DirtyDeeds

Flames Win !!

Don't think Backs will go. He is the chef that stirs our pot. He can play with anyone and is one of a couple that makes anyone with him play better. Even as 3rd center.

Pretty sure his absence next year was accounted for in one of the 3 signed last off season. Probably Kadri.

I'm torn. On one side I think the departure of Johnny. I know hindsight is 50/50 but BT regularly waits to the last minute to get players signed. It is a part of his negotiating tactics that has given him some "steals" of signings. In the end Johnny signed for less than offered here. Also some of the things he said after he signed elsewhere indicated to me he really didn't want to be here. There was no tough last minute decision. I think the MT trade saved his butt and also will be remembered as one of his best. I still think this trade will show us winning it when all is said and done. BT is obviously attuned to what the team needs. Dougie, Marky, Tanev and many more were awesome pickups. Could we find better though has to be the question and motivation before we sign him again. Is his vision enough to get us to the level we need to be. We stopped our rebuild when we drafted MT and when Johnny turned out to be an elite player. That was at least 2 players short of what we needed. You have to grade that decision a total miss. I don't see BT being let go. He has his former boss here now. I think they are tight. Probably have to let both go to make that change. I don't see BT switching to protect his butt mode either. I have to think his very frugal spending is popular with the Owners.

When it comes to advanced stats then I am not fond of them. Some love them but it is important to understand how they are compiled and what they represent. Lets discuss shots and all the sub categories: Advanced Hockey Statistics "What questions does it answer?" There are a number of new statistics that have been developed in the 21st century (i.e. since about 2007) that have helped analysts and fans to better understand the game. What follows is a brief overview of these statistics. Corsi and Fenwick Corsi and Fenwick are similar to the traditional +/- stat, but instead of goals it is based on shots. They attempt to answer the question, "Who is controlling possession of the puck?". Because there aren't possession stats in hockey (yet?) we instead use shots as a proxy, which has been shown to correlate well with puck possession. This can be presented as a +/- stat (i.e. total shots for - total shots against) or as a percentage (i.e. total shots for / (total shots for + total shots against)). Corsi For (CF) = Shots + Misses + Blocks Against Corsi Against (CA) = Shots Against + Misses Against + Blocks For Corsi For % (CF%) = CF / (CF + CA) Corsi = CF - CA Fenwick is essentially the same as Corsi, but it excludes blocked shots. Expected GF/GA and +/- While Corsi and Fenwick count shot attempts, they don't account for quality of the shot. Expected +/- considers the shot location, and uses league-wide averages to determine the likelihood of that shot being a goal. It doesn't factor in whether the shot actually resulted in a goal or not. Instead, it's giving a sense of shot quality by looking at the odds of scoring a goal from that location. A team which has an Actual Goal Differential exceeding its Expected Goal Differential ('axDiff') indicates a team converting or stopping an inordinate amount of good chances compared to league average. This could indicate the team has great shooters, a prolific goalie, or is just getting lucky. A negative differential would indicate a team is getting more good chances than its opponent, but is not converting or is allowing more than league norms. This could mean bad shooting, bad goaltending, or just being unlucky. Scoring Chances and High-Danger Scoring Chances As originally defined by War On Ice, 'Scoring Chances' indicate shots attempts that are taken from areas of the ice where goals are more likely to be scored. Attempts made from the attacking team's neutral or defensive zones are excluded. Inside the zone, a shot is assigned a value of 1,2 or 3, depending on where it was from. A rebound shot (defined as any attempt made within 3 seconds of another blocked, missed or saved attempt without a stoppage in play in between) adds a point to this value. A blocked shot decreases the value by 1. 'Scoring Chances' are any shot attempts with a final value of 2 or higher. 'High-Danger Scoring Chances' are any shot attempt with a final value of 3 or higher. From Advanced Hockey Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com

This attitude starts from the very top. It is ownership who has directed the Flames with: Use all the budget you need but make the playoffs. If I was the Ownership I would want the extra playoff revenue too. Also Dutter did just this in LA... Just got in and anything can happen. I think his LA team was in 8th place and never lost a game moving up each playoff round. So of course he would think right along with Ownership in that reguard.

