Despite being within arms length of spring, the weather in Calgary is decidedly frigid today. A solid bank of flat gray clouds hangs heavy over the city as I type this and the wind has a biting, icy character to it.
Like the barren, winter environs that echoed the protaganists angst in Ethan Frome, the climate in town is appropriately synchronized with the pain and frustration of the Calgary Flames and their frustrated fans. And now, despite being within arms reach of the play-offs, the Flames are decidedly frosty with no end to the cold spell in sight.
Only 3 weeks ago, Calgary was still in contention for the NW division title, despite a lackluster showing in February. The road record was more an oddity than a concern and the Avalanche were a mere speck in the rear-view mirror. Fast forward 10 games and the Division is out of reach and the play-offs are suddenly in question. The garbage road efforts have inexplicably made their way into the Saddledome. The defensive zone coverage has gone from bad to worse with only a handful of contests remaining in the season. And now, with the team apparently in shambles, the Flames face the best opposition the Western Conference has to offer in a series that may well determine their fate. If they should manage to lose to both Detroit and Nashville (not a big if), the Flames could conceivably eat up the remainder of their cushion over the Avs, meaning they will be left with the daunting task of chasing the 8th seed in the last 8 contests of the year, many of which are on the road.
I'd like to say that such a catastrophe would likely reawaken this slumbering roster, but I don't think that's likely anymore. In the face of mounting pressure during March, the Flames have gotten progressively worse rather than better. As a whole, the club looks equal parts stupid and lazy most of the time. The big names on the team - Iginla, Kiprusoff - have settled into mediocrity during this string of futility, while most of the other "usual suspects" have sucked as per usual (Amonte, Nilson, etc). With the exception of the odd burst of brilliance from the likes of Juice or Tanguay, this team's pulse has barely stirred above "sluggish", despite the increasing significance of the games. With first the division title and now the post-season on the line, there can't be a greater indictment of this squad - and primarily the guy behind the bench - than the consistent and total lack of identifiable urgency in their game. Gone are the days when you could count on the Flames winning a majority of the battles on the boards. Gone is the high tempo forecheck. Gone is the competent d-zone box-out; the impenetrable middle of the ice past the Flames blueline. In their place we have numerous, unforced turn-overs, shoddy neutral zone work and a unwieldy hybrid of limp puck pursuit and puck possession in the offensive zone. Consider that there's only 9 games left in the 06/07 regular season when you watch Robyn Regehr or Roman Hamrlik whack at the puck in panicked fashion in their own end tomorrow night. Realize that it looks curiously like these seasoned, talented hockey players, who are more than 3/4 the way through the year, still don't seem sure of what they're doing. That is, to point out the staggeringly obvious, NOT GOOD.
I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel on this year, but I'm steadily approaching that level of apathy. As I've mentioned in other posts, it's not just that the Flames are losing that is depressing my aspirations for their continued success. It's the manner in which they're losing. Bad streaks happen during the season to the best of teams - sometimes it's due to injury, sometimes it's due to external circumstances like bounces or officiating and sometimes it's a natural regression after riding a high. Were the Flames playing competent hockey and simply victims of one of the aforementioned, I would be a tad more optimistic. But, with the road record now nearing laughable levels of ineptitude and shoddy, uninspired play infecting almost every area of the ice, I'm resigned to the fact that there is something fundamentally, systemically amiss with the Calgary Flames. With the team poised to implode in spectacular Vancouverian fashion, I think it's time to start expecting Playfair's demise as more "probable" than simply "possible". With the exception of an impressive turn-around and a deep run into the post-season, I think it resonable to suspect Nervous Jimmy will be removed from his post as late as this summer - and possibly earlier should the current situation grow even more dire. With potentially millions of post-season dollars on the line and the most expensive roster this Franchise has ever assembled, Sutter's hand will be forced if Calgary falls behind Colorado this week.
And, make no mistake about it, Playfair will not be undeserving of his fate should this post turn prophecy.
