Side-stepping the Oiler melodrama for a second, we might as well talk a bit about the newest addition to the Flames roster.
According to TSN, Sutter acquired David Hale and a 5th rounder from NJ Devils for 3rd rounder.
The fact that the Flames got a pick and a player for a slightly higher pick makes me wonder what's wrong with this guy. According to his scouting report, he's pretty big and can hit. He also has the offensive upside of a lamp post, but that doesn't matter much. He basically looks like a Rhett Warrener insurance policy to me. And considering the frequency with which Rhett gets hurt these days, it's probably not a bad strategy.
The question now is does this bump Giordano down to the farm, or will there be a functioning rotation of 6th d-men for the forseeable future? Calgary now has 2 healthy 7th d-men sitting idle on the sidelines. Does Hale bump someone permanently or will he have to jockey with Zyuzin and Gio on a nightly basis? Hard to say, since I haven't seen the former play at all.
Clearly, though, Sutter plans on having a long and fruitful play-off run. No doubt he remembers the bevy of injuries the Flames suffered in the 03/04 trip to the finals and this is his way of ensuring there won't be a Montador/Commodore 3rd pairing repeat.
Anyways, seems like a good deal to me. Didn't give up much and got yet another former 1st rounder to solidify the back-end (although, Zyuzin was a 1st rounder too, so...).
