Roman Cervenka Signs in KHL
Kent Wilson
May 15 2013 12:49PM
According to Ska's website, Roman Cervenka has signed a deal with the KHL team starting next season. Which means he won't be returning to the Flames or NA ice any time soon (read: ever).
When I discussed moving Cervenka at the deadline during the season, this was the primary reason - the high chance he wouldn't stick around after a rough go in the NHL. Cervenka was never a favorite of the coaching staff here in town, due to a lackluster two way game and low level of conditioning touched off by a blood condition at the start of the year.
Open Thread - Second Round Thoughts
Kent Wilson
May 14 2013 12:47PM
The first round ended with a spectacular bang last night (or, if you're a Leafs fan, a resounding thud) when the Bruins stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in the third to beat Toronto 4-3 in OT. The second round gets going right away tonight and here are the match-ups:
East:
PIT vs OTT
BOS vs NYR
West:
CHI vs DET
LAK vs SJS
Chris Butler 2013 WOWY
Kent Wilson
May 14 2013 05:58AM
So far in this series we've seen one guy who was an obvious benefit to his linemates (Mikael Backlund) and two guys who's results were equivocal (Giordano & Brodie). This time around is a guy who is at the wrong end of the spectrum: Chris Butler. When I look at these results and take into account his age and circumstances, there probably wasn't a skater on the team who had a worse season than the former Buffalo Sabre.
Random Thoughts - May 13, 2013, On Why the Flames Should Consider Moving Up
Kent Wilson
May 13 2013 09:08AM
As you can see from the weekend open thread, the possibility of the Flames trading down into the top-5 is a bit contentious. It's hard to say how high the price might be to make the move, but my assumption is it won't be cheap - the top tier in this draft class seems to be clearly demarcated in most scouting circles, so it's going to take an extraordinary package or sacrifice to make the move from 6 to 4 or higher.
FN Weekend Open Thread - What Should the Flames Do To Move Into the Top-4?
Kent Wilson
May 11 2013 10:14AM
There's no question that at 6th overall a pretty good player is going to available when the Flames approach the podium in June. We can't know the team's draft board, but at 6th at least one of Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Valery Nichushkin, Darnell Nurse or Hunter Shinkaruk will be around.
Those are fine options. Nuchushkin and Lindholm are in the conversation with guys like Drouin and Barkov on some draft boards, for instance.
That said, there's a clear upper tier in this draft class where one is more or less guaranteed a future high-end to elite player: the top four - the aforementioned Jonathan Drouin, Aleksandr Barkov as well as Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon.
