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Before we get into the conversation about Jarome Iginla and the Flyers...let's have a recap from Saturday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
After a scoreless first two periods against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, the Calgary Flames found the back of the net with just 34.2 seconds left in the 3rd to take the lead. Fans cheered and were moments from enjoying their first home win when the Flames allowed Marian Hossa to score with a measly 3.1 seconds left. To add salt to the wound, Chicago would further beat Calgary in a shoot out which left Flames players scratching their heads, and fans ready to riot Vancouver style.
The Flames offense threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Blackhawks net but Ray Emery inevitably ousted them. Emery would end up saving 45 shots total and stopping every shootout attempt the Flames had. Comparatively, Kiprusoff made some stellar saves of his own, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough. This season his stats aren’t strong, letting in 19 goals in the first 5 games, which hopefully is nothing more than a slow start for the tender.
Hartley was impressed with his team, noting that they only thing missing was the win and if they continue to play this way they can turn the season around for the better. The Flames did look good against Chicago and their offensive pressure in the 3rd was nothing short of brilliant. Although their defense held Chicago to 2 goals, they only needed 19 shots, whereas the Flames needed 47 shots to muster up 2 goals of their own.
The Flames defensive end is still struggling and at the end of the game all they needed was 34.2 seconds of solid defense for the W. Because it doesn’t matter how well they play, the dying minutes of their last 2 games are proof that the Flames will need to continue to focus their attention on the blueline.
On a more positive note, the Flames improved their physicality as Jackman’s presence was felt with his hit on Hjalmarsson. Tanguay finally earned his 500th career assist and Hudler extended his point streak to 5 points in 3 games. The only thing missing out of the game, in my opinion, was a goal from their captain. Iginla was -1 in Saturday’s game and has only registered 4 assists in 6 games played. Granted he’s a slower started, but he’s really going to have to get things going…and fast.
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Though the NHL season has just begun, there are a few NHL teams who have been struggling out of the gates and one could only expect that they will be looking for improvements very soon, before it’s late.
The Calgary Flames have played the fewest amount of games (6) in the NHL and they have only had a few games with their summer acquisitions due to injuries and personal reasons. It may be a little early yet for the Flames to hit the panic button and start looking for big moves, although it may be getting to the point where a team like the Philadelphia Flyers will need to make a move, and soon. Sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference, and 28th league wide, the Flyers who have been a one of the cup favorites for the past couple of seasons are having a tough time getting things going.
The Flyers recently moved a prospective forward, James Van Riemsdyk to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a big hitting defenseman, Luke Schenn. JVR has since put up 4 goals and 1 assist for the Leafs while Luke Schenn leads his team in give-aways. While it’s not to say that the trade favors the Leafs at this point in time, it appears that the Flyers could use the offensive presence which they have lost from moving JVR to the Leafs.
With that being said, it was reported a few days ago by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun that the Flyers may be looking to add some fire power, specifially Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla . The Flyers are in a position right now that with an addition of a guy like Iginla to their current roster, they could be ready for a strong cup run over the next 2-3 years. And let’s be real, Iginla’s stat sheet is as long as his name and could be that needed push for the Flyers.
But, does it make sense for the Flames to move their longstanding captain at this point? As mentioned, it’s arguably a little early for the Flames to make any big decisions and the Flyers would need to offer some youth with an immediate impact to have Jay Feaster return their calls. The Flyers are currently struggling on offense and will certainly need to address this very soon before they fall too far out of playoff contention.
Now, given all the abovementioned…can the Flyers afford to move more pieces of their future for immediate success? Do the Flames, who are sitting 30th in the league, make the first big NHL trade of the 2013 season and bring in some youth? ….. But most importantly, what would it take for both sides…what do they need?
Flames needs:
- Youth
- Strong stay at home defenseman
- Draft selections
Flyers needs:
- Offense
- Puck moving defenseman
So...do you think the two teams could benefit from something like this?
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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