Im pretty sure Dutter uses Al Arbor thinking.. Find pairings and keep those two together. If someone not fitting put them with another pairing to get them going. This year only Backs has fit with anyone.. I think Backs has been our best and most consistent player all season. Has not mattered who you put with him. I have changed my mind. I think we need a captain. A bunch of A's for leadership isn't cutting it with this bunch. I the current roster can't step up with a leader then we need to go and get one.

Callups unlikely until we are mathematically eliminated. That would be roughly 4 losses. So looking like you won't have to wait long. I think the number is they need to win 15 of the remaining 19. For The Peeps: Flames are only 2 points out from bottom 10.. At this rate we are playing we will have a lotto chance pick.

On Eric Francis Fridays... He threw a bomb up on air... typical He said there was a big power struggle within Flames executive. He followed that up with I guess now is not the best time to talk about it... then proceeded to say we(media) will be talking a lot about it in the near future and talk about it some more... He is such a weasel. Then why would you bring it up in the first place????

I don't think so. MT about a year snd a bit ago had a fight in a corner. Nobody from Flames came in to help. He was never as fiesty after that. No, he would not make a good captain here and was going to leave anyway

Your story bought back memories of something that happened to me a long time ago. Back in my Oilfield days I was driving home from up north in snow and blizzard conditions. After 10 hours driving I was passing through Edmonton. Was tired and hungry so decided to stop overnight at the tall hotel on south side of city. Think it is Ramada now... So went into lounge and ordered some food. They had some live entertainment and when lady singer came out I thought "she looks familiar". Soon as she started to sing I knew exactly why.... Dionne Warwick. It gets better .. not only was this famous singer in a tiny little lounge in Edmonton on a snowy winter night but about half way through the set she says... I would like to ask a good friend to join me onstage for a few songs together... I'm thinking who would she be finding a friend in Edmonton to sing with her in a lounge..... Joe Cocker steps up on stage... I was floored and they performed so well that I think of that as one of my all time best concerts/performances. I did not usually stop when doing long drives. In over 30 years of oilfield work maybe 3 times? counting this time....

Posting Open We need 15 of 20. Starts tonight. Go Flames !!!!!!!

Minnesota Calgary Goaltenders Intensity

It's Gameday We need to play them like a Madman

We need a franchise player.... a speedy clutch goal scorer who can check... hard finisher.....

I was under the impression this was "the unconditional positivity thread"... More like the morgue after a friend passes on.......

I loved the effort last night. We dominated a large portion of that game. This is against a team who may set an all time wins in a season record. Give us some average goaltending and we make the playoffs. I enjoyed the game last night.. just not the result.... Bring on the Leafs...

Re: coach of year thing. It happens to everyone or almost... or call it a curse..... not all... but sure more than normal.

Best game of year for Flames against the NHL's best team. They[Boston] are on the way to set a record for most games won in a season... ever. We deserved 2 points with that effort.... If we play up to that intensity for remainder of season, mother luck will reward us with the goals we need to make the playoffs. Bring on the Leafs......

You can ask just about any Flames Fan about what needs to change with the Flames, to be a contender for the cup and you will get numerous answers.... So... What level of change and where will the quality of our hockey being delivered improve to a point of being a consistant contender? Is there a quick fix? Rebuild or retool? Is it the Canadian teams setup just tougher to compete? Is it the cap system holding us back? Or what needs to change from Flames perspective to be successful? Arena? Owners? President of Hockey Operations? General Manager? Coach[s] Scouting? Players or positions? Farm system? Budget/cap? All, some, many or none of the above? The present Owners mandates are "make the playoffs" Is this unreasonable for team building and development? Does this set the bar too low [high]? If the bar is set at make the playoffs then should we expect a team that continuously hovers around a wild card spot or 1st round of playoff results?

try this. Go to main Flames page... Then see what happens when you go through the dropdown menu fans/ messageboards. I suspect your login is direct here and bypasses all that error stuff. I get in now through a direct link to one of my old GDT's.

I've tried all that superstitious stuff. Does not work either for good or worse.

Line combos are up to date

Well if they somehow picked up someones lotto pick and then dipped into their "just lucky" fund....