The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

[devo22]

Calgary, AB. Brent Sutter's tenure as the head coach of the Calgary Flames is over. After missing the playoffs twice in as many seasons, president Ken King announced that it was time to part ways.

"We want to thank Brent and his staff for his tireless work in the past two years", King said at a press conference held yesterday. "We appreciate his work with the Calgary Flames, and we wish him all the best for his future."

With the firing of Brent Sutter, a lengthy period of the family being involved with the Flames comes to an end. Brent’s brother Darryl worked as coach and GM for numerous years before stepping down as GM last December.

Interim GM Jay Feaster was also released from his duties. Feaster had replaced Darryl Sutter in late December. Under Feaster and Brent Sutter, the team started an inspiring run for a playoff spot, only to come short in the end and finish out of the top 8 for the second straight time.

Neither Sutter nor Feaster was available for comments. Ken King said that the team will announce their new coach and GM next week.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. Robert Miller and Jim Playfair are the new strong men in Calgary.

Robert Miller will take over the GM job from Jay Feaster, while Jim Playfair will return as head coach for a second time. Miller has worked in Europe for a few years, having success both in Germany’s DEL and in Sweden’s Elitserien. Playfair previously coached the Flames during the 2006-07 season, but the team was eliminated in the first round after going 43-29-10 in regular season. Playfair also was the coach of the Flames’ AHL affiliates for five years. After winning a Calder Cup with the Saint John Flames, he spent various years as the team’s assistant coach.

“I am happy to join this organization and I want to thank Ken King and the other members of the front office for this opportunity”, Miller said. “I am eager to fulfill my duties as GM, and I am sure that Jim [Playfair] and I can help the team. The Flames have an enormous fan base, and this wonderful city deserves a playoff team.”

“It is great to be back”, Playfair said. “I want to thank the organization for this chance. I will work as hard as possible to make sure my second stint with Calgary will be more successful than the first one.”

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

St Paul, MN. Flames GM Robert Miller chose defenseman Joe Morrow with the team’s first round draft pick.

Morrow is a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta. He was taken with the 27th pick after his third full junior season with the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL. Morrow scored 9 goals and 40 assists for 49 points in 60 games this season.

The Flames did not have a second round pick this season, so the team’s second pick was Shane Prince with the 87th pick. Prince tore up the OHL with 88 points in just 59 games this season for the Ottawa 67’s. Talented center Joseph Cramarossa (# 117) was taken in the fourth round, before Miller chose Robin Soudek with the 147th pick. Soudek was already eligible last year, but after being overlooked and being transferred to the Chilliwack Bruins, his numbers took off this year. He scored 57 points in 61 games for the Bruins while playing alongside fellow Flames prospect Ryan Howse.

Wingers Cody Fowlie (# 164) and Cameron Critchlow (# 200) rounded out Miller’s first NHL draft.

Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson was this year’s first round pick. An overview of the first picks:

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. Flames GM Robert Miller announced today that the club has re-signed four of its pending unrestricted free agents. Forwards Alex Tanguay and Curtis Glencross, defenseman Anton Babchuk and goaltender Henrik Karlsson all signed new contracts with the Flames.

“I am happy to announce that we were able to re-sign with four core players”, Miller said. “We believe that Alex, Curtis, Anton and Henrik are integral parts of our franchise, and re-signing them was a priority before July 1st.”

According to team sources, Tanguay signed a new 2-year-contract worth 3.5 million per year. Glencross signed for 3 years and 2.5 million, Babchuk agreed to 2 years and 2.5 million and Karlsson signed for 2 years and 1.0 million.

In addition, Miller also announced that RFA goaltender Leland Irving was signed to an offer sheet. Several other players, including former first-round picks Kris Chucko and Matt Pelech, have not received offer sheets. It is believed that they will become UFAs on July 1st.

Various team sources also confirmed that contract talks with pending UFAs Brendan Morrison and Adam Pardy have hit a dead end. Miller is reportedly still trying hard to reach agreements, but at this point, it looks as if the Flames will part ways with Morrison and Pardy.

[SENS_AK27]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

A very nice start to your dynasty. The Flames gave me fits last year when I played against them so I'll be following.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. Flames GM Robert Miller made sure nobody would forget his first free agent frenzy.

Instead of immediately tackling the free agent market, Miller pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Miller announced that the Flames have acquired Brayden Schenn, Rob Scuderi and Thomas Hickey in exchange for Robyn Regehr, David Moss, Leland Irving and the Flames’ first round draft choice in 2012.

“We want to thank Robyn, David and Leland for their dedication to the Flames organization”, Miller said at a press conference. “Robyn has been an integral part of our team for many years, and he has been a role model to numerous young players on our team. David has been an important player for the Flames as well, and Leland has played very well in Abbotsford. We wish them the best for their future in Los Angeles.”

