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I recently wrote a blog concerning the future and or value of Mike Cammalleri with the Calgary Flames where a poll provided indicated that 62% of you felt that he should be moved.
With recent comments from the forward which indicated that he is willing to stay, many fans may have changed their minds with respect to Mike’s importance to this team, so much so that they feel he should sport the C this year. Here’s the thing - while I for one support keeping a guy like Cammalleri around if the Flames are able to resign him to a good contract, he’s not what the Flames need for a captain.
There are a few players currently in the Flames locker room who are known to be strong leaders for their team, but one in particular stands out to me and apparently to Mike as well.
“I think Mark Giordano would be a great captain of this group,” Cammalleri said Wednesday. “I’ll be up front and honest about that. He’s been here a long time. He’s a guy that I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and being an assistant captain to him would be an honour, also.” - Canoe.ca
There you have it folks, my opinion about the next Calgary Flames captain, supported by Mike Cammalleri. While I am sure a few will argue that Mike would obviously not vote for himself when asked who should wear the C next year, I think he is honest when he says that Giordano should be the Flames number 1 choice. Calgary will enter the 2013-14 season with no selected captain if they are not able to make a selection prior to preseason's close, though I have a feeling they've already decided.
If any of you recall, I mentioned that the Flames might be better suited to run with all assistant captains this year as the team reshapes itself, but I’ve reconsidered. Given that Calgary is rebuilding, it should be important for them to select a leader for the team; someone who has a lot of experience, professionalism, and a strong work ethic to offer to the young players of the team - someone like Mark Giordano.
Although he has very large shoes to fill since Jarome Iginla was removed from the roster, Giordano is not new to the sport or a leadership role for that matter. Mark has played his entire NHL career with the Flames so far registering 358gp and 150pts as a defenseman. He was noted by The Hockey News as one of the most underrated players in the league and has been a role model on and off the ice with several fundraisers and charities which he and his wife support.
Over the past couple of seasons, Gio has been quietly getting his job done night-in, night-out. He comes to the rink prepared for every game and practice as he feels that if anyone is going to take you seriously, you had better be one of the stronger members of your group.
“You lead the way by the way you play on the ice. You can say whatever you want, if you’re not performing on the ice it’s tough to be looked up to. I think on the ice is most important.
“I’m going to try and do that, play hard every night and every practice and go from there.
You look at our team and it’s pretty clear that there’s only one way we’re going to be successful, and that’s with hard work and playing the right way with the details. It seems like a fresh start, obviously.”
“We have to be tight knit. Do the little things right. That’s really the only chance we have.
“We want to win. No matter what’s going on, you want to talk about seeing different guys, rebuilding and re-tooling and all the stuff, the bottom line at the end of the day, when we play, we’re trying to win and trying to get into the playoffs. It goes a long way when you work hard as a team and play as a group. I’ve seen other teams do it, I’ve seen other teams turn it around quick.
“It’s going to be a good battle right from the net out this year in camp.” - Calgary Herald
But what about the coaches and management group – have they been contemplating the same?
“A captain is the mirror of your team,” says Bob Hartley, who had another quiet pro, Joe Sakic, as his captain in Denver. “That’s why like everyone looks in the mirror in the morning before they leave home. The mirror makes sure your tie is straight, your hair is good.
“A good captain of a hockey team is like a good captain on a boat. You recognize the value of a good captain on the water when the ocean goes crazy a little bit; in the middle of a storm. Anyone can be a captain when the sea is calm. The captain should bring poise, an element of calm.
“Hockey is a very emotional business. You win three and you’re ready to plan the Stanley Cup parade. You lose three and you’re ready to fire everybody and the chairs are flying. That’s where you need a guy that has the ability to take one step backward and say ‘OK, what’s the best route forward?’, without going crazy or acting in the heat of the moment and five minutes later regretting his actions.
“We talked in many meetings and after each meeting we were always coming back to the same guy.” - Calgary Herald
It appears we may all have the same guy in mind when breaking down who this team needs as their next captain, and further who is available to them. In my humble opinion the answer to that seems all but obvious and I feel the coaches are on the same page. I’m not a betting man – wait a minute yes I am!...I would put all my chips on 5 Red for the Flames next captain.
For those who missed the annoucement yesterday, here are the full details for the
Flames training camp roster and schedule .
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As there isn’t a whole lot of news worthy items to discuss concerning the Calgary Flames at the present moment, I thought I’d chime in on some of what is going on with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I apologize to my Flames fans who could care less about what the Leafs are doing at the present moment, but frankly I’ve read too much craziness lately and would like to comment.
The Leafs are in a very tight cap situation and are in trouble! They haven’t signed defenseman Cody Franson yet and as a result they will need to move him for spare parts or trade JML for a 7th rounder!
Let’s look at this a little closer shall we? Anyone can open up Capgeek.com and notice that the site indicates the team has but $1.9M in remaining cap space. While this is accurate as things stand, Capgeek reports all current salaries against a team's cap and doesn’t take into consideration players who are likely to be dropped to the AHL.
With that being said, taking a look at the list of reported salaries for the Leafs, you have Trevor Smith at $550k and Korbinian Holzer at $787k for a total near $1.4M in available space once the two are demoted. The Leafs $1.9M suddenly turns into $3.3M.
A lot of analysts and fans have been mulling over what Cody Franson is currently worth to the Leafs, but that is a tough question right now given their limited bank roll and his limited success. It was reported yesterday that Franson was seeking either a 4 year deal or a 1 year deal from the Leafs, while Nonis was offering a 2 year deal instead.
The reasoning behind offereing Franson a two year deal is simply because Toronto has a few large contracts expiring next year, and frankly, they would rather not have to deal with another. A two year deal makes most sense for the Leafs, however not entirely for Franson who is thought to be a top 4 defender in this league by a few.
I know mentioning that Franson could be a top 4 defender will spark debate given his weaknesses in his own defensive end, but we can leave that for Augello to write about if he’d like as I’m not looking to make this blog too long.
Back to my point – It is of my opinion that the Leafs should stick to their guns and offer Franson a two year deal for $5M as frankly, the RFA doesn’t have a lot of leverage in these negotiations at the moment as recently signed Nazem Kadri found out.
While it won’t make the defenseman very happy, he and his agent must understand that offering him a one year deal could cause salary cap world problems next year with Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf(among others) needing to be resigned. Either Franson accepts their terms, or he depreciates sitting on the sidelines.
And hey, we can take it a little further if needed because I haven’t even mentioned a single thought about moving a player in order to sign Franson or Raymond. The Leafs still have the option to move JM Liles and a portion of his $3.875M contract as they have one spot remaining in terms of retained salaries. Though keeping $1-1.875M would fill the Leafs current retained salaries allowance, both salaries withheld from acquiring Jon Bernier(Scrivens/Frattin) expire this year.
Additionaly, as I have previously offered, the Leafs could entertain moving young centerman Joe Colborne as he will either need to play a full year with the Leafs or risk losing him on waivers if demoted. Although quite honestly, I don't see Colborne being the resolution to the problem and feel that he will be used in the lineup.
As I offered, those are my thoughts on the current Leafs problems when it comes to the cap world. I have found most articles so far are doing nothing but looking for attention as they try and “scare” the fans into thinking the Leafs are in trouble when I can almost guarantee that Nonis has lost zero sleep over the issue.
Once again, sorry to my Flames readers who have no interest in the above conversations – I simply couldn’t help but to comment.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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