saneopinion

"Keep the opinions sane and well thought out."

Canada, AB • Canada •

Morrison, 1st Round Toilet, Defence now set

Brendan Morrison. I sat in the dome in '04, Flames vs. Canucks in a pivotal game 6. If the Canucks won it was going back to Vancouver for game 7 and along with it the home crowd advantage Calgary enjoyed. They turned the beer off after the 2nd period so by the third overtime we are basically hung over. Our seats weren't directly behind Kipper but they were just off center a little and all the way to the low part of the Dome roof, it was a pretty good up and down view of the ice.

It was a crazy game and Calgary had rallied back so the stage was set for a Cinderella ending, my friend Dave and I were nervously waiting for a scoring chance that would end the game for the good guys. Brendan f'n Morrison happened though. He basically walked out of the corner and put it in on Kipper while the 19,000 of us let out a disappointed sigh.

I know Morrison is not that same Morrison but that kind of player can still be clutch for you. In addition he was looked at in Vancouver as trying out for the 4th line but his skill set isn't for the 4th line. He is a playmaker when he is playing well. Make no mistake, he won't get 70 points like he did one year in Vancouver but he does still contribute, last year he had 42 points. Now if I told you Calgary signed one of the following: Brad Boyes or Jamie Benn you'd be pretty happy right? Solid top six guys...Morrison had the same points last year. He had MORE points last year than these guys: Sam Gagner, Brandon Sutter, Troy Brouwer, Wayne Simmonds and Andrew Ladd. All of those guys we'd be super happy to have. Guys who had just two more points than him last year? Hedjuk, Versteeg, Hagman and Bergfors. This guy is still a quality NHL player.

The Flames coaching staff, if you read between the lines, are not happy with Backlund's offensive game. He has played really well, back checked incredibly and shown flashes but is still lacking. They signed Morrison to be our number 2 until Stajan is ready but there's a chance, a good chance, he'll be number 2 all year. Morrison's points last year came while playing with wingers who aren't Bourque and Hagman, 25 goal guys, so who knows what his upside may still be( he practiced with those two today). When Stajan returns, and that should be shortly, Backlund looks set to be returned to Abbotsford.

*****

Brett Sutter is on waivers today. Wonder what Darryl's father's day present will be? It appears as though Pelech cleared waivers as well, I'm happy for us because I think he'll still be playing up here by year end. Kronwall is reportedly being loaned to a euro team but he can fill in as the 7th guy if Pardy's eye is an issue.

Bouwmeester/ Regehr
Giordano/ White
Sarich/ Brodie
Staios/ Pardy.

Not Bad.

****

Question of the day: When you waive first round picks and no one claims them does the Amateur Scouting Staff have to wear dresses to the office that day?

S>O>

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment.