- highly appropriate image provided by Soundwave
The Edmonton Oilers vaulted above the Flames with their convincing win over the Ducks recently. Calgary is currently the 3rd worst team in the Western Conference and are only ahead of Phoenix and Los Angeles by one and two points respectively (and each has several games in hand).
This is truly the lowest the Flames have stooped since Sutter took the helm 4+ years ago. Given the 03/04 Play-off run was the high-water mark, the organization certainly looks to be on a slow and steady descent downwards. It's a bitter, bitter pill.
Probably the only positive is the fact that there's time to turn things around. This team's looked like various kinds of crap since late February, so a sudden turn-around seems pretty improbable right now. But at least it's not impossible. Yet.
Flames take on the BJs tonight. Aucoin and Warrener are still injured, meaning Anders Eriksson, David Hale and (I guess) Tim Ramholt will again be the 4th, 5th and 6th defensemen tonight. That means, way too much ice-time for Phaneuf through Sarich again (both of whom have looked pretty terrible in their own end recently). Boyd and Nystrom should also be in the line-up tonight, which is less of a bad thing. Boyd has been pretty impressive during his call-up and even managed 16+ minutes of ice-time last game. The kids have thus far proven that the Flames did indeed have replacement level rookies in their system...and that the multi-year signings of Nilson and Primeau were as useless as I posited in the off-season. Oh well. At least they're getting a chance now...
Anyways, if the turn-arounds ever going to happen, it has to start sooner rather than later. As in, yesterday. Another couple weeks of total suckage and the organization would be better served by kissing the post-season good-bye, selling off the sellables and pulling an Oiler-style "Dive for Five".
This is truly the lowest the Flames have stooped since Sutter took the helm 4+ years ago. Given the 03/04 Play-off run was the high-water mark, the organization certainly looks to be on a slow and steady descent downwards. It's a bitter, bitter pill.
Probably the only positive is the fact that there's time to turn things around. This team's looked like various kinds of crap since late February, so a sudden turn-around seems pretty improbable right now. But at least it's not impossible. Yet.
Flames take on the BJs tonight. Aucoin and Warrener are still injured, meaning Anders Eriksson, David Hale and (I guess) Tim Ramholt will again be the 4th, 5th and 6th defensemen tonight. That means, way too much ice-time for Phaneuf through Sarich again (both of whom have looked pretty terrible in their own end recently). Boyd and Nystrom should also be in the line-up tonight, which is less of a bad thing. Boyd has been pretty impressive during his call-up and even managed 16+ minutes of ice-time last game. The kids have thus far proven that the Flames did indeed have replacement level rookies in their system...and that the multi-year signings of Nilson and Primeau were as useless as I posited in the off-season. Oh well. At least they're getting a chance now...
Anyways, if the turn-arounds ever going to happen, it has to start sooner rather than later. As in, yesterday. Another couple weeks of total suckage and the organization would be better served by kissing the post-season good-bye, selling off the sellables and pulling an Oiler-style "Dive for Five".
