Trade Deadline Highlights

A small update on the news of the day in Flames land:

First of all, the Flames send Comeau to the Jackets for a fifth rounder coming back to Calgary.

Kipper's refusal to report

The biggest news of the day came early as Kipper decides to say no to the Leafs. You can tell Kipper battled with this choice and finally decided to stay. I really appreciated the class of Feaster coming to the defense of Kipper. He is hoping the fans do not hold it against Kipper and reminding everyone where this franchise would be without him. Kipper is still not making his mind up on what he is going to do next season.

2nd biggest story: 25 teams calling Glencross

Obviously, the Flames have made a commitment to Scarface (an affectionate nickname which I will never understand). I found this a little surprising, since he probably could have brought the biggest return. I guess it comes down to the Flames deciding to build around him.

Flames sign prospect goalie Reto Berra

The Flames are really excited about the young prospect, liking the fact that he is a great positional net-minder. They also feel they have the two best goalies not to play in the NHL.  Who would of thought our goaltending tandem would be Ramo and Berra; but that is where we are.

Flames want no free rides

No excuses. Feaster has no patience for mailing it in. The Flames will be a hard-working team and they owe it to their fans to be so.

Extra cap space an asset

The Flames will be active in the off season. While other teams will be having to make decisions on getting down the cap, the Flames will be able and willing to take some of their players. This is why it was such a huge asset for the Blues to take the whole cap.

Randy

Jay Bouwmeester Traded

 

BREAKING NEWS

Jay Bouwmeester traded to the St. Louis Blues.

The Calgary Flames trade NHL iron man leader Jay Bouwmeester and his $6.680 mill cap hit to the Blues for Mark Cundari, Reta Berra and a 2013 first round pick. It must be noted that if the Blues miss the playoffs this year, the 2013 first round pick turns into a 2014 first round pick, also the Blues would add a fourth round pick.

This trade brings the Flames to potentially having three first round picks in this year’s draft, and we still have deadline day to go. After the trade Feaster went on SNET & FAN960 radio to share his thoughts and answer a few questions. In the interviews he made it known that he is not done and said “we are open for business”. Trade rumors continue to circle around guys like Glencross, Kiprusoff, Tanguay, Stempniak and to a lesser extend Cammalleri.

Turning back to the trade, the Flames get two guys that we know very little about. Cundari is a steady defenseman who plays an “in your face style” game. Cundari is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Reta Berra is a Swiss goaltender (Baertschi will be happy) who Feaster said is one of the best goaltenders outside of the NHL. We heard similar praise about Ramo after the Cammalleri deal last year. Let’s hope he is correct on both guys.

Stay tuned as more trades are likely in the forecast.

Jarome Iginla Has Been Traded

Iggy Leaves to Get His Cup

After a whirlwind of rumors and speculation we find out late on Wednesday that the Flames had traded Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Exchange the Flames acquire Ben Hanowski, Kenneth Agostino and 2013 first round pick.

Neither Hanowski nor Agostino are elite prospects and many will argue if either of them will make the NHL at any point. Agostino is a left handed winger who has been scoring more than a point a game the last two years for Yale University. Hanowski is a right winger who plays for St.Cloud State, sounds like Hanowski has some size and is more mature and ready than Agostino.

Only time will tell if the return is worth anything. But when you trade a guy like Jarome, the return will never replace what he has brought to the fans and the organization.

Thank you Iggy!

Reload or REBUILD?

Did you notice I put rebuild in capitals ? My pet peeve with this organization is that every year we go for broke so we can get eighth. Every year they fall short, and they ruin their chance for a good draft choice.

The Flames core, simply put, did not get it done. We have a lot of pieces that could build a bright future. A bright, future is whole lot nicer than a dark and dreary present and no future. We can't afford to finish ninth or tenth and miss out another top 10 pick. If you are not going to make the playoffs, you might take your losses and get out of town.

The pieces include:

Iggy

A leader, a power forward who can carry a team on his back. Several teams would be interested in his services. A first pick, and a prospect at least.

Jbo

Probably the Flames' best asset, a minute eater, and best offensive defencemen this season. Easily a first round pick, and a great young defenceman to build.  What makes Jbo so valuable is that he still has another year left in his contract.

