|
TJ Brodie Signed ** Calgary Flames Game Thoughts & Random Notes |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow Colin on Twitter!
As per Elliott Friedman, Flames defenseman TJ Brodie has agreed to a 5 year, $23.25M dollar contract extension worth $4.65M per year. His first year will be worth $3.9M and the defender who has been playing some great hockey alongside captain Mark Giordano is locked up until the 2020-21 season.
I personally like this contract for this player. Brodie proved his worth last season with a struggling and rebuilding Flames team by posting 31 points in 81 games played, and finishing the year at a 0 rating (very good for a bottom 4 team).
**
Who would have thought that the Flames would be coming home after this early 6 game road trip with a record above .500?
I’ll admit, it certainly wasn’t something that I expected to see. The way that they’ve managed to do it has been even more surprising, as this Flames team currently isn’t demonstrating the same 60 minute hard-working effort that fans became accustomed to last year. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to point out a single game where Calgary out hustled their opponents for a full 60 minutes.
Last night was no exception, as the team came out completely flat in the first period. Rafa Diaz was particularly bad as he committed, not one, but two egregious errors in his own end, and was twice bailed out by another spectacular performance from Jonas Hiller. Without his acrobatics, combined with some superb shot blocking (particularly by Lance Bouma), and a sprinkling of luck (two posts), this game could have been over before it even began.
Luckliy for the Flames, they managed to head to the dressing room down only one goal as Mark Scheifele fired a laser past Hiller on a beautiful passing play to score the lone Jets goal on the night.
As the second period began, it was as though the Flames flipped a switch, and suddenly the work ethic and relentless determination that we’ve become accustomed to was on display.
Hudler was sprung on a breakaway on a beautiful feed from Giordano, and while he didn’t score it seemed to give the visiting team a boost of confidence as they continued to press the offense.
Kris Russell broke up a Jets’ clearing attempt then displayed some impressive patience with the puck, drawing defenders towards him before finding Dennis Wideman in the high slot. Wideman fired a wrister into the top corner and the Flames tied the game at 1.
The Flames took the lead only 4 minutes later when Johnny Gaudreau scored his first of the season with a quick little wraparound on the Powerplay.
Gaudreau would add an assist on his very next shift as he would find a streaking Mason Raymond breaking through the middle of the ice. Raymond beat Pavelec cleanly to put the Flames up by 2.
While the first period was all Winnipeg, and the second was all Calgary, the third was more balanced.
The only goal of the period came from the red hot T.J. Brodie. After the smooth skating defender was knocked to the ice on the zone entry, he regained his footing and continued towards the net, finding a loose puck and wristing it top corner for his third goal of the season and his team leading 7th point of the season.
Mason Raymond also has 7 points on the season after collecting a goal and two assists in the game.
Things got a little heated towards the end of the game when a stick-less Blake Wheeler launched a flying double-elbow at the head of Curtis Glencross. Glencross luckily managed to duck under the blow, and not much came out of it other than a bit of a scrum along the boards.
Random notes:
In a bit of financial news for the club, it sounds as though terms have been agreed to on a 5 year extension for the team’s number 2 defenseman. T.J. Brodie’s new deal will pay him roughly 23 million over 5 years, and anyone who has been following his progression over the past few seasons will tell you that’s an absolute steal.
Jonas Hiller has now stopped 83 of the last 85 shots fired his way and he’s sporting a .942 save percentage for the young season. Karri Ramo’s not far behind him at a .920. So far this season, the Flames’ two-headed goaltending monster appears to be not only getting the job done… it’s excelling.
It’s far too early to talk about standings, and playoff berths… but one thing is clear. The Flames are not going to be an easy two points for any team this season, and if they can develop some consistent work ethic and maintain their quality goaltending, there’s a legitimate chance that this team could be talking about more than simply the draft lottery as the regular season winds down.
Oh, by the way… the Oilers still haven’t won a game and they’re currently sitting in 30th position in the standings. Some things never change.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»