Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. An old team
relying on former stars to recapture their greatness, a Vezina winning
goaltender prone to injuries, and a franchise player in search of a Cup ring.
Well if this sounds like a story you’ve heard before it’s because you have. The
Calgary Flames are the modern day post lockout Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 2006 the Toronto Maple Leafs was a team on the wrong side
of thirty. Out of the thirty-five players that played for them that year
(including goaltenders), eleven were in their thirties, and ten of the players
in their twenties played under twenty-two games. It was a roster filled with
the likes of Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Ed Belfour, and Mats Sundin- players
who were leaving, or past their prime.
Skip ahead to 2013 and there are some striking similarities
with the Calgary Flames. A third of their team is over thirty, they have a
captain, Jarome Iginla, who is potential trade bait, and they’re just good
enough to finish ninth.
What does this all mean? Well unfortunately for the Flames
it means rebuilding but if they learn from the Leafs mistakes it could mean less
time.
From 2006 to 2009 the Leafs failed to address long term
issues. The team wasn’t competitive enough to make the playoffs let alone be a
contender for the cup but instead of trading away assets like Mats Sundin,
Darcy Tucker, and Tomas Kaberle for future prospects the team did nothing, and
remained in a state of playoff purgatory.
The Calgary Flames have been making this mistake for the
past couple of seasons and have done little to correct it. The organization
continues to go back to the well with resigning former Flames Michael
Cammalleri, and Alex Tanguay, which has only hurt their team.
No one likes to see the fan favourite player leave their
team but the Flames would be wise to trade away Iginla and Kiprusoff while the
market is still good for them. Both players could make any top eight team into
a Stanley Cup contender, and the return could mean a Stanley Cup for Calgary
down the line.
There’s no doubt that the Flames will be a worse team
without those players but a few bad seasons never hurt anyone, just look at
Chicago, or Edmonton. With potential all-stars Nathan Mackinnon, Jonathan
Drouin, and Seth Jones draft eligible this year it wouldn’t be unrealistic for
the Flames to pick one up and be in the playoffs in three years, or more.
In the end it’s up to GM Jay Feaster to make the decision but
having missed the playoffs in the three years he’s been in charge it might not
be up to him much longer. Calgary fans are getting restless and holding on to
the players who brought them to the final game of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals
is the recipe for another three years of mediocrity.
The future isn’t in Jiri Hudler, or Dennis Wideman who are a
little reminiscent of Jason Blake, and Niklas Hagman when they played for the
Leafs. Those guys are just short time fixes for a team that has many holes. The
Flames need to draft, develop and give up on making the playoffs this year, so they
can focus on making the playoffs later with a stronger team that can really be
a threat.
