It appears Chara did not get suspected after the hit on Max Pacioretty...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AsLTwBVYiMo5MeI90iG9GUl7vLYF?slug=capress-hkn_nhl_habs_pacioretty-6192099

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With the recent six game winning streak, the Flames bandwagon has almost filled back up again and most of the calls to "blow it up good" have quieted down. Short of the bookies assessment though, I wanted to take a closer look at what the Flames chances to get in the playoffs are so I know how crushed/elated to be in April. I will base my assement on a) how close they really are to a playoff spot and b) how good they are in relation to the teams they are battling for a playoff spot. For a) I am going to use the point percentage after the Atlanta game. For b) I am going to look at the Corsi% with the score close and score tied from this season from Objective NHL. Results after the Jump.

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Winners of the last 4 in a row - the Flames closed out the 10 game stretch since the midseason mark with a 6-1-3 record - 15 points out of 20 - a .750 clip. Can they make a serious playoff run ? A look at the schedule backwards and forwards.

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Henrik Karlsson has been sheltered somewhat by Brent Sutter, but it is paying off as he is on pace to have the best statistical season of any Flame backup since Kiprusoff arrived.

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We've hit the mid season mark and the Flames still occupy 14th spot in the West. That doesn't sound good but the 8th spot is not running away, just 6 points out of reach and 4th place only 8 points away.

8th place is looking like 93 points presently so 54 points in 41 games is neccesary.

An analysis of the schedule and indvidual report cards follow.

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From TSN:

Former Flames coach Mike Keenan won't get into specifics, but he confirms there were issues in Calgary's dressing room involving Dion Phaneuf. Veteran players referred to Phaneuf as "Neon Dion" and found him, at times, overly confident, if not cocky, on and off the ice. There were arguments, and some wanted Keenan to tighten the reigns and discipline Phaneuf, but the former coach enjoyed Phaneuf's sometimes, combative nature and verbal approach and was willing to live with his mistakes as he developed. Keenan compliments the 25 year old defenceman for always showing drive and arriving at the rink everyday, fired up, and ready to play. At times there was friction in Calgary's dressing room, and perhaps a sense of jealousy over the 6 year, $39 million dollar extension Phaneuf signed with the Flames in 2008. However, Keenan says he very much enjoyed coaching Phaneuf and says he would have him on any team he's associated with in the future; adding former NHL stars such as Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, or Ed Belfour, all had their issues, but all were thoroughbreds Keenan found very coachable. Why Dion Phaneuf fell out of favor with Flames general manager Darryl Sutter isn't clear, aside from the cap relief Sutter received in trading Phaneuf to Toronto. Phaneuf's fate in Calgary may have been determined in June, 2009 when the Flames signed Jay Bouwmeester to a 5 year deal, committing $27 million of Calgary's cap space to its blue line. Perhaps, the lethal combination of friction and finances determined "Neon Dion's" future from that point.

The first 10 games were pretty good.

The second 10 were very bad.

The third 10 have been an indifferent set.

Suffice it to say at least 4 of the final five 10 games stretches need to be good, maybe there's room for one indifferent stretch, but it can't be the next stretch.

Schedule analysis after the jump.

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There is a lot of uncertainty with this Flames squad right now. I know chances they have of making the playoffs let alone making a splash in them are fairly slim this year. Speculation regarding either a rebuild, trades, or "staying the course" has been thrown around for the last month or so.

With Darryl's tendency to give everyone & their cousin a NTC/NMC, there aren't many options as far as a complete decimation to the roster goes. Add to that we are currently up to the cap & aren't getting much relief next year, and you are left with some weary fans.

Here is what we could look like next year if we "stay the course". (Regards to PrairieStew for this work)

FORWARDS Jarome Iginla ($7.000m) / Niklas Hagman ($3.000m) / Matthew Stajan ($3.500m) Rene Bourque ($3.333m) / David Moss ($1.300m) / Ales Kotalik ($3.000m) Olli Jokinen ($3.000m) / Raitis Ivanans ($0.600m) / Mikael Backlund ($1.270m) Tom Kostopoulos ($0.916m) / Curtis Glencross ($2.300m) / Tim Jackman ($0.550m) Alex Tanguay ($3.200m)

DEFENSEMEN Jay Bouwmeester ($6.680m) / Robyn Regehr ($4.020m) Mark Giordano ($4.020m) / Cory Sarich ($3.600m) Brendan Mikkelson ($0.750m) / Adam Pardy ($0.750m) T.J. Brodie ($0.733m)

GOALTENDERS Miikka Kiprusoff ($5.833m) /Henrik Karlsson ($0.650m)

BUYOUTS: Nigel Dawes ($0.141m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $60,149,166; BONUSES: $600,000 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): -$749,166

Roster is based on the notion that: A) Glencross, Tanguay, Mikkleson, Pardy & Karlsson are resigned to new contracts, B) Babchuk, Staios, Morrison are shown the door, C) Brodie cracks the line up next year.

Yikes. Staring at that for too long might turn you into an Oilers fan. It got me thinking about what we could do, what direction we could take, and how it could happen. Just thought I would throw some ideas out there and create some discussion while in turn distracting us from the problematic future that awaits us.

Some possibilities:

Devin Setoguchi - With the uprise of rookies in SJ, "The Gootch" looks like the odd man out. His point totals have dropped since a breakout year in 08/09 (could be attributed to his slide in the depth chart) and he seems to be in the doghouse. He's an RFA next year and San Jose has a pretty shallow depth chart on the back end, which got me wondering wether Setoguchi could be had for Glencross & Pardy. Setoguchi has more offensive upside than GlenX & is exactly the type of player we need.

Hagman to Dallas, Nashville, Buffalo, Anaheim, Tampa, Washington at the deadline.

Although Hagman is a pretty good player and I wouldn't mind him sticking around, he's also one of the few guys without a NTC/NMC with any perceived value. I could see a fringe playoff team with some cap space looking to add a solid forward for an extra push. A return would hopefully be in the form of a good pick & young player, but who knows, I think if anyone moves, Hagman is near the top of the list sheerly based on his movability. We have too many guys on this team making 3M, Hagman although the best, looks like he's the one to go.

Those are just two ideas I had. Smaller moves that address some of the issues we have. What is everyone else thinking? I know Iginla has been involved in some rumors, it'd be sad to see but who knows. The thought of Darryl making a move of that importance really scares me.

I would like to have the pulse of the Calgary's truest. If the Ottawa Senators was to propose a trade to get David Moss, what would be an adequate trade in your eyes.Please keep your thoughts to logical responses. This is what you would propose to get something for Moss. What would you like and what you can get are two separate things.
I will propose some players to vote for. Please respond in the comments section. I would also like to have your opinions of Moss himself and why it seems to not be on your roster.

With a career total of 451 career goals and an average of approximately 0.43 goals per game, Jarome Iginla is considered a good goal scorer but not thought of as one of the best goal scorers of all time. He is under contract for two more years and there is no reason to think he will not finish that contract out. Given that he is still scoring close to his career average it is safe to assume he will have at least 525 goals at the end of 12 13. That would place him about 32nd on the all time goals list. Is that his true place ? I make the case that it is not, in fact he may be among the top 5 of all time.

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