Matchsticks and Gasoline: FanPosts

Sochi 2014 - Ideas anyone

2010-08-27T15:42:54Z

This was a big topic at the Hockey Summit.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=331624

The players want to go - and the league sort of wants to be there, but it is a tough call.

What is everyones opinion on issue ? Does it need to be solved ?

A way to perhaps make it more palatable to NHL owners after the jump.

The location of the next Olympics implies a shut down of the NHL for 2 weeks or more if NHL players are going to be there. That length is problematic and probably the biggest issue. The second problem is the punishing of strong NHL teams by having a large number of their players in the Games ( 11 for Detroit in 2002). I think that there is a way to reduce some of that impact by doing two key things, limiting participation from NHL rosters, and staggering a shut down with the American Hockey League.

Step 1 - Inform the IIHF of limited NHL participation. Cap the commitment of each NHL team to 4 roster players and 1 minor league player. This makes 150 players under NHL contract in North America available.

Step 2 - Host a national draft 6 weeks before the Games - say right after the Winter Classic. Allow all participating nations to draft players until either the 150 are selected or all teams pass. European teams might still fill a third to a half of their roster from European clubs, so the 120 NHL players should easily stock the top 8 nations.

Step 3 - Release Olympic drafted players 3-4 days before the Olympics. Shut down the American Hockey League for a period of 10 days.

Step 4 - Allow NHL teams to call up 4 players from the AHL - with a suspension of all waiver requirements.

Step 5 - Continue with NHL divisional games only for the 10 day period of the AHL shutdown. Olympic round robin play overlaps by a week.

Step 6 - Shut down the NHL for 10 days - return AHL players, Olympics conclude.

So the Olympics get the best players, the NHL gets a shorter shutdown, finite participation rates and the marketing opportunity of the Olympics. Even that period of AHL call ups might be interesting as a "future look" for teams as the prospects come up and play in the Show. The AHL also gets a bit of a highlight as after those players return - they become the feature game in North America and maybe a little more exposure - a la the recent national TV deal they have announced.

I would hope also that the Olypmic movement pays for big insuance money to the NHL for the loaning of the assets.

Poll

For the Olympics in 2014 the NHL should :

What to expect from Langkow

2010-08-23T22:32:23Z

Earlier this summer I did some historical comparisons for Iginla and Kiprusoff versus their recent peers, with the object of learning what to expect from them going forward. Both stacked up fairly well relative to their age in comparison to some very good players

Now it is Daymond Langkow’s turn.

Langkow was drafted in '95 (the same year as Iggy) in the first round by Tampa. He is a medium-sized centre who has shown defensive responsibility and decent offensive skill. Not a regular all star, but an important contributor for sure. I went looking for similar players just a bit older than Langkow and found 5 that I thought were pretty close, even a couple that used to play for Calgary. All of these guys will end their careers somewhere above 900 games and 650 points, but none will likely make 1200 games or 1000 points. 4 of the 5 comparables were also first round picks, 2 are now retired, and 3 are still playing.

Langkow (draft year: 95) to date: 1013 games, 641 points.

Andrew Cassels (draft: 87) to date: 1015 games, 732 points

Bryan Smolinski (draft: 90) to date: 1056 games, 651 points

Cory Stillman (draft: 92) to date: 960 games, 688 points

Saku Koivu (draft: 93) to date: 863 games 693 points

Andrew Brunette (draft: 93) to date: 950 games 660 points

The comparison I decided to use was points, rather than the goal comparison I used for Iginla.

Of this group of 6, Langkow was the earliest starter as the only guy playing at 20. All 6 were playing at 22, so that’s where I start the comparison. I broke it down in to 5-year chunks: 22-26, 27-31 and 32-36. I had to factor out the lockout and also took Koivu’s 2-point season out of the average as cancer is an injury that is not related to hockey. I also did a point adjustment for Cassels and Smolinski in the strike shortened 94-95.

