Mercy Killing Indicated
If the Calgary Flames were horses you would feel compelled to shoot
them. Just look a little higher up the page and you will see a
record of 1-9 since Dec. 22 with a meager total of 15 goals scored
in those 10 games. Goals against total 37. What is utterly
incomprehensible is that they are still within reach of a playoff
spot. Read on as the quest for the silver lining commences.
Whither Theo?
With the Felix Potvin sweepstakes all wrapped up Theoren Fleury is
still without any idea where he'll play next. He's tied for 10th
in the Art Ross race. He's the heart and soul of the Flames. And,
he's an unrestricted free agent this summer. Right now it looks
like no one wants to trade for him because they know he wants to
test the free agent market at the end of the season. It may take
the March trading deadline to motivate a team that figures it is
only a player away from the Cup to pull the trigger on a deal.
Eight is Enough
Quickly, now! How many goalies have the Flames dressed this season.
That's right, eight. Six of them have started games. Cowtown is
rapidly becoming the Bermuda Triangle of NHL goaltenders. Over the
last few years it has been distressing for Flame fans to watch Trevor
Kidd, Andrei Trefilov, Jason Muzatti and Dwayne Roloson try to fill
Mike Vernon's skates. This year they thought they had a gamer in Ken
Wreggett. He played well to start the season, but fell victim to a
back strain.
This is where the Bermuda Triangle angle really kicks in. Since
Wreggett went down, so have Tyler Moss, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and
a retreaded Andrei Trefilov. The latest lamb to the slaughter is
Fred Brathwaite, who last played in the NHL on April 4, 1996, as an
Edmonton Oiler. Brathwaite, introduced as "Jeff" by the Saddledome
announcer, started against the Dallas Stars. Not only did he win
the game and help break an eight game losing skid, but he notched
his first career shutout in the process. The final score was 1-0.
For the trivia hounds out there, the other starter is Tyler Garner.
The two guys who dressed but didn't play are Igor Karpenko and Pavel
Nestak. Write down their names and win a bet some day.
Another point to ponder... the season isn't half over yet.
Arrivederci, Rico
Rico Fata, the 18-year-old rookie right winger, is heading back to
junior hockey after starring on Canada's silver medal World Junior
team. Flames management cited a need for Fata to develop his
skills a little more. Since he was only seeing about five minutes
of ice time per game in Calgary, it made sense to send him back to
the London Knights of the OHL. Flames director of player
personnel, Nick Polano, will be paying regular visits to Fata to
help him hone the skills he'll need to stick in the big leagues.
In the System
Along with Fata there are some other potential gems in the Calgary
Flames system. Perhaps the most brilliant is Daniel Tkachuk, who
the Flames took in the 1997 draft ahead of Sergei Samsonov, who
went to the Bruins. There's been some groaning that the Flames'
braintrust missed the boat on that selection. Tkachuk's first
training camp was a real downer. However, his stellar performance
as the scoring leader of the Canadian Junior team now has him
riding pretty high in everyone's estimation.
Hnat Domenichelli is already playing in St. John for the farm team
and has just been called up to Calgary to replace Fata. While he
has disappointed so far, the kid is still young and his upside far
outweighs his down.
There's a Russian defenceman who was Calgary's choice, 51st overall
in the 1997 draft, Dmitry Kokorev. He's 6-foot-3, 198 lbs., and
just turned 20. He hopes his play at the junior tourney gets him a
shot at next year's training camp.
"Next year I'll be out of the army, so if they invite me, I'll be
happy to go," said Kokorev.
Also, don't forget that their are a lot of guys on the Young Guns
who look to get better as they establish their careers. Jarome
Iginla, Derek Morris, Jason Wiemer and Jean-Sebastien Giguere are
all in their NHL infancies. Their future looks bright.
Aah! There it is, the silver lining. Too bad it's probably too
late to save coach Sutter's job.
