THE BLUE LINE
In my opinion, the changes made at the blue line are one of the best decisions the Calgary Flames have made all season long. This is probably the biggest change the Flames have made all season long as well. I mean it’s no ‘trading the captain’, but in perspective of all the moves made by the Flames this season, it’s one of their biggest.
First, the Flames signed Matt Bartkowski, which isn’t our main point of focus. However, with the acquisition of Bartkowski, fans were maybe hoping to see Dennis Wideman benched, but that wasn’t the case. Then one game later, the Flames acquired Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes in a trade where the Flames gave some draft picks.
Now, since Michael Stone was in the lineup, Dennis Wideman would be a healthy scratch. I think you may be able to guess how excited Flames fans were.
Matt Bartkowski and Michael Stone have each been in the lineup every game since their trades. Since Bart’s been in the lineup, the Flames are 7-0-1. Since Stone has been in the lineup, the Flames are 7-0-0.
Which also means that the Flames are 7-0-0 without Wideman in the lineup. Wow, the Flames play well without Wideman in the lineup? Huh. Who would have thunk?
Of course, we know that the team is now on their season-high seven-game win streak without Wideman in the lineup. However, there is one particular player who is also benefiting from this.
The teams stats aren’t the only ones benefiting…
TJ Brodie has been Wideman’s defensive partner practically all season long. And Brodie has definitely been feeling the effects of this. Every Calgary Flames fans loves TJ Brodie (especially my dad). He’s an excellent skater and he’s a smart player. Sometimes he makes mistakes, but for the most part, he’s able to recover quickly from them.
However.
When your defensive partner is always making mistakes and getting turnovers that constantly lead to goals almost every game, it’s hard to show your true talents on the blue line.
Related Story: Five Players Not Living Up To Their Payroll
Now, when Stone was initially in the lineup, he didn’t start on the second pairing with Brodie. However, he does have a right-handed shot. So many people thought and were hoping he was brought to play alongside Brodie on that second unit. However, in that first game, he did move up alongside Brodie for the second half of the game and since then, he’s been paired with him.
Now, from the start of the season until the game where Dennis Wideman was a healthy scratch (seven games ago), Brodie’s +/- was -25. In those seven games since, his +/- is 4. Since that game where Stone started alongside Brodie (six games), his +/- is 6. His +/- is still -21, however, for what it’s worth, it’s going in the right direction. It’s hard to recover from -25, but with Stone in the lineup and Wideman out, the Flames haven’t yet lost a game.
Could this change alone be the largest reason for the Flames playoff chances now at 93%? We’ll never truly know the right answer for that. But this change was and will continue to be a factor.