Age	Langkow	Stillman	Smolinski	Cassels	Brunette	Koivu	Average	Delta	5 yrs group	5 yr Daymond
20	28
21	22			25
22	33	35	51	41	11	45	36.6	-3.6
23	50	26	53	85	23	56	48.6	1.4
24	54	49	64	58	31	57	51.8	2.2
25	62	57	56	63	50	44	54	8
26	52	21	43	63	59	21	41.4	10.6	46.48	50.2
27	52	52	40	66	69	47	54.8	-2.8
28		45	56	44	46	0	47.75	-47.75
29	59	67	59	37	49	71	56.6	2.4
30	77	80	38	62		55	58.75	18.25
31	65		46	56	63	62	56.75	8.25	54.93	63.25
32	49	76	46	50	83	75	66	-17
33	37	27		68	59	56	52.5	-15.5
34		65	48	26	50	50	47.8
35		49	44	12	61	52	43.6
36		37	25				31		48.18	43

Not only did Langkow get a 50 point head start on most of these guys in his early 20’s , he outdid them by an average of nearly 4 points per year from age 22-26. In the late 20s to early 30s, Daymond also outscored the group – this time by an average of over 8 points. Langkow’s career year of 77 points at age 30 matches the year that Stillman achieved his career high of 80, however the group average peaks 2 years later at 32, with 66 points led by Brunette and Koivu, who both had their best years at age 32. Smolinski and Cassells had their best years much younger at 24 and 23, respectively.

What is interesting about this group is they don’t show a linear progression throughout the years. For whatever reason, this group took steps backwards at 26 and 28, before showing great consistency and improvement to 32 before falling off on the other side.

What is troubling is that Daymond outperformed this group in 8 seasons to 2 (not including the lockout year), but for the past 2 years has massively underperformed relative to this group. If he can get back to the equivalent of this group, then another 50 point season is not out of the question. If he follows the trend of underperforming this group as he has over the past 2 seasons, then a 30 point season is likely the result, and that is not enough for a #1 or #2 centre making $4.5M per season.

Flames Sign Conroy To One-Year, Two-Way Deal

2010-08-11T22:05:00Z

The Flames announced the signing of soon-to-be thirty-nine year old centre Craig Conroy to a one-year deal today. The terms were not disclosed by the club, but the deal is allegedly a two-way contract at league minimum, as per the Herald's Vicki Hall. With the health of Daymond Langkow still in question and the ability of any of the other three centres currently on the roster to handle tough minutes at even strength on the penalty kill, retaining Conroy certainly makes sense for the Flames, especially at that dollar figure with a versatile contract.

I'm not sure whether or not Conroy makes the team is really a question, I think there's too much respect there; perhaps he'll retire if he gets demoted, because I can't imagine a thirty-nine year old player with a family wants to spend what is potentially his last season traipsing around the AHL, but who knows, he could prove to be a useful influence on what looks to be a very young Abbotsford team. What say you?

Poll

Re-Signing Conroy is...

A good move--he still has value to the team

150 votes

A bad move--he's over the hill

42 votes

192 votes | Poll has closed

White Signs, Arbitration Avoided

2010-07-30T15:11:47Z

With a last minute deal, the Flames have avoided the potentially nasty arbitration process and signed defenseman Ian White to a one year, $2.999M contract early this morning.

As expected, Cap Geek is showing that this puts Calgary approximately $2.4 million over the salary cap.

Now with the final major piece in place (for now), it's time to clarify the Kotalik situation, and deal with one or both (please make that both, Daz) of the Staios and Sarich contracts to free up some cap room.

Roster Finished?

2010-07-29T00:45:03Z

I have to wonder if the Flames are finished dealing and signing. Aside from White being signed-hopefully-then what? Anyone have any ideas about our current roster? What about Kotalik and Staios? Any trades forthcoming? Trade rumours or trade suggestions?

If Kotalik disappears Kotalik's salary is needed for White. If Staios goes, a little more money for another free agent?

Bryan Cameron or Backlund will have to play, and it looks like Conroy is an outside bet.

Dawes is gone so I guess Sutter, Ivanans or Meyer on 4th line LW. It seems Calgary has depth at Centre too, the farm is full with Stone, Cameron, Nemisz, waiting in the wings. Perhaps a centre will move on to a wing.

The starting roster: Kotalik subtracted to sign White-just a thought

Left Centre Right

Tanguay Langkow (Healthy?) Iginlia

Hagman Jokinen Borque

Glencross Stajan Moss

Sutter Backlund Jackman

Defence

Bowmeester Giordano

White Regehr

Pardy Sarich

Staios? Pelech up?

Goal

Kirpusoff

Karlsson

I guess its not that bad, the new additions have added depth, barring injury the team looks competitive. God forbid Kirpusoff ever getting hurt, that would be devastating to this team.

