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HEAD COACH
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Brian Sutter
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ROSTER
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C- Andrew Cassels, Clarke Wilm, Cory Stillman, Jeff Shantz,
Steve Dubinsky, Eric Landry; LW- Rene Corbet, Bob Bassen, Ed Ward,
Jason Wiemer, Dave Roche; RW- Valeri Bure, Jarome Iginla, Martin St.
Louis, Rocky Thompson; D- Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse, Derek Morris,
Todd Simpson, Steve Smith, Phil Housley, Denis Gauthier, Chris
O'Sullivan, Eric Charron; G- Ken Wregget, Fred Brathwaite.
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INJURIES
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Bob Bassen, lw (back spasms, day-to-day); Eric Charron, d
(concussion, indefinite); Steve Dubinsky, c (knee cartilage,
day-to-day); Denis Gauthier, d (hip flexor, day-to-day); Phil
Housley, d (pulled hip muscle, day-to-day); Jeff Shantz, c
(shoulder injury, day-to-day); Todd Simpson, d (concussion,
indefinite); Steve Smith, d (hairline ankle fracture, day-to-day);
Rocky Thompson, rw (concussion, indefinite).
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TRANSACTIONS
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Traded future considerations to Washington for Tom
Chorske, lw; traded Greg Pankewiez, rw, to San Jose for future
considerations; traded Chris O'Sullivan, d, to NY Rangers for Lee
Sorochan, d; recalled Lee Sorochan, d, from Saint John (AHL);
recalled Wade Belak, d, from Saint John (AHL); selected Robyn Regehr,
d, from Colorado to complete Fleury trade.
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GAME RESULTS
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3/22 at Edmonton T 3-3
3/25 Montreal W 2-1
3/27 at Phoenix L 2-1
3/28 at Anaheim L 5-1
3/30 at Colorado T 3-3
4/01 Phoenix L 4-1
4/03 Toronto L 5-1
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STANDINGS
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Northwest Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 77 41 26 10 92 227 191
Calgary 76 28 36 12 68 196 216
Edmonton 76 28 37 11 67 208 215
Vancouver 78 22 45 11 55 184 246
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TEAM NEWS
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by John Alsedek, Calgary Correspondent
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Flames Getting Altogether Too Many Breaks...And Concussions...And
Other Assorted Boo-Boos
Well, all you cynics out there who were expecting the wheels to fall
off the Flames following the Theo Fleury trade got your collective
wish over the past two weeks - but not for the reasons you might
expect.
Nope, it wasn't that the Kid Flames were choking. In fact, that was
probably the only injury Calgary didn't have to deal with, as the
Flames suffered a mondo run of bad luck on injuries to their blue
line corps.
The nadir came on March 28th versus Anaheim, when they entered the
game with a defensive group of regulars Housley, Hulse, and
Albelin, abetted by Derek Morris - in his first game back after
being sidelined with a separated shoulder - and call-ups Wade Belak
and Lee Sorochan. Four shifts in, they lost Housley... and then
things got really ugly, as the Flames got trounced 5-1 by the
Ducks.
Two nights later, they redeemed themselves somewhat in a 3-3 tie
with Colorado - or rather, with Theo Fleury, as most of the Avs
looked like they were already planning their Cup parade through
downtown Denver. The game was also notable in that the Flames got
back one of their young stud d-men, Denis Gauthier, who proved his
studliness by getting an assist, and, the next night, beating the
snot out of Phoenix 'C' Keith "Isn't It Time For Another Contract
Renegotiation?" Tkachuk.
Fortunately, while the Flames were struggling with injuries, the
Oilers were just plain struggling, a struggle exacerbated by the
trade of their top blueliner (okay, top player) for such Blackhawk
underachievers as Chad Kilger and Daniel Cleary (BTW, is there any
truth to the rumor that Cleary's name, translated into French,
would be 'Alexandre Daigle'?). As a result, Calgary still holds a
one-point lead over the Oil Can Boys for the last playoff
berth...and play Edmonton in three of their last six games. Talk
about having your fate in your own hands...
A few other notes: GM Al Coates played it safe by choosing
stay-at-home defenseman Robyn Regehr from Colorado's prospect list
to complete the Fleury trade. He'll never be mistaken for Al
MacInnis, but he's one tough hombre on the ice, and a genuinely
good guy off it. Nice pick-up.
Also, Calgary has been awarded the 2000 NHL Expansion and Entry
Drafts, set to be held June 23-25, 2000. Now, you sharp characters
who can actually count may notice that the drafts cover three days,
rather than the usual two. Yep, that's right - the NHL finally
wised up and split the Entry Draft into two days. Speaking as
someone who spent eight hours at the '98 edition and only got to
see the first five rounds, it's a good move.*
Mark those dates down on your calendar, folks - you want to make
sure to get a good seat to check out those, um, interesting new
expansion team sweaters. (Minnesota Wild? Wild what? And don't even
get me started on the Columbus Blue Jackets - all I'll say is that
GM Doug MacLean earns every penny he gets, just for not saying what
he really thinks of that logo).
Well, that's it, Flames fans. The next time you read this, the
Flames will either be playing hockey or playing golf. I'm betting
on the former.
*Some folks would say that watching a draft is like watching
paint dry. Not me, though. At least with paint, you have subtle
changes in texture to watch out for. Still, I can always find
something to comment about, like "You know, I thought Jeff Heerema
looked like a really good prospect, but Carolina took him, so he
must be a dog", or "This must be the hardest day of the year for
Neil Smith - there aren't any 35-year-olds for him to draft."
Yep, that's me - Mr. Positive.
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