Calgary Flames: Continuously Stuck in the Middle

This offseason, the Calgary Flames made a vital addition to their team.

A psychologist.

Say what you will, but the great game of hockey is half mental and half physical abilities.

Well, it’s time that guy gets fired!

The Flames have clearly not exorcised their past demons. What we’re seeing, Flames fans, is the same team from last year, with the exact same problems.

After three straight bad games, the Flames look defeated, lacking confidence and just plain slow. However, we can’t really say that this is all that surprising.

What basically happened in the off-season is a whole lot of the same. Looking into this season, Flames fans had to rely on the same players, who are now older, being better simultaneously.

Yes, it sounded crazy then and it sounds crazy now.

I’m not saying that players like Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla don’t have it in them. After all, Iginla is famous for slow starts, but the heat is turned way up this season and if “Mr. November” doesn't come through, things will change.

Iginla re-signed with the Flames back in 2007, for a price that was lower than he could have received as a free agent. He loves Calgary and has been a consistent, well-rounded captain for the Flames. When it comes to the trade talk surrounding him, I’m conflicted mostly because of my attachment to Iginla. Of course there’s sentiment involved in trading our beloved captain, but there’s also logic to it.

Looking at Calgary Flames blogs and message boards, people are all over the map on this subject. I've read that Iginla is a “disgrace” to the team and needs to be traded immediately, a statement that I find disgusting and way off course. Others stated that it probably would have been better to trade him this past summer and that there are too many issues involved with trading him now. Many are questioning his value.

Ultimately, if Iginla lights it up like he did last November, all this trade talk will (momentarily) disappear. It’s unfortunate to see him struggle like he is, because he’s still a talented player.

While Iginla is taking the heat, the issue ultimately lies with management. It’s easy to point to the captain, but let’s sit back and think about all the misallocation of the team’s salary.

Darryl Sutter has done a lot of good for the team. The main move I can think of is acquiring Miikka Kiprusoff. However, the money elsewhere on the roster is questionable, to say the least. Ales Kotalik, Jay Bouwmeester, Steve Staios, Olli Jokinen and Cory Sarich are just a few who hold contracts that are far too big for their roles. 

So here we are. We should have kept Mike Cammalleri. We should have NOT re-signed Jokinen. We would have been much better had our resources not been misallocated by a stubborn GM. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Our new motto.

As freelance hockey writer Kent Wilson eloquently put it, “Sutter has gotten things right enough that the Flames haven't suffered the indignity of being roundly terrible like our neighbours up north. He's also gotten enough things wrong that the Flames never took the next step. Now the core has mostly drifted past it's best before date.”

This is where we are at the moment. Maybe Flames fans have to accept a mediocre hockey team stuck in a terrible place; the middle. But, maybe the core will suddenly be better for the Flames. Essentially, that’s what we are forced to rely on.

The Flames have a tough schedule this month, with only three remaining home games and nine away games, including three sets of back-to-back games. It’ll be difficult, but we’ll have to wait and see how it’s handled by the Flames’ leaders.