If we had one more free agent to add-any ideas? Or how about realistic trade proposals. Staios would add cap space if he isn't in the Flames plans

From The Hockey Gym: Calgary Cap Space -note Dawes was bought out, increase capspace, Flames paid 2/3 of 850,000 or 566,666 to make Dawes a UFA. My best guess is just over 1 mill cap space and with Kotalik gone add 3 million leaving 4 million to sign White. However, no cap space if White gets 4 million. Come on White sign for 2.5 and let us add someone else, like Dawes perhaps. How about Sutter takes less pay for adding an assistant GM and pushing his son through-I just added that to be controversial. I like how all Sutter's play hockey.

Forwards	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
Jarome Iginla	7,000,000	7,000,000	7,000,000
Daymond Langkow	4,500,000	4,500,000	* UFA *
Matt Stajan	3,500,000	3,500,000	3,500,000
Rene Bourque	3,350,000	3,350,000	3,350,000
Ales Kotalik	3,000,000	3,000,000	* UFA *
Niklas Hagman	3,000,000	3,000,000	* UFA *
Olli Jokinen	3,000,000	3,000,000	* UFA *
Alex Tanguay	1,750,000	* UFA *
David Moss	1,300,000	1,300,000	* UFA *
Curtis Glencross	1,200,000	* UFA *
Nigel Dawes	850,000	* RFA *
Raitis Ivanans	600,000	600,000	* UFA *
Tim Jackman	550,000	550,000	* UFA *
Defense	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
Jay Bouwmeester	6,675,000	6,675,000	6,675,000
Robyn Regehr	4,025,000	4,025,000	4,025,000
Cory Sarich	3,600,000	3,600,000	* UFA *
Steve Staios	2,700,000	* UFA *
Mark Giordano	900,000	* UFA *
Adam Pardy	700,000	* UFA *
Ian White	* RFA *
Goalies	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
Miikka Kiprusoff	5,850,000	5,850,000	5,850,000
Henrik Karlsson	500,000	* UFA *
Buyout Hits
Totals	58,550,000	49,950,000	30,400,000
NHL Salary Cap	59,400,000
Cap Space	850,000

Flames Roster and Cap Situations

2010-07-06T19:19:11Z

So, here's what I figure:

The Flames currently have just over $3M left in cap space, assuming Backlund is on the roster, along with Sarich, Staios, and Kronwall (according to CapGeek) and somehow Kotalik is not.

They apparently want to sign White, which by some accounts could cost $3.5M or more. If Staios and Kronwall get sent to Abbotsford, that would free up $3.2M for White. That would leave us with only 6 Dmen, so perhaps Kronwall stays up or Pelech replaces him for $0.35M more. I'll assume Kronwall stays up and Pelech stays down.

If Langkow can't start the season (or play in 10-11 at all) then they require another centre. It could be Conroy, Mayers, Cameron, Sutter, Wahl, or someone else altogether. This position could cost anywhere from $0.5M to $1.5M. Cameron falls pretty close to the middle of that range, so I'll use him.

(There is some possible cap relief regarding Langkows injury, but I don't know what it is and so I'm ignoring it.)

My best guess is that one or both of Ivanans and Jackman will spend enough time in the press box that a couple of other 4th line bodies will be required under the cap. Cunning and Niemisz are certainly possibilities here, at a cost of $0.5M and $1.046M respectively.

Goaltending seems settled.

So, here's what it boils down to (in my mind anyway):

Current Salary - Staios + Cameron + Cunning + Niemisz + White @ $3.5 (and not including Kotalik @ $3M) = $59,549,999 or $149,999 over the salary cap.

Something's gotta give. Who's getting traded for picks (or sent to Abbotsford to keep Staios company)? Hagman, Stajan, Bourque, Sarich?

