Back in the Saddle
Kent Wilson
March 10 2010 09:26AM
With the win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Flames managed to leapfrog the former NHL juggernaut into 8th place in the Western Conference. The victory was Calgary's third straight, much of that owing to a sudden offensive outburst (14 goals in 3 games) the likes of which this club hasn't seen since October. Granted, a couple of those were empty-netters, but you have to be ahead at the end of the game to get those chances, so...huzzah!
In Defense of Daymond Langkow
Kent Wilson
March 09 2010 11:14AM
The Flames second most expensive forward has been something of a hot issue around here recently. The Nation's own Pat Steinberg was challenged by RO of M&G for denigrating Lanks on-air recently. Domebeers got in on the arguement as well, pillorying Langkow for his poor production this season.
It's not an unfair point. It's easy to see why Langkow has suddenly become a controversial figure. Over the last few weeks, the Flames have added some $12.9M in forwards (Hagman, Bourque, Stajan, Kotalik) crowding the roster and making future decisions about value and contract retention that much more salient. At 33 years old with a stats line of 12g-21a-32pts, there has rightly been some scrutiny directed his way.
This is my contribution to the debate. It's an explication of RO's continued defense of the guy and the reason he (and I) think Langkow remains probably the best center on the team.
A Closer Look at The Flames Sched.
Kent Wilson
March 08 2010 10:49AM
With the Flames posting back-to-back wins for the first time in recent memory last week, their chances of securing a playoff spot increased to about 35% after bottoming out at around 20% after the 4-0 loss to the Wild. The source of the link, Sports Club Stats, determines playoff probabilities by weighting a number of factors and then simulating the season 25 million times. The most recent round of simulations have the Flames making the playoffs 35% of the time.
That's not terribly comforting. To break the hypothetical 93 point post-season barrier, the Flames will have to go 9-6-2 or better in their final 17 games (.588 WIN%). That doesn't seem overly unrealistic...until you glance at the club's remaining opponents:
Flames Deadline Reactions
Kent Wilson
March 05 2010 10:18AM
While various voices of the Nation have weighed on Sutter's deadline deals recently, here's a sampling of other reactions from around the blogosphere.
First, Arik of 4th line blog is unimpressed:
It boggles my mind how awful this year has been for the Flames. Did Ken King kill a puppy and this is karma? Did Jarome Iginla build a house over a Native Canadian (that’s what they’re called right? If not, don’t correct me) burial ground? Does someone on the Flames enjoy George Michael?
You know a guy is mad when he invokes puppycide and George Michael in a single paragraph.
The Steve Staios Trade - Horrendous
Kent Wilson
March 04 2010 11:57AM
Every move that Darryl Sutter has made in his recent whirlwind of desperation has been defensible to one degree or another. Even the Jokinen for Kotalik and Higgins trade, although one has to squint to find the silver lining on that one. The Phaneuf trade shifted money from the back-end to the front, added a couple of capable players and shored up the Flames offensive depth. The Bourque and Stajan signings were at about market value and both will be top 6 contributors to the team going forward.
The Steve Staio acquisition, though, is senseless. It's bad from just about every conceivable angle.
