Calgary trades Phaneuf, Sjostrom and Aulie to Toronto for Hagman, Stajan, Mayers and White.
I am unimpressed.
Hagman and Stajan are 2nd line players added to a team comprised almost entirely of 2nd and 3rd line players. Mayers adds nothing to the team that they don't already have. White is an unknown commodity (to this blogger) but I find it difficult to believe he is an upgrade over Dion. And Toronto - the ultimate hype machine - hasn't built him up much.
Dion did not ask to be traded. He did not want out. He's crushed by this trade. Listening to his media scrum (and good on him for talking to the media) this is apparent.
The trade is a clear sign that Sutter had not anticipated adding Bouwmeester and he has filled the organizational role that Dion had. I do not believe this is a reactive "panic" trade, a terrible January does not alter the long term structure of an organization this stable. Still, my initial reaction is this is a lousy trade.
The Flames add no elite players. No draft picks. No prospects, in fact they trade away a very promising prospect in Aulie. The obvious weaknesses of the team - powerplay, playmaker for Iginla, restocking draft picks - are not addressed.
I like Hagman, but at $3M he is not a bargain and his value is not comparable to that of a 24 year old defenseman in the mold of Phaneuf. Stajan is a nice piece, but (yet another) borderline top 6 and a pending UFA - a "guy" that easily could have been acquired at the trade deadline for a much lesser asset.
Pronger, obviously a better player but on the other side of hill, was unloaded for Sbisa, Lupul, two 1st round picks, and then some. Kessel was traded for two 1st round picks (likely including a top 3 this offseason) + a 2nd. These were both moves made with desperation. Made in the offseason which removes the need to balance salary, but the returns are comically disparate.
Even if Dion needed to be traded (for one reason or another), Sutter made a bad trade from an asset management perspective. Was he really worried that this trade would fall through and he'd have to take a much lesser package at the deadline?
Another thing to consider, the Flames add four NHL plaayers and only subtract two. This necessitates waiving part of this already poor return or (more likely) it results in Lundmark and Backlund being sent back down; so the analysis of the talent being added to the forward ranks must include those players being removed from the team in the short term (and this return is all short-term).
Why Phaneuf? Looking at the Flames defensive core (before the move was made), it was young with a high ceiling and great athleticism. But not so young the team couldn't have spared a guy like Cory Sarich - who likely could have been moved for a pending UFA (especially if paired with an asset like Keith Aulie). Wouldn't that have accomplished the balancing of salary dispersion this trade seems to be about?
I hope that Dion pushed himself out of town with the rumoured conflicts between himself and team leaders, because if this is a trade made only to "rattle cages" and "shake things up" then I am not optimistic about this team or it's leadership.
NHL: Full Face Shields Rule: Every player is required to wear a full face shield.
Improvement: The impact on player safety is obvious, and junior players have worn them for years. Fighting would still be permitted after removing the shield.
Is the rule needed?: Players always have the option of wearing a shield, but without a league-wide mandate it is greatly disadvantageous for those who choose to.
Potential drawbacks: Players may become increasingly reckless with face shields, blocking shots or using the helmet as a weapon.
Also under consideration: Tightening "boarding" enforcement, suspensions for diving,
NBA: Timeouts Rule: One timeout permitted per half
Improvement: The NBA game plods along, at best. Exciting fast breaks, defensive collapses, turnovers - all require immediate timeouts by coaches. This removes any semblance of momentum from the game. Also, the commonality of timeouts enables coaches to draw up set plays whenever the situation calls for it. While not a negative in-and-of-itself, this has turned into a crutch for players. Instead of cunning resourcefulness, the league requires dutiful obedience and - when need be - the ability to make a terrible shot because the coach's play doesn't work as designed and over-coaching has stifled creativity.
Is the rule needed?: If you've ever watched the final minutes of a close NBA game then you know the answer.
Potential drawbacks: Less commercials (keep in mind I'm a commish here), restricted substituting
Also under consideration: Less personal fouls per game, loosen "blocking" foul calls, speeding up everything else (shorter shot-clock, free throw routines, etc...)
NFL: Overtime Rule: First team to score 5 points in overtime wins.
