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Canada, AB • Canada •

Flames Summer Might Bring Huge Change

" ... This summer is shaping up to be a very busy one for the Flames organization.

Should the Flames not make the playoffs as expected then it certainly seems likely that Brent Sutter will be fired, this will be more about his results than his ability. It should be noted that in my opinion no coach will be successful in Calgary until the entire culture of the organization has changed and to me that means ripping out what remains of the “core”. There has been too many players who have come from loser organizations to expect this team to be winners. Cast off from the Leafs, The islanders, The Panthers from when those teams were poor make up an un-coachable squad. So Sutter being fired for not making the playoffs is fairly certain however I personally do not lay a huge amount of blame at his feet.

This summer could also mean at least one huge piece moving out, Kiprusoff. The fan base is very split on a move that involves the franchise’s best goalie since Vernon, however the signs and tea leaves seem to point in a direction that means a new home for Kipper next year. The first is that his no movement clause is lifted after this season, the second is he is not getting younger and his value is high after a season where he played lights out. His cap hit will be higher than his salary, this is important to note because it greatly increases his value to the poorer teams of the league who are looking to hit the cap floor but pay less in salary, as Kipper is only making 6 Million over the final two years of his contract he is a great value. The final year of his contract pays 1 Million dollars, often looked at as his “retirement” option year, the Flames know that Kipper has value today but it may be diminished by age and contract status following next season so the time to trade might be right now. With Irving showing decent results at the NHL level and the Kari Ramo acquisition as part of the Cammalleri deal you have to think the Flames have been eyeballing this idea for a while. Ramo is perhaps the best goalie in the KHL which may not be saying a ton but he does have some interesting trends like a better save percentage every year and a better goals against average every year. A Ramo/Irving one two punch might be what the Flames are looking for next year. Kiprusoff would bring in the return this club needs, Darren Dreger commented he would bring back more than Iginla would, I have to think a 1st round pick and either a decent prospect or a top six forward or a top 4 D..."

Read the rest here including trade ideas, the center issue and more:

http://west.thecheckingli...r-might-bring-huge-change

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