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With Brian Burke’s connection to both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks, we knew to expect a few trades between the three teams this NHL season.
With that being said, Calgary acquired a 6th round draft selection in 2014 in exchange for forward Tim Jackman yesterday.
Constantly rotating in and out of the lineup with the Flames, 32 year old Jackman was ultimately found to be no longer part of the organization's long term rebuild plan. The 6’2 225lbs forward will take his services to the Anaheim Ducks organization who may be able to use his size and grit within their 4th line.
With only one point in 10 games this season with the Flames, Jackman’s grit was no longer needed in Cowtown with Brian McGrattan taking over as the team’s enforcer. In his replacement the Flames have recalled forward Blair Jones who is expected back in the lineup for tonight’s game.
While Jackman was a player who many liked around the dressing room, Calgary is expected to move more and more vets in exchanged for draft picks or prospects as the season progresses.
“As I told Tim, I said, 'This is very difficult on a personal level,' because we all love him,” said Flames GM Jay Feaster. “Tim Jackman has been the ultimate warrior for this hockey team. He's sweated, bled, cried tears ... He's everything you want in a teammate and a human being.”
At the end of the day, moving Jackman provides the Flames with another draft selection in 2014, but most importantly provides the team another opportunity to play and or evaluate a younger player in the system as they continue their rebuild. Jones has found success playing for the Abbotsford Heat of late, registering 20pts in 16 games played.
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The Calgary Flames will play host to the Florida Panthers tonight as each team hopes to try and avoid a two game losing streak.
Coming off a 4-1 loss last night against the Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers should have a slight disadvantage playing back to back road games where as the Flames have had a day off in preparation. Speaking of days off, after tonight’s game the Flames will not take to the ice again until the 27th against the Hawks.
Outside of their loss last night, the Panthers have been doing quite well winning three of four games played. Florida is one of the league’s worst ranked teams in terms of goals scored with just over 2 goals scored on average per game. With that in mind, the Flames will need to be prepared for a hard working group who have found success in outskating their opponents while essentially waiting for their chances to come rather than pushing for them, if you will.
''The key was the energy, we didn't have any,'' Panthers’ interim coach Peter Horachek said. ''That's the key to the game, if your energy is better and you go out with a workman attitude, everything improves, the whole game improves from our standpoint."
The Flames, who have had no problems finding the back of the net, will need to continue to focus on their defensive play and maintain any leads which they may acquire – something they have been struggling with this year. That said, in their most recent games Calgary has had really only one line going for them which about anyone, including head coach Bob Hartley will tell you is rather difficult to find success with.
Tonight will be the first game which the Panthers have played in Calgary since October 2010 and as mentioned, they are likely to be a little worn down from last night’s game. If Calgary comes out of the gates flying and doesn’t expect their opponent to show signs of fatigue with their back to back road games tonight, they should be able to secure an extra two points for the season, ultimately avoiding another two game losing streak and also their seventh consecutive loss at home.
Below are your expected lines for tonight’s game. Reto Berra appears to be the likely candidate for the starting position once again, leaving Karri Ramo on the bench for the 5th straight game.
Mike Cammalleri - Matt Stajan - Lee Stempniak
Sven Baertschi - Sean Monahan - Jiri Hudler
Lance Bouma - Joe Colborne - David Jones
TJ Galiardi - Mikael Backlund - Brian McGrattan
Kris Russell - TJ Brodie
Chris Butler - Dennis Wideman
Ladislav Smid - Shane O'Brien
Reto Berra
Thanks for reading!
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