Current situation according to CapGeek, and not including Kotalik at $3M:

Left Wing		Centre		Right Wing
Tanguay	$ 1,700,000	Jokinen	$ 3,000,000	Iginla	$ 7,000,000
Hagman	$ 3,000,000	Stajan	$ 3,300,000	Bourque	$ 3,333,333
Glencross	$ 1,200,000	Backlund	$ 1,270,833	Moss	$ 1,300,000
Ivanans	$ 600,000			Jackman	$ 550,000
Dawes	$ 141,667	Langkow	$ 4,500,000

	$ 6,641,667		$ 12,070,833		$ 12,183,333


Defense		Goalies
Bouwmeester	$ 6,680,000	Kiprusoff	$ 5,833,333
Giordano	$ 891,667	Karlsson	$ 500,000
Regehr	$ 4,020,000
Sarich	$ 3,600,000
Staios	$ 2,700,000
Pardy	$ 700,000
Kronwall	$ 500,000
White

	$19,091,667		$ 6,333,333


Total Salary	$56,320,833


Salary Cap	$59,400,000


Cap Space	$ 3,079,167

Cameron	$ 883,333	C
Cunning	$ 500,000	LW
Niemisz	$ 1,045,833	RW
Sutter	$ 500,000	C
Wahl	$ 854,167	C

Poll

Who's going away to become cap room?

Sarich

29 votes

Hagman

3 votes

Stajan

2 votes

Bourque

0 votes

Other

14 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed

Kiprusoff - goaltenders are hard to predict !

2010-07-05T20:07:29Z

Unlike the Iginla comparison, trying to establish a predictor for Kiprusoff’s potential performance is much more difficult. The stat to measure for goalie performance is more difficult to decide. Wins are great but are as often determined by the team as the tender . Goals against average is also tough to compare as a team style can vary creating discrepancies in the number of shots allowed, harming or benefiting the goals against.

Though imperfect, save percentage is probably the best measure. It can not measure that big save effect, clutch goaltending as it were, but those stats would be hard to dig up. Not like baseball – batting average with runners in scoring position etc. Someone suggested even strength save percentage – and I agree that’s probably the metric, but I’m not going to spend the time to separate out the historical stats on that.

I put together some high level peers here for Kipper to measure against. In doing so I hope we are setting the bar high, so that we can look at the most optimistic prediction possible. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and for a closer contemporary Marty Turco for a total of 6 guys. Unlike the forwards the trends are far less clear in the sv pct statistics.

I started the comparison at 23, though some had played earlier – only 4 were playing at 23 with Hasek, Turco and Kipper starting later. I ignored Kipper’s San Jose stats as they were small. All of them played until 37, with the exception of Kipper and Turco who haven’t reached there yet. Brodeur is 38 this year. Kipper’s last year under contract is when he is 37, though that will only be a $1.5 m salary year.

The range of sv pct for all goalies for all seasons was – from a low of .893 for Hasek in his rookie year at 26, and Joseph in his last full season in Phoenix at 39, to the high of Hasek’s .937 at 32. Kipper’s .933 at 27 second best among all. As a group – the 6 goalies fall below .902 only once –at 39 years old, when there is only 3 providing data.

Kipper clearly beats the group in his first year in Calgary at 27 - his .933 is 2.63 % pts ahead of the average – over 3 goals every 4 games. He missed the 28 year old season due to the lockout but the Vezina year at 29 had him 1.16% ahead of the group. At 30 his .917 was again nearly a full point ahead of groups .907.

What followed then was 2 years below the average as Kipper was only.906 and .903, then last year’s .920 beat the group by 0.7 %. If he had been at the group average.913 – that would have been over 14 more goals allowed last year. So the good news is that in 4 of his 6 NHL years Mikka has had a better save percentage than a group that contains the top 4 win leaders of all time and Dominik Hasek !

The interesting part of this is the unpredictability. The graph for the average looks not much like the bell curve of the goal scorers. It looks instead like one of those crazy Tour de France hill climbs - up, down, back up again and a screaming downhill to the finish ! 7 of the top 8 seasons on average of the 6 comparables occurred after 31 years of age. Age 32 was the best at just about .920, followed by the 37 and 38 year old seasons at .916. This is pretty astounding, but Roy and Hasek both had .925 seasons at 37 and 38 respectively. The drop off is steep from 38 on, though Brodeur hasn’t had the opportunity to affect those numbers as yet.

The years of 34, 35, and 36 are important as they are the next 3 for Kipper. The group produces a .915, a .911 and a .914 at those ages – pretty consistent. Assuming Kipper continues to beat the group 2 out of three years, he has been beating the group by 1.36 % when he does, and on the down years is under by 1.30 %. This could produce a range of .928 to .898 – a huge gap over the next 3 years. 72 games at 28 shots is 2016 shots; that range of save percentage is a 60 goal differential. Absolutely gigantic range of possibility here. If he sticks to the middle and achieves the .915 and sees 28 shots per 60 – you are looking at a 2.38 GAA; not quite as good as last year but I’d take it.

