping out of his seat, high-fiving the people around him and maybe even shaking his hand at the camera, yelling ‘we’re number one!!’

Flames Escape Hurricane of a Finish

By Derrick Newman

Well that was different...

Scoring seven or more goals for the first time since Valentines Day last year when they beat the Avalanche 9-1, the Calgary Flames squeaked by the just as desperate Carolina Hurricanes 7-6 on Tuesday night in Calgary.

The offence came alive scoring two in the first, two in the second, and adding on three in third, including Jarome Iginla’s empty net goal which proved to be the eventual winner.

The line of Iginla, Jokinen, and Brendan Morrison combined for 10 points on the night and were the driving force behind a much needed win – regardless of how ugly it got in the dying seconds.

The Flames also threw the 10,000 pound gorilla off their back when Mikael Backlund scored on the power play halfway through the third to break a string of 27 straight chances at home on the man advantage without a single goal – a streak that dates back to October 26^th.

A trophy by any other name would smell as sweet

by Bryan Wright

Just imagine how glorious a July it would be, if the Calgary Flames invited four other NHL teams, of their choosing, to play in a round-robin tournament following the Stanley Cup Finals.  The five teams would each play each other a couple of times, before moving into some kind of playoff format, eventually crowning a champion for the 'mini-season.'  They could get a couple of sponsors on board, say Imperial Oil, donate a lot of money to charity, and make it an annual affair.  It could become known as the Esso Flames Challenge.  How exciting would that be?

What would be even more exciting, is if the Flames were able to win their own 'challenge.'  The press in Calgary, and the Flames' legions of fans could celebrate as if their team had just won the Stanley Cup, because let's face it, that would be as exciting.  The City could host the Esso Flames Challenge Champions parade and everybody could really let loose for a few days, to revel in their glory.

The Beginning of the End

By Nick Symon

Sometimes reality isn’t what people want to hear, it can be good at times but harsh at times. Never has it been more apparent that the Flames should re-build after their mediocre 10-12-2 start, including two losses to the last place Columbus Blue Jackets. It’s the same story over and over again: consistency, competing, playing the system etc. etc. etc. 

Quite frankly as a Flames fan I am sick and tired of watching, listening and talking about it constantly.

I really thought the Flames were in a stage a couple seasons ago much the same the Philadelphia Flyers were in, in 2006-07. That year the Flyers were horrible, much worse than the Flames have been in recent seasons.  Then, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren swung three deals (essentially two) which helped turn the franchise back into a contender as fast as you can say ‘top cheese’.