Monday, March 15, 2010

monday randoms: shall we talk about next season ?

- i came to this horrifying thought today: does darryl sutter have any interest in actually SIGNING ian white, or does he plan to use the inevitable offersheet to restock the draft pick closet ??? realistically (and devastatingly), we all know that darryl gave all the ian white money to steve staios, and with pardy signed though another year we don't actually NEED a seventh warm body on the blueline (since we're obviously not considering age, skill, or ability)... we also know that darryl (presuming he's still in charge) isn't likely to begin the draft without a selection in the first two rounds.... so, according to what i understand about offersheets, and what i've read about ian white, we're probably looking at a second rounder at minimum, or a first and third return.... is the gamble worth it ? i'd say nope. but i'd also say that ian white would sure be worth the 2.7 million bucks we're gonna give to the 36-year-old who's been on the ice for every single even-strength goal-against (save for one) since his arrival in cowtown.

- i've given him a chance, but after almost six weeks i've decided that ales kotalik is pretty much useless.... i'm not saying he's jokinen or bertuzzi painful, and he's certainly not a total liability on the ice or anything ---he just doesn't really CONTRIBUTE anything.... he's like the nhl equivalent to a crystal deodorant rock; using it is probably not gonna make you smell WORSE, but it sure as hell ain't gonna make you smell BETTER....

- if you take that above paragraph and sub in the name "david" for "ales," and "moss" for "kotalik," then you also understand my current thoughts on #25... with the past couple of years invested in the original dreamcrusher award winner, it makes me sad to say it but he's been largely invisible on the ice for me since returning from injury.... i'm not even being sarcastic when i say jamal mayers has impressed me far more than ol'mosser this year... two words to remedy this situation: hellooooo pocketdawes.

- while i wish he would've cleaned the glass at GM with ryan kesler's face instead (hat tip to sarich for giving this a go), i love gio for windexing the #2 most hated guy on the 'nucks, in alex burrows, with a nice clean hit.

- huge props to toskala for the shutout last night, and big ups to kippy for keeping the flames in the game.... it's a bummer we can't put pucks in nets cause we're really doing a pretty bang up job of keeping 'em out (all things considered)....

- it's probably a bad idea to let a GM hire his brother as head coach. not to say darryl's ever fired a coach in-season (even though it was well warrented at least once), or that brent deserves a good canning, but this is going to become problematic at some point, one would think....

- john armstrong is a prospect that rated pretty high on a few peoples' lists a couple of years back, and who's career was pretty much decimated by a string of injuries.... meh, he's handsome (and cocky as hell for a guy who's played all of 14 games this year for abby).... in fairness, the clip was probably filmed back when he was healthy in september LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE YOU SEE ON TV. ;)



- flames announced that the vintage retro throwback jersey is going to be the "official third" next season. hm. interesting.... since i published that tidbit of information back in november, after being led to believe as much in a series of cryptic effin' emails by the flames' retail manager. anyhow, if there is no ladies cut third come october, i'm gonna be protesting in the front office.

- i spent some time over at PPP trying to figure out if they know how awful dion can be.... the post entitled "what's up with dion phaneuf" seemed to lend credence that at least SOME people are on the right track... i threw my two cents worth in, but managed to stay off the gamethread so as to not be accused of trolling... which i would have been guilty of, since phaneuf managed to be a -2 in a game where his team scored six times... :P

- no need to dwell on what a totally and thoroughly shitty performance the flames put in against the dirty 'nucks.... suffice it to say that i like the practice of summarizing such blowouts with haiku; a tradition started over at M&G at some point in january (if i remember correctly)... anyhow, my submission for last night:

first was a bloodbath.
kippy got the mercy pull.
gio smashed burrows.

- i'm lookin' to hit the game tonight (maybe) but don't have any tickets... if anyone's got a line on some for a good price (read: cheap), hook a sister up... ;)

have an awesome week !!!!!!!

[sutter(s) dismissal countdown: day 12]

17 comments:

Colin Stuart said...

---he just doesn't really CONTRIBUTE anything.... he's like the nhl equivalent to a crystal deodorant rock; using it is probably not gonna make you smell WORSE, but it sure as hell ain't gonna make you smell BETTER....


Excellent.

JA said...

I wish there was some way of conveying my anger at the Sutters through this keyboard. Whatever I type will just not do it justice.

And if Colin White and Chris Higgins are not Flames next year, then this season is the most destructive any GM has ever had-not just for the current stretch-but for next year too. I mean, Kotalik and Staios over those guys? WTF? No draft picks, and that's what we have to look forward to? 6 Million of those two turds? Nothing against them personally, but they suck-especially for the amount of money they are making.