Darryl, His Love of the NMC, and the Future

2010-07-05T07:35:39Z

What you see is what you get...

In examining the state of the Flames on Capgeek recently, I noticed a disturbing trend...a lot of little locks next to player's names.

This got me thinking, "How does Calgary stack up against the rest of the league when in comes to NMC clauses?"

The answer: We WIN!!!!

In all, Darryl Sutter has handed out contracts to 10 players that involve NMC Clauses. They are:

Jarome Iginla: 3 years remaining / $7.0m per
Daymond Langkow: 2 years remaining / $4.5m per
Matt Stajan: 4 years remaining / $3.5m per
Rene Bourque: 5 years remaining / $3.33m per
Ales Kotalik: 2 years remaining / $3.0 m per
Olli Jokinen: 2 years remaining / $3.0m per
Alex Tanguay: 1 year remaining / $1.7m per
Jay Bouwmeester: 4 years remaining / $6.68m per
Robyn Regehr: 3 years remaining / $4.02 m per
Miikka Kiprusoff: 4 years remaining / $5.833m per

http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=9&salary_cap_mil=59&salary_cap_thou=4

In looking at this, one has to believe, we are in for very little change to this Flames team. Especially over the next two seasons.

There will be $42.563 million committed to these ten players in 2010-2011 and $40.863 million committed in 2011-2012 once Tanguay's deal expires.

2012-2013 should bring a little more relief as Langkow, Kotalik (providing of course he sticks around) and Jokinen come off the books. That brings the Flames total NMC promises to $30.363 million.

2013-2014 may be the first year we can realistically expect to see a true change in this team, without a player or two waiving their NMC. $11.02 million in additional space will be freed up, assuming Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regehr are not re-signed. That leaves $19.343 million to the remaining "core" of Bouwmeester, Kiprusoff, Bourque and Stajan.

The team that comes closest to Calgary in handing out NMC clauses are the lovely folks out in Vancouver, who have dished out 8 to their respective employees.

http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=29&salary_cap_mil=59&salary_cap_thou=4

Although, it does appear as if they have been a little more judicious in their NMC's. However, Manny Malhotra kind of blows that idea out of the water.

Nonetheless, I digress.

The point of this was to illustrate just how hamstrung Darryl now is if he wants to make any meaningful changes to this club. The problem is, it doesn't seem like does.

As fans, we just have to hope that "Darryl's Decemvirate" prove his decision making correct or we could be in for years of the same ol', same ol'.

Jarome Iginla-The Aging Of A Star Player

2010-07-03T06:46:59Z

Alot of discussion has taken place recently about the age of the Flames and whether the veterans can bounce back from down years. Intuitively , the age of 30 or just after seems to be the beginning of the decline of players. I thought I'd go in to some historical stats and compare Iginla to his peers from recent NHL seasons. Not all is equal for sure, but by comparing to 5 players - things average out pretty well and we certainly can identify some trends that can give a pretty good reading

What to expect from Iggy ?

Jarome Iginla will end his career as a 500 goal and 1000 point career player – how much can be expected from him over the final 3 years of his contract ?

I pulled the goal stats (only) for 5 reasonably comparable players. Two of the comparables have career numbers that will be most likely less than Iggy’s, one very close, and two with higher final totals than Jarome is likely to attain. The 5 that I used were( in order): Brian Bellows, Lanny McDonald, Pat Verbeek , Brendan Shanahan and Brett Hull. All were goal scoring wingers (right hand shots), whose game was more power than finesse, with the exception of HullI who, at least early in his career, was pretty much all about the shot. I wanted to see how Iggy performed in stages of his career relative to these guys and extrapolate what can be expected.

All of the players, with the exception of Hull (who was 23), played in the NHL as 20-year-olds. A couple began their careers at 19, but for the purpose of this comparison, I started at 20.

For the 5 year period of 20-24 the control group averaged 31.5 goals per year, with a steady increase from 23 goals at 20 to 41 goals at 24. Iggy averaged 30.6 during that stretch; pretty good considering that was the start of the trap era. He trailed the cohort early on, but his 52 goal campaign at 24 brought him back up to very near the group average.

