The Calgary Flames & other sports related stuff

[CABJ]

Originally Posted by perubu

Many Swedes have won the Cup but there are never any parades.
They just bring the Cup home and show it to family, friends, and their
Swedish team usually.

Yes I think "parade" was a bad choice of word. Celebration is better.

Originally Posted by perubu

Wasn't Blues last in the whole league at Christmas time or something.
Amazing. I'm really happy for Alex Steen. His dad, Thomas, used to be one
of my favs back then for Winnepeg. Underrated playmaker.

They were 31st on January 3rd, but the rest is history. I agree with you, Thomas Steen was a very good player, it's not a surprise his son is good too.

There was a big trade yesterday.
Arizona acquired Phil Kessel from Pittsbugh for Alex Galchenyuk. The Coyotes won this trade easily, now they have a dynamic scorer, who can fill up the stat sheet every game. His relationship with Rick Tocchet is excellent and they really know each other from Pittsburgh. Kessel's defensive game is very bad, but it's possible he will be a bit better in Arizona's system. Alex Galchenyuk's career is a huge disappointment so far. In his best season (2015-16) he scored 30 goals, which is impressive and 56 points. But his other campaigns are average at best. This will be his eight season and if he can't produce better numbers with Pittsburgh's stars, then we can say he's just another bust, who went too high at the draft.

[perubu]

When I was a bit active on the NHL forum some Leaf fans were nagging about Kessel not being a team player. OEL and Hjamarsson will set him straight. Coyotes have a promising team in the making. Give them 3-4 years.

[CABJ]

Oh I don't think they need 3-4 years. If they can avoid the injury bug, which is always hard, they can reach the playoffs this year. Their offense is much better, thanks to the Soderberg and Kessel trades. They missed the postseason by four points. That's only two extra wins.

There were another two trades yesterday.

1.: Carolina acquired James Reimer from Florida for Scott Darling and a 2020 sixth round pick.
2.: Chicago acquired Andrew Shaw and a 2021 seventh round pick from Montréal for a 2020 second and seventh round pick and a 2021 third rounder.

I love our trade. Shawzy can do everything. He can hit, fight, kill penalties and score goals and points. His last season was very strong, with career high assist and point numbers. And he's a former Blackhawks player, so he will know his way around the facilities and the support staff. I'm happy he's with us again.

In the other trade Florida got rid of another goalie, which means now there's room for Sergei Bobrovsky. They will immediately buy out Darling's remaining two years. Optimus Reims is a strange player. He produced a few very good years in Toronto, when the Maple Leafs were terrible. His first year in Florida was very good, the second was acceptable and the third was terrible. I don't know what the Hurricanes wants to do with him, but if they keep him, he can be similar to Curtis McElhinney in that sense that he can rediscover himself behind a very stingy defense.

[perubu]

And Panarin to Rangers. Good. Zibby (Zibanejad) has finally become a true 1st line center, so he needs an elite playmate. Unfortunately Rangers are still not good enough to be a contender in the near future. It's a shame Hank will never lift the Cup. I really like him as a goalie and person.

[CABJ]

Yes Artemi Panarin was a huge catch for the Rangers. And the other players they have obtained earlier (Kakko, Trouba, Adam Fox) are great too. But I agree with you, even with these new players, they are not true championship contenders. The playoffs isn't unreachable, but there are still better teams in front of them.
There were so many signings yesterday, it's impossible to mention all of them. Therefore I only pick out a couple really interesting ones. First of all here are the latest trades.

1.: Ottawa acquired Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Aaron Luchuk from the Maple Leafs for Cody Ceci, Ben Harpur and Michael Carcone.
2.: Colorado acquired Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen and a 2020 third round pick from Toronto for Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and a 2020 sixth round pick.

The Maple Leafs almost completely rebuilt their defense with these two trades. Barrie is a fantastic offensive defenseman, he will add a lot to the attack. The guys from Ottawa are true defensive players with not much offensive potential. Kerfoot will be a good addition too, he's a talented young player, who will help them on numerous fronts. Kadri is a decent scorer, except when he's suspended. I think this is a win-win trade for both teams.

Let's see a few new contracts. Obviously I'm very happy with Robin Lehner. Although it's just a one year contract, hopefully he can repeat his last season and he'll be the backbone of our team. It'll be odd to see Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry in a Stars jersey. Both guys played almost thousand games in their original teams. So far Florida is one of the biggest winner in free agency. Bobrovsky, Stralman, Acciari, Connolly are all very nice pickups. Dale Tallon addressed goaltending, defense and penalty killing with these men. On the other hand Columbus is clearly the biggest loser. The two Russians, Duchene and Kinkaid are all gone. It's one thing they have lots of cap space, but it'll be tough to find a good number one goalie, who can replace Bobrovsky. The Gustav Nyquist signing is a good first step, but definitely not enough.

[perubu]

Leafs won the Barrie for Kadri deal. Kadri is, at best a 3rd liner, Barrie on a second pair, I figure.

[CABJ]

Originally Posted by retrorando

CABJ, I am curious do you think Colorado got a decent return? I was a Barrie fan, and i was sad to see the Avalanche trade him. Who do you think got the better end of the trade?

I totally agree with perubu, Toronto won the trade no question. Tyson Barrie is a much better player, he will be a great addition to the Maple Leafs' offense. The only bad thing is that he will be a UFA in 2020 and I don't think Toronto will be able to squeeze his new contract into the salary cap. So it's possible he will be a one year rental player. Plus there's Kerfoot too, who is a talented young forward, who can play anywhere in the lineup and in every situation. Nazem Kadri is a good player, but he's inconsistent and he always plays on the edge. It's a great thing he's willing to stand up for his teammates, but when he steps over the line and receives a suspention, that hurts his team. Like in this year's playoffs. And because he's a repeat offender, it's more than likely every suspention will be harsher than the previous one. But he's a two time 32 goal scorer, so he's not a useless player and who knows what the change of scenery will do with his career. One thing is certain, there will be less pressure on him in Colorado. The other player, Calle Rosen is an inexperienced rookie. We don't know too much about him.

[JustKelli]

The Cup spent the day in Calahoo the hometown of Craig Berube as the town (hamlet) swelled from 85 to over 2000 as fans wanted to be photographed with sport's most coveted prize ...

Over the next couple days we get our fun as the Cup comes to Edmonton, St Albert to be exact as it's Colton Parayko's turn ...

[CABJ]

I've read the article about Colton Parayko's day and it sounds like he had a very good day with the Cup. What I really like the most is that the players, coaches and staff always brings the trophy to the local hospitals, community rinks, where the residents can enjoy it up close. I'm sure this is such an awesome experience for the locals, the visit creates an unforgettable memory for them.

[JustKelli]

Now you see him, now you don't ...

As quick as he rolled into Toronto Kawhi Leonard is now an LA Clipper. He signed a 4 year quadzillion dollar deal lol. Good luck to him and thank you for helping bring a championship to Canada, be safe in your new home.

Mother Nature was so pissed off at the news she unleashed a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on California upon the news coming out!!!