Calgary Flames Hot Start to the Morning Vol 39
By Len Nunes
Time to start getting your ducks in a row Calgary Flames fans, the new season will be here before you know it! Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning Calgary Flames fans!
Optimism abounds within the Flame For Thought family as 92% of voters believe our Calgary Flames will win the season opener on Wednesday, October 8th versus the Vancouver Canucks. Have you voted yet? Vote HERE.
The Calgary Flames signed Corey Potter yesterday. You will be able to gather from my article yesterday that I do not expect to see Mr. Potter play in that Wednesday, October 8th game mentioned above. If you ever wondered what a “depth signing” meant, Corey Potter defines that kind of move. A player who is not overly good at any aspect of the game but is steady enough to not hurt your team (most nights).
Who are the best 14 players in the NHL at each position as teams prepare for the start of the 2014-15 season? According to NHL.com’s defensive rankings, our Captain Mark Giordano is the 9th best defenseman in the league. Here is their summary of Giordano:
"Perhaps no player in the NHL benefited from the advent of advanced statistics to show the merits of his game last season more than Giordano. According to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, there were nine Flames forwards who played at least 200 minutes at 5-on-5 with Giordano. All nine saw their Corsi-for percentage, measuring shot attempts for and against, plunge dramatically when they were on the ice without Giordano. The average drop was a whopping 11.1 percent. On top of that, Giordano had the third-highest points-per-game average among NHL defensemen, behind only Karlsson and Keith."
One keeps hearing reports of the NHL considering expansion. While it is exciting to believe our game is growing, the thought of expansion scares me. Remember when the NHL over-expanded during the 90’s? Remember how watered down our winter National Sport became? Last night in the CFL another game was played without a touchdown being scored. Sure their are other reasons to factor in to the rash of touchdown-less football games but the watering down the league took after adding the expansion Ottawa Redblacks is definitely one of them. Before the NHL expands, I hope the league moves franchises in financial peril first. That way, the league itself becomes stronger and the talent base is not tapped into anymore than it already is.
Any thoughts Flame For Thought’ers?
Have a great Saturday Flames fans.