Moss and Glencross Hurt? Ru-roh!
Kent Wilson
March 14 2011 10:49AM
According to our very own Pat Steinberg, the Flames were without Curtis Glencross at the morning skate today. What's worse is the fact that David Moss left in the middle of the practice, apparently hurt.
Of course, we certainly don't know the extent of these potential injuries so it's probably useless to speculate. That said, the Flames have 11 games left on the sched and probably need 7 wins to secure a playoff spot. Losing Moss and Glencross for any length of time at this point would be...uh...not good*, so let's just hope this is standard maintenance stuff.
*ironic aside - hard to believe that the Flames post-season hopes might ride on a pair of guys worth less cumulatively under the cap than Steve Staios alone, isn't it?
Also, Pat...that twitter background has simply got to go. Makes me want to stab my own eyes out Oedipus Rex style (but for purely esthetic reasons).
UPDATE - Via Pat in the comments (with editorial comment added)
- Moss is indeed hurt and unlikely to play tomorrow (doh! That's what we get for singing his praises).
- Glencross was out due to the birth of his child (Good news on all fronts. Congrats Scoreface).
- Jokinen was down with the flu (I always wonder if it's really the flu, or it's catch-all for just about anything from food poisoning to alcohol poisoning). Probably means he'll be a GTD tomorrow.
- Modin out with for "maintenance" (no surprise given his extensive injury history. No big loss either given his play so far).
Hopefully these injuries aren't bad. I remember 2008-2009 when injuries cost us a division title and this year I hope it doesn't cost us a playoff spot.
97 points will definately get us in, 96 we could be on the edge because of the tiebreaker. The make or break part of the season will be the California trip. If we can get 4 points out of 6 from California I think we make the playoffs. And we also need to win ALL of our games against Colorado, St.Louis and Edmonton. Thoughts?
Moss' sounds like the bigger issue. Glencross could be out for any number of reasons.
According to Randy Sportak: "Curtis Glencross also not on the ice for practice. His wife was expecting their first child and due any day." http://twitter.com/RandySportak
Below that he says that Moss had to be helped off after hurting his ankle.
A few things... as I've been out of the loop the past few days.
1. Saw Bouma on the ice Saturday v. Canucks. Who sat?
2. Could Feaster's tenure hinge on his inability to pick up real insurance during the trade deadline? True, we didn't have a lot to move... But could/would a different GM had more success (Bergfors, for example, was available. What would he have cost? Same with Rivet - could he have added come depth? Ditto Boynton??)
3. If Moss is down... Who moves to the 1st line pivot spot? Backlund? And who plays centre on the fourth line?? Interesting questions...
4. Modin - has he looked at all effective? and is Carson that bad???
Still... I think this group will find ways to win. Sutter and the coaching staff have earned their keep. They've done a spectacular job with this group, many no more than cast-aways and also-rans...
@everton fc
1.) It was in stead of Modin, which should answer question #4 as well.
2.) No idea. It may depend on how the team does down the stretch and how that success or failure is viewed in light of his inactivity. At least he didn't stupid things like acquire Steve Staios or Ales Kotalik I guess.
3.) I suspect Tanguay will move back to center and Bourque will move up.
May this mean Kotalik actually gets another look, if Tanguay moves to centre, and Bourque to first-line wing? 19 points in 18 games... Not to mention Stefan Meyer... If Moss is out for any length of time, he could fill in as fourth line centre, if Backlund were to be moved up tot he first line.
Highly speculative and also unlikely scenarios... But hey, it's Monday and we're in a playoff race. Have to have a plan if injuries hit.
Unless Modin was also hurt? Was he at practice?? He's a fragile body. When I heard we signed him, I assumed he'd pull up lame at some point during the stretch run.
Makes the Conroy decision look like a possible gaffe, as well. These are Feasters first three moves, "in charge"...
Now is perfect timing for Conny to come out of retirement. (Chariots of Fire theme swells).
Seriously, this would be a great time for Hagman and Stajan to step up and earn thier pay-cheques with Morrison and possibly Moss out. I
I heard that Feaster tried to pick off Rivet but Cbj had priority because they were lower in the standings.
@everton fc
I can't imagine Kotalik will get another look given the potential cap issues it would raise.
If Moss is out for any length of time it really hurts the Flames. According to Scott Oake from CBC Modin was out of the lineup Saturday because he is injured. Kotalik is worth a shot with 19 points in 18 games.
Yeah, bringing up Kotalik would be a very Sutter-like error (panic move that screws the team over for the following season).
