It's Finally Happened

After the Flames traded away Alex Tanguay a week ago, a lot of great hockey analysts around these parts have made some great points.

1. Mike Cammalleri is not a replacement for Alex Tanguay.
2. The Flames no longer have a second line
3. This move was made a necessity due to a long line of bad deals

I agree with all these arguments. Firstly, I'd like to admit that I personally advocated for a Tanguay trade after the playoffs. I think MG made a very good point at the time though, that deal away Tanguay and the Flames probably don't even make the playoffs, that without his presence the already paper thin depth of the Flames gets that much thinner, and he was (is) obviously correct.

Look at the mock lineup Matt has put together. Now that is ugly. Matt, I think, is overly optimistic.

Actually, 4th line aside, I don't mind this lineup. Iginla w/ Cammy and DL is a solid #1 line and PP unit; Lombo between RF and Moss should be able to keep the puck going in the right direction as much as the wrong one, and maybe pot a few goals; I definitely prefer Boyd as a centre, and with Gelinas and Nilson on the wings I think that's pretty workable as an ongoing proposition.

I'm happy with the D; my present mindset is that The Warrener is still serviceable as a 3rd-pair guy. Naturally, I'd love it if Pardy or Negrin or Pelech or somebody stepped up in training camp and bumped Eriksson even further down the depth chart.

The first line, as always, is respectable. The second line? Well, I like Lombardi, and Fedotenko provides all Flames fans with some painful memories. But as much I love Moss, he is not a second liner. Neither is Gelinas, or Boyd, or etc. There are no other 2nd liners on that team (theoretical as it is).

The defence starts out not bad. Regehr, Phaneuf, even Sarich. But watching Aucoin last year he is no longer a top 4 guy. He's too slow and his decision making has gotten pretty bad. He played 5th highest QOC for Flames defenceman (Phaneuf, Regehr, Eriksson, Sarich were ahead) and did ok, (+/-ON/60 0.94, CORSI 1.4) but I wouldn't be willing to give him much, if any more responsibility. Plus, Eriksson and Warrener are still there.

Darryl Sutter might want to take a cue from one of the most incompetent franchises in sports history. The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken time during the past week and a half to start buying out dead weight. Wellwood - gone. Tucker - gone. Raycroft - gone.

Calgary has a lot of deadwood, and if there's any chance of this team competing this year in any regard, they need to get rid of it.

Darryl Sutter, if you can hear me, buy out these contracts:
Anders Eriksson - $1.5 million
Rhett Warrener - $2.35 million
Wayne Primeau - $1.4 million
Adrian Aucoin - $4.0 million

This will give you room to put together a legitimate lineup.

If the Flames don't buy out at least 2 of these contracts it will be proof that it's finally happened. The Flames are more incompetent than the Leafs.

Trade Deadline: Winners

Winners:

Toronto Maple Leafs
No, the Leafs weren't able to pick up any big names, nor any big prospects, but they were the envy of many teams in their successful attempts to drop bad players with bad salaries and get some useful assets in return. They dropped Hal Gill (making over $2 million next year), Wade Belak (UFA at end of season), and Chad Kilger ($700k next year).

11:18 am, Tuesday February 26, 2008
Acquire: Wade Belak	Acquire: 5th round draft pick

2:47 pm, Tuesday February 26, 2008
Acquire: Hal Gill	Acquire: '08 2nd round pick, '09 5th round pick

3:20 pm, Tuesday February 26, 2008
Acquire: Chad Kilger	Acquire: 2008, 3rd round pick

Overall, Toronto gets a 2nd, 3rd, and a couple of 5ths which is pretty good considering they got rid of a guy they had no intention of resigning, a defenceman that practically doesn't belong in the NHL, and a guy that can be replaced by a youngster who might have a big(ger) upside. The Toronto media called Toronto losers, but truly they are the winners.

Dallas Stars
I suppose I'm being a bit hypocritical after my last post, but I don't consider Brad Richards to be a rental in the same way Brad Stuart was a rental for Calgary. This is a move more in the tradition of the New Jersey Devils picking up a player like Joe Niewendyk ( March 19, 2002: Dallas traded C Joe Nieuwendyk and RW Jamie Langenbrunner to New Jersey for C Jason Arnott, RW Randy McKay and New Jersey's 1st-round pick in the 2002 Entry Draft.) who's a champion who will be a cornerstone of the team for years to come. It didn't pay off that year for New Jersey who bowed out in the first round to the upstart Carolina Hurricanes who made it all the way to the final. Turns out Niewendyk had the flu that year. He didn't the next year as he played his way to the final and won the cup for a third time on a third team. If you ever looked up champion in the dictionary I am sure Niewendyk's name would be mentioned one way or another.

Is Brad Richards a Joe Niewendyk type guy? I don't know, he doesn't have the experience, but he certainly has a good pedigree. Nonetheless, this wasn't just a short term 2008 playoff run move, this was a long term move where Dallas said we want our team to have championship pedigree. In my books, collecting champions is always a good move, especially if you can afford it.

11:46 am, Tuesday February 26, 2008
Acquire: Brad Richards Johan Holmqvist	Acquire: Mike Smith Jussi Jokinen Jeff Halpern 2009 fourth-round pick

Stanley Cup Finals - 5 Reasons to Cheer for the Ottawa Senators

5. Ray Emery

A former Jr. C goalie may win the Cup. Emery was discovered by a scout who was early to the rink to see another prospect, when he caught Emery playing in the Jr. C game. The rest is history, but what a change in life plans it must have been for Emery. Just a great story overall.

4. Bring the Cup Home

1993. That was the last time a Canadian team brought the Cup north of the 49th. Since then, Calgary and Edmonton have come within a couple goals of the Cup, but both failed to seal the deal. Have you ever seen Happy Gilmour, when his golfing instructor told him to put the ball in the hole, to send it home. Well Canada is the Cup's home. Send it home.

3. Dany Heatley

I mentioned to BD that Heatley has never been quite the same player since he crashed his 360 Modena, killing his friend Dan Snyder. Thats saying something considering Heatley has had back to back 50 goals seasons. A Cup win would solidify Dany's place as more than a sniper; he will be rightfully known as a winner, something he's proven himself as a member two Team Canada World Championship Golds. Plus I think there's a chance Dany will bring the Cup back to my neck of the woods should he win.

2. Toronto's Futility Continues

Is there a better reason to cheer for the Senators? For years T.O. faithful have rubbed it in Senator fans' faces that the Laffs always beat the Senators in the playoffs. Well not only has T.O. not even made the big show, the Sens may win it. Being a Senators fan in Toronto just got a little sweeter. Not that I would know.

1. Someone Will Give A Damn

Someone over at LT's mentioned that Earl Sleek admitted the Ducks probably only had about 40,000 fans who would celebrate. Let's face facts, Ottawa is already going Cup crazy, in similar fashion to Calgary and Edmonton the last couple of years. Having lived through both recent runs, I can only imagine the pandemonium following an actual win.