From Bountiful to Ponoka

[BCExpat]

wow - that was embarassing.

What really gets me about the Flames is the inconsistancy. I just wish they would pick - either be consistantly good or consistantly bad. Hopefully this losing streak will continue long enough so that they are sellers at the trade deadline.

[mathonwy]

From Ek.

This Morning in Boston, as the Flames took their skate the head coach called them all to the center ice circle and read then the riot act about their performance...

Tonight the Flames responded by not even showing up in a 9-0 loss to the Cup Champs. As a good friend always says..."This was the kind of game that ends people's careers."

My phone has been ringing off the hook since about midway through the second period.

Some texts....

"The last straw. As I understand it the Flames are going to react harshly and swiftly tomorrow and one of the team's 'contingency plans they didn't want to resort to" will be put into action"

"The Flames are talking to the Caps and Penguins about a Significant player move that could go down any time from late tonight through the weekend'."

"not sure iggy will get another shot at 500 in the uniform...but it could be a coaching change instead. Also look for a goalie move."

What's the buzz?

[BCExpat]

I hope Feaster stays patient. Now is not the time to make any moves. Wait until the trade deadline. Make more moves during the summer when he has all those free agents coming off the books. I don't want another D. Sutter type knee jerk reaction like when he traded Dion.

[tantalum]

Feaster should have been less patient in the summer. He should have realized that the second half run the Flames went on was likely nothing different from the run Isles went on or one that the Oilers have a habit of going on once everyone thinks they are out (CP folks of course would laugh at Oiler fans who believed those late season runs meant anything but many of those same Flames fans bought what Feaster was selling).

Now Feaster does have to be patient and not make a big deal or two as a reaction to the game last night or even the poor road trip. He may as well hang on to what he has for another few weeks and try to increase their value. I know GMs don't like to ask guys to waive NTCs but FEaster has to get Iginla out of there. IMO much of the problems stem from Iginla simply not buying into to anything that any og the myriad of coaches has been selling. Captain doesn't buy in and no one else will. Even during the little streak he wasn't buying in. He was putting up points but I've never seen any Sutter coached team where a guy was allowed to leave the zone that early and start cherry picking. Even if you don't believe that about Iginla, the Flames simply need to close that chapter in history as the canucks needed to with the WCE. They need to move forward. It also reminds me of Keenan moving out Linden. It was not a popular move but damn it it HAD to happen for things to start moving forward again. Feaster may have to be the Flames GM Keenan...the guy tapped to make a couple of unpopular moves for the sake of the teams future.

Now I'm not saying Sutter is the right coach for the team but right now it is hard to judge the coaching. I kinda think he might be the right guy if they do go with a young team after moving the likes of Kiprusoff and Iginla. While tailing off Horak has had a decent exposure to the NHL and played well for a rookie that likely should be in the AHL still. Brodie has looked very good. In fact other than Backlund and Butler many of the young guys that have skated shifts for the Flames have looked decent. Part of this is because they have bought into playing the simple no frills game the flames need to play in order to be at all successful. Now I'm not saying that the FLames youth is good enough to go forward with without major additions because it isn't. Just that the youth seems to respond pretty well to the coaching. The roster simply isn't good enough to win with anything short of 100% effort every shift. Even with that effort they are going to lose many games because of a lack of overall talent. And as much as we would all like to believe otherwise, every team takes games off. Many of them. THe good teams still win them.

By being too patient in the summer Feaster has put himself in a tough spot. Bouwmeester might have become completely untradeable at this point. We aren't talking Bryan Campbell who had a big contract but ultimately could still be a good benefit to the team. RIght now Bouwmeester is not helping the Flames. His play is soft and resulting in goals against. A 27 point pace for a supposed #1 getting 25 minutes a game is pretty pathetic. I think that number puts him somewhere around 60th in D_man scoring. Even with a poor forward crop, that isn't good enough for the money. All I can say is that I wanted Bouwmeester on the canucks when he was due to be a free agent before Sutter did the trade and sign. Wow was I wrong. I knew he was soft but I never expected him to be softer than Ehrhoff for instance.

Anyways good luck to you BCExpat. Pretty much everyone on this board knows what it's like to be a fan of a team that really really really tries your patience as that fan. We are canuck fans after all. We've seen shit teams and a lot of them.

[wienerdog]

Good points, tant. Just don't let CAL mgmt read that - we want the kneejerk reactions so that Jackman comes loose!

[Farhan Lalji]

Interestingly enough,

A poster on Calgarypuck stated that the Flames loss to the Bruins the other night was "penance" for the fact that the Bruins stopped a terrible tragedy in hockey from occuring last year when they defeated the Canucks last season.

82 people liked his post.

