Surprisingly, the Flames have signed Anders Eriksson for the second time. He was Flames property a couple of seasons ago, but never suited up for the club. The contract is apparently a two-year deal (no dollar figure released).
Eriksson is likely a Zyuzin replacement. With the sigining, the Flames now have 8 NHL caliber defensemen:
Hale
Warrener
Giordano
Eriksson
Phaneuf
Aucoin
Regehr
Sarich
By my count that's at least one too many, unless someone's going to spend a majority of the season in Quad Cities. If that turns out to be Gio I think I'll start mailing Anthrax powder and letter-bombs to Flames management and kicking strangers in the throat.
On the other hand, this could signal the end of Rhett Warrener in the Flaming C. He is clearly overpaid for his contributions and has become replaceable by other, cheaper options. He's been a Sutter favorite from day one, so it's hard to picture him being dealt. Perhaps retirement is in order?
As for Eriksson, he ended up being the BJ's blueline leader in terms of both points (23 assists) and plus/minus last season (+12). He was also top four among Columbus defenders in terms ES ice/game (14:30) and SH ice/game (2:52), so it's not like the Flames signed another Andrea Susan (seemingly). Whatever minutes he was getting, soft or hard, brief or long, +12 on that terrible team is kind of impressive. It'll be interesting to see where he falls on the depth chart come October.
