Wreckening

Not necessarily. To me it says the team wants to remain competitive through the RB. That goes a long way in motivating players. And bringing in a guy like Montoya you know what you're getting. A guy that can start 25-30 games and win 10-12, steal the odd game to keep morale up and is decent in the shootout. I don't believe we have that in Mac. I like the names Kehatch listed in his post and agree when he says we need a plan B should Ramo falter. Now don't get me wrong I hope that Ramo picks up his play right where he left off and has a career year. I'd just hate to let opportunity pass us by where we could have insurance. Its the smart thing to do in my opinion.

I don't know what kind of mentor abilities JMac has but wasn't it rumored that he came into camp this year out of shape? I'm trying to find the thread or a news article to back me up but have been unsuccessful thus far. And yes it was injuries that gave Ortio the starts but he was less of a risk to call up due to waivers wan't he? Not to argue with you Deeds because I respect a lot of your posts but I think we need to bring in a younger guy and someone who is hungry to play. That's the identity this team has now and that's the type of players I hope Treliving is looking for. Ramo, although being named the starter, still has to be pushed in my opinion. I don't see how JMac can bring that to the table. Not only this but if we do sign JMac as the back up and Ramo should get hurt, that makes JMac our starter and Ortio still sits as his back up. Burke is on record saying that Ortio will not be the back up on the Flames, he wants him to play and he'll only get that in the A. I see the suggestion of aquiring a veteran goalie as straying from our rebuild plans. I don't see why we "need that" for backup goaltender position. I can see the mentor part but the reality is there are not that many backups who are better than Jmac(wins) who would offer that mentorship better than JMac does now anyway. You could bring in a more qualified starter type goalie too but what message does that send to all our present prospects and Ramo? There is nothing wrong with keeping the present backup spot available or open should we encounter injuries. JMac has shown he is willing to play or sit as required for the team and even pass through waivers if need be. Wasn't it injuries to Ramo what gave Ortio the opportunity to start a few games and gain that valuable experience? If we had had that veteran backup who is almost starter quality then Ortio would have sat on the bench instead of playing....

I wasn't implying the Flames would be a bubble playoff team I meant any team in general. I was merely stating that back up goaltenders play a larger roll than most would say, especially if your bubble team.

One could argue though if your a bubble team, those back up win/loss records can make a huge difference.

