Flames
Calgary
No surrender in Calgary
One of the familiar tropes in the NHL is the “poor ol’ Canadian team.” Lord Stanley’s chalice hasn’t been parked north of the border in 29 years, and there must be a reason for it. After all, the first two Great Bettman Lockouts were somewhat based on the fact that Canadian teams couldn’t have their...
The Calgary Flames will not go quietly into that good night
It’s the kind of trade that’s only cooked up at the bar, and almost certainly not before midnight. It’s only then and there that the right kind of desperation can be tuned into, as fans of whatever team it may be, try and live in denial for just a little while longer that their window of contending ...
Tale of the tape: Battle of Alberta vs. Battle of Florida
The second round of the playoffs worked, in part, the way that the NHL dreamed up when it went to this postseason format of divisional brackets. You can question the wisdom of it happening in the second round, but we’re getting the Battle of Alberta and the Battle of Florida now....
Gary Bettman must make the Oilers wear their ‘80s jerseys for the second round
Much like the Canadiens-Leafs series last year, this is why the NHL rejiggered its playoff system nearly a decade ago. To get things like the Edmonton Oilers vs. the Calgary Flames in the playoffs. OK, Gary Bettman’s NHL was only really concerned with getting Penguins-Capitals as often as possible a...
Flames fan regrets her choices
The Calgary Flames got up off the mat in the third period of their Game 5 against Dallas last night. Trailing 1-0 and not having scored at home in the series in seven periods, it was looking pretty bleak. The Stars however cannot ever score enough to ever put a team away, no matter how great Jake Oe...
The Dallas Stars, the piss in the cereal
The NHL playoffs haven’t had the most amount of drama so far. There’s only been two overtime games in the eight series combined, and not too many more that have been all that close or in doubt in the closing minutes of the third period. Some scores have been blown up by multiple empty-net goals, but...
How every team will lose in the 2022 NHL playoffs
As the chase to the Stanley Cup begins, the Eastern and Western Conferences have completely different outlooks. Colorado or Calgary look the part to be the Western Conference champions, and I’m not sure there’s anything the rest of the field of six can do about it. The Eastern Conference is as wide ...
Johnny Hockey is on one
Pacific time zone hockey tends to get ignored in the same fashion as west coast baseball. It’s hard to win an MVP or another award when your games are on at 9 and 10pm, as you’re cutting into hockey writers’ drinking time. You have to put on a world-class and ear-shattering whining campaign to get s...
Avalanche, Panthers and Flames done until Christmas
The NHL has multiple rosters’ worth of players in COVID protocols, with the number growing seemingly by the hour. The obvious thing to do, the thing that we would have expected in the era of “an abundance of caution” (remember that?) would be for the league to shut things down for a couple of weeks,...
Are the Golden Knights too hurt to trade for Jack Eichel?
The NHL’s biggest on-ice soap opera, the Jack Eichel trade derby, appears to have rounded the final turn. Last night, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan said that the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights are the finalists. Both teams are fine with the neck procedure Eichel wants but that the Sabres wouldn’t all...
Seattle Kraken put on a great show, but will they win?
Tonight was the expansion draft, and yeah, I know like 80% of it was leaked online. Still. We saw Mt. Rainier, Pike’s Place Market with a thrown fish, the Space Needle, local sports icons, Macklemore, a whole lot of sea life, and everything about it felt incredibly, and perfectly, Seattle....
Darryl Sutter gets point across to Johnny Gaudreau as only he can: Through snark
Darryl Sutter played 406 games in the NHL, so he knows what an achievement it is to get to 500....
Finally, Jarome Iginla Has Peers
Much like the football Hall of Fame, just about anyone gets into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Play in the league long enough, be kind to the writers, and gain any sort of rep for grit or toughness, and you’ll probably get in. Which cheapens the entry of those who are truly generational players. Those wh...
It's A New Season, But Drew Doughty And Matthew Tkachuk Still Hate Each Other
There’s only room for one Alpha Dickhead in the Pacific Division, and Drew Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk have now spent years trying to stake their claim at the top. ...
Calgary Cut $60M In Social Services One Day After Endorsing $275M For A New Flames Arena
The Flames’ new arena deal, endorsed by the mayor and city council just a week before a (rubber-stamp) vote to be held Tuesday, is a great deal for the Flames and their billionaire ownership, and thus not a good deal for the city of Calgary. It looks even worse after what the council did about 24 ho...
Calgary Really Doesn't Want To Let The Public Have A Say On New Flames Arena Deal
Calgary was—was—one of the success stories in the stadium scam. The city’s leadership had stood strong against a 2017 push to replace the Saddledome with a new arena for the Flames, and, ultimately the city residents made the decision. Amid an unprecedented attempt by the NHL and Gary Bettman to for...
We Regret To Inform You That The Oilers Made A Good Trade
Historically, when the Edmonton Oilers and “one for one” appear in the same sentence, bad things happen. Apocalyptic, hysterical, team-crippling things. Punchlines with years and years of mileage. This isn’t that. Peter Chiarelli is gone, and now, miraculously, so is Milan Lucic. Under just about an...