From 25-29 the group had the strongest showing – averaging 42.8, the strongest 2 years being 25 and 26 (both 46.8). Iggy trailed every year throughout this stretch averaging 37.5 goals per year. He was denied his 27 year old season because of the lockout, which is too bad – peak of his career – and presumably he’d be on the cusp of the 500 goal mark by now. Given the era, and losing one year - it can easily be argued that Iggy should be dead centre in this group during the peak of his career.

From 30-35 the group quickly starts to tail off, but Iginla beats the averages. In his 30 year old season Jarome scored 50, outdoing the group at 37.4. Jarome’s 35 goals at 31 beats the groups 33.2, but that was brought down by an 8-goal Bellows campaign. Last year at age 32, Iginla’s 32 goals ranked ahead of the group average by 5.6 goals.

So what does the future hold for Iginla at 33 and beyond? For these 5 players, the next 3 seasons averaged 27.8, 24.6, and 19.6 goals. Assuming Iginla can beat the cohort by the same amount that he has averaged for the last 3 years, (6.7 goals on average), the projected goal totals would be 35, 31, and 26--taking him to the end of his 35 year old season and the end of his contract (and ending with 533 goals). If he plays to 39, another 80 career goals and a shot at 600 are not out of the question.

What is important to note is the following :

From 20-24 the group's goal average increased every year
From 25-29 the production was the highest
From 25-29 – the variation from year to year was the smallest – the average goals stayed in a fairly tight range – 40.4 to 46.8.
From 25-29 – numbers could trend back up after a down season, but the bounce-back was less than 5% (2 goals)
From 30-34 the numbers declined – with a small increase one year (32 to 33) of 1.4 goals on average for the 5 players
The average of the group bounced back up significantly at 37, because 3 of those players had retired by that year – and the only data was Hull at 30 goals and Shanahan’s 40.
Iginla’s post-30 numbers are better than this group so far. Owing to his great conditioning – he has slipped less on average than this group did.
Of the 25 seasons played by the 5 players studied, after they turned 33 there were no 50 goal seasons, one 40 goal campaign, and 7 others of over 30.

I believe Jarome will continue to outperform this group for the next 3 years, and because of his conditioning, even beyond. This group scored 30 goals roughly a third of the time after they turned 33 – I think Iggy will get there at least twice more in the next 3 years. Only once (4%) did any of those guys score 40 in their mid to late 30’s – I would put Jarome’s chances at less than 10% to do that. If Iggy scores fifty he would be the only the 3rd player to do it after 33 – Jagr at 33 in 05-06 with 54, and Johnny Bucyk at 35 scored 51 in 70-71.

Winning at hockey is more than goal scoring, and I recognize Iginla's other intangibles; but the 5 players listed above also had those qualities - and all except Hull were captains. Jarome could smoke the record of these guys in the mid to late 30's - but if he averaged 10 -15 goals per season above this group - he will have outscored an outstanding group, but still not have enough to score 50.

Columbus want veteran D ?

2010-07-02T15:58:29Z

I see that Columbus is considering acquiring Kevin Bieksa. Filatov for Bieksa Rumour.

Is there any way that they might want to consider Cory Sarich instead ? I'd rather say Staios, but I'd think that having Scott Howson laugh in my face, might do little harm to future credibility !!

I don't know about Filatov - if they insist on being rid of him, I'd take a chance, but at this point a 2nd rounder would be more than adequate.

Five Hole For Food's Cross-Country Hockey Trek Begins Today

2010-06-29T17:34:45Z

As many of you already know, today marks the start of Five Hole For Food, a cross-country trip with road hockey games, tweetups, and other festivities planned in nine cities from Montreal to Vancouver with the goal of raising money and collecting food donations for local food banks across Canada. The idea was spawned by Canucks fan and author of the popular Canucks Hockey Blog, Richard Loat, as an addition to original plans for a Canada-wide road hockey trip. Spurred on by various forms of social media, Five Hole For Food has gathered a large following of Canadian hockey fans and bloggers and has drawn the attention of members of the media and NHL, AHL, ECHL, and CHL hockey teams in each of its destinations. The Abbotsford Heat will be joining in on the festivities during Five Hole For Food's last stop in Vancouver on July 9th, and in Calgary, Five Hole For Food has joined forces with the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank's "Put The Boots To Hunger" campaign. The Flames have donated a team-signed jersey along with signed 8X10 photographs of Niklas Hagman, Ales Kotalik, Jamal Mayers, and David Moss which will be up for grabs to those who donate the largest poundage of food, and there will be a few players from the Flames and Hitmen present when the event takes place on July 5th, 4PM at Eau Claire Market.

