24. Big question: How many home playoff dates have Boston and Calgary budgeted for? You’d be shocked at the number of panicky short-term moves based on that. (Still don’t think Bruins trade the Toronto pick, though.)

Use him in the AHL to help play with "development stalled" players. Wait - he’s doing that already?

It is reasonable to ask: How good are the Calgary Flames really? And if they're not very good, then what do the Flames do next, either try to salvage the season, or put into place a plan that will take them to another level?

The Calgary Flames are a team that may, and I stress MAY, be interested, however if they are they are going to have to talk about some of the "big boys" like Dion Phaneuf amongst others to be included.

From the Calgary Flames Newsroom at NHL.com

Flames Recall Jaime Lundmark

Calgary, AB - Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter announced today that forward Jamie Lundmark has been recalled from the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League.

Lundmark is second in scoring on the Abbotsford Heat with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 32 games and 64 penalty minutes. Lundmark has played over 250 NHL games including 84 games with the Calgary Flames.

Much of his recent attention to detail and drive to improve all aspects of his game can be tied to an October road trip when Habscheid pulled him aside and told him that he needed to expect more from himself than just putting up points...

"I want to become a complete player. It's not all about scoring goals and doing all the fancy work. It's about dedication. I want to have a good work ethic, I want to be hard to play against in the defensive zone as well as being hard to play against in the offensive zone."

Another one about Miikka Kiprusoff: Former coach/assistant Jim Playfair once saw him driving behind a gravel truck on Deerfoot Trail. Stones were flying onto his car. Playfair later asked why he didn't switch lanes. Kiprusoff said he pretended they were pucks and was trying to catch them.

If the better overall team wins 61% of the time, how does the better offensive team do? Answer: The team with more goals scored has actually done even better, winning 37 of the last 60 series (62%). That's a much better success rate than the team with fewer goals allowed, which has won just 27 series (45%)

The Flames will be without Rene Bourque on Saturday as they visit the Los Angeles Kings.

Head coach Brent Sutter confirmed Friday morning that Bourque will not travel with the team to Califronia for games against the Kings and Ducks.

By definition, you can only have one #1 defenseman. You can only have one featured shooting threat on the PP. Most importantly, you can't pay elite wages for depth...

When Darryl Sutter signed Jay Bouwmeester on June 30 to a five-year, $33.4M deal with a NTC, he made the decision that JB would be heading up the blueline for the next 5 years. He can't afford to pay Dion Phaneuf to play the "Jay Bouwmeester" role, because he now has Jay Bouwmeester filling that role.