Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Ulcer-by-Northwest
This is quite the little division & playoff race we have going here, no? Two points separating Calgary from the 4th/8th Canucks, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.
The Sauve & Reinprecht for Boucher & Leclerc trade has been an absolute bloody disaster. The winner of the "talent swap" aspect is still to be determined, but considering the Flames' record is a sub-.500 10-9-3 since Sutter went off on Sauve, it sure looks like he mishandled the whole deal. Also worth raising an eyebrow: Sutter worked for "a long time" on a deal to pick up an experienced backup goaltender; the Flames just played 7 games in 11 days; and the important, experienced backup got one start. That's now 2 starts in 18 games as a Flame (11.1%). The inexperienced Sauve got 6 starts in 53 games (11.3%).
On top of all that, if you know a Mighty Ducks season ticket holder who is also a clergyman, put him in touch with me, as his word is the only way I'll believe the now-injured Mike Leclerc ever scored 20 goals in a season. If the Flames season goes all the way sour, I'm gonna get under a blanket, cue up the highlights of Rhino's goals in the 6-5 win over Vancouver, and sob gently.
And, I've already mentioned (a couple times): Dion Phaneuf is a gifted rookie. How gifted is he? He's so gifted, he's already working through his sophomore jinx.
Now that I have that out of the way, we have the following going for us, which is nice:
Like for instance, the guy who thought we missed the speed of Oleg Saprykin. Uh, not so much dude--if I was still waiting for him to break out, I really would have an ulcer. Leopold was our most talented PP D-man last season; now he's 2nd unit, behind Phaneuf & Hamrlik. And for all the mostly-deserved laffs about the Flames' puny scoring numbers, the 2nd-leading scorer in 2003/04 was Shean "Figure 8" Donovan (18G).
This is a good team that has been in 1st place all but one day since December 29th. mc79 has the Avs favoured to win from here; the 2 head-to-head games they have, both in the 'Dome, should tell the tale. Go Flames.
The Sauve & Reinprecht for Boucher & Leclerc trade has been an absolute bloody disaster. The winner of the "talent swap" aspect is still to be determined, but considering the Flames' record is a sub-.500 10-9-3 since Sutter went off on Sauve, it sure looks like he mishandled the whole deal. Also worth raising an eyebrow: Sutter worked for "a long time" on a deal to pick up an experienced backup goaltender; the Flames just played 7 games in 11 days; and the important, experienced backup got one start. That's now 2 starts in 18 games as a Flame (11.1%). The inexperienced Sauve got 6 starts in 53 games (11.3%).
On top of all that, if you know a Mighty Ducks season ticket holder who is also a clergyman, put him in touch with me, as his word is the only way I'll believe the now-injured Mike Leclerc ever scored 20 goals in a season. If the Flames season goes all the way sour, I'm gonna get under a blanket, cue up the highlights of Rhino's goals in the 6-5 win over Vancouver, and sob gently.
And, I've already mentioned (a couple times): Dion Phaneuf is a gifted rookie. How gifted is he? He's so gifted, he's already working through his sophomore jinx.
Now that I have that out of the way, we have the following going for us, which is nice:
- 7 of final 11 at home (Flames home record: 24-7-3)
- 2 of the 4 roadies are @ EDM & VAN on HNIC (Flames HNIC record: 6-0-1)
- 1 game in hand on COL & EDM, 2 on VAN
- 2 points up on EDM & VAN
- Whatsisface - leading Hart Trophy candidate
Like for instance, the guy who thought we missed the speed of Oleg Saprykin. Uh, not so much dude--if I was still waiting for him to break out, I really would have an ulcer. Leopold was our most talented PP D-man last season; now he's 2nd unit, behind Phaneuf & Hamrlik. And for all the mostly-deserved laffs about the Flames' puny scoring numbers, the 2nd-leading scorer in 2003/04 was Shean "Figure 8" Donovan (18G).
This is a good team that has been in 1st place all but one day since December 29th. mc79 has the Avs favoured to win from here; the 2 head-to-head games they have, both in the 'Dome, should tell the tale. Go Flames.
# posted by Matt @ 7:21 am 
Comments:
Hey, has your "most talented PP D-man last season" scored a goal yet?
I gotta agree with your Rhino/Leclerc assessment. We got hosed...
Reinprecht has 5 goals and 7 assists in his last 12 games and is a +6. Leclerc has 1 goal and a broken wrist.
While comparing offensive numbers between the players is unfair thanks to the difference between the two teams (systems, yadda yadda), I still question the wisdom behind trading an offensive asset for a lesser offensive asset from a team lacking offense. Did Sutter, perhaps, figure that Rhino was too soft for the play-off grind?
I think he was backed into a corner with the Sauve thing, and that was the only way he could get himself out. I doubt (I'm hoping anyway) that he thought he was upgrading at forward, I think he was (is) praying it comes out a wash.
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Hey, has your "most talented PP D-man last season" scored a goal yet?
# posted by 
: March 28, 2006 8:41 am
: March 28, 2006 8:41 am 
I gotta agree with your Rhino/Leclerc assessment. We got hosed...
Reinprecht has 5 goals and 7 assists in his last 12 games and is a +6. Leclerc has 1 goal and a broken wrist.
While comparing offensive numbers between the players is unfair thanks to the difference between the two teams (systems, yadda yadda), I still question the wisdom behind trading an offensive asset for a lesser offensive asset from a team lacking offense. Did Sutter, perhaps, figure that Rhino was too soft for the play-off grind?
I think he was backed into a corner with the Sauve thing, and that was the only way he could get himself out. I doubt (I'm hoping anyway) that he thought he was upgrading at forward, I think he was (is) praying it comes out a wash.
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