Some thoughts, Death Watch and Merry Christmas!

 

 

Things will slow down a bit here at FlamesNation with Calgary’s next game being on the 28th. Well will, however, be on top of any sudden news the organization may deign to announce during that interval *cough*firings*cough* (not that I’m holding my breath).

– Scoring chances for the Dallas contest will be posted by the 29th. Sounds like the Flames had their best outing in awhile. Maybe I should avoid watching every road game live from now on?

– In the meantime, check out Flames prospects Joni Ortio, John Ramage and Tim Erixon in the WJC. Ortio should be Finland’s starting goaltender, Ramage is a depth defender for the Americans and Erixon will be a primary, top-two guy for Sweden. Of the three, Ortio and Erixon are the guys Im most interested in. Ryan Howse was a hopeful for the Canadian team, but was a late scratch from camp. His torrid scoring pace from the start of the year has slowed somewhat recently. 

– There’s no reason to continue to scratch Mikael Backlund. We discussed this previously when he ended up in the press box, but at 21-years old and not waiver eligible, Backlund should be playing somewhere – be it for the Flames or for the Heat. Personally I think he’s an NHLer at this point, but the decision makers seem to disagree. If so, send him on the short flight to Abbotsford. For him to watch another game without injury would be absurd.

– Finally, thanks to all our readers and commenters, new and old. The site has enjoyed a lot of growth in the past 10 months or so and we hope to continue to both grow and improve. Also, I’d like to personally thank Pat Steinberg (and the FAN960), Ryan Lambert and Robert Cleave for their hard work and on-going contributions.

Happy Holidays everyone. Here’s hoping 2010 was the low point for the Flames organization for a long time.