Improvement: This would add a great deal of intrigue any game that went to overtime. Coaches would be faced with much more difficult decisions, and many teams would act differently in the same situation (playing to the respective strengths of the teams). Kicking may be magnified or eschewed.
Is the rule needed?: No, but fans are clamoring for the rule to be changed and a "coin filp-short drive-long field goal" ending to a Superbowl would be perceived as unfairly arbitrary.
Why 5 instead of 6? It may lead to a situation where a team would concede a meaningless safety to gain field position.
Potential drawbacks: Superbowl finish may be too epic, having to listen to every broadcaster explain the rule for the next two years
Also under consideration: loosening "roughness" penalties, limiting front office and coaching signings until well after the Superbowl, re-establishing the CBA/salary cap, loosening "No Fun League" regulations, re-invent Pro Bowl, increase the difficulty of the PAT (point after touchdown)
Canadians aren't going to take it anymore. No gold on our home and native land? Unacceptable.
Believe. Own the podium.
Challenges and promises meant to stoke the sputtering flames of patriotism in Canada on the ultimate national stage. We are re-branding Canada as proud, and when need be, ruthless.
I am disappointed.
Canada has long been a harbinger of peace and tolerance. A role model of values that other nations could turn to as a moral and legal ideal. Though brave and heroic, our armed forces have not gained international repute on the same level that our peacekeepers have. Canadians are welcomed the world over, known for manners and civility. Canada has lead by example unencumbered by judgment. What greater international repute could a country hope for than that of 'citizenship most claimed by foreigners?' However, in recent years Canada has drifted away from this lofty international role.
Canada is no longer proud of their friendly and gracious characteristics. Years of punchlines about meekness, America's rapidly declining esteem, and the emergence of other countries as players on the international stage have exhausted Canada's patience with being the nice guy. Limit our economy by being ecological leaders? Fuck that shit.
But the nice guy is needed now more than ever. Decades of peace (in a historically relative sense) have bred selfishness and greed among the world's other leading nations. Canada has been able to keep those temptations at bay (as proven by conservative banking regulations that protected Joe Sixpack where America has extorted him). But after this admirable restraint, we are now actively campaigning for the opposite.
What are Canadians telling the rest of the world we believe in?
After coming off a nine game losing streak in a pitiful January, Flames fans look to the remaining season with great trepidation. This blogger steadfastly believes the Flames are a wild-card for the Stanley Cup along with several other sub-elite teams, but clearly Flames fans are approaching a consensus that this team is underachieving.
As with everything else in our society, blame needs to be assigned. Sutter, Iginla, Phaneuf; all have taken their turns under the spotlight.
I blame our rivals.
Rival: Edmonton In the late '80s the Flames were titans. In a seven season span the Flames earned two President trophies, two Stanley Cup appearances, and leaguewide respect. Fueling this organizational and individual passion was the dynasty to the north.
Today, the former dynasty is in tatters. The shortcomings of their roster are exceeded only by the absurdity of their contracts. The Oilers feature the league's least talented captain, worst $7M centreman, ugliest defensive core contracts, terrible durability, worst free agent decision (Khabby over Roloson) and obviously, worst management. This team is cover-your-eyes awful.
The ultimate symbolism of the current state of this rivalry was a fight between Flame captain Jarome Iginla and Shelden Souray.
A fight characterized by power and courage; the Red corner showing integrity following an inadvertent injuring of his opponent earlier in the season, the Blue corner remaining too fragile to even withstand the fight. (broken hand, out indefinably)
State of the Rival: Pitiful
The Flames swept the season the season series against the Oilers, the first team either team has accomplished this feat.
Rival: Vancouver
With the Vancouver Canucks as the only other Canadian competitor in the division, as well as the defending division champion, the Canucks are an obvious choice for a rival. With deft skill in the forward ranks, a foil for Iginla in the defensive core, and a game fighter - they seem tailor-made for their role as rival.
The problem? Douchebaggery.
The franchise has built itself on shamelessness.
At the risk of derailing the post into Canuck bashing, I must admit the Flames are not saints either. Daryll Sutter's 2004 team included their own brand of villany, but that brand was goonery. Oliwa beating up an empty-net goal-scorer that danced too much for his liking, Nieminen running Osgood in the playoffs, McLennan taking an axe to Holmstrom, Regher taking face-offs, and more. But at worst the Flames are bullies in an otherwise brutal league.
