the warrener/boyd mishap: theories

here's the facts:

yesterday, calgary put rhett warrener on injury reserve and sent dustin boyd to the AHL. the initial move seemed par-for-the-course in sutter's shocking inability to move the veteran defender, but the latter can only be deemed an absolute outrage.

there is no arguing that, with warrener's full salary currently counting against the cap, the flames needed to drop somebody. dustin boyd became the victim of his own two-way contract, by being the only guy on the team who didn't have to clear waivers on his way down....

it's entirely possible that the situation is that simple, though (in my humble opinion) a guy with as much injury history as warrener should not have been allowed to go on this long. it was far too risky... he should have been demoted with the first cuts, or told specifically NOT to get out of bed FOR ANY REASON. one or the other. to have this all go down on the eve of game 1 is a management disaster....

months ago, duncan and i discussed the merits of giving rhettro a hugely overpaid job in the head office. have him retire from on-ice play, and give him the same dough to wear a suit. everybody wins... rhettros kids stay in calgary schools, there's still a bowl-a-rama, and he makes a few mil in the first year that doesn't count towards the cap. if this were actually happening, though, i'd think the paperwork would have been signed and sealed long before yesterday....

yesterday, kent wrote "This *almost* makes me wonder if there is a trade in store...involving Aucoin. We know that Warrener is pretty much unmovable. But maybe the Pens came knocking for Aucoin recently due to their injuries and Sutter is putting the finishing touches on that. Which means; Warrener sticks around and the team gets under the cap." it is not a totally farfetched theory...

i had also theorized that perhaps a trade was upcoming that involved adam pardy, thereby creating a need for the seventh defender (warrener). i could only imagine it being a piggyback-type deal; an overpaid deadweight roster player (ie: primeau) coupled with pardy, traded for prospects or draft picks.

so is warrener actually injured ?? i have my doubts. i would think that if there were no waiver wires and no AHL, warrener would be ready to suit up tonight in vancouver. is warrener the crybaby here, or was it sutter's idea ??

anyhow. we shall see how this all shakes down in the next days. if the situation is allowed to continue, it will be a crying shame for this team. faith in sutter's abilities is at an alltime low, and i (for one) am just sore that the game tonight will not be played by the best possible flames group. as a fan, it is a slap in the face....

check back to hitthepost later today for some very exciting news !!!!
:)