Bright Spots - Mark Giordano
Kent Wilson
August 16 2010 10:38AM
There's no getting around the fact that last season was a big disappointment for the Calgary Flames. Many of the big money players and notable acquisitions had off-years. The team missed the post-season for the first time under Sutter as GM. The club boasted one of the very worst offences in the entire NHL.
Of course, there were a few enduring bright spots last year. In this post, the first of a series, we'll look at perhaps the single best silver lining - the play of Mark Giordano.
On Team Building and the Fourth Line
Kent Wilson
August 13 2010 11:27AM
For a long time now - certainly since the league expanded to 30 teams - the fourth forward unit has been the place to ditch the least capable even strength players on the roster. Usually that means checkers and goons, although the odd doddering vet and fresh faced rookie makes an appearance occassionally. This was mostly pragamatics: a combination of dilution of player talent, a need to budget and the recoginition that playing the worst guys the least is a good thing.
Picking Your 13th Forward
Kent Wilson
August 10 2010 10:10AM
Although the Flames currently have 13 NHL forwards under contract, one of them is Ales Kotalik who is the most likely candidate to be cast into purgatory should the club fail to shed salary in some other fashion come October 1. So assuming Kotalik makes his Abbotsford/KHL/SEL debut this season, the Flames will have one open roster spot up for grabs.
Staffan Kronwall Looking to Move Back to Sweden
Kent Wilson
August 10 2010 09:13AM
According to an article out of Sweden, Flames defender Staffan Kronwall is hoping to be released from his NHL contract so he can return home. Kronwall has one more year left on his deal set to pay him $500,000.
In the Face
Kent Wilson
August 09 2010 02:20PM
Riley Cote announced today that he would retiring at the age of 28 in order to take a coaching position with the Flyers AHL squad. As Gabe notes here, Cote did little more than sit in the penalty box during his professional career, which got me wondering just what wisdom he of one goal in 156 games might be able impart to the next generation of NHLers. As a result, here's how I figure a Cote dressing room chalkboard session might go: (some NSFW language)