To each his own I guess, but I just find it interesting that Calpuck's hatred/jealousy of Vancouver outweighs the love for their own team.

I don't think that kind of mindset is healthy, but that's just me.

[mathonwy]

When your team is shitting the bed hard, your only joy in the sport you love is in the misfortune of your biggest rival. Unfortunately, nobody's informed Calpuck that the Canucks don't really give a shit about the Flames and the rivalry is pretty much dead.

[dhabums]

I don't think that kind of mindset is healthy, but that's just me.

It's all they have. I wonder why their crap team keeps paying penance to half the league?

[ESQ]

But wait Butler was a -7 tonight and they traded Regehr for him!

Don't forget Calgary had to throw in their 2nd round pick to get Butler! So far they've shed their 2nd and 5th round picks, and haven't added any additional picks through trades. I gotta think if they want to rebuild properly Iginla and Kipper could each get a low-1st, Iginla would fetch a high first round pick but he probably wouldn't agree to be traded to a bottom dweller.

Of course, I'm not sure they can overcome their NMC problem. Iginla hasn't been buying in for years, yet has seemed content to ride it out in Calgary instead of requesting a trade out of there. Maybe the Jokinen/Bouwmeester effect is rubbing off on him? He's probably already booked his tee times in April.

[Hockey Widow]

The only teams bidding for Iginla would be contenders. He is UFS and a bottom feeder is not going to give up a high draft pick for a rental. So that means any draft picks coming back would probably be bottom 10. He would look good on a line with the twins though!

How is MG going to manage to get Perry, Getzlaf, Iginla and Weber?

[Southern_Canuck]

The only teams bidding for Iginla would be contenders. He is UFA and a bottom feeder is not going to give up a high draft pick for a rental. So that means any draft picks coming back would probably be bottom 10.

Capgeek has him UFA in summer 2013, so teams have to consider his $7M cap hit next season as well. Probably still worth it even though he is in decline, but the team will have to be able to fit those dollars in...

Calgary Flames on capgeek

S_C

[Island Nucklehead]

I could see a team like Dallas making a play for him if they feel they're close to a playoff spot. They have a new owner, and a fairly talented group of forwards he could play with, including Victoria product and future superstar Jamie Benn. Dallas has a shit-pile of cap-space and might want a splash to re-juice the fanbase after letting Richards go. Would Iginla go back to the team that drafted him?

Another thing to look out for would be a trade with Nashville for a guy like Ryan Suter. Would help both teams, might convince Weber to stick around etc. I don't think the Predators want 21-22M tied up in two D and a goalie, but then again does Iginla even want to go to Nashville.

Pittsburgh seems to always make deadline moves, but I think they only land Iginla if Crosby is shut down for the season, and then there's the problem of next years' cap to worry about. Another scary scenario would be Iggy landing in Detroit, certainly a team he'd likely waive for.

I dunno WTF they're going to with Bouwmeester. I was one of the guys that wanted him here, but wow has he fallen to shit. No way they move that Redden-like contract.

Kipper might be desirable to a team like Tampa Bay or New Jersey as a stop-gap measure. Would fetch them at least a first round pick and a half-decent prospect.

[Hockey Widow]

Kinda hard to trade Iginla for Suter or Weber since both are FA. Weber RFA and Suter UFA. Calgary will want more of a guarantee that whoever they land will be in the fold for a while.

Kipper would be perfect in Tampa, a great fir for him I think. Iginla would go to NYR and they have the talent to trade for him. I don't know if they can afford the cap though without dumping a ton in return. But there are certainly teams that would make room for him no question.

If Calgary and Anaheim decide to sell we could see some big name players changing teams before long.

[dhabums]

Kinda hard to trade Iginla for Suter or Weber since both are FA. Weber RFA and Suter UFA. Calgary will want more of a guarantee that whoever they land will be in the fold for a while.

Kipper would be perfect in Tampa, a great fir for him I think. Iginla would go to NYR and they have the talent to trade for him. I don't know if they can afford the cap though without dumping a ton in return. But there are certainly teams that would make room for him no question.

If Calgary and Anaheim decide to sell we could see some big name players changing teams before long.

Redden would look good in a Flames jersey.

==

[stoneboat]

Opinion article in the Globe and Mail that seems to echo Tant's thoughts:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/h ... le2294314/

The best thing Feaster can do is go to the Flames’ owners and tell them, “Guys, this group of players isn’t going to cut it. We have to trade one of our stars for younger talent or draft picks. We have to sell hope instead of hopelessness.”

That means either Jarome Iginla or Miikka Kiprusoff have to go. Perhaps both, if the deals are good.

Mentions how owners don't want to move Iggy because he generates brand recognition. But I think the product is at a point where it needs a serious rebranding. Seen that with the Canucks in the past -- with many teams, in fact.