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As the title suggests, the Calgary Flames believe that this group can challenge and push for a playoff spot, despite being currently tied for 3rd worst in the league, and 12 points out of 8th place in the Western Conference.
Before I get your panties in a bunch, let me explain.
The Calgary Flames have hired a certain group of personnel who will not accept anything but a players best effort, and as such, will not accept any excuse or reason for losing. As I’ve made reference to several times throughout my blogs, Bob Hartley is one such man who holds the above notion very close to his heart. At no point in time will he allow his team to accept that they are rebuilding and that losing is to be expected under such circumstances.
It simply won’t happen folks; and for those who are in favor of tanking in order to draft high are going to be disappointed.
Since the moment which Hartley took over he made it quite clear that if any player doesn’t buy into his systems and or works his butt off, they won’t play. Furthermore, the Flames acquired another “whip…, if you will, in the organization when they hired Brian Burke. For all those who have followed Burke throughout the NHL long enough (how could you not), you would know this is not a man who is overly patient or forgiving.
So where does that leave this team? Well, it’s quite simple...really – Right where they are! See what most fans seem to have difficulties with are the statements being made by the organization: We are going to push for the playoffs, and every game is going to count. Well, it's great that little Timmy wants to one day by a firefighter, but he's just too small and too young! But don’t tell that directly to Timmy, that might crush him.
What Hartley and Burke would rather is to invoke a certain type of professionalism in their dressing room where everyone is striving for their absolute best. Why have it any other way really? Why draft first overall three years in a row and continue on with a “we’re still rebuilding… mentality? While it may work for some fan bases and organizations, the Calgary Flames have made it quite clear that they will not be embarking on such a path.
But once again, let me stress – this team isn’t going to be making any moves in order to achieve the playoffs, provided their roster isn’t strong enough on their own. And because we can already assume that they are not, do not expect any trades to transpire which increases said chances. Burke will continue to steer the ship toward youth and prospects and if he doesn’t, this team will be in trouble. But don’t worry; he’s smart enough to recognize that.
Still think it’s all just smoke and mirrors? Well, the players certainly seem to be buying in…
"That's what you play hockey for -- it's that playoff atmosphere," Colborne said Sunday after Flames practice at the Saddledome. "That's the way hockey should be played. It's intense, it's fast, and guys will sacrifice their body. That's the kind of hockey you want to play.""It's always fun to play those pressure games that mean something," Monahan said. "We're going to push for a spot to get in the playoffs and we think we can do it. We're going to push every game and see what we can do."
As promised, below is my February Q&A session. I have reached out to fans over Twitter and within the comments section of this blog, and have chosen the most appropriate questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted, and I will likely have another sometime in March!
Dave – @dmnx2: Colin, Who is the Flames #1 goalie next year? Ramo? Berra? Someone else? Do you see better goalie stats as well?
Joe – @justjoeimage: Do you think the Flames need to upgrade goaltending? Or give RB & KR a longer look? Hi Dave/Joe, this question comes up quite often with the Flames actually. Thing is, as the team stands, there is no real reason to rush any goalies. The Calgary organization has a few bright young netminders in the system already (Joni Ortio, Jon Gillies) and have their current tenders playing quite well (Karri Ramo, Reto Berra). Given the teams objective to rebuild and compete earlier than expected, we might see a few “bolder… moves to accelerate their plans, but I do not see any involving goaltenders.
Ramo has shown some true talent this year, and Berra has played off and on. Both goalies are still rather inexperienced for starters, given that they have a total of 104 NHL games between the two of them. Moreover, both goalies are only 27 years old and have plenty of hockey left in them, if they were to excel at their positions. Of the two, it has always been Ramo who I felt most confident in moving forward, and I can see Ortio making the jump sometime next year to support Ramo.
Brad - @brad3246: It doesn’t seem like the Flames are up to much. Have you heard anything in terms of possible trades before the deadline?
For those who follow my blog daily, you’ll likely recall that I have mentioned a few players who I feel have next to zero chance to playing within the Calgary organization beyond this year. With UFA’s such as Lee Stempniak, Mike Cammalleri, and Chris Butler going into next year, the Flames will not have much need for more than one of the three. That said, the interest which Calgary is receiving right now is toward the former two veteran players as they could serve as good rental pickups.
According to a contact which I have in the organization, there is talk to Hudler is getting (a lot) of attention as well and could be a player moved from a rather interested team also looking for a rental type player. In this case, however, you would be acquiring Hudler for two extra years at $4M per year which is a steal if he’s able to repeat a 45-55point season.
Scott - @Cflames47: Who do you think is the most likely to be traded?
I suppose this is a tricky question because I strongly feel that two, maybe three players will be traded. No surprise to anyone, two of the three players are Mike Cammaller and Lee Stempniak, the other being Dennis Wideman.
In my opinion, however, the (most) likely traded player is Stempniak as I feel the asking price for Cammalleri will either be too high, or the offers too low. Either way, I get the impression that Burke may see more value in holding on to Cammalleri given how conversations have been going, in addition to his recent concussion…though I would still lean toward him being dealt.
Ben - @beguinan: With the salary cap going up do you see the Flames having any interest in any free agents this year? If so who?
Hey Ben, this is a very good question and I plan on having a few blogs to cover this topic down the road. But to answer your question as directly as I can without getting too detailed, I feel as though the Flames will be bidding on certain players as they did with Wideman. Reason being, is that a) the Flames have cap space to outbid for players who they feel will support their cast and b) Burke wants to remain competitive despite rebuilding.
Players I can see the Flames showing interest in are as follow: Paul Stastny, Mike Hoeffel (potential), Andy Miele.
These are the three players who I feel would be worth taking a shot at acquiring if available. While two of the three are prospects and could be worth the risk to acquire via trade or UFA status, Paul Stastny would be trade. The Avalanche could use a player like Matt Stajan who is a cheaper third line centerman with experience…though it would cost much more than Stajan, and I have a feeling a few other teams could offer better packages.
Colorado will likely look to resign him rather than moving him for pieces, but the Avs could stand to bring in a few extra veterans on that roster who is heavy down the middle.
Shaun - @volley44: Would a Gio move make sense with the great season and the length of time until the Flames will be ready to compete? I suppose that all depends on what you mean by “makes sense…, Shaun. For me, there are really only one, maybe two players who Burke would absolutely not trade, and I don’t think Giordano is that player…despite being the captain of the team. That said, it would take one hefty deal in favor of the Flames for this to happen given how well Mark is playing for his team, and how important he will be to their rebuild.
This guy is the epitome of the player you want on your team while rebuilding, or even competing for the playoffs. With that in mind, there is no doubt in my mind that Burke wouldn’t consider moving him, but again it would only be for a deal which strongly benefited the Flames.
Pb - @goheconfused: Has King been relieved of power in hiring management? Unfortunately, I do not envision any major shake ups happening with respect to the Flames management team any time soon. Not only do I feel that Burke will continue to reign as acting GM for longer than expecting (maybe even take over full time), but when if the time comes that Burke finds a replacement, he will take over of a lot of the decisions being made. This is why the organization brought him in, as a brain trust.
I don’t feel that Burke was brought in for a GM role, I think the idea was to have him move into a much more prominent role where all operations and decisions go through him. As things stand, don’t expect King to be going anywhere anytime soon.
That’s all for today folks, thanks to those who submitted as there were plenty more to choose from!