Brayden Schenn is the cornerstone of the trade. The young center was drafted 5th overall in 2009, and he played ten games for Los Angeles during the last two seasons, but he was sent back to juniors both times. This season, he nearly scored two points per game for Brandon and Saskatoon of the WHL (57 points in 29 games). Schenn is the younger brother of Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn.

Rob Scuderi is a veteran of seven NHL seasons. He played with Pittsburgh and Los Angeles and he won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009. His experience will undoubtedly help the Flames’ blue line.

Thomas Hickey was drafted 4th overall by the Kings in 2007, but he has yet to play in an NHL game. A serious shoulder injury ended his first professional season after just 16 games, and the play of several other strong defensive prospects made Hickey expendable in Los Angeles. A Calgary native, the puck-moving defenseman will certainly battle for a spot on the Flames’ blue line.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. After the Los Angeles blockbuster deal, Flames GM Robert Miller provides another head-scratcher.

In an effort to shred salary, Miller sent expensive forwards Daymond Langkow and Matt Stajan to the Florida Panthers. In exchange, the Flames only receive minor-league forward Eric Selleck.

“It is important to regain financial stability”, Miller was quoted in a press release. “We hope that Daymond and Matt will be able to be successful in Florida. We welcome Eric to our organization and hope that he can help our offensive depth.”

The Panthers reportedly had over 24 million dollars in salary cap prior to the deal and were desperate to take on salary to reach the league’s minimum salary cap. The Flames, meanwhile, gain some breathing room salary-wise, after being hard-pressed to the cap for a long time. According to various team sources, Miller does not intend to use the most of the freshly gained salary cap on the free agent market.

After losing two centers in this deal, the Flames will now have to look for production from their young men in the middle, Mikael Backlund and Brayden Schenn. It is not unlikely that one of them will center a line with captain Jarome Iginla this fall.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. The Flames have finally made a bigger move on the free agent market.

After adding a few players for their farm team in Abbotsford, the Flames have now added veteran defenseman Brent Sopel. Sopel won a Stanley Cup with Chicago last year and has amassed over 600 NHL games for six different teams. The 34-year-old Calgary native has agreed to a one-year-contract worth 2.5 million dollars.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Calgary, AB. Rob Scuderi’s stint with Calgary was as short as it could be.

Only five days after being acquired from Los Angeles in a blockbuster deal, the Flames have parted ways with Scuderi again. Flames GM Robert Miller traded Scuderi to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jonathan Sigalet.

According to team sources, the veteran defenseman did not want to play with the Flames due to various reasons. GM Miller then reacted to Scuderi’s decision by signing Brent Sopel and trading Scuderi to Columbus. Miller was not available for a comment on the subject.

Jonathan Sigalet has spent most of his career in the minors. He has played more than 300 AHL games for the farm teams of Boston and Columbus. He played a single NHL game for the Bruins in 2006-07.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

The Calgary Flames have announced their opening night roster:

FORWARDS
	LEFT WING	CENTER	RIGHT WING
1st
	Alex TANGUAY	Mikael BACKLUND	Jarome IGINLA
2nd
	Curtis GLENCROSS	Olli JOKINEN	Rene BOURQUE
3rd
	Niklas HAGMAN	Brayden SCHENN	Ryan HOWSE
4th
	Ales KOTALIK	Tim JACKMAN	Tom KOSTOPOULOS
x
	Lance BOUMA	Greg NEMISZ
DEFENSEMEN
	LEFT DEFENSEMAN	RIGHT DEFENSEMAN
1st
	Brent SOPEL	Jay BOUWMEESTER
2nd
	Cory SARICH	Mark GIORDANO
3rd
	Anton BABCHUK	T.J. BRODIE
x
	Thomas HICKEY
GOALTENDERS
	STARTING	BACKUP
	Miikka KIPRUSOFF	Henrik KARLSSON

[Dynasty]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Nice job getting schenn, hope he does well for you.

[Klew1987]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

Very nicely done so far. Look forward to following this dynasty.

[Razor18]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

I'm liking this, assuming you hold onto Backlund, you are going to be really deep down the middle. I'll be following this for sure. By the way, are you planning on keeping Hickey as a scratch, or putting him in the AHL for seasoning?

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)

thanks for the comments!

I'm liking this, assuming you hold onto Backlund, you are going to be really deep down the middle. I'll be following this for sure. By the way, are you planning on keeping Hickey as a scratch, or putting him in the AHL for seasoning?

I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll keep both Brodie and Hickey for now and let them battle for the sixth D spot, with the other one probably going down then.

[devo22]

Re: The C of Red - Calgary Flames (NHL11 BAGM)