We have the cap room for sure. Would any of the UFA's available want to come to Calgary as the backup on a rebuilding team? Out of the possible list Name_____________ Pos___ Age___ Team___ GP___ MIN___ W___ L___ O___ SO___ GAA___ SV% Elliott, Brian_________G____ 29_____STL____ 31__ 1,624__ 18__ 6___ 2___ 4____ 1.96__ .922 Johnson, Chad______G____ 27_____BOS____ 27__ 1,511__ 17__ 4___ 3___ 2____ 2.10__ .925 Halak, Jaroslav______G____ 28_____WAS____ 40__ 2,238__ 24__ 9___ 4___ 4____ 2.23__ .917 Greiss, Thomas_____G____ 28_____PHX____ 25__ 1,312__ 10__ 8___ 5___ 2____ 2.29__ .920 Montoya, Al_________G____ 29_____WPG____ 28__ 1,541__ 13__ 8___ 3___ 2____ 2.30__ .920 Hiller, Jonas_________G____ 32_____ANA____ 50__ 2,909__ 29__ 13__ 7___ 5____ 2.48__ .911 Peters, Justin_______G____ 27_____CAR____ 21__ 1,225___7___ 9___ 4___ 1____ 2.50__ .919 Brodeur, Martin______G____ 41_____NJD____ 39__ 2,297__ 19__ 14__ 6___ 3____ 2.51__ .901 MacIntyre, Drew______G____ 30_____TOR____ 2___ 95_____ 0___ 1___ 0___ 0____ 2.53__ .922 Hutton, Carter_______G____ 28_____NAS____ 40__ 2,085__ 20__ 11__ 4___ 1____ 2.62__ .910 Giguere, J._________G____ 36_____COL____ 22__ 1,212__ 11__ 6___ 1___ 2____ 2.62__ .913 Gustavsson, Jonas____G____ 29_____DET____ 27__ 1,551__ 16__ 5___ 4___ 0____ 2.63__ .908 McElhinney, C._______G____ 30_____CLB____ 28__ 1,423__ 10__ 11__ 1___ 2____ 2.70__ .909 Miller, Ryan__________G____ 33_____STL____ 40__ 2,384__ 15__ 22__ 3___ 0____ 2.72__ .924 Nabokov, Evgeni______G____ 38_____NYI____ 40__ 2,254__ 15__ 14__ 8___ 4____ 2.74__ .905 Thomas, Tim_________G____ 40_____DAL____ 40__ 2,299__ 16__ 20__ 3___ 0____ 2.87__ .909 MacDonald, Joey______G____ 34_____CGY____ 11__ 599____ 5___ 4___ 1___ 0____ 2.90__ .890 Emery, Ray__________G____ 31_____PHI____ 28__ 1,398__ 9___ 12__ 2___ 2____ 2.96__ .903 Curry, John__________G____ 30_____MIN____ 2___ 80_____ 1___ 0___ 0___ 0____ 3.00__ .930 Bryzgalov, Ilya_______G____ 33_____MIN____ 20__ 1,135__ 5___ 8___ 5___ 1____ 3.01__ .908 McKenna, Mike_______G____ 31_____CLB____ 4___ 219____ 1___ 1___ 1___ 0____ 3.01__ .904 Clemmensen, Scott___G____ 36_____FLA____ 17__ 914____ 6___ 7___ 1___ 0____ 3.09__ .897 Labarbera, Jason_____G____ 34_____CHI____ 7___ 348____ 1___ 3___ 0___ 0____ 3.28__ .870 Dubnyk, Devan______G____ 27_____MTL____ 32__ 1,678__ 11__ 17__ 2___ 2____ 3.36__ .894 Nilstorp, C.__________G____ 30_____DAL____ 1___ 39_____ 0___ 0___ 0___ 0____ 4.62__ .824 Khabibulin, N.________G____ 41_____CHI____ 4___ 168____ 1___ 0___ 1___ 0____ 5.00__ .811 Desjardins, C._______G____ 28_____TBL____ 1___ 18_____ 0___ 1___ 0___ 0____ 6.67__ .846 Lawson, Nathan______G____ 30_____OTT____ 1___ 12_____ 0___ 0___ 0___ 0____ 10.00_ .800 I would like to see Montoya given an offer. He's a goalie that can come in and steal games like JMac but with a little more upside and he's quite a bit younger. Elliot is another guy who can steal games but can also play long stretches should the need arise. You're obviously scratching Hiller off that list. He'll be in a different jersey next year is my belief but it won't be the Flaming C. Other than that I wouldn't be interested in anyone on that list. Well, maybe Emery but I don't know if his ego would fly with Hartley that's why I'd pass. I'm interested to see who starts as the Flames backup next year. Will they re-sign Jmac? Or go for a coveted UFA? Edit*: Thought that chart would come out the way it pasted. My apologies I was copying it from Capgeek. If anyone can tell me how I can fix this I would appreciate it. [Mod Edit: this is the best I could do for you...sorry :-( ]

I don't see Ramo coming back to training camp out of shape. From my understanding in the Burke presser he and the players had nothing but glowing remarks about Ramo's work ethic in practice and during games. He wants to play in the NHL and he's not about to blow all that out of the water by any means. If anything being named the #1 should motivate him further. Ortio is still at best 2 years away from being able to challenge for a spot with the Flames. He needs to play, as Burke said, and doing that means playing in the A. He's just a kid, 22 years old. Very few goalies of his age become starters in this league. Very few. So to me, for Brian Burke to come out and make this statement it does not strike me as odd at all. Burke is not one for false praise or just making blanket statements about players. Obviously a precedent has been set and Ramo has achieved or over-achieved and has been rewarded accordingly. Sure he struggled early but lets face it, he wasn't getting many starts. They wanted to see what they had in Berra. The second half of the season saw him come into form and on many occasions was the reason the Flames won. I have no issue with with Burke saying what he said, if anything it's one less distraction for the team. There is no question mark after the goalie situation with the exception of who's going to back up and I think that's going to be up to MacDonald and whether he wants to re-sign.

