Now the the finals are over and another season is in the books we can focus on what's going to happen in the off-season as the Flames will look to rebound from the disaster that was their 2009-2010 campaign.

We know now two things more than we did when the season (prematurely as far as most were concerned) ended with their 82nd game in mid April.

1. There will be no significant changes in the front office, management, or coaching staff.
2. Vesa Toskola will not be back in a Flames uniform.

Not a whole lot to get anyone excited, especially since according to their company line the organization feels that they weren't very far from being a Cinderella story like Philly had fortune smiled on them when they needed it most. Although the premise has to seem far-fetched at best to even the most optimistic Flame's fan, the argument can be made on at least some level since the Flyers did sneak in and we're expected to be fodder in every round they played by most of the media. Whether or not that argument holds any water with any Flame's fans or whether they agree at all with Sutter's assessment likely hinges on the team's performance in the coming season.

This off-season's theme thus far, at least from the organization's point of view, seems to be exactly the same as it has been since the return from the lock-out which is basically: We're very close. A couple of small tweaks in the right places and we're a legitimate contender.

Technically they're correct. After all, in October each team will start with 82 possible games in which they can garner points that could put them into a position to participate in the annual Stanley Cup tournament in which one team will skate away with the ultimate prize. As of right now, technically all teams are sitting in the same position at 0-0-0 records which would theoretically make EVERY team a contender.

Of course there's also the old adage provided to us by the great Albert Einstein who quipped: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. " Wouldn't one have to agree that the Flames have pretty much done that since the '04 run? Yes, the coaches have changed and the personnel insofar as the supporting cast have been shuffled a little but the basic framework of the systems and types of players has been fairly consistent over the past 5 seasons has been fairly static.

That's why I think that Sutter is up to something. I just can't believe that the organization would have just stood by if they didn't feel that Sutter had a plan that had some "new car smell" to it even going as far back as the Phaneuf trade. The fact that he was permitted to trade Jokinen who would have been off the books at the end of the season for a clearly disinterested Kotalik also has to make one think that something is afoot.

I just can't imagine the team taking Kotalik back for two more years at his inflated salary unless they knew that they could rid themselves of the cap hit without having to buy him out. Now, does that mean that he'll be buried in the minors or whether there is another option remains to be seen.

Will the Flames make another splash at the draft or in free agency? You'd have to believe that despite what the organization is saying after seeing the depth that it took to make it to this year's finals a team with a single scoring line just isn't going to cut it and after watching the number of goals scored in the post-season this year maybe the defensive approach has finally run its course. There just doesn't seem to be any way that the Flames are just going to stand pat and go into training camp with the roster they have right now.

Darryl isn't saying anything... Of course, Darryl never says anything so expect changes to be made.

Have a great day!
shaune.vetter@hockeybuzz.com

saneopinion has been writing some great stuff on the Flames as of late and is definitely worth a read. Check out his stuff

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