Cammalleri to Calgary

[Madcombinepilot]

I am so sick of that french racism.

piss on that 'french only' thing.

I am willing to make the Plains of Abraham the best 2 outa 3 if they are....

[Strangelove]

They may push into the 8th spot but

Has ownership decided it's playoffs at all costs?

Apparently the Feaster regime has the same objective as the Sutter regime - make the playoffs at all costs. Frankly, I don't see either the Flames or Habs making the playoffs

Flames will still be in tough to make the playoffs

Yeah still a longshot to make the playoffs.

I like the way my buddy Eklunds Source over at that other site put it:

Calgary has a 28.8% chance of making the playoffs according to SportsClubStats - though it drops to 16.2% if you weigh goal differential, which typically gives better results.. I don't think people realize 3 points out of a playoff spot' is actually significant when there's actually 4 teams you have to hurdle to get in.

To have a better than 2/3rds chance, the Flames need a run of roughly 21-12-4 - about 46 points in their last 37 games. That would take them to 93 points on the season, which is on the low side; last year the Dallas Stars sat the post-season out with 95 points..

It's doable, and a 21-12-4 record doesn't look all that scary, but to put it in perspective, that's a 0.621 points %... 8 teams in the NHL have a percentage better than that right now, so Calgary has to basically be in the same league as what the Bruins, Rangers, Flyers, Sharks, Canucks, Blues, Blackhawks, and Red Wings have done up until now. Basically, they have to be a top-8 team in the league.


Behind Calgary is Edmonton/Anaheim/Columbus, they won't catch up and are basically assured of finishing in various orders of 13-14-15.. Ahead of Calgary and likely fighting with them is Phoenix, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Los Angeles. Two of those teams get in (three if Nashville drops out, but Nashville is quietly 9th in the NHL again).

Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Dallas all play a lot of games against each other, which means there's a lot of nights where its guaranteed one of those teams is taking home 2 points and possibly a 3rd to the other. Calgary has to win every time there's a game between those Pacific foes just to keep pace. Gaining 3 points on 4 different teams when you've played the most games of anyone won't be as easy as "3 points" sounds like. Like the numbers said, somewhere between 16%-29% likely.

[mathonwy]

It would be interesting to find out the percentage of Calgary making the playoffs pre and post Cammalleri acquisition (if one could actually find a way to measure that).

Still, the fact of the matter is, Calgary doesn't need to make it into the playoffs on the backs of old talent. Sliding into 8th and going out in 4 is only good for ownership because of the extra dollars earned. It sets the team back because the higher draft pick as well as it gives everyone false hope.

Feaster really should have tried to get a prospect and a pick for Bourque.

Now, Calgary has Cammalleri, a 6M cap hit till 2013/14 and most detrimentally, a limited NTC to deal with.

This trade is no good for either team in my opinion. Bourque's floating ass is going to hate it in la belle province.

[Rokker]

Some talk out of the east that Cammalleri was not well liked by some of his Hab teammates and some viewed this move as 'addition by subtraction.'

[damonberryman]

I got no bloody idea waht Feaster is up to. Is he on bad drugs? Maybe a week on some organic bud would help him see clear. Go for it? For what? I think the man drank his own kool aid. They do not have a competitive team and even if by some fluke they make the playoffs, and I do not see how, they are out forst round. There is no full team let alone depth. Shame for Calgary hockey. I really enjoyed those games with Van when the Flames brought it.

As far as French Quebec goes, I lived there for a few years and I try and remember to get down on my kneees once a day and thank the FLQ and any other elements in Canada that keep us from being more like the whack job Yanks I have lived among for years. ANYTHING INCLUDING LANGUAGE POLICE IS BETTER THAN BECOMING MORE AMERICAN. That is 20 years among the infidels who smell of doritos speaking. Quebec sont la et j'ai de Canada. Tabernac!

[tantalum]

Some talk out of the east that Cammalleri was not well liked by some of his Hab teammates and some viewed this move as 'addition by subtraction.'

Same reason LA wanted nothing further to do with him and moved him to Calgary. Some speculated at the time that it was the same reason DUtter decided against re-signing him.

It's interesting to note that his two good NHL seasons that were a point per game came under Marc Crawford and Mike Keenan. Two guys not noted for requiring defensive responsibility. As soon as he's been been put under a defensive system his numbers decrease and these dressing room issues seem to crop up. I wonder how well he will play under Sutter. I expect an initial burst from him and then he'll fall back to his Hab levels the last couple of years. And if so that's a hell of a lot a cap hit to take on. If he comes in and actually buys into playing defense he can be a good asset for the Flames.

I guess I'm just not sure what version of the player they are getting.

[Uncle dans leg]

In my opinion Calgary wins the trade and gets the best asset out of it when the smoke clears. Cammaleri makes the top line much better and will give the PP a much needed boost. Ya his price tag is high but he's shown some game here before so there's no reason to think it won't happen again, he's only 29.

Borque was a major league floater in my opinion. He has size and skill but no heart. Giving up the second and Peter Holland stings the organisational depth for sure but remember this is a ravenous Canadian market...flames fans and owners want to win NOW.

