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Alright, where to start?
First off, the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks game. How about it!? It was easily one of the most entertaining games which I’ve seen in years, though as I mentioned over twitter, it was also marginally close to one of my beer league games all things considered.
For those of you who haven’t had the chance to see what it is that I’m referencing(not sure how that’s possible, frankly), the game between the these two teams made just about every sport highlight(or lowlight) reel, and here it is.
As shown above, there was much that transpired throughout the game and it has stirred much debate. The first concern for many fans and media folk were the starting lines. Hartley’s goal would have seemed rather apparent to the Canucks when Kevin Westgarth lined up to take the opening faceoff. Prior to the game, Westgarth had taken a total of nine NHL faceoffs.
"Those guys are playing well for us," Hartley said. "They got a goal last game. We're not scoring many goals. We had zero intentions there."
"As far as I know they were the home team. They had the luxury to put whoever they wanted on the ice."
Most pundits have argued that this fiasco could have been avoided had the Canucks put out their first line of the Sedin’s rather than matching with their own 4th liners. Well, I for one am not entirely sure that it would have defused the situation, just ask Phil Kessel.
Anyways, not only did the game see over 200 penalty minutes and an embarrassing moment for coach John Tortorella during the 1st intermission, it also received some rather negative publicity. Over twitter, Peter Gammons (MLB analyst) had this to say about the game.
"Calgary and Vancouver last night reiterated why the NHL is a minor sport,"
It appears that the game in question is being divided between fans and the media. On one hand you have many who felt it was an entertaining, worth every penny, good ol’ Canadian type hockey, where on the other you have those who say it was a disgrace, embarrassment, and like Gammons offered, a reason why hockey will never be a major sport in North America.
For me, it was an entertaining game and as I sat on my couch with a few friends around the TV, a few of us jumped to our feet as the fights broke out and here we are talking about it several days later. At the end of the day, I thought it was a game that added to the rivalry between the two teams, got some fans out of their seats and a few others excited about watching hockey on a Saturday night.
Canucks coach John Tortorella is expected to have an in person hearing in New York at 11am EST this morning with respect to his conduct between periods. The coach stormed the Flames dressing room and was held back by Calgary enforcer Brian McGrattan in addition to a few of their staff.
How do you feel? Do you share the same reservations as myself, or were one to think it was an embarrassment to the game which has been trying so hard to expand in popularity?
**
As the title suggests, there have been many reports of late concerning Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That said, the Calgary Flames happens to be one of a handful of teams listed to be interested in acquiring the services of either of the two 23 year old players. These rumors initially broke out when Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun made mention that Brian Burke is likely to try and take a quicker approach to the Flames rebuild, and that Nazem Kadri is likely a player of interest given that it was Burke who drafted him.
Further to the Kadri rumors, the thought that the Flames may also be interested in defenseman Jake Gardiner have surfaced. Given the position of the Flames organization at the moment, acquiring any of these two players would be a very big move and would, without a doubt, speed up the rebuild of the team. And while I do strongly believe this, I do not feel these are moves which the team should be entertaining at the moment.
The issues I have here are positions of strength. The Flames, arguably, have no position of strength when it comes down to trade talks. The players they do have at their disposal to trade are not necessarily players which will fetch a Nazem Kadri, and the pieces which they would need to move in order to acquire him are simply not ones which they should be moving so early in the rebuild.
The Calgary organization has stated they are 100% committed to this rebuild, and by moving a first round selection and or roster players/prospects is more of a retool than anything. Of the two players in discussion here I can only really make sense of trying to acquire Jake Gardiner. While Gardiner is a very strong skating defenseman, still quite young and has a ton of potential, his value is not as high as Kadri and could be acquired for pieces which, in my opinion, the Flames can afford to let go.
With that established, the only players which will fetch players like a Gardiner would need to be names such as Giordano or Glencross. Problem is, both of these players have such importance to the Flames roster in terms of keeping a winning mentality and keeping the right vets around to teach/develop their youth. I feel that if someone like Giordano were to be moved, that it would be for a big piece, but not one which they should looking into right away.
The Flames are simply in no need to try and speed anything up. They don’t need to go looking for trade scenarios and unless someone comes knocking at their door with a trade proposal which helps them out, they should just keep their doors closed.
Moreover, as I do happen to write for both teams, neither of these trades really work for either team. If Toronto is moving a player like Kadri, they would require a centerman in exchange. The Flames are not deep enough in that regard as it is and they won’t (shouldn’t) be offering top end prospects/picks right now. With respect to Gardiner, Toronto has been struggling defensively and if he were to be moved, I expect that the Leafs would need to bring something back that would improve said position, not weaken it.
All things considered, and as I feel that I have made clear, I just don’t see any big deals happening between the Flames and the Leafs any time soon. The two teams are simply in two very different positions and have similar positional needs. There are certainly teams out there who could use a Stempniak, Stajan, Cammalleri, Hudler, Russell, and those are the teams which the Flames should be focusing on. Not parting with the likes of their captain or influential vets unless the piece(s) returning are too good to turn down.
Garrioch mentions that , as things stand, it is the LA Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings who are showing the most interest in Mike Cammalleri. For me, I still feel that the most likely candidate would be the Kings, but we will see how things develop as Mike comes out of this concussion which he is currently nursing.
How do you feel about any of these trade rumors?
**
The Flames will take to the ice against the San Jose Sharks tonight. Calgary currently sitting with a 2-7-1 record of their last ten with a total of 14 goals scored will be challenged with the Sharks record of 6-4-0 who happen to also be on a three game winning streak.
While I certainly do not expect to see anything similar to Saturday night’s game, Calgary has certainly been playing with intensity this year and if they continue to play with heart, tonight’s game is likely to be very close.
As we’ve discussed before, tonight will fall on Monahan, Giordano, Hudler, Backlund, and Wideman for production. When these players find the score sheet and are productive, the Flames have historically either taken a point, or won the game altogether.
Backlund and Ramo have been playing quite well of late and as such, they will be the key players for the Flames. To note (for those who didn’t already catch it) Wideman logged a career high 38 minutes during the Vancouver game. I feel that his game has been quite good as well, was always in favour of the signing, personally.
It will be important for the Flames to get off to a strong start and get a good cycle game in deep. By focusing on Joe Pavelski who has been hot, getting shots on net with net presence, and playing the body, they have a chance at walking away with two points tonight.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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