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In Sutter's Defense

Posted 6:39 PM ET | Comments 20
I know, two blogs in one day is overkill but I can't help myself.

D. Sutter has been under heat for a while, this dates back to his Phaneuf trade and the Jokinen trade that brought Kotalik here. I'm not saying that they were great moves but in retrospect we're kind of eating our words aren't we?

On Phaneuf, and Leaf fans you can't reverse facts here. Since going to Toronto Phaneuf has a minus 7 rating and has 2 goals. The defenseman Calgary brought back, Ian White, has 5 goals and a plus 7 rating. If you base the trade just on the defense alone Calgary is winning it never mind Hagman and Stajan. Hagman by the way has 3 goals and an assist and Stajan is a point per game through 6 games. No matter which way you slice it Calgary is coming out on top so far. Dion may just have been all potential and no substance, the 1st rounder we thought he was worth was probably incorrect and what Calgary got was a windfall of depth in scoring.

On the Jokinen deal we all were hating on Kotalik last year, and he seriously deserved it but I took a look at his history and decided that I thought he should get a second chance. After I wrote that he came into camp on fire and has been a player most of us are looking forward, with hesitation, to see what he can do now. If Kotalik can come back and get 15-20 goals this year then really that trade was alright as well.

The more you look at Sutter's move, as of today, the more they don't look that bad. Bourque as an RFA. Giordano as a UFA undrafted Defenseman. Morrison as a UFA, just under a point per game so far. Tanguay at 1.7 Million which may be the steal of the summer at this point. Obviously Kipper for a pick that turned into Vlasic. Karlsson, a back up we can relax with.

In fact right now, looking at the roster only Staios stands out as a player that was in my mind a mistake to bring in. at minus 3 through 4 games he has clearly lost a step and his contract is large enough to be a drag.

So in defense of Sutter, he's done a very good job of making this team competitive this year so far. If there is a four game slide though I might be writing a different blog!

S>O>
Filed Under:   Flames   sutter   Jokinen   Phaneuf  
October 25, 2010 7:27 PM ET | Delete
Kotalik is still a HUGE question mark. Yes, he had a good pre-season, but until he does that in the real world, he's at 5 pts in 26 games with us. I'm not ready to defend Sutter on that one. (Or Staios.) I may have to take back a lot of nasty things I said about the Morrison signing at this point though. Haha.
October 25, 2010 7:46 PM ET | Delete
Kotalik morison=win
October 25, 2010 9:17 PM ET | Delete
Still early, but the team (- Staios, and sometimes JBouw) is starting to gel. Not quite a world- beater, but certainly a great contender for the division crown. When is Kotalik coming back? Hopefully before Christmas. Important 4 games to start a strong home record.
October 26, 2010 1:17 AM ET | Delete
im still sore about bringing Jokinen into the organization, bad trade but seemed great in hindsight... and Staios as opposed to having kept Aucoin, how different would things have been if he drafted getzlaf instead of Dion I do agree Daryl has got more ripping then is fair.
October 26, 2010 1:20 AM ET | Delete
Kotalik was a mistake. The Flames dont need him at this point anyways. Wehere does he fit? Who does he knock out? He isnt a fourth line player, so does he knock Morrison off the third line? Then you have moss...i see a trade coming in the near future...Staios will hopefully be dropped. Trading Boyd for nothing was also a mistake...just sayin...
October 26, 2010 11:06 AM ET | Delete
Mayday mayday...
October 26, 2010 3:59 PM ET | Delete
In terms of point production yes you are right the flames won that trade. In terms of the new attitude brought into T.O, i would say that Toronto won it. Maybe the deal was just good for both teams in the end.
October 26, 2010 4:00 PM ET | Delete
The flames future doesn't look as bright as T.O's is what I am getting at, but then again time will tell in the end.
October 26, 2010 4:36 PM ET | Delete
October 26, 2010 6:50 PM ET | Delete
Attitude is one thing, but watching your captain make a stupid play resulting in a goal consistently is demoralizing. Fully agree on Boyd that trade made 0 sense.
October 27, 2010 3:17 PM ET | Delete
On Kotalik, A player shouldn't be judged all on points.... watch how they actually play with and without the puck, Rink Lighter - kotes may only have 5 points, but he led our team in hits, was a plus player and very hard to play against, its hard to ask for much more than that considering 3rd line minutes.....
October 27, 2010 3:18 PM ET | Delete
On the Phaneuf trade, the Flames win that by dumping his salary and his attitude nevermind who we got back.... Phaneuf may turn out to be a good player by the time he is 30-32 and has matured and dropped his selfish attitude
October 27, 2010 3:21 PM ET | Delete
Marty 11 - The Flames have a far brighter future than Toronto.... Toronto traded away two 1st rounds for Kessel, and 3 first rounds for Versteeg (Didominico, Stahlberg etc....) 3 good prospects for Versteeg.... absolutely assinine! Toronto has nothing left.... We have Nemisz, Wahl, Seabrook etc....
October 27, 2010 4:36 PM ET | Delete
B.J.Harvey. Burke has always maintained that he intended to rebuild not through the draft, but by making deals. So far he has done a good job. The Flames are on a downward spiral. It might take a couple years to hit bottom, but don't kid yourself, it will happen.
October 27, 2010 4:37 PM ET | Delete
B.J.Harvey. The leafs future does look brighter, albeit probably for a shorter term than if they built through the draft. Let's see how the difference in standings the Leafs and Flames are in two years.
October 27, 2010 6:54 PM ET | Delete
Marty; Who can predict the future? Backlund, GIO, Brodie, Karlsson BB doesnt have monopoly on trades. Our future may not be as bleak as many think.
October 27, 2010 10:36 PM ET | Delete
B.J.Harvey: true enough, but with the amount of NTC's and such in Clagary it does make Sutters job harder, and would dictate a mini blow up of the current roster. Most of the guys with the NTC's are of the older variety too.we shall see. Also I''m a fan of neither team.
October 27, 2010 10:37 PM ET | Delete
B.J.Harvey: I'm just saying that the future looks more bright if your a Leaf and more dim if your a Flame.
October 28, 2010 1:54 PM ET | Delete
i think calgary future is very bleak. oilers are only going up, canucks will be better then them for years to come. the avs have better young players. the only team in thier divisions that is will be worse then them is the WILD. to say the flames have better young players then TO sounds foolish to. prospects might work out they might not. id still rather have kessel for his cost then the aging jarome.
October 28, 2010 1:56 PM ET | Delete
oh and about the dion deal, the leafs also got keith aulie.
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