A Case of the Mondays: Back to Reality

Heritage Weekend has been and gone for the Flames, and today’s news that Niklas Hagman has been placed on waivers brought the club crashing back to reality after last night’s win. Hagman has been a bottom-six forward for the better part of this season, playing against similar competition and failing to put up points with a near-average PDO of 99.8. Hagman earned his current contract when he was a 20-goal scorer, and now he’s not, and at 31, it’s pretty unlikely that he will be again. The move makes sense from the point of view that Feaster is shedding a player who is providing little value for his contract, but like I said in the earlier post, trading him to another team with injury or depth issues would be more advantageous since the Flames would receive some sort of compensation, but if he gets sent down to Abbotsford the team will have to continue paying him just as they do Kotalik and Feaster will be forced to try and find somewhere else for him to play this summer.

While this move appears to clear cap space for a bigger deal to be made, the available dollars to add a roster player are really quite minimal unless Hagman is claimed or moved. With the trade deadline coming up in a week's time and the Flames still hovering around a playoff position, it's certainly an interesting time to be a fan of this team. Feaster has made the right moves so far, and February 28th will likely be his first real test as Flames General Manager. 

Links after the jump. 

Some funny moments at the Heritage Classic [Hit the Post]

The Calgary Hitmen and the Regina Pats closed out Heritage weekend with an outdoor tilt of their own, unfortunately resulting in a loss for the home team in front of a record crowd [The Calgary Herald]

DB has fun with some post-Classic commentary from Calgary's MSM [Dome Beers]

Is the NHL going overboard with multiple outdoor games in a season? [The National Post]  

Reaction to the trade that sent James Neal and Matt Niskanen to the Penguins for defenceman Alex Goligoski [Defending Big D] [Pensburgh]

That's it for today everyone, have a great week and make sure to stop by for tomorrow night's game! Photos from Saturday should be up later tonight or tomorrow, as this day was a little busier than anticipated. 

by Hayley Mutch