This same Flames team honoured Trevor Linden in his final game, as Iginla emptied the locker room to return to the ice and shake the hand of the soon-to-be-retired Canuck captain.
Sadly, it appears the team's class retired with their respected leader.
This "fight" featured more preening from Kessler than fighting, as after taking a punch he resorts to an MMA-style takedown and then calls his opponent a coward after game.
Burrows is currently embroiled in a dispute with NHL officials who are making a concerted effort to control the disgrace he brings to himself, the officials, and the game with his diving.
After losing a lead to Chicago in the playoffs last year, the fans littered the ice with debris and Vancouver announcer John Shorthouse acknowledged the franchise has developed a reputation of being poor sports.
A stadium and crowd that condone the use of high-powered lasers against opposing goalies. Lasers that are illegal to point at pilots flying planes.
Spike, a men's tv station, posted a list of the 10 worst fans bases in North America on their website. Checking in at #5....
It’s remarkable how arrogant the fan base of a team with zero Stanley Cups, no Hall of Fame players, and two homoerotic Swedish twins that seem physically afraid of the playoffs can act. It’s literally mind-boggling! These days, when they’re not too busy demanding trades on local radio shows or reminiscing about that year they almost signed Wayne Gretzky, you can usually find Canucks fans preaching about how hosting Jarome Iginla and the Canadian Olympic team will finally establish their city as a genuine hockey town (sort of like how marrying Lamar Odom made Khloe Kardashian a real celebrity – legitimacy by association).
Next time you see a suspected pyramid schemer in the corner of a trendy wine bar sporting a $200 hair cut, $900 suit, and emanating a distinct air of scumbag from his Drakkar Noir-soaked pores - go ahead and ask him about Kevin Bieksa, because odds are he’s a Vancouver Canucks fan and doesn't want to cry himself to sleep again before throwing out obscene predictions about the Norris Trophy.
State of the Rival: Embarrassing
The Canucks do a disservice to their name, which is already a pejorative bastardization of Canadian.
Rival: Montreal & Toronto
The two original six Canadian franchises steeped in mystique are rivals mostly due to their widespread fan bases. Unfortunately, due to the MLB-style unbalanced NHL schedule, the proliferation of television broadcasting, and the sorry state the two franchises are in - neither team has the same cache they once did.
State of the Rival: Irrelevant Short of meeting the Habs in a Stanley Cup, these rivalries appear little more than bragging rights among fans.
Rival: San Jose & Chicago
If the Eastern conference rival has lost its lustre, we shall look west. The 'Hawks and Sharks are the two preeminent franchises in the Western conference and the Flames have played both in the playoffs in recent years. Still, neither feel like rivals to this blogger. Neither team considers Calgary a threat in the standings, both lack propinquity (too far away), and individual players have not interchanged.
State of the Rival: Weak.
These teams just aren't rivals. Flames fans don't hate the teams, don't know any fans, and it will take more than just another playoff series to cultivate a true rivalry.
How much of an impact will the state of these rivalries have on the Flames success? Not much. Rivalries carry teams and fans during the "dog days" of a season, which is January in the NHL. Once the playoffs roll around there will be plenty of incentive for every team to be at their best.
Conan O'Brien finished his brief tenure as the Tonight Show host on Friday. It was a wonderful show and even if he never does another he will be one of my all-time favorite talk show hosts.
Caught up in all the gnashing of teeth and tabloid fodder is that Conan finished his show by thanking NBC for giving him a platform to dance on for 20 years, and dismissing the recent ugliness with a reminder that he is a comedian that had the best job in show business. Nothing works out perfectly.
The Colts host the Jets this weekend which is a clear sign that the AFC is no longer deep, nor is it very good. The conference final game will reflect that.
The Jets limped through the season with a missing limb known as "skill offense." Excellent line play (featuring P.G.'s MVP) combined with an aggressive defense infused with several key free agent additions were enough to win a surprisingly weak division and two no-shows in the playoffs. This will not be the case against the Colts.
