Kotalik

Preseason hockey has started, and the Flames are out to a 3-0 start. Yes its only the preseason, so nothing to get overly excited about seeing as 2 wins came against the Canucks in a split squad game, and the other today against the Lightning when the line up was minus Iginla, Jokinen and Tanguay. Tampa Bay did put their big guns in the line up with Stamkos, Lecalvier and St Louis all seeing over 20 minutes of ice time pushing the game to a shoot out. With Kotalik scoring the winner.

When seeing the boxscore for the Flames first preseason game, my immediate reaction was WTF is Kotalik doing in the lineup? I was sure that it had to be some kind of mistake seeing as there is no possibility of him playing for Calgary this season. He then promptly took a penalty for hooking just over a minute into the game. Living up to his reputation of being a lazy player Then another penalty for boarding. Well at least it shows he is hitting. With the game tied at 1 at the start of the third period, Kotalik is again on the ice. Only this time he is able to score the go ahead goal and the Flames go on to take the win 3-2. With the top line out against the Lightning, Kotalik gets another goal and two assists in just under 16 minutes of ice time before scoring the game winner in the shoot out. Has something clicked in Ales? He has shown in the past that he can be a 20+ goal scorer, something the Flames could really use. Is he going to try and play some Sutter hockey? He could have some great potential if he can buy into that system if he is also used accordingly and given some good minutes to produce with. Kotalik does have a howitzer from the point on the power play and at 6-1 and 220 is big body to have on the ice.

Any reasonable person would think that his performance, let alone his being in the lineup means nothing and that as soon as the season starts Kotalik will be on waivers opening day. And with the salary cap situation Kotalik being place on waivers to be sent to Abbotsford has to happen. Or does it?

With Langkow still only doing light skating as part of his recovery, is almost certain to be placed on the long term IR list. That would give the Flames some temporary cap relief until Langs is ready to get back into the lineup and his cap hit of $4.5M back on the books. And with 8 dmen on one way contracts and some prospects ready to be playing with the big club, one or more has to be moved at some stage as has been noted before. Perhaps Kotalik is trying to give the Sutters something to consider when these decisions have to be made, or at least have his play attact another team when he does hit the waiver wire when he gets sent to Abbotsford?

I have stated my opinion on the return of Tanguay and Jokinen. Kotalik is a player who has the stigma of being a cancer to a team, no one seems to want him now as he wasn't picked up by any team when placed on waivers in June. His being in the lineup, even in just the preseason, seems to make no sense unless he is going to be part of this team when the season does begin. Is Kotalik also trying to prove something with the Flames?

Coming soon

Seeing as NHL training camp will be starting up in just a few months, I have been hard at work trying to assemble a guest panel of hockey "experts" to contribute some material to this blog, including some predictions before the regular season starts. Fortunately I have been able to secure exclusive rights to what I believe to be some of the finest hockey minds available.....in Sydney, possibly even the Southern Hemisphere. Its a pretty diverse collection of ex pats who now reside down under, and has loyalties over all 5 Canadian teams. Sorry, we don't count the Sens. Has anyone ever met an Ottawa fan outside of Ottawa?

More formal introductions will follow as negotiations are still underway with a few of the parties to be involved. The panel will also be putting their predictions to the test against a guest who's identity will for now remain a secret. Now that Maggie the Monkey is retired, someone has to step up.

C

Welcome back Olli??

Its been a while since I have actually posted anything on the Flames, hockey or anything really. I never imagined that my first post would be about Jokinen returning to the Flames along with Alex Tanguay. Even after a week of getting used to the signings, I am still not 100% sure that Sutter hasn't gone completely mad.

Olli was a bust in Calgary, without a doubt. $5.5M for 35 points in 56 games last season was not nearly enough. Everyone knew it, including Olli which was very clear after he was given the news he was traded. Much more was expected from him, not only for his salary, but for what Sutter gave up to bring him to town. This lack of production was not due to lack of effort from Jokinen though, and it seems that the Flames organization feels he can still contribute to the club but with a lower paycheck. And my oh my does Olli coming back to town raise ever some questions. Does this signify that players and management all wanted him back? That they believed in his efforts, and that he is not a cancer in the dressing room as always seems to get mentioned? Surely Darryl isn't that foolish that he would bring back a player who let down his teammates by not giving it everything he had? Can anyone reassure me of that? (Seriously, anyone??) Should the expectations of Olli be lowered given he is back with a smaller contract? He has shown in the past that he can put up significant points, but can he do it again? And have I ever mentioned how many posts he hit last season? Seriously, I would love to find that stat somewhere.

