Calgary Flames Daily: Goaltenders Would Like to Stay
By Ramina Shlah
Happy Saturday Calgary Flames fans! It’s going to start getting cold again in Calgary as the boys set off to go home (or to Worlds). Let’s check out some Flames news.
I still haven’t gotten over the fact that Calgary Flames hockey is over. But with the final media day yesterday and the boys cleaning out their lockers, we got some insight.
First, we found out that Kris Versteeg really REALLY wants to stay with the team. He even said, “If I’m in Switzerland in September, my agent is getting fired.” Let’s hope he stays. He’s quite the character.
But we also found out that both Flames goaltenders would love to stay in the city. They’re both UFAs now at the end of this season. I mean, Chad Johnson grew up here and grew up a Flames fan. How could he not want to stay? And Brian Elliott has also said that he would “welcome the opportunity” to come back to Calgary
Via Calgary Herald:
Calgary Flames
"“It comes along with the job, being a goalie,” Elliott said of the criticism, specifically after Game 4. “From when you’re eight years old to 38, you’re either the hero or getting blamed. If you can make it to this level, you’ve gone through a lot of situations where you could end up an eight-year-old crying on the way home for letting your team down.“You have to go through those situations to handle the next one.”“I want to be a 1A goalie,” Chad Johnson said. “I think I’ve proven I can be a 1B when I was given the opportunity I took that role and had that roll and did well. My goal is to be part of a winning team and to play and to contribute. I think I can do that here.”"
Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving also credits the combination of both Elliott and Johnson for making the playoffs.
Via Calgary Herald:
"“The goaltending position is always going to be heavily scrutinized,” Treliving said. “As I told both guys today, ‘We’re not sitting here talking about a first-round playoff series if they don’t perform like they do — both of them — at different parts of the season.’ Let’s not forget that.“Without them, we’re doing this meeting 10 days ago.”“I think everyone would agree — and Brian would be the first one — that he’s capable of playing much better. The playoffs didn’t go the way he wanted them to go … emotion and frustration are never helpful in decision making so you have to take a step back. You need solid goaltending to be competitive in this league and we saw it. chad had good stretch this year. Brian had a good stretch this year.“Without that, we’re doing this meeting 10 days ago.”"
Some links surrounding the Flames to get you through your day
Change will come but Flames will stick with core group of players (CBC News).
Flames goalies both want to return to Calgary (Calgary Herald).
Goaltending questions arise after Calgary Flames early exit from NHL playoffs (Times Colonist).
Flames soon-to-be free agents hoping to stick around Saddledome (Calgary Herald).
Arena Plan B proposed for parking lots north of Stampede Park (Calgary Herald).
Some other links surrounding hockey and the NHL
Alex Ovechkin ‘all good’ after leaving Game 5 in first period (NHL.com).
NHL Playoffs: Bruins beat Senators in double overtime to stave off elimination (LA Times).
Changes in store for Blackhawks after ‘unacceptable’ playoff run (CBC Sports).
Toronto Maple Leafs must stick to plan despite playoff run (Puck Prose).
Next: How will the upcoming off-season unfold?
That’s all in this edition of Flames Daily! Thanks for reading.