I can't tell you anything about the Colts you don't already know, years of playoff coverage have covered that. And it is those years of playoff experience that will be the difference. The Colts have refined counter-attacks against the best defenses for the past decade, the Jets are yet to against a refined offense in the playoffs; facing a Bengals team that stocked up on pure runners that RBs couldn't handle the blitz and a Chargers team that relies on big play athleticism.
The scapegoat for the Jets will be Revis. In a league that sets DBs at a huge disadvantage, a defense that blitzes too much, and against tight end that will occupy the safety Revis has to face the best route runner in the league under a national spotlight.
Prediction: Wayne: 3 TDS, Revis: 0 INTs
One thing I can give you to watch for this game: the amount of ground the Colts offensive line concedes on their runs. Most team's run offense looks like a brick wall, the Colts' looks like the Flying V of Mighty Ducks fame. I don't see that strategy helping the run game much, I suspect it does help the pass protection (as the defense has no read). After watching the Jets pass rush so closely over the last two games, will this "soft" run blocking noticeably affect the pass blocking? I'll look for double moves off play-action.
The Saints host the Vikings on Sunday in a clear case of the best two teams in the regular season both making through the divisional finals. Both excelled in the first 2/3 of the regular season and were able to coast through the final 1/3. Homefield will be an advantage for the Saints, but it will not decide it.
The difference in this game will be the dedication the teams showed to their strengths.
After defeeating Seattle in Week 11, the Vikings had a record of 9-1, they were surely playoff bound and Favre was being lauded for his excellent play in a complementary role on a running team with 33 pass attempts per game. In the final six games that number ballooned to almost 40. Favre went from lauded stabalizing factor on a great team to MVP of a great team.
This is not intended to be a critisism of Favre, he can play that role, but his team cannot support that role. Tackles McKinnie and Loadholt are massive men that have no experience protecting MVP-type quarterbacks in the playoffs. They are not in the mold of Ryan Clady that excel in angular pass protection, they are bulls meant to gore linebackers. Furthermore, the Viking lack the receiving core for this type of offense. Harvin is a rookie that excels in a Reggie Bush-type role (early in the season he was gaining notoriety by making plays in the running game) and Sidney Rice had an excellent season by making big plays against defenses stacked up against the power rush. Rice also burned Dallas who are much more aggressive with their outside linebackers than New Orleans. Ware would blitz, the corners (who weren't great for Dallas) would be left on a island and Rice would kill them with spacing and enough balance to keep running after the catch. New Orleans will have more help and Rice's route-running will be exposed.
It's possible the Viking will revert to their power run game, but I think Favre wants to be "the guy" and I don't give Childress much credit as a tactician. Excellent organizational skills but he is not the cunning football mastermind that Sean Payton is.
The Saints do not have this problem of staying true to style. They are built to be a shape-shifter, like Patriots at the peak of their dynasty. Payton Brees and Bush are special trio that have the range of abilities to dominate in any style of offense - and add to that trio the non-glory trio of LT Brown and RG Evans and TE Shockey that all excel in any brand - and this team more than stacks up with any in the league. The Saints are also willing to pinch your nose while they stomp your feet which is rare for a team with so many knockout punches.
I hated the small centre / soft winger / oafish d-men composition that comprised this team for the last several season. This team is built to wreck you in a playoff series.
But part of the brand they've built is limited skill offense. January hockey is skill hockey, it's when Hueslius dominated, when Iggy heats up, when Bert dominated for a while last season - it's not conducive to cycling, hitting, or dump-and-chasing which is how the Flames are built. Games like Vancouver-Calgary from the other night don't happen much in January because it's completely untenable. It would just wear a team out. I don't care how much Bourque cares if he is gassed come playoff time or his body doesn't stand up to the pounding.
In January, when the Flames just finished a solid start to the season that had them competing for the division title and avoiding any significant injuries - it's possible they'd hit a "bump" - emotional, physical, or otherwise, where they had been struggling, got off to a bad start, bad penalty call and quick PP goal, and took a game off.
They just played 9 games with a combined 5 days of rest. They were exhausted, in California, got pushed off regular schedule (from the SJ airport rules) and...they took a game off. A road game. Dion gave up a goal because he came cross-ice for a huge hit - and missed badly. Going way too slow - Dion didn't "not care" into a bad play, he didn't have the legs to match his aggressiveness.
