are the sutters TRYING to tank this year's team ??!

i realize the answer is "no," but with brent giving toskalol the start the other day in minny, and with what is(n't) going on today, one must think that they've made plans to head home for calving season....

there has been zero action on either the flames website, or that of their AHL affiliate today which signals to me that my beloved team plans to go ahead and replace daymond langkow with brian mcgrattan for tonight's tilt against the ducks. while this might've been an acceptable move back in october, with the playoffs on the line i don't understand why a guy like DVDG (or brett sutter, or jason jaffray) isn't called up to add a bit of reinforcement in areas where the flames will need it (ie: defensively).

seems like a no-brainer to me.

with eric nystrom showing relative proficiency as a centreman, however, mcgrattan can be insertted on the fourth line, where he'll play a game total of +/- 4:00.... how useless.... and yet another indiction of the culpability of this regime; there is no upward mobility for any AHL level competitors not named mikael backlund. if randy carlyle plays his cards right, the ducks should have no problems beating up our first line of defense (ak: our offence).

the lineup for tonight should look like this:

bourque - stajan - iggy
hagman - conroy - kotalik
dawes - backlund - moss
mayers - nystrom - dvdg

but instead, we'll have a pugilist fourth line that will do nothing but bleed goals against. i dunno. i thought signing mcgrattan was dumb back in the summer (darryl should've stuck with himself being the enforcer) and it's proving to be an enormous gaffe at this point, in my humble opinion.

either way ---let's hope the flames can pull through and grab a W tonight, if only so that we can all pretend that there's still a glimmer of hope for the postseason. i'll be attending in my gio jersey, so if you see me feel free to say hello... ;)

ps: does anybody else wonder if scott cruikshank bothered to translate mickis' blog from last week, or if he just hitthepost and ripped my work, adding in some soundbytes from the blogger, himself ? does anybody else find it curious that i mentionned to steinberg on friday, via email, the existance of said blog ---and that pat probably sees cruikshank around the bowels of the 'dome all the time ? i mean, i could totally be over-thinking this (i AM a girl !!!) but it strikes me as coincidental that #60's blog has been around for years and yet only gets a mention in the MSM after the much-hyped ikea birthday trip for princess cake ??? just sayin'..... anyways. i'm sure poor mickis will be forced to take it down sooner rather than later.

****UPDATE: just as i hit "post" on this mafacka, the flames announce that they've recalled brett sutter for tonight's game.... my first thought: LOL. i can't honestly say that i know whether or not DVDG is any better than young brett this year, but either way it reeeeeeks of nepotism; nepotism on a sinking ship, i might add (aka: one last kick at the can). anyhow, i wonder if the team is even gonna make mcG come to practice anymore since his tenure in a flaming C is clearly over..... except for the last game of the year when the flames have been mathematically eliminated, where he'll draw in to beat the living hell out of burrows and/or kesler and get the entire bench and front office fined/suspended..... ahhhh, how AWESOME would that be ?!?!?


[sutter(s) dismissal countdown: day 20]