Add in the fact that Kipper and Iggy have at most 2 years left after this one, and there is no time for a "rebuild". Unless you trash next year and go for it all the year after (a la Boston Celtics), this is the type of shit we're gonna be stuck with until our beloved Iggy and Kipper are done. Look at the lack of high-level developing prospects-of which there are a total of one-and you'll know that this team does not have much left.

Maybe I need my own blog.

Tach said...

Re: Ladies jersey - I noticed an ad on Saturday at the Dome for a RBK by Roger somebody Her fit something with the model wearing a retro jersey.

Is it possible such a thing is already available? Could you're efforts have already paid off?

Nuuuuugs said...

On Phaneuf over at PPP... Two cents? You pretty much had a whole post over there with all those comments. I had dropped in earlier to correct the SOG stats, before you left destruction in your wake.

walkinvisible said...

cs:
i thought that statement might go over pretty well with the masses... i was literally trying to come up with the most useless thing i could think of, and that popped into my mind.... ;)

justin:
it's gonna be a hard road.
you should DEF start your own blog, you most certainly have some stuff to say and you're a pretty decent writer (caps aside). a little piece of random info: back in the day i wasn't really blogging much, but i was commenting often, and kent suggested perhaps i start writing more... so i'm gonna suggest you do the same...

ps: it's okay, we know you meant ian white.

walkinvisible said...

tach:
i would very much like to see this ad... do you remember where it was ?

nuuuuugs:
i always leave destruction in my wake. just ask tom rowe. ;)

Wittmeier said...

I'd prefer to not talk about blowing up the team until absolutely necessary (tomorrow at earliest).

But here's my two cents:

If he's still employed, I'm convinced Sutter will resign White (and Higgins). Otherwise the Phaneuf trade doesn't make much sense. Not that any recent transaction makes sense but I can't imagine the Flames walking away right now. And Sutter hasn't ever been a big believer in the draft, especially with his track record, so he's not about to rebuild. He's more likely to mortgage.

Kotalik has been meh, but why hasn't he been given time at the point on the PP? Why put Staios out there? Pure Sutterian mystery. Also, Kotalik is playing 'tough minutes,' so he's not my biggest concern. That said, I'd bring back Dawes in a second.

walkinvisible said...

dawes for moss (spark the third line) not dawes for kotalik.

second line is pure shutdown, at this point, and goals-for are bonuses IMO. the third line is where you could feasibly notch a couple, against the other team's third (which is likely to be inferior to hagman-backlund/conroy (and here, i'd probably prefer backlund) - dawes.

JA said...

Doh! Ian White's new mustache blinded me into thinking he was the other White. Oops.

As for lines, I would love to see:

Iggy-Bork-Stajan
Higgins-Lanks-Hagman
Moss-Conroy/Backlund-Dawes
GlenX-Nystrom-Mayers/McG

Included are the goons because you are crazy if you think they are both going to sit. Plus, Mayers hasn't been bewilderingly awful, so good for him. And my non-inclusion of Kotalik is due to the fact that one of his specialties (point on the PP) is non-existent for some reason. Conroy has been decent aside from the first game, so at this point I don't see a reason for him to be sat. And if the "4 call ups after the trade deadline" is really the reason for keeping Backlund in the press box, there is still no excuse for it. You have 3 players sitting out in case an injury happens. You don't need 7 players to fill in the team. Besides, the Flames' cap is already right up against the wall as it is. Could the Flames really take on an extra 4 salaries?

Arik said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
walkinvisible said...

justin:
do it soon, and let me know when you have. then i can erase arik's email addy so that domebeers doesn't unibomb it. :P
xxx !!!

Arik said...

Haha, Domebeers and I are cool now. We even occasionally comment to each other! But deep deep down, that rivalry is lurking, ready to erupt like a bad trade from Darryl Sutter.

Arik said...

Also, WI, can you send me an email too? It's a guest post (of sorts) related.

Justin said...

Done. Nuke it!

Sarah said...

Can I extend the crystal deodorant rock analogy a little further? Because maybe people were saying to you, "You need to do something about your...problem," you might think, "Sure, crystal deodorant here we go." And then the people are thinking, "That didn't help AT ALL!" and you're all oblivious thinking, "They told me to do something, I did something, and I did. It's not my problem anymore."

Or maybe I'm taking this a bit too far? :D

Sarah said...

Clearly, I didn't do something, though, and the something I didn't do is proofread!

mikeH said...

Someone at Microsoft thinks Harvey the Hound is one of the best mascots in sports:

"Harvey the Hound"

No arguments here.