It's not that I'm ok with it, or that I wanted them to take a game off, it's simply reality. I saw the Oilers take 25 games off as MacTavish sobbed, I've seen teams take entire seasons off - let's not lose our shit because the Flames took one game off.
This team would probably benefit from a trade, Sutter should be looking. But not fire-selling.
This is the same team it was at the start of the season. Little has changed. As Flames fans, do not let yourselves get thrown under the bandwagon based on only the calender.
Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Patrick Surtain, Jamie Nails - all pillars of my past favorite team. I hadn't always been a Miami Dolphin fan but I made a point to watch as many games from this incantation as possible because I was a huge fan of so many of their players. When Ricky was traded to the Phins I became an official fanatic.
Sidenote: My friend Alan P. told me that Ricky was traded to the Dolphins. I knew it was a joke, instantly. Like "some supermodel is at the door and asking for you, naked" skeptical. I didn't even check to see if it was true.
This team never made the playoffs during my short tenure as a fan (timeline: from when Ricky was traded to the team to when Thomas became a Cowboy) but I was very happy as a fan. I loved watching the team compete, I had scapegoats on the team I could blame shortcomings on, I had statistical support for my adoration (Ricky leading the league in rushing, Thomas leading the league in tackles, Taylor leading the league in sacks, Nails leading the league in being nails) - it was a happy time. I even busted out my OJ McDuffie jersey to write this piece (thank you obscure NFL players in Canadian discount bins). Also, though the Dolphins were a widely popular and successful franchise (mostly due to Dan Marino) their fans were not braying jackasses nor was the team media darlings.
The saga of Ricky will have to wait for another day, today I am trying to determine what team I can show devotion to for the forseeable future. NFL fan free-agency works for some folks, not I. I don't want to follow the best QBs and the brightest young stars in the league, I want to follow Jamie Nails.
On the opposite end of my spectrum from the pulling guard is the Bad Shot Shooter.
The Bad Shot Shooter is most identifiable in the NBA. Late shot-clock situations, struggling offense, defefensive lineup - all can lead to a situation where a shot needs to be taken and the offense has no leverage.
The Bad Shot Shooter is important but can become toxic if he fails to remain within his role.
Mike James was always an excellent bad shot shooter, but James took so many bad shots that he became a great detriment to his team.
Kobe is so divisive because of his Bad Shot Shooting. Kobe can dominate games with bad shots (any player that has scored more than 80 points in a game can make bad shots) but he shoots so well that he can become toxic to his team by taking so many shot - and so many bad shots. The public vacillated wildly on Kobe for a few years (Shaq / post-Shaq pre-Pau / Pau) not because the public was fluctuating, but because Kobe was.
After Shaq Kobe was the best player in the league at taking bad shots. He'd make enough that he was still a star, but he take enough that his team's couldn't compete. Perhaps his teams weren't good enough to compete anyway, but Kobe was ensuring it. After the Lakers brought in some legitimate NBA talent (Gasol acquired in a deal that must have included rohypnol) Kobe stopped taking bad shots - but kept hitting bad shots - and led his team to a title.
NBA Championship Bad Shot Shooters include: Chauncy Billups Kobe Bryant Micheal Jordan ...comment section, help me out here!
Notable exceptions: Robert Horry
Horry was Big Shot Bob. Took game-deciding shots, not bad shots. I'd like to get to a post on Horry but this isn't it. Horry was an excellent teammate, Bad Shot Shooters rarely are.
Congrats to Peyton Manning on his 4th MVP title. Apparently it was a landslide vote, presumably with all other votes also going to QBs or RBs. With a select few excellent corners in a league that is unbalanced favouring the passing game - in theory the MVP should go to a corner. Revis has been grabbing headlines and silencing any WR he encounters, and of the elite corners Revis has lasted longest in the playoffs (Woodson out, Asoumagha did not qualify for postseason) - and my pick for league MVP is a Jet. But it is not Revis.
The 2009 NFL MVP goes to - Alan Faneca.