Scoreface

Leading scorer, cheap with a touch of grit.  What makes him so enticing is his cheap contract. A $2.5 million contract is a steal. We could easily get in a bidding war for his services.  I can imagine a couple of prospects and a number one pick.

Kipper

I still feel he is one of the best in the game; he thrives on pressure and plays with the best. I would think they could get a cheaper goalie with a second rounder, which the Flames so badly need.

I could go on but a future with three first rounders would hold a bright future. It would also give some cap relief in the off season. So yes, I am strongly in favour of a rebuild.

But not everyone agrees with me.  Here is another opinion from Mike Walsh:

If I was running the Flames, I would never, ever intentionally rebuild.  The only time I would rebuild is if it was forced upon the franchise, this is what happened up in Edmonton. They were hit so hard with injuries that they decided to blow it up. So, I would retool.

The Flames do have some attractive pieces that should be able to fetch a good return at or leading up to the  deadline. I could list almost every single player who should or could be moved but it is much easier to list the players that should not move. I wouldn’t move Jay Bouwmeester unless the return is something they absolutely cannot turn down. I wouldn’t move Dennis Wideman, he has some shortcomings in his own zone but his work with the puck, particularly on the power play is something this teams has seen in a long time. I wouldn’t move Jiri Hudler. He is so incredibly smart with the puck and is rarely knocked off the puck. Despite becoming injury prone, I’d give Mikael Backlund another chance. He was well on his way to what appeared to be a breakout season so give him another chance. I think I’d hold on to TJ Brodie as well. He is developing nicely into a top 4 guy, Wideman has been a great mentor for him. All other are up for grabs.

In my ideal dream world, I trade Giordano for younger forward, preferably a center. I then turn around a flip Glencross for a defenseman. I put Comeau on the block and if there are no takers, I waive him.

So what do you think?

Let's make a deal!

I found the second fan blog segment very entertaining, as we asked you to play General Manager, and gives us your best Iginla-to-Pens proposals. There has been so many Iggy-to-Pens rumours, I thought I would ask the fans what they think we could get for Iginla.

Here is what I consider best from the submissions we got:

From John and Shaun

Thinking Beau Bennett, Olli Maatta, and a first.

Two solid prospects and a first. I really like this package, it gives us a starting point. If the Pens were to offer this, I would be very happy to receive this. Beau Bennett is the typical power forward.  I like his ability around the net, maybe in a few years he can replace Iginla. Maatta is a solid defenseman with good size and good hockey sense. He has tons of potential, and is a good solid package.


From Matt and Frank

Despres, Beau Bennett, and a first round pick - which I think is fair value.

I like this package because of Despres, a solid defencemen with Beau Bennett who has been getting a lot of ice time. He is a solid forward with a lot of potential, I still like the Bennett and Maatta offer a little more, although Despres is a play-now offer. The Flames do need a solid young d-man to come in now. 

From Terry

Flames need a second round pick. So, first, second (conditional on re-sign or cup), Brian Gibbons, Derrick Pouliot.

I would love the Flames to have Derrick Pouliot.  He is a solid d-man with loads of potential. Gibbons, a Centre, might fit into the Flames plans very well, as we are very weak down the middle. Two solid pieces, plus a first and a second conditional would be great, if the Pens would give us this much.

Stealth

I won't be at all surprised if it's Kennedy and a first, possibly another prospect.

Kennedy would be a nice addition to the Flames. He could be inserted into the line-up right now. The first round pick is a must. Also, getting another prospect would be nice for our depleted prospects. A pretty fair option, which I think the Pens would be willing to do.

Deren

Letang, Bennett, Morrow, and a first for Iginla and Nemisz.

If the Pens would do this, I think I would go screaming with delight in the street. I would also vote Feaster for Prime Minister, despite him being an American. I love Letang; he is one of the best today, Also, getting rid of Nemisz would be an awesome benefit.


Then there is the comment I got from a Pens fan:

Dee

I'll give you the Pittsburgh perspective. It’s gonna happen. But we don’t know what will happen. We are interested. 

There you have it; everyone knows the Pens are interested, it is only a matter of whether we we can put the packages together to make both parties happy.

I myself would love to get Bennett and Maatta from the Pens. It would an awesome beginning for a rebuild.