Calgary Flames

[se7entse7en]

My sister says Calgary's biggest problem is their underachieving defense corpse.

Freudian slip ftw!

[supersuk]

yep and the jokinen(sp?) sucks

[Duncan]

under achieving? eh, i think phaneuf and jaybo are overrated.

Plus i think having a sutter in the box and on the bench kinda kills the atmosphere. The players look super up tight and they're not loose and having fun. it just seems like a whole lotta doom and gloom when they interview the flames before/after games. This is where i have to give AV and Gillis a lot of credit when the Canucks went through a similar slide last year. They were super positive, always talking about the good things they were doing, and how they were playing well, just not getting puck luck or that there were injury holes that were going to be filled in soon. They kept the players positive instead of ragging on them and eventually the players got of the snide and went on a roll.

Sutters are so hard up on systems and discipline that they rag on the players for every mistake. I know i wouldn't like that atmosphere

[se7entse7en]

[joel]

I am all for ragging on these guys. I see it this way. They are getting paid large sums of money to play something they enjoy. They better be prepared to get an earful if they are stinking up the joint.

Heck, I am sure the rest of us get grief from our bosses and none of us make anywhere the amount they do, or get to do something we love doing for a living...

This is hockey, these guys are supposed to be tough... As professionals I'd expect them not require confidence stroking.. if they do then i say trade them for someone who can take the heat... how's that for kicking him while he's down.

[tyson]

what a brutal january for hockey in alberta.
it's not just the defence in calgary... even though they are much of the problem. there's no chemistry on the lines right now... jokinen never had any chemistry w/ iginla as far as i could see, and the rest of calgary's "skill" forwards are getting older and slower.
jaybo is good, but competition is tougher in the west. phaneuf is good too, but he's not THAT good. he still has potential to get better...

and in edm...yikes! even though they got injuries, you'd think they'd at least win SOME games.

[tyson]

lol edm and cgy lost again yesterday

guess one of them will bump the slump tomorrow for hockey day in canada haha.

[jeSteR]

Well, Calgary needed more secondary offence (well primary too) so who'd they go out and get?
Stajan and Hagman. Well.... Toronto's first line is only good as a second line anywhere else anyway. But really? Kessel has to do it all himself now????? fergetit

What's the Great news??? Phaneuf is finally out of the Division so I can stop watching highlights of his ugly face in the 6 games that we play them every year.
What's the Bad new??? He went to the Laffs, so that means I have to see more of his ugly face all the time.

[tiger]

I think the biggest problem in Calgary is the GM.

That was one stupid trade. Stajan is a UFA this year, so he could just be a rental. Same with Mayers who is a throw in b/c he said the wanted out of Toronto anyway. You're doing the leafs a favor by taking him and his salary. White is a RFA, so he's due for a raise. Hagman is the only guy under contract past this year. PLUS you give up another player and a prospect???

Throw in trading for Jokinen and signing Bouwmeester, who is an offensive dman now playing in a defensive system, Calgary is a mess.

[tyson]

yeah long term this deal makes NO sense at all for Calgary.
Unless Stajan generates some instant chemistry with Iginla, he's gone at the end of the year. Mayers is gone for sure, or buried in the AHL. Hagman will be a 2nd/3rd line guy, and White if he stays will be a #4 defenseman at best.

Phaneuf for a top 9 forward and a #4 defenseman? That's it?
Maybe nobody else wanted to take a risk that he's too much of a diva? I find it hard to believe that Sutter couldn't have gotten better.

The Higgins/Kotalik deal confuses me too. These guys are having AWFUL seasons. Rangers fans are laughing at this one. And after all that effort to trade for Jokinen in the first place! I already thought that the salary cap issues from last season should have cost Sutter his job. If this blows up in his face, it will seal Sutter's fate.

[joel]

I still think White is a hugely underrated defencemen. Phaneuf easily has the higher ceiling, but his defensive game has not been great, and seems to be getting worse. His 6.5M is a steep price tag for a guy who doesn't have the complete skill set. I think Calgary could get White and Stajan both signed with that cap hit. If Stajan leaves they would still have 3-4 M of extra cap space to find a replacement.

White will line-up as top 2 in Calgary and chew up 25+ minutes a night, playing both PP and PK, how does that not make him a top 2D? Stajan while he is better suited at #2 C he will line up as the #1C, as Calgary will not split up their second line. He is already practising with Iggy.

While this is not one of Sutter's better move's as I am sure he could have had some better options, he has addressed some immediate needs, and it may be enough to kick start his team. I would hold off the jokinen deal though as too much movement my impact team morale and chemistry. At least give the squad a try for a few games to see what he has... If I would fault Sutter anywhere as a GM in the past few years it would be his poor scouting/drafting and player development, as they have not really developed much signifcant returns in the past few years.

[tiger]

what would really be funny is if Stajan resigns with the Leafs, and Burke gives White and offer sheet for $1.9 mil. (2nd round compensation only)

[tyson]

so jokinen deal went down.
flames got owned last night.

i still don't see white as a top 2...but in all fairness i haven't seen him play much

[joel]

If White got an offersheet for 1.9M, there is no way Sutter wouldn't match it. White is looking to a raise to around 2.5M imo. Either way that's a large save over Phaneuf's 6.5M. To me, White is the key piece in this deal that makes it worthwhile on the Calgary side.

White was #2 in icetime yesterday at 21:43 and the most pp time for a D, considering he is new to the team and sutter is a system-type coach. That figure may increase as he gets acquited to the new system.

I do not really get the Jokinen deal. The Phaneuf deal sheds salary... and for what?... so they can pick up Higgins salary?? Moving from one handicapping salary to another doesn't really make much sense to me. I can understand why Sutter would want to trade Jokinen, but I don't get why he would want either Kotalik or Higgins. I think Sather just owned him worse then Burkie. Even if Jokinen wasn't working out, Sather just decreased his salary cap this year and the next and got the best player out of the deal.

[Duncan]

Sutter is on tilt... He woke up the next morning with the ring of fire courtesy of Burke. That combined with the shutout loss, he was on tilt... haha

Plus, I always liked White. That's why i drafted him a couple years ago... but his upside just wasn't enough for me to keep him. He's still a pretty solid dman though