Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust on the Move after Flames Extinguished by Flyers

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

In an effort to bring more offense to the Calgary Flames, GM Darryl Sutter pulled the trigger on Sunday that would see forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers, and defenseman Ian White join the Flames in return for defensemen Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie, and defensive forward Fredrick Sjostrom.

Last night all four players made their debut with the Flames versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

To be fair, the former Maple Leafs barely got off the plane before they dropped the puck at the Saddledome so it was tough to ask the foursome to contribute much last night.

That said, Sutter had to be disappointed with Calgary’s overall effort versus the Flyers, an effort which saw the Flames net a pathetic 18 shots on goal.

Stajan, Hagman, White, and Mayers combined for a total of one shot on net and, outside of a few chances, looked pretty invisible on this, their first game as members of the Flames.

From the Flyers' perspective, they had to be happy with their effort, particularly that of goaltender Ray Emery, who registered a shutout, and centre Mike Richards, who scored twice for the Orange and Black.

Claude Giroux scored the other goal while Simon Gagne had two assists. Richards scored one of his goals on the power play, a great slap shot that eluded Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Flyers are now 6-4-0 in their past 10 games and find themselves positioned sixth in the Eastern Conference and 15th overall in the standings, with 59 points. Make no mistake about it, the Flyers' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. Two teams (Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks) are tied with the Flyers with 59 points and no less than eight other teams are within five points of them in the standings.

Rumors have been swirling that the Flyers are interested in Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco, with Flyers forward Scott Hartnell going the other way. Turco has struggled to find his game this season, but there are many that feel a change of scenery and an increase in ice time may be the remedy for what ails the veteran puck stopper, something the Flyers could offer Turco.

Stay tuned on this one, this rumor might just have teeth…

Meanwhile, shortly after the game ended, the Flames announced that forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust were being shipped to the New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins.

The trade had been rumored all day, on the heels of the Phaneuf trade, but for some reason the two teams waited until after the tilt against the Flyers to announce the trade had been consummated.

Jokinen, who never seemed to find any chemistry with Jarome Iginla in Calgary, registered 11 goals, adding 24 assists through 56 games with the Flames and should step into the No. 1 or 2 centre positions on the Rangers roster.

Much like Jokinen in Calgary, Vinny Prospal has done a less than spectacular job in New York this season, which may spark Rangers head coach John Tortorella to give Jokinen a shot at the first line duties.

Marian Gaborik, who has 33 goals and 65 points through 54 games with the blueshirts this season, is expected to play alongside Jokinen, at least in the short term. It’s anyone’s guess whether these two can find the desired chemistry, but the Rangers need to try something to spark their 25th ranked offense.

Both Kotalik and Higgins have struggled all season with the Rangers. Through 45 games, Kotalik registered eight goals and 14 assists, boasting a lofty minus-18 rating. Higgins registered six goals and eight assists through 55 games.

Both the Rangers and Flames are taking calculated risks adding these players to their mix. Higgins, Kotalik, and Jokinen will have to work to shake their “underachiever” labels, something that will not be easy on their offensively challenged teams.

It will be interesting to see how the Flames use all of their new talent. Matt Stajan is expected to centre Jarome Iginla, with Rene Bourque, Nik Hagman, and Higgins expected to get a look on the left side.

A first line of Stajan between Iginla and Hagman looks to make the most sense right now, with a second unit of Daymond Langkow, Bourque, and Kotalik looking like the Flames' second option.

Through it all, it appears as if Higgins will have to earn his way onto the Flames' first two lines, but with nothing set in stone and Flames head coach Brent Sutter looking to find chemistry between his new acquisitions, that could change in a heartbeat.

Interesting times, indeed. Who says there are never any trades anymore???

Until next time,

Peace!