early lineup predictions: the WI version

i think most people have weighed in on what they think the flames 08/09 lineup will look like, and i suppose it's fine time i did the same.

1. bertuzzi - langkow - iginla

the flames are short on natural right wingers, so it hardly makes sense to put two of them on the same line. still, with all the hullaballoo about iginla wanting bertuzzi so bad that sutter went out and signed him (a bit farfetched in my opinion, but i digress), it's hard to imagine bootuzzi ending up anywhere but the first line. langkow and iginla are obviously locks here.

2. cammalleri - lombardi - boyd

i hope it's not wishful thinking that lombardi will centre the 2nd unit, but i think it's safe to say cammalleri will appear here. three centremen on one line, however, is a bit of a stretch. i like the looks of this one because of the speed potential, which is why boyd gets the call on the opposing flank. admittedly, after iginla, langkow, cammalleri, bertuzzi, and lombardi, there's quite a dropoff in offensive ability on the team: yet another reason boyd gets the call here.

3. bourque - conroy - glencross

even though i know very little about bourque, the overabundance of LWs on the squad make this line seem plausible, and i certainly like idea of this trio in my head. my limited (but hugely positive) impression of glenX from his stint in edmonton makes him seem like a perfect linemate for conroy: gritty but maintaining scoring potential. conroy can still be largely effective in a third line role, and i think these two are the wingers that will take on some decent competition while providing enough tertiary scoring....

4. nystrom - primeau - nilson

i may be the only one that still sees the value in marcus nilson, and here i've insertted him in the lineup for his *ahem* experience. i'd love to see brandon prust here instead, but i fear nystrom and prust on the same line (and there's nowhere else to put him). perhaps nystrom gets sent back to the farm and prust takes those minutes... who knows. primeau gets the call here based purely on size. let's face it, roy will probably steal some time on this line from one of these guys most nights anyways...

alternates: moss just doesn't seem to fit in, for me. if you put him in boyd's spot on the second line (totally possible), then boyd doesn't really fit in anywhere. while moss's stats may be better than boyd's, currently, i think it makes more sense to nurture boyd as his ceiling seems much higher.


1. regehr - sarich
like duh

2. phaneuf - vandermeer
uhhhh, yep.

3. giordano - aucoin
hockey-wise this makes sense to me, though money-wise it would benefit the team to shake adrian's 4mil. if that were to happen (and it won't), then i suppose i'd shake up the pairings entirely and insert pardy or pelech.

alternates: i no longer consider warrener or eriksson members of the calgary flames, and will not until one of them shows up in the player's box on or after october 4th. one or both best be playing the year in the QC. i'd be a pretty happy girl to see warrener retire but i can't see that happening. it'll be his last chance to make that kind of money, and will likely bank it as he forsees an amonte-style forced retirement in his not-too-distant-future.