In Sutter We Trust

The NHL trade deadline has come and gone for another year and it’s quite apparent that Darryl Sutter didn’t forget his BlackBerry in his other jacket this time around. Sutter was very busy at the deadline acquiring what his team needs most, a top line centre and a puck moving defenceman. The best part? The price wasn’t as high as one might have thought. With these new additions, the Flames roster for the upcoming playoffs is set and expectations are higher than ever.


During his time in Calgary, it’s safe to say that General Manager Darryl Sutter has made some interesting moves. These generally fit into Sutter’s iron clad three and five year plans for his players and his franchise. While they can be hard to understand on the surface, it’s made harder by the fact that Sutter holds things pretty close to the chest. Recently, he was asked repeatedly what he would be looking to add to the team as the trade deadline approached. Time and time again, Sutter gave the answer that he was confident in the team he had assembled and didn’t really feel the need to give up assets to secure a “rental” player or to make a move for the sake of making a move. He openly denied rumors he was presented with and we all believed he would be relatively quiet.

On Wednesday morning as I rolled out of bed, I got word that Sutter had re-acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche. I was immediately excited because I didn’t expect this and was a huge Leopold fan. Then I braced myself for the price. Recent waiver pick up Lawrence Nycholat, prospect Ryan Wilson and a second round pick. Not bad. Not exactly a blockbuster, but a good pick up that would surely help the Flames after losing Mark Giordano to injury.

Later that morning, the hockey world was lit up by the news that the Flames had traded for Olli Jokinen, easily the biggest trade of the day. Sutter also got a third round pick in the deal for long time Flame Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a conditional first round pick. At that moment, Calgary had one of, if not the most dangerous offensive line in the NHL with Jokinen centering Jarome Iginla and Michael Cammalleri.

In the Flames’ first two contests with the new additions, they beat up on the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 with Jokinen scoring twice and Leopold also adding a marker. Then they lost 6-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes, a stark contrast from the previous night. Of course, they had played the night before and Curtis McElhinney got the start in net in Raleigh. The rookie has yet to win a game and the Flames just can’t put together a decent effort in front of him. You could say the jury is still out on the moves for now.

Looking at the Flames now, they seem stacked for a deep playoff run and Sutter has clearly sent the message that he believes the team has the chance to win it all and is doing everything he can to give them that opportunity. He realizes what some other GMs don’t seem to, namely in places like Washington, that the window for success in the salary cap era is very small and you have to everything possible to jump through it.

With the acquisition of Olli Jokinen, the likelihood of Michael Cammalleri re-signing with the team at the end of the season has become very slim. Clearly, this is the year the Flames have to make a push for the Stanley Cup. They easily boast one of the best offensive and defensive cores in the game when they are healthy, as they are finally expected to be when the first round rolls around and have one of the best goalies available in Miikka Kiprusoff. The only real weakness is in the back up goaltender position. Sutter didn’t address this problem because frankly, if Kiprusoff goes down, the Flames have almost no chance at success anyway.

There is no question that the Flames are built for success, and the rest of the league has taken notice. San Jose and Detroit have reason to be worried in the post season for the first real time this season. The teams below the Flames are shaking in their boots. The Devils and Bruins can’t be feeling good after the emergence of another super power from the seemingly superior Western Conference. Whether or not the Flames are playing in June remains to be seen, but for the first time since 1989, you can finally say the Calgary Flames are a prominent Stanley Cup threat. Flames fans have every reason to begin planning the start of the 2009 Red Mile festivities. It all comes down to Darryl Sutter and the team he has assembled. Can Calgary become Canada’s Team again?

mitch.hart@gmail.com