There is a flip side to the Jokinen signing however. After being run out of town, he is coming back by his own free will. Does that mean he doesn't give a damn about the attention and controversy that is going to surround him all season, or does he know that he can produce more? It takes some balls to make this move as there is little doubt he could have gotten a similar contract elsewhere in the league. It would have been the easy way out for Olli. Go somewhere new, leave the past behind. But Darryl called, Olli said yes and here we are. Jokinen played in 82 games last year and scored 50 points. I will be shocked if he puts up less than 70 this season, even though I do not think anyone expects that from him.

Alex Tanguay is a whole other story. I actually looked down the free agent list the night before the frenzy began and said that Calgary was going to sign him. He had his best regular season points total with Calgary with 81 points, 59 assists to help Iggy to his last 50 goal season in 06/07. Then Mike Keenan was brought in to replace Jim Playfair and Alex suffered by being used on the PK which is not a role he is suited for. His point production dropped, and he requested a trade. In just 50 games with Montreal the following season he put up 41 points before being injured for the remainder of the year. Last year with Tampa Bay is best left forgotten for Alex with just 37 points in 80 games with the Lightning while getting around 17 minutes of ice time a game. Tangs is now playing for his NHL career most would say. A one year deal for less that $2M. And while he didn't disappoint on the ice like Olli did with his last stint with Calgary, coming back after requesting a trade out of town takes some guts too. Does Tangs think he still has something special in the tank? He has shown he has what it takes in the past. He has a ring and has scored a Cup clenching goal. Is he due for a bounce back season? If he is used correctly and given the ice time that he is meant for I think so.

There was chemistry a few seasons ago between Alex and Iggy, and with Tanguay being the set up man it will take the pressure of having that role off Olli allowing him to take more shots which logically will lead to more posts, err goals rather. The salaries that these two have come back to Calgary for are not really that big of a gamble for the team to take on, and realistically with the amount of cap space Sutter had to work with who else could he have signed. Even if they only produce on par with last season no one could really complain. I have a feeling that these signings, especially Tanguay, are going to be looked back on as absolute steals. Alex and Olli have a few months to ensure they are both in top shape physically and mentally for what they have taken on. They both came back to Calgary for many reasons, and I believe that the biggest one is because they both know they can have something to prove. Not to the Flames organization, or the fans. They are back to prove it to themselves.

Perhaps I am being overly optimistic, and reading far too much into things. Perhaps they are just 2 guys looking for a paycheck and just took the first offer given. I could be looking back at this post next April when the Flames are no where near the playoffs wondering 2 things. How could I ever be so completely wrong about something, and why hasn't someone committed Darryl Sutter to a nice institution? I wonder how many concussions he had that went undiagnosed when he was playing.

By the way, Darryl isn't done yet. More has to be done with this roster and the cap situation so stay tuned.

Damn, I just was about to post when I found this. I swear I must have seen all 10 of them twice if that is correct. Is there anyway to verify this???

C

The Result

Well unfortunately I didn't raise enough to have to wear a chicken suit, however I did raise $600 for MS Australia and managed to complete the 8KM run in under an hour! Official time of 56:33. Considering my training regime on the lead up to the event was limited (one could even say non existent) its a time I am quite happy with on my first ever distance run.

Thanks to all of you who did support me in raising some dollars for a great cause. This offer will stand for next year as well. Help me raise $1250 for the 2011 run whenever it is announced and the chicken man will indeed run.

C

The Chicken Suit

So....I have decided to enter into the 2010 MS Walk/Fun Run in Sydney and thought it would be a good idea to try the 8KM (5 miles for any American friends) run, which for the record will be the longest distance I have attempted to run. Ever. By I would say around 7.5KM.

Originally I thought a goal of $500 would be a respectable amount to try and raise, and then 2 things happened. Within a day, I was already half way to my goal, and one of my friends who made a donation made a comment that he would double his donation if I did the run in a chicken suit. It started to make me think that I might be able to raise a little more for a great cause so I have set a new goal. If I raise over $1250AUS and I will do the run in a chicken suit. If you want to support me, please have a look here . Every dollar counts!

Now why am I mentioning this on a hockey blog? Well for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I can. And second, because this is a cause that also affects me as I was diagnosed with MS around 8 years ago, although was aware that I possibly had it since I was 16. Thankfully, I have a very mild case, but there are thousands of others out there who have MS who are not as fortunate as I am. So to throw a little bit of a hockey theme into the mix, I have a Team Canada jersey that I am pretty sure will fit over the chicken suit which I will also wear on the run. And I will also be sure to have some photos posted from the day!

C