To add a little competition and incentive to the mix, the game is being touted as a match-up of Canucks fans versus Flames fans, and participants from both sides of the rivalry are expected to show up proudly donning their team's colours. I hope to see some of you there, and for those of you who don't reside in Calgary, here's the schedule and information for Five Hole For Food's other stops, coming to a city near you:

Montreal: June 29th

Ottawa: June 30th

Toronto: July 1st

Winnipeg: July 3rd

Regina: July 4th

Calgary: July 5th

Edmonton: July 6th

Victoria: July 8th

Vancouver: July 9th

For more information and updates, follow Richard and Five Hole For Food on Twitter and Facebook.

KOTALIK MY BALLS, I AIN'T JOKINEN!!!

2010-06-28T18:43:32Z

(Nothing really new here, just wanted to write that headline. Wow. Compared to Ales Kotalik though, he is a steal!)

If indeed we are buying out Ales Kotalik, which I believe will be 1 million per year against our cap for the next 4 years, allow me to ask...WHAT THE F&@K?!?!?! (excuse my French)

Career stats with the Calgary Flames:
26 games: 3g 2a 29 pim

Woooo, my slipping faith in Darryl has been restored!! Brilliant!!! ARGHHH ARGHHGHGH ARGGGHGHGHGH!!!

Oh, apparently this has to be 75 words long.
ANIMALLLL!!!
HULK SMAAAASHSHHHH!!!
WOCKA WOCKA WOCKA!!!!

*Edit: Just wanted to add this in:

So, breaking this insane sequence down as it stand right now…

Calgary gets:
1 million cap hit annually for four years

Calgary gives up:
Matthew Lombardi, Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust (twice), Jim Vandermeer (thanks PrairieStew) and a 1st round pick (Brandon Gormley).

Craze.

Who Are We?

2010-06-27T17:52:34Z

For the first time in years, I am feeling a disconnect from this hockey team and it's a bizarre feeling. After so many years of being so close, believing that one quick fix is all that was needed to get us over the hump, a scary reality is sinking in. Who are we?

No longer are we plucky underdogs. Nor a fast, young, hardworking team. Nor a tough team no one wants to play. Players like Stajan, Kotalik, Hagman bring neither the ability to scare an opponent with their skill or their physicality. Honestly, even our dear Captain looks as if he is losing the former as well.

On defense, Bouwmeester is one of the best one on one defenders in the game, but his offense has to improve. Giordano has to maintain his upward swing and Reggie needs to bounce back or else we are in trouble. Oh yeah, and we have to figure out Ian White's place/pay scale on this team.

In goal, we are set. Miika is still one of the best in the game and shows no sign of slowing down.

I can't get over the thought that all we will see this off-season is minor tinkering. Sure, we may win our share next year, but right now I look at this roster and honestly don't really like this team.

Aside from Iginla, Miika, Bourque, Regehr, Gio, Backlund who elicits any kind of loyalty or pride? Who getting moved would truly upset you?

To me, there are almost more players on this roster I would like to see leave than stay and I can't remember the last time that has happened with Calgary.

The disconnect is happening and there's a certain rebuild out East that continues to pique my interest. Please Darryl, don't drive me to the dark side.

Calgary's "Monster"?

2010-06-27T10:44:35Z

Per DobberHockey.com: "To Calgary: Henrik Karlsson, To San Jose: 2010 6th round pick (143rd overall) Karlsson was rumoured to have signed with a KHL team last week, but it now appears that he will head to Calgary’s training camp to compete for the backup position behind Miikka Kiprusoff. His numbers last season in the SEL are very impressive (2.45 GAA, .914 SV %). He is a presence between the pipes, checking in at 6’5".

One Round in the Books

2010-06-26T03:15:15Z

I'm not a draft junkie by any stretch, and living in the southern US means I don't see any Canadian junior hockey. So, I don't know much about these guys, to be honest. And, nothing happened during the first round to make me take any particular notice. Other than the fact that only two of the six Canadian teams actually made a draft pick. I mean, those poor teams that knew before the draft they had no first round picks - the Leafs who only have Phil Kessel to show for losing out on Tyler Seguin and...uh...the...uh...Flames who uh...have...uh...never mind.

