Five-Game Skid
If you want to make the playoffs, as the Flames readily assert, you
can't lose five in a row. The guys in red did just that with losses
in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and Nashville, and then, back home
against Edmonton. With wins against Chicago and Tampa and another
loss to league leading Phoenix, the Flames last 10-game record reads
out at 3-7-0. A number like .300 ain't gonna get you no playoff
dates.
There are some bright spots. Goalie Tyler Moss is still a raw
recruit, but he's showing flashes of the star netminder many think
he will be. Sophomore defender, Derek "Just Say Mo" Morris is also
exhibiting star potential. He makes mistakes but always seems to
learn from them. He probably wishes he could have a mulligan on
Andrei Kovalenko's winner for the Oilers. The Russian Tank laid
Morris on his stomach and watched him slide into the corner as he
proceeded to roof a backhander past Moss. To Morris' credit,
Kovalenko's goal was on all the highlight reels that night. It was
a beauty.
Anyway, the guys who looked like they might just work their way into
the playoffs have their work cut out for themselves. They're
sitting on the cusp of eighth position in the Western Conference
and a place in Lord Stanley's post-season marathon. In December
they've got a five-game eastern road trip. By the end of the month
they will have played Philly twice, the resurgent Rangers, Dallas,
Colorado and New Jersey. That doesn't even mention the New Year's
Eve gig with the Habs and four other games.
T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month. He obviously
hadn't seen the Flames schedule in December.
Give `Em a Tax Break
The parliamentary Mills Committee published its findings regarding
the state of sports in Canada recently and recommended that most
sports outfits in the country, amateur and pro, should get tax
breaks. According to the committee, so should pro athletes.
The idea is that the weaker Canadian dollar, stiffer tax regimes,
and smaller market sizes put Canadian teams at a distinct
disadvantage when it comes to competing with the Americans. For
example: The Ottawa Senators had to pay for construction of a
highway interchange so people could get to their rink. Many
American communities subsidise the construction of their teams'
rinks, let alone the access routes.
Harley Hotchkiss, NHL chairman and co-owner of the Flames says that
even the $5 million tax breaks may not be enough.
"(Tax breaks) would certainly alleviate some concerns, but it
wouldn't solve them totally because there are some bigger issues
there," said Hotchkiss. "We have to find some solutions to a
situation where too many teams absorb cash losses."
What Hotchkiss is talking about is a salary cap and profit sharing.
Until the league owners band together and pool their resources, and
the players agree not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs,
the problems are not likely to go away.
That said, both Alberta teams, the Flames and the Oilers, announced
that they will show modest profits this season. If league salaries
continue on their current curve, those profits will soon turn to
huge losses.
Fleury Furor
The natives grow restless in the shade of the great Canadian
Rockies. Their favourite son, Theo Fleury, is about to leave
town. It looks like there will be precious little coming back in
return for the spunky fire hydrant. The little plugger is going to
sign a big contract as a free agent at the end of the season. The
longer GM Al Coates leaves it to try to trade the little guy, the
less he'll get. It may already be too late to get any appreciable
return.
Fleury was signable last year and wanted to stay. The Flames put it
off. Now they are about to pay the price.
History at Conn Smythe's Place
Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the last Flames goalie to play in
Maple Leaf Gardens.
"I said to Martin St. Louis this morning that it was something to
play in a building where Rocket Richard would have skated," Giguere
said. "This is something I'll tell my grandchildren."
Do you think there are some Habs fans in that French-Canadian
family?
Enviable Record
Flames Coach Brian Sutter is the first person in NHL history to have
scored 300 goals and coached 300 wins. Never count a Sutter out!
