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It’s game day for the Calgary Flames, and with only three games remaining, you’d better get your fix until the off-season officially sets in for some, and the playoffs begin for others!
Before I get into the blog for today which will cover the game between the Flames and Kings, in addition to my April Q&A, I’d like to get an idea of how fans feel about cheering for other teams during the playoffs.
Given that the only Canadian team remaining in the playoffs is the Montreal Canadiens, there are thousands of fans left with no team to cheer for, per se. With that established, I often overhear fans whose teams have been eliminated debate with others as to who their “playoff… team will be.
Are you in the same boat? Do you pick a new team to cheer on during the playoffs, or are you strict to only following and cheering for one team, and one team only? Personally, being a fan of the Flames and Maple Leafs, I often find myself cheering for the St Louis Blues. I don’t know why, but I like their physical makeup and I cheer them on during the playoffs.
What about you?
With respect to tonight’s game, the LA Kings will need to have a big game tonight as they hope to hang on to their playoff spot, with a few teams trailing behind.
Despite having lost their last two, the Kings have registered 7 wins of their last ten games and I doubt if many fans are too worried about them sliding anymore. That said, it will be important for their confidence going into the playoffs to get out of their losing ways and walk away with a win; it’s too bad that the Flames won’t make it easy on them, though.
"We have to bear down. We took three penalties and they scored on one of them," Marian Gaborik said. "We can't have breakdowns in our zone. We have to get ready and make sure it doesn't happen. We're heading into playoffs.
"These game situations can cost us big so we have to figure it out and make sure we bear down and are strong on pucks in front of our net."
With a big game from the Calgary Flames to potentially ruin the NJ Devils’ chances at playoffs on Monday night, Karri Ramo and captain Mark Giordano will need to come up big once again if the Flames are to keep the Kings from ending their losing streak.
And while there is no real need, per se, for the Flames to win this game, coach Bob Hartley maintains the fact that every game counts and he expects nothing but 100% from his players to end the season.
"It's just a hard-working group," coach Bob Hartley said. "We're going to fight until the last second. I love this group."
Some inspiring words indeed from a coach with a team who’s ranked 26th in the league, I’d say! Having won their last three games, another big win tonight would do wonders for the fan base in Calgary and only the development of players. Not subjecting your future cast of potential stars to a losing environment is very important during a rebuild, and the Flames have done very well in that regard this year.
Tonight’s game should be a good fast paced game, and I expect another close game regardless of a win or loss for Calgary.
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Now, onto the April Q&A session! Thanks to all those who submitted questions!
Whipper334 asks: Colin, in your opinion, what are the odds that Burke makes a major splash at the draft that has all of us thinking “what just happened…?
Whipper, if there is one thing you can always rely on when it comes to Brian Burke, is that he keeps things interesting. Burke doesn’t like to sit back and wait for things to unfold on their own, like certain GM’s. While this management style can be successful, more often than not you will find that a GM who does not make necessary moves, will be futile.
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that Brian Burke is busy during the summer/NHL draft as he maintains players who remain not part of the Flames future plans. There are plenty teams who could very well use players which they possess for their own attempts at improvement, and he will take advantage of any and all scenarios where teams come knocking at his door.
Will any of said moves leave us scratching our heads? Likely. Do I confide in Brian’s abilities to make good decisions for this team? I do, and I think anything that does materialize will need to be properly assessed.
Iggysbff asks: Should Flames fans be worried that Burke is building the flames very similar to the Leafs? And we can all see what an unmitigated disaster they are…
Of course fans can worry about this, but for those trying to provide an outsiders assessment of what Burke did with the Leafs, I feel not much credit is given to Burke. The supporting cast, outside of any top end prospects which Burke had to work with, provided quite the challenge for the GM. Given the circumstances and what he (was) able to do with that group, I wouldn’t be too concerned.
The only true concern with Burke should be that he is an impatient and stubborn GM. If he’s able to learn from his mistakes in Toronto, I feel confident that he can turn this Calgary team around in a few years, as he already has a much better cast of players to work with.
FlashFlare asks: Who are the potential GM's the Flames could be looking at in the offseason, how early would they be able to sign said GM, and who do you have ranked highly as a potential "Great Fit"?
As previously expressed, I think that the consensus continues to be toward Joe Nieuwendyk. While I’m sure his name isn’t just in people’s minds because of the recent ceremonial event, I have a feeling he is one of the few people who fans can relate to and feel comfortable with naming their new GM.
I do feel that personally feel, under the guidance of Brian Burke, that Joe could do a very good job and if the decision is to be made, it will be done over the summer as Burke continues to do his best to set up the role for his successor.
Runner up for me is Claude Loiselle from the Toronto Maple Leafs who has close ties with Brian Burke, and is a very smart and responsible hockey man. He would also be a very good choice for this organization given that the Leafs are likely to make a few management changes over the summer themselves.
Buddy_doug asks: How strong is the 2015 draft past McDavid and Eichiel?
I often have a hard time talking about drafts in general as some in the hockey world seem to feel that any or most players picked in the top ten are guaranteed NHLers, top 3 guaranteed top end players. If you have followed hockey long enough, you know this not to be the case.
While choosing higher in the draft increases your odds of selecting a future star, there are plenty of players chosen in the latter rounds who have exceled. And while these players are the exception and not the rule, you really need a strong scouting team. That being said, the two prized individuals from the 2015 NHL draft are slated to be, as you mentioned, McDavid and Eichel, the former being the potential next big thing.
Outside of these players, it has been argued that this year’s draft in addition to next year’s will be nothing spectacular as most scouts do not predict any top line talent being selected outside of the top 5 (to be expected). And while this may be the case, there are some very promising players who teams will need to keep an eye out for such as Travis Konecny, Oliver Kylington, Evgeny Svechnikov, Mathew Barzal, and Noah Hanifin. These players will certainly, in my opinion, be impact players for whichever team selects them. It’s still a little early to be discussing the 2015 draft beyond these players, but those are the ones I would keep an eye out for.
Christobelle (@DemetricSystem) asks: Of all our expiring contracts, who do you think will be re-signed?
I continue to maintain that Mike Cammalleri will be re-signed by the Flames. The main reason I hold this notion is mainly due to the fact that Cammalleri will be requesting a decent dollar figure, and the Flames are one of few teams who can afford said terms.
With that, I imagine that Burke will do his best to sign him to a contract where a NMC or NTC kicks in in the latter half of the deal, allowing him to sign and trade Mike and walk away with an asset or two.
Other players who I feel will be re-signed though not necessarily part of Burke’s long term plans are: Paul Byron, Lance Bouma, Joe Colborne, Chris Breen, Mark Cundari, Chad Billins, and Joey MacDonald.
While I feel that Chris Butler has improved his play, I get the impression that Burke will walk away from the player unless he’s willing to sign a very cap friendly contract. The above players are not likely to sign any large contracts, and it’s better for the orgniazation to give them more time to develop and get a better assessment of their value. They have the time, and money to do so.
I’m questionable about Ben Hanowski and TJ Galiardi. I feel that both or either could be packed in a deal to improve the overall roster, and personally do not see much of a future for these players with the Flames moving forward.
Outside of the above, it’s tough to say which players will remain on the roster next year as, as expressed, I feel that Burke will have a busy summer reorganizing his assets in a way he sees fit.
That’s all for today folks, thanks for reading!