Faneca left the Steelers, who don't believe in paying star players, for the Jets in the 2008 offseason. Plugging Faneca in between two young first rounders (D'Brick and Mangold - what terrific names!) made for a formidable offensive line that cleared the path for the best rushing offense in the league. Offset by a lousy rookie QB (sorry Sanchize) and a WR that tragically lost both hands to a crocodile - Faneca's impact is undeniable.
As a member of the Steelers he led an iconic offense built on the power-run game to a Superbowl and the Steelers floundered - at best - without him. In Faneca's final season as a Steeler they led the league in rushing with 135 yards per game. The next season? 105, 21st.
Before arriving in New York the Jets were led by Chad Pennington and Thomas Jones and the Jets rushed for 1701 yards. Bypassing the Favre season, the 2009 Jets improved on their 2007 rushing totals by over a thousand yards; 2756.
Per game rushing totals for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; 108.6, 106.3, 125.2, 172.2
I don't follow the Jets off the field, I don't listen to Jet interviews. I only watch football and observe statistics, both suggest Faneca had a huge impact on an otherwise unremarkable offense.
I haven't, and won't, address Faneca's calibre of on-field play. Not because it doesn't support my argument, but because it isn't relevant. MVP awards are attached to storylines, aggrandizing, and perception. Faneca fits a great story line (leader of the bully Steelers becomes leader of the bully Jets), and is one of very few interior lineman that fits perception (most casual fans know him from his Steeler's Superbowl). Peyton won, and was a deserving winner, but Peyton does not need any more aggrandizing - the only reason to be excited by this nomination is relative denigrating of Tom Brady.
Does Alan Faneca deserve aggrandizing?
Selecting an offensive lineman for league MVP has to be almost transcendent. It can't be about how great his footwork is, or from tallying pancake blocks. It's about acknowledging the effect of adding an impact player. Favre is an obvious 209 MVP candidate because it's commonly accepted that adding an elite QB can elevate an NFL team to elite status. But it's not commonly accepted that removing or adding an elite guard from an elite team has the same impact. Let's address that by considering another impact guard that changed teams, Steve Hutchinson.
Shaun Alexander won an MVP trophy and broke a record for rushing touchdowns in 2005 - without breaking a tackle for the entire season! He glided behind Hutch, waiting until secondary angles were eliminated behind powerful drive blocks and devastating pull blocks. I'm no Shaun Alexander fan but this isn't about him. Hutch (with wingman Walter Jones at tackle) led the Seahawks to elite status and the team reached their zenith in 2005 with the best statistical rushing season to date. After 2005? Shaun got paid to the tune of $62M which left free agent Hutch out of the budget. Alexander was exposed for running like a 50 year old man and was out of the league shortly thereafter (in 2006 Shaun's rushing total was cut in half and he missed many snaps with a dubious foot injury).
As for Hutch - he would sign with the Vikings in a situation that led to a lot of bad blood between the two teams. The Viking had fired Tice as coach and lost the core of their offense - Moss (trade) Culpepper (injury) and Burleson (lost to Seattle in the feud over Hutch). The 1st round draft pick acquired for Moss added nothing to the team (Troy Williamson).
Seattle had lost an interior lineman but otherwise kept intact the best offense (including RB, QB, and LT) in the league - and went in the tank. Minnesota had lost the devastating duo of Culpepper and Moss and added an interior lineman - and emerged as a powerhouse.
That doesn't sound like the script ESPN uses.
Obviously it is folly to view these events so simplistically, and further analysis would suggest alternate explanations that are far more palatable to common consensus. However, Hutchinson has been an integral cog in one of the best offenses in the league for most of his career.
The same can be said of Faneca. And it's about damn time they be recognized.
I am an avid sports fan born and raised in Calgary. My "teams" are the Calgary Flames, Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Blue Jays. Most posts will be made in the perspective of a fan of these teams. Additionally I will espouse thoughts on the NFL, intending to focus on under- covered stories (should there ever be one).
My favorite blogs include Southpaw, KSK, and PFT - Florio still counts as a blog because I have been a member of PFT nation since it's inception.
Jamie Nails was an unheralded guard in the NFL, drafted by the Bills in the 4th round, that consistently led Ricky Williams through A-gaps or was the lead in a student-body sweep play. With Jay Fielder and Dave Wannstedt anchoring an otherwise terrific team, Jamie Nails led Ricky to the rushing title.