I've gone on record to keeping Ortio up with the Flames once Ramo is back but I find myself second guessing that. I think I'd rather see him go back to Abby and lead that team into the playoffs. I think that's better for his development. He's had his baptism into the NHL now its time to go back and show that he actually learned something and start tearing it up in the A. He'll get more playing time on the Heat than he will here when Ramo gets back. Goalies need to play, its in their blood. Edit: LOL just heard on the radio that he was sent down.

With Ortio I think the Flames should be very cautious with him. We've all seen over the last few years how our goalie situation has really hurt us. We're all expecting the next Kipper and that's just not realistic. I say give Ortio the bulk of the work until Ramo gets back but then send him back down to Abby upon Ramo's return, even if he's playing well. Let him compete for a spot next season and see how it goes. I just don't want to see Ortio go through what our last few goaltending prospects have gone through. For once I'd like to see the Flames develop a player properly and allow him every chance to be successful.

Pat Steinberg ‏@Fan960Steinberg Bob Hartley says "we'll see" when asked if Reto Berra will be back in net tomorrow vs. Colorado. #Flames

I found it hard to read this, not because it was poorly written, but because you are bang on with the similarities and I just don't want to get my hopes up . That said, anything is possible. I'm just impressed with the work ethic this team has bought into. They are never really out of it and are managing to win games against strong teams. What more can you ask for of a rebuilding team?

Was finally able to see highlights of last night's game and I must say I'm impressed with Berra. Very compact and fluid in the net. For a stand up style which he plays he has very good leg speed when he goes down in the butterfly. He's down and up really quick. His glove hand is always facing the shooters which helps take away the top half of the net. He really gives shooters little to look at. Let's hope he can keep the ball rolling in Minny.

No he hasn't and you're right about him not giving us any better of a chance but I would have liked to seen if he could of bounced back from that loss. Regardless I will be cheering for Berra to have a good game.

Talk about a baptism by fire for Berra. You get your first NHL start against the defending champs. Not sure this was the best game for him to start but it is what it is. I guess we'll get to see how well he performs under pressure. Personally I thought we would have seen him start the Minnesota game.

This is playing out the way I thought it would, though its a lot sooner than I expected. Good move by the Flames. Let's see what we have right now with Ramo and Berra. MacDonald does not figure into the Flames long range plan so let him ride out the rest of his contract in the A or with another team, either way this is the right move for Flames brass to take.

Abbotsford Heat ‏@abbotsfordheat #AHLHeat G Laurent Brossoit has been assigned to the @AlaskaAces and G Joni Ortio has been recalled. Read More ~ http://ow.ly/qg9ij

I hear you on the development record, but I'd like to think we have the proper people in charge now to make sure that improves. As for going out and getting a goalie this year I think you can write that off. I believe they've made a commitment to give it at least this season and see where everyone is at before even attempting to go outside the organization to acquire a goalie. It will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason though as there are some big name UFA's and RFA's hitting the market. With the cap more than likely going up it will leave Calgary in a very enviable position of being able to spend on a quality tender without giving up any picks or assets. We'll just have to wait and see.

I say we stick with what we have but give Ramo the lion's share of the load. MacDonald will be good trade bait to a team going into the playoffs without a solid back up. Bring up Berra after the trade deadline and go from there. We still have the likes of Ortio, Brossoit and Gillies in the pipeline so I would prefer we not go out looking for a No. 1 just yet. We're just starting this rebuild lets see what we have talent-wise first before we start dropping dollars and picks on someone.