15.8.05

Hammer Time!

The Flames have just signed the best d-man still available - Roman Hamrlik, to a three year deal.

This is the fourth homerun that Sutter has manufactured in as many weeks.

1. Jarome Iginla - whatever else the Flames did, this signing was absolutely KEY. With the league's best all-round forward under contract, all things are possible.

2. Darren McCarty - adding McCarty's 210 lbs of nasty to the third line is an awesome aquisition. He plays the game the way it was intended, with ferocity of purpose. Only drawback is that McCarty has had alcohol abuse issues in the past.

3. Tony Amonte - He's a good fit in the short term as a powerplay specialist and 2nd line winger. I doubt he has the legs anymore to play with the top unit, but his ability to provide secondary scoring help will be welcome.

And now he adds Hamrlik - He's able to play monster minutes in all situations, can QB a powerplay with his passing or be it's focus with his heavy slapshot, he's big and strong enough to handle powerforwards, he's not a pushover in his own end like other offensive defensemen and he's a terrific puck rusher who can break the trap with his speed. In short, he's exactly the kind of defenseman Calgary was lacking - a pure #1 who can be on the ice for half a game.

With his aquisition, I see at least one odd man out moving forward. Here are the Calgary defenders under contract and expected to play (I may be wrong here, so call me on it if you see a problem):

Regehr-Hamrlik, Leopold-Warrner, Lydman-Phaneuf

Which makes Andrew Ferrence the odd man out at #7. Still, it's good to have depth!

Now if only they had a better #1 pivot than Daymond Langkow, I'd be confident enough to colour us in as favourites to win the West!
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hockey Q (Well... not really)

There's a Nike "45 second" commercial featuring Iginla running around Toronto as someone fires pucks at him. It ends with Iginla going up a fire escape and then nodding at said guy who then jumps off the building spiderman style...

Who is the second hockey player? (presumably firing the pucks at Iginla)

Richard.

20:39
Anonymous said...

Hi Richard,

The other player in the Nike add is Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks.

As for Cam's Flame-on rant, absolutely the addition of Hamrlik is a great move by the Flames and the first one (other than the resigning of Iginla) that looks different from what they might have done in the "old" NHL.

Sorry Cam, Amonte and McCarty are bit pieces at best now and while they add character and grit, they are not the acquisitions they might have been a decade ago.

07:47
Cameron said...

Hey guys,

Doug is correct about one thing, the guy in the Nike ad is indeed Markus Naslund.

Otherwise, I think he needs a correction;

Amonte would never have been a candidate for the Flames under the old regime. He would have commanded too much money to be feasible for the Flames in an unrestricted market, and would have landed in one of the larger budget teams like Dallas or Colorado. Ditto for McCarty who would certainly have been retained by the Red Wings if not for their cap problems.

As to their impact on the Flames, I have my doubts about Amonte providing much fire-support, but he is an upgrade over Gelinas. McCarty though is exactly the kind of player the Flames covet, big, strong, strong work ethic, and unafraid to do anything to win.

He may not have the wheels he did a decade ago, but the experience he brings (as well as the rings in the dressing room) will be invaluable additions. He's a grinder through and through, as much fun to play against as it is fun to drink broken glass. Hammer and tong wingers like McCarty don't grow on trees, and his addition to the Flames makes the departure of Ville Nieminen utterly unremarkable.

10:06
Anonymous said...

Cam,

In McCarty the Flames gain 1 inch, several pounds, 3 Stanley Cup rings and five, hard, years on Neimenen. Tony Amonte is not the ppg man he was a decade ago. He as progressively watched his point totals dip into the 70s, 60s and, for the last two seasons, the 50s. His once dominant speed is, as it does us all, leaving him and he will not have his uber-talented, and uber-mouthy, best-friend and centerman dishing to him in Calgary.

Yes Cam, Amonte's reputation might have priced them out of the Flames' range in the "old" NHL but the player who walked through the door was someone who they could have gotten.

11:26
Anonymous said...

Wait... are you sure it's Naslund?

Usually the add is followed by another one where yet another hockey player is... hmm... "foot-pressing" the sales guy. I thought that was Naslund.

Although come to think of it... a name is mentioned in the second one, and I don't think it's Markus.

Thanks guys.

Oh yeah... What do your crystal balls say about Turin this winter?

--Richard

11:45
Cameron said...

The second ad is also Mr. Naslund. Same guy.

Turin is...a 'Go'. Currently the hold up has to do with the IIHF deal and the Czech/Russian leagues over transfer payments. To summarize the differences, the Czech's want a larger transfer payment than is in the current model, whereas the Russian leagues want the right to negotiate directly with the NHL teams for their payments.

Since both the Rus and the Czechs are essentially just quibbling about money, I see a deal getting done that makes everyone happy in time for Turin.

15:01
Cameron said...

As to Doug's commentary, I never said Amonte would be a big impact for the Flames - just that he was the kind of player we would never have been able to sign in the past.

I think we assess him similarily, that he is past his prime by several years, and that in particular his dependence on speed will be a problem because he is now lacking it.

However, he is more than a 'bit player', as he will undoubtably be ensconced on the Flames second line - making him a top 6 forward - and by definition, not a bit player. Whether he will be effective in that role is another question, but what isn't in question is that he was not ever going to be a Flame in the old NHL market.

On McCarty I think you also made my case for me; 1 inch, several lbs, three cups and five hard years on Niemmenen. All of which I agree on. However, getting McCarty in a Flames uniform is essentially no different than contending teams bringing aboard veterans ala Mike Keane to provide playoff depth and experience. In short, it's a 'rich team' move, and again the kind of situation Calgary would otherwise have not been able to deal in.

Merit wise, I like the McCarty deal better than Amonte (as I've stated previously) because I see the impact of McCarty going way beyond his stats, and being well beyond the 'bit part' suggestion you made.

15:11

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