@SmellOfVictory
Yeah, Kotalik ain't coming back. Not until the team is in the playoffs and there's no potential consequences of his being recalled at least.
If Moss is out who else other than Bourque could move up? I'm not a fan of Bourque on the top line, I'd rather see Backlund up there especially based on the way Backlund's played the last little while
Again, the moment I heard we picked up Modin, I knew he'd somehow pull up lame for the stretch run. This was a gamble; and may turn out to be a bad "depth" move. Ditto Carson.
Not to compare these moves to some Darryl made at the end. The time for comparison(s) is over.
Feaster could have grabbed Boynton off the waiver-wire - far more reliable than Carson, and his cap-hit would have been minimal...
I wonder if Reasoner was available at the deadline. To me, picking him up for spare parts should have been possible. He's reliable, steady, and durable. But we grab Modin, oft-injured, 36 years old... Perhaps washed-up bad. People criticize Darryl. Fair enough. But are these moves any different? How are they any different? And Darryl would have never forced Conny into retirement. We could use Conny right now, if Moss is out for even a few games...
True, Feaster may simply be letting this group go as far as they can before making wide-scale changes. But I am not convinced. He had a past w/Modin, and brought him on board. Carson is a minor-league defenceman - could have brought up Brodie, and given him some ice-time. How could this hurt? And wasn't this what Feaster promised; "The young guys would get a chance?"
According to fan 960 breaking news alert for e-mail, Moss left practice in some kind of pain, teammates said it looked serious
@everton fc
The only reason these moves are different is they didn't cost the team squat. I wouldn't have batted an eye at the Staios acquisition, for example, except it cost the team a third round pick and he was signed to another year at a terrible cap hit.
I never really thought much of Feaster's moves at the deadline, but the chances of his getting anyone who could make any sort of impact given the Flames cap structure and lack of assets was close to nil anyhow.
The true second-guessing will begin if the Flames miss the dance and end up losing a bunch of UFA's this summer.
I hear you, Kent. Not trying for a comparison/contrast on Feaster vs. Sutter, though I did throw in Sutter's name, didn't I! :)
I simply wonder what it would have taken to poach someone like Reasoner. And we could have picked up Boynton off the waiver-wire. He would be at least better than both Carson and Mikkelson, I think. Modin's a gimp. Carson, unproven.
The Flyers thought Boynton useful. Holmgren's made some nice moves in his tenure, so I trust his depth-perception on this one, as well.
Huge blow if Moss is down that's for sure. Someone mentioned moving Backlund up to the top line and I couldn't agree more. I don't like seeing Bourque on the top line - it hasn't really worked in the past..
I'm not sure, as good as Backlund has been in the last couple games, that he deserves to be on the #1 line.
That being said,there may not be much choice. Unless you're willing to put the Sex Panther back up there but with him working 6% of the time, every time, I'm not a strong advocate.
Sutter won't put Backlund on the top line. He heavily protects him for a reason. Nobody on the team is more sheltered than Backlund (in terms of forwards)...Sutter's opinion of the kid would have to do a complete 180 for him to get more than a shift or two with Jarome.
@Super_Gio
What do you mean, it hasn't worked in the past? There's an extremely limited sample size for this season-less then 9% of Jarome's shifts at EV have had Rene on the ice with him. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm alone when I say a line of 17-40-12 is superior in pretty much every way to a line of 40-11-12, and that's even without going into how much Backlund on the top line would screw up Brent's PvP matchups. One day Mickis will be a reliable top line guy-he's just not right now.
@Justin Azevedo
Good point. I just remember Bourque not having the best success on the top line. I guess I'm just really excited about the way Backlund has been playing lately, putting him on the top line now would probably be premature. One thing for sure is freakin Stajan is going to have to pick up the slack
Conny could have slotted between Tanguay and Iginla as effectively as Morrison, methinks. Probably still could - more effectively than anyone else on the roster, if Moss were out of the lineup.
I wonder if the decision to move Conny upstairs comes back to bite us in a playoff pinch. Who knows. Hindsights 20/20, hey?!
Much as I hate the news, all I can think is:
Nice Oedipus reference, Kent!
Kent, you're sick.
Here are the official updates:
Moss, unknown on all fronts
Glencross missed as his wife was giving birth
Olli missed with the flu
Modin missed with maintenance
Safe to say Moss probably won't play tomorrow.
I think I speak for a number of people here in saying that forcing Conrony into retirement was a poor choice from the beginning.
