Thursday, August 28, 2008

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.

14 comments:

MacS said...

I'd say you're about dead on there, but I think Moss he gets a roster spot somewhere.

Kent W. said...

I'd rather have Moss than Nystrom on this club. And we all know Nilson wont get a sniff because Keenan has it in for him.

What a confusing mess the forward lines are. Three honest-god top 6 players with a couple more knocking on the door and then a total random jumble.

walkinvisible said...

there's a helluva lotta Ls and Cs on that roster....

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking a lot about Bertuzzi, which has caused me to feel sick to my stomach on a regular basis. But anyway, his best years were on the wing with two speed/skill guys in Morrison and Naslund. I think he'd be better off on the second line with two of Cammalleri, Lombardi and Boyd, then they take the leftover from that and play him with Langkow/Iginla.

walkinvisible said...

so, bertuzzi/lombardi/boyd on the 2nd line, and put cammalleri on the first line ? it's gotta be that way cause boyd ain't ready for the top line and lombardi and langks will both play centre.

cammalleri - langkow - iginla
bertuzzi - lombardi - boyd

not bad.... it really tones down the speed factor but i could live with it....

Anonymous said...

Looks good to me. You could always switch it up if speed was of the essence against a particular team.

awildermode said...

as much as i love those swedes, i don't think nilson is going to make it...and the keenan factor. in goes moss.

bert will be in the top line. again, keenan factor and iggy, too.

things will surely change after the first month because of the 'slow start'.

shep said...

I dont think eriksson (thank god!) and nilsson (better than primeau!) will be with the flames this coming season..

check this (google translated) june 26 article from swedish newspaper "expressen" --> link

Anonymous said...

That translation is aces. "Calgary get rid of Swedes"? "Ended in the refrigerator"? Gold!

walkinvisible said...

I dont think eriksson (thank god!) and nilsson (better than primeau!) will be with the flames this coming season..

tough call. sounds like nilson wants out, but eriksson likes calgary and hates keenan. either way, the article is from over two months ago and it looks like both are still here....

i honestly think we can still unload nilson for a low draft pick. he's cheap and still holds some value... eriksson, on the other hand, isn't honestly even good enough to play on the farm... we'll see i guess.

and, shep ? thanks again for keeping us in the loop. :)

Anonymous said...

The farm? I wouldn't take Eriksson for my rec team. Calgary get rid of Swedes! Ended in the refrigerator!

shep said...

this just in: new google translated swedish newspaper article about marcus nilson!

from sportbladet.se, september 2:

"Calgary stops Nilson from fleeing
"They refuse to buy out me"
At Calgary - against his will.

Marcus Nilson forced back to Canada.

-- I was hoping that Calgary would buy out me. But they refuse, said Nilson.

Now begins the majority of NHL pros to go over to North America to prepare for camp and the season.
But the Calgary Flames Marcus Nilson, World Cup players this spring, is not satisfied with stepping on the flight across the Atlantic next week.

-- I was not playing so much last year and had hope that Calgary would buy me out. But they refuse. Now I do not know really what is happening, said Nilson.

Schism with Keenan
The reason for the schism between Nilson and Calgary is spelled Mike Keenan.

Keenan has decided to Nilson does not belong to the Flames future.

-- It will not work between me and Keenan. Just accept that and work on, says Nilson.

He does not know is where to play hockey in winter. The Russian league is an alternative, if the Calgary Flames drop Tre Kronor player"

(sorry, it wouldnt translate the whole webpage...)

nothing new really, just nilson not getting along with keenan. and i'm bored.

Kent W. said...

Sounds like Nilson isn't even going to report to Flames training camp to me.

What a bad way for the guy to end his time here. I can't really say I blame him though.

walkinvisible said...

moving this to a proper post. it's getting far too interesting...
;)