Feel free to comment on how boring that first round was, or if you have something more interesting to add, all the better.

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Prediction Pool (The Finals)

2010-05-25T02:05:17Z

Standings after the Conference Finals (Wins worth 3 points)

Hayley 18-5
SarahM 17-4
ArikJames 16-6
CofRed 15-4
SmellofVictory 14-6
maimster 13-6
Colin S 12-6
Justin Azevedo 10-7
brisulph 9-6
M F 7-6
KingJafi 4-4

Stanley Cup Final

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers

Schedule

Saturday, May 29	at Chicago, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
Monday, May 31	at Chicago, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
Wednesday, June 2	at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Friday, June 4	at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Sunday, June 6	at Chicago, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, June 9	at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
*Friday, June 11	at Chicago, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS

Series starts Saturday so lets get those picks in.

Wins are worth 4 points but if you can correctly select the Conn Smythe winner an extra 2 points will be available so a possible 6 points can be awaded . So everyone below Colin S is mathematically eliminated.

2010 Stanley Cup Playoff Prediction Pool (Conference Finals)

2010-05-15T19:57:10Z

Standings after the Semi-Finals (Wins were worth 2 points)

CofRed 12-3
Hayley 12-5
SarahM 11-4
Arik James 10-6
brisulph 9-5
Colin S 9-6
SmellofVictory 8-6
Justin Azevedo 7-6
M F 7-6
maimster 7-6
KingJafi 4-4

Eastern Conference Final
#7 Philadelphia vs. #8 Montreal

Western Conference Final
#1 San Jose vs. #2 Chicago

Sharks/Hawks is the Tiebreaker series.

Lets have the predictions in before 12:30pm MT tomorrow as that's when the Conference Finals begin. Wins are now worth 3 points.

For All the Marbles in the M&G Semifinals Prediction Pool...

2010-05-14T23:16:52Z

Boston vs. Philadelphia. Game 7. On TSN. Now.

Have at 'er.

Flames Fans #8 on List of Most Stubborn in Sports

2010-05-04T21:36:48Z

via Puck Daddy from AskMen.com

"Hockey fans are always committed, but in Calgary, without any other major sports, the Flames are like an only child.

There have only been a couple of A's disguised among a number of C's, D's and F's over the last 20 years, but the fans still dote on their team regardless. The report card again shows a fail for 2010, but for the fifth straight year, the Saddledome was packed to 100% capacity.

Flames fans should raise their standards a little before piling into an arena to see Jarome Iginla continuously carry the team by himself."

Aside from the fact that whoever wrote this excerpt doesn't consider the CFL a "major sport", they clearly aren't familiar with the late nineties in Flames history. I wouldn't exactly say that fans in Calgary continued to "dote on their team" during that time period when attendance was so low that ownership had to threaten to move the team in order to raise season ticket sales. As walkinvisible points out in the comments section of the article, the Flames may claim to sell out every game, but there are still empty seats during less "interesting" games.

And aren't our raised standards what led to higher expectations amongst the fan base, despite largely so-so results, in the first place? Not to mention that, depending on who you talk to, Jarome hasn't exactly carried the team of late.

The Habs and Leafs fans round out the NHL presence on this list, coming in at #6 and #2 respectively.

Agree or disagree? What say you?

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Prediction Pool (The Semi-Finals)

2010-04-29T02:02:05Z

After a very competitive First Round we are now 1/4 done the playoffs, where does the time go and now the Standings entering the Second Round.

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CofRed 12-3

Hayley 12-5

SarahM 11-4

Arik James 10-6

brisulph 9-5

Colin S 9-6

SmellofVictory 8-6

Justin Azevedo 7-6

M F 7-6

maimster 7-6

KingJafi 4-4

It's not over for anyone as in the second round a win the correct series will now garner 2 points instead of 1. The tiebreaker for the next round is #6 Boston vs. #7 Philadelphia.

The remaining 8 teams.

Eastern Conference

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #8 Montreal

#6 Boston vs. #7 Philadelphia

Western Conference

#1 San Jose vs. #5 Detroit

#2 Chicago vs. #3 Vancouver

Best a luck to everyone and lets try get everyone's series predictions in before tomorrow at 7:00pm MT as that's when the Sharks/Wings begin.