Haha I've always assumed "the flu" meant a bad hangover or something along those lines. Seems a lot of hockey players get the one day flu. :P
Yeah, but Iginla doesnt play against teams top lines. Thats what Jokinen, Glencross, Moss/Bourque, do. And Tanguay wasnt real good when he was playing center. I get what your saying, but I do think that Backlund will play on the top line against Phoneix tomorrow, at least to start. They wont have to play against top tier opposition, and maybe having a natural centreman will help Iginla put some pucks past Bryzgalov
I trust Brent's judgment. Heh.... "In Sutter I trust"... It's like old times.
@Palt
Yeah, but Iginla doesnt play against teams top lines.
Actually, the truth is Iginla doesn't play against top lines consistently, which is different than not playing them at all. Jarome never gets buttery soft ice because he plays a lot and other teams always identify him as a threat.
Playing with Jarome versus playing on the 4th line is a quantum leap in terms of quality of opposition and responsibility either way.
All I know is that I'd rather not have someone who isn't a natural center and hasn't even extensively practiced being a center pivoting Jerome's line. Bump someone up (yeah, yeah I know that'd mean that Olli "The Sex-Panther" Pumpkinhead or Matt "Damn I get paid how much?" Stajan plays alongside Jerome again... cie la vie) if you've got to play a winger as a center do it with the fouthies.
Sure Backlund may not be ready to eat quasi-top line minutes and oppo but I'm pretty sure he could fill in Stajan's spot adaquatly.
I'd bet that Stajan gets a chance to earn his 4.5 tonight.
I'd also bet he fails miserably, and then Backs get a chance. I'd bet he fails less miserably than Stajan.
Here's hoping lines 2-4 can continue to pick up the slack.
Maybe Staios is ready to centre the top line?
@Parallex
It's a pretty not-ideal situation either way.
Speaking of which - Ales Kotalik on re-entry waivers!
In light of the recent news and the probable chance that Moss is down for the count (with Kotalik up to "replace him") here's my look at Moss vs. Kotalik from this summer:
I wrote it at a time when some in the Flames fanbase were suggesting moving Moss to make room for Kotalik in the line-up.
BAHAHAHAHAHA LAMERS ARE DONE! Ohh look who is DOMINATING??? ONE RYAN KESLER! Nice game Flames, up 2-0 at home and STILL LOSE. Nahh nahh WAAAAAAAAVE good by to the playoffs. I predict Yotes win 3-1 today.
Wow! Vancouver really has the intellectual heavyweights as fans, huh?
Don't you have some pics of naked swedish twins (aka Daniel and Henrik) to go oggle. I can't wait until the 'nucks lose in playoffs again.....
@Gange
Yes, it appears their fans have some catching up to do. For years their team was all talk and no play, and their fans are still stuck in the "all talk" phase, unable to evolve to decent human being status.
Todd,
Your a f#*@ing loser. You really have nothing better to do then come on a Flames blog to troll on a Tuesday morning?
Here's a suggestion, lay off the pot and go get a job hippie. If your too lazy for that I have no doubt there is a drum circle within a 1 mile radius you could go and join and pass around that peace pipe. It's worked so far...
Ales Kotalik eh...Something tells me he'll probably get a point or two...
LOL,ever the optimist.
I hope you're right but for fear of suffocating I'm not holding my breath.
Little did you know that I have the power to edit your comments. But here we are. I have no problems with opposing fans contributing or even gloating. But you add nothing here, Todd. Be gone.
- Ed.
Enjoy your team while you can. With the albatross of a contract you morons gave Lou you won't be hanging on to your young stars. You'll be in the same state we are in now and the same that Edmonton was in 2 years ago. Besides, get to the final at least and then you've earned some rights to gloating. Oh yea, and to be CANADA'S team, you have to be a team that Canadiens like... nobody likes you!!!
Ignoring the troll is the best option I think folks.
@Kent Wilson
I assume that was editorial decison Kent?
Well played, and much appreciated!
Lol I really am curious to see what it said...
@Brent G.
It was nothing interesting or else I would have left it up.
YOu guys can't take a joke, did you really delete my post? What are you 12? Anyways KARMA Flames lost AgAIN! bye bye Flames.
Yeah, Kotalik ain't coming back. Not until the team is in the playoffs and there's no potential consequences of his being recalled at least.
It's a pretty not-ideal situation either way.
Speaking of which - Ales Kotalik on re-entry waivers!
One ill advised and arrogant comment by Mr. Wilson. Had to eat his words this time.