This Fire is Out of Control - Calgary Flames BaGM

[bthomp05]

hang in there.

[Kovaz477]

I'm trying, been in a win one-lose one situation for a while now.

Also,

Flames acquire
C Vernon Fiddler
D Nicklas Grossman

Stars acquire
D Anton Babchuk
C Ben Walter
2012 4th round pick

Numbers Game: With just over 2 weeks to go until the trade deadline, Craig Conroy pulled the trigger on his first big move as GM. Let's look at how this trade played out and who won:

Flames get: C Vernon Fiddler and D Nicklas Grossman

Vernon Fiddler fills several roles for the Flames that have been lacking this season. First, he is an excellent face-off man, which helps a lot considering the Flames' best face-off man to date has been Matt Stajan, with a 48% success rate. Also, he plays with a lot of grit and is more than willing to get in the face of the opposition. He should be able to slide right in on the 3rd line and the PK, both of which have been areas of concern. He's exactly the type of player you need to win in the playoffs.

Nicklas Grossman gives the Flames yet another big, physical stay-at-home defenseman. Although it could be seen as too much of a good thing, his addition gives the Flames the ability to play all 3 D-pairs in a shutdown role.

Stars get: D Anton Babchuk, C Ben Walter, 2012 4th round pick

Babchuk is the real prize here for the Stars. They are very thin on the back end, especially in terms of puck-moving abilities. Babchuk could easily be slotted into the number-one pairing with Alex Goligoski. He also gives them another option on the point for the powerplay.

Walter is still likely a few years away from being a legit NHL player, but he could step in to a 4th line role soon if needed.


Overall, this is a trade that should benefit both sides. The Flames needed to add some grit to their game, and the Stars primarily needed some cap relief, as well as the opportunity to add to their prospect pool.

[Tazer19]

Nice job so far Kovaz!

[bthomp05]

Great trade.

[Kovaz477]

Yeah this is going on hold for a while. Finals are taking up too much time and I'm going out of town with my family for christmas break, so no time for NHL basically. I'll probably start it up again in January once classes start again, but my next semester is a lot tougher so we'll see.

[bthomp05]

Well have fun and Merry Christmas.

[Kovaz477]

Well, I think I'm gonna revive this. After a lot of hours of experimenting, I've finally found some sliders that are fun to play, provide a reasonable challenge, and generate realistic stats. I've got a quite a ways to catch up, so I'm gonna keep the updates short and sweet. Starting this one off with a pair of trades:

Calgary Acquires
LW Dustin Penner
C Trevor Lewis

Los Angeles Acquires
C Matt Stajan
D Cory Sarich
2012 - 2nd round pick


Calgary Acquires
2012 - 4th round pick
2013 - 4th round pick

Anaheim Acquires
RW Guillaume Desbiens

GM Craig Conroy held a press conference after the deadline:

Q: Could you go through each of the trades and explain your reasoning for each deal?

Conroy: The Dallas deal has been in the works for a while now. They really had their eyes on Babchuk. We needed help in the PK and face-offs department, and it sort of came together over the last few weeks. We're very happy to have Vernon Fiddler on our team; he brings a lot of character and he's the type of player you need to have to win in the playoffs. Niklas helps offset the loss of Anton in our lineup and he brings a real element of physicality to the table

The LA deal was another one that's been in the works for a while. We made no secret of our desire for another top-6 forward, and that's exactly what Dustin Penner brings. Also, we're expecting Trevor Lewis to factor into our plans in the near future. We did have to give some quality NHL players in Matt and Cory, but you have to give up talent to get talent. Also, we have a lot more room under the cap now, which is always a plus.

The deal with Anaheim came together fairly quickly, it's always a good thing to add draft picks, and we had somewhat of a logjam at the forward position.

Q: Many people doubted this team at the start of the year and predicted a low finish in the standings. What has this team done to exceed expectations?

C: Well, I can tell you those expectations were coming from outside of our organization. We've known all along that we're a playoff team and we've proven that so far. It's just a matter of guys performing who are expected to perform, and getting a few bounces along the way.

Q: What are your plans for future seasons? The team is getting older and doesn't have much in the way of prospects for the future.

C: Like I said, we believe we're a playoff team now, and we're going to do everything we can to perform in the playoffs now. 'Rebuilding' isn't a term we're using around here unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Look at a franchise like Detroit: they make the playoffs year-in and year-out purely by virtue of good drafting and good management. That's the type of franchise the Calgary Flames are going to model ourselves after.

[Kovaz477]

72-Game Update
(38-28-6)
DET 4 @ CGY 5
CHI 4 @ CGY 3
CGY 0 @ ANA 4
CGY 5 @ SJ 4
CGY 2 @ PHX 4
VAN 4 @ CGY 7
TOR 1 @ CGY 2
CGY 5 @ DAL 4
CGY 1 @ LA 2
EDM 2 @ CGY 5
PHX 1 @ CGY 2
PHI 1 @ CGY 6
STL 6 @ CGY 5
- Trade Deadline -
CGY 0 @ PHX 4
CGY 0 @ ANA 2
DAL 2 @ CGY 1
MTL 2 @ CGY 1
WPG 3 @ CGY 4
CGY 1 @ MIN 0
SJ 2 @ CGY 1
PHX 6 @ CGY 10
CGY 4 @ EDM 2

NHL Standings - Updated: Mar 16, 2012
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
1. St. Louis	43	22	7	93	230	202
2. Calgary	38	28	6	82	208	195
3. San Jose	38	26	6	82	211	198
4. Nashville	41	21	8	90	194	175
5. Chicago	37	25	9	83	228	211

Flames Leaders
G
A. Tanguay 23
J. Iginla 22
R. Bourque 19
N. Hagman 17
G. Nemisz 17

A
A. Tanguay 37
B. Morrison 36
J. Iginla 23
M. Giordano 21
J. Bouwmeester 20

P
A. Tanguay 60
B. Morrison 50
J. Iginla 45
N. Hagman 31
R. Bourque 30

Goalies
M. Kiprusoff: (32-26) .907 SV% 2.52 GAA 5 SO
H. Karlsson: (6-8) .893 SV% 3.05 GAA 1 SO