The flames have been playing somewhat better hockey of late and they are only a few points behind 8th at the moment. It's not like they didn't crank it up second half last year and play some pretty good hockey with basically the same roster. They have a couple of really good, young defencemen in Derek Smith and TJ Brodie who are starting to round into form. Add them to Giordano and JBow, there's a fairly good top 4 with some skill. The bottom 2 spots are Saruch and Babchuck who aren't all stars but if u limit their minutes they can help rather than hurt a team I think.

All in all, Feaster did a good thing for his team and if I'm a flames fan I am cautiously optomistic.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Brodie is going to be a decent player it looks like.

Derek Smith turns 28 this year.... if he's a young player Ryan Kesler is also still a pup. Full marks to Smith having the fortitude to slug it out and finally make it as a regular at that age but I don't think he's going to improve leaps and bounds.

[Southern_Canuck]

I remember when I thought that $6.1M until 2014 was too much for the Sedins, but with Cammalleri at $6M for the same contract length, they are steals in comparison.

The $100k extra is to buy trophy cases for the Art Ross, Hart, and Lindsay.

S_C

[Sticky]

I wonder if Cammalleri will approve of the game preparation and play of the Calgary Flames.

[Uncle dans leg]

Brodie is going to be a decent player it looks like.

Derek Smith turns 28 this year.... if he's a young player Ryan Kesler is also still a pup. Full marks to Smith having the fortitude to slug it out and finally make it as a regular at that age but I don't think he's going to improve leaps and bounds.

Oops! Stuck here in cowgrease all I get to listen to is the fan 960 and I must have missed that juicy little detail! He has had a good year apparently.
On a side note, I had a laugh listening to the Canuck hate debate here last week. It's interesting to hear an outside perspective on it all. I also enjoy hearing that the Canucks are lumped in with detroit, Pittsburg and Boston as consistent threats year in and year out. The local afternoon radio show is pretty complementary of Vancouver and any "hate" is done subtley(sp?) tongue in cheek to keep the Mongoloids from storming the station I would assume.

Our team is finally recognized here for what we are. This suprises me.

[Hockey Widow]

A lot of talk about how Feaster is stupid for not blowing it up and in wanting to make the playoffs. Lest we forget that not that long ago our dream was to JUST MAKE THE PLAYOFFS because anything can happen. Especially if you have the goaltending. And they have a good one in Kipper. So while I don't see them as a contender I do recognize that if they make the playoffs they are very capable of going on a run, this same team that made us look pretty ordinary our last game.

And if they fail to reach the goal or look like they are shitting the bed by deadline day the Cami one can be moved. Remember a few GM's sounding off that had they know he was available they would have made better offers ( which I think is horse sh!t. Any GM worth their weight should have known he was out the door as soon as those comments were published and picked up the phone if they were interested. To say it was a surprise and he wasn't shopped is not doing your job as a GM) and there is the off season to unload him if they need to.

Just saying that the goal has to be to make the playoffs if you still have a mathematical chance to do so. Not many here would have been content to hear a GM say mathematically it's a long shot so we decided to be sellers.

[Madcombinepilot]

HW is right.. the goal is always to make the playoffs. keeps the arena full.

and while we know that anything is possible in the playoffs, I would love to match up against Calgary in the first round

[BCExpat]

While I'm not happy about the Flames throwing a 2nd rounder into the deal, they did get a pretty good goalie. On HNIC they mentioned that he could be the best goalie not in the NHL right now. He didn't consider even talking to Montreal, because he had no intention of being Price's back up. Apparently, he is thrilled at being traded to Calgary, and will come in to compete for the starter position. This is interesting, because if he does work out, then Kipper could be traded this Summer. To me, this is the key piece of the deal.

Cammellari only has 2 years on his contract - Bourque has 4 years left. He will be much easier to move next year or the year after, if Feaster decides to to trade him.

Oh, and about the playoffs - I seem to recall another Flames team that wasn't considered that good in 2004. They went a long ways in the playoffs. I'm not saying this group can repeat this feat - I'm just pointing out that anything can happen in the playoffs. So, of course their goal should be to make the playoffs.

Feaster is slowly but surely rebuilding this team. Look at how many young guys he's put into the lineup this Season - Backlund, Brodie, Horak, Butler, Byron, Bouma, Jones, Comeau - are all new faces in the Flames line up. That is a lot of young guys to add in one year. Bartschi is the most talented prospect the Flames have, and he'll probably make the team next year. So, they are moving in the right direction.

[dbr]

Feaster is slowly but surely rebuilding this team. Look at how many young guys he's put into the lineup this Season - Backlund, Brodie, Horak, Butler, Byron, Bouma, Jones, Comeau - are all new faces in the Flames line up. That is a lot of young guys to add in one year. Bartschi is the most talented prospect the Flames have, and he'll probably make the team next year. So, they are moving in the right direction.

Yep, I agree. Kind of reminds me of the Canucks rebuild back around the turn of the century, although the lows aren't as low and I doubt Feaster's going to scoop up a couple of future superstars at the top of a draft any time soon.

Still, the Flames seem ready to just throw shit at the wall (shit being young players who may or may not have NHL futures) and see what sticks, which is a step in the right direction.