saneopinion

"Keep the opinions sane and well thought out."

Canada, AB • Canada •

More Questions After Recent Signings.

Flames fans are excited again. The excitement flows from the off season moves by the Flames management team and it's acquisition of recognizable names, even if most of the names are just bound for Abbotsford. Some of the questions that we will likely get the answer to soon are:

Q: Is Cammalleri's scoring replaceable on the power play?
A: The hope would be the power play is more effective this year.. period, a system on a power play eliminates the need for one guy to be your sniper. Cammalleri's scoring 5 on 5 was a non issue. In fact 5 on 5 scoring has probably gotten better with his departure.

Q: What is up with Boyd?
A: Everyone loves his tenacity and willingness to go to the net, his decent hands and good speed are assets but his size is now the issue as well as an unsettled contract. He has the potential to be another Lombardi, a guy who you know has the talent but just doesn't click. Based on the cap hit right now this might be his final year to prove his worth to the Flames. His ice might be cut by having an enforcer in the line up now.

Q: Will Backlund make the team?
A: No. Not unless he is dominant in the pre-season and then only maybe for a few games. Don't get me wrong, I think he is the future center of this club but he has an entire year playing with men on north American ice before he gets to play. His cap hit of 1.3 million in the bigs is also a deterrent to him making it, he needs high ice time and the "A" is where he will get it.

Q: Is Dawes capable of second line production?
A: Yes. Capable and doing are different though, he is a quick strong fore checker that Brent Sutter knows all about, Glencross and Dawes play the same position but in my mind would be a dynamite third line. Chances are they will give him a shot at the second line and even possibly the first if there's an injury.

Q: Where does Sjostrom fit in?
A: In the "A" scoring from Backlund would be my guess, Lundmark and Backlund will fight for first line center in the "A". Sjostrom is a fast penalty killer but his potential is much higher.

Q: Will the Flames make another trade to free up cap room?
A: I guess they will try but don't go thinking it's Phanuef, they will try like hell to trade Primeau but a very real possibility is sending him to the minors, there is a lot of players that can do what he does without taking the injuries he is now famous for. The system is full of players who can take over for Primeau right now. Prust, Nystrom and Boyd come to mind first.

Q: Will they trade defense after acquiring and drafting D?
A: Erixon is a mile away from the NHL, the Abbotsford heat may have the best D in the league as well, it could look like: Pelech, Aulie, Negrin, Seabrook, Baldwin, Kronwall as a top six... which is outstanding. The Defense is the future of the team do not expect too many trades.

Q: Which Flames arethe most tradeable?
A: Aside from the obvious players any team would want, the most likley to be moved in my opinion are Boyd, Sarich and Primeau. What the team gets for them is up for debate but Boyd may just not fit anymore (I find that too bad personally), Sarich is good but Expensive and Primeau is too much money for too many injuries.

S>O>

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment.