Heritage Classic 2011 in Calgary

Already, from the look of the game's promotion logo, I could tell that it was going to edge out to be a better game than the one on January 1st. Where the Americans were run-over by Bridgestone tires, the Calgary community sipped at the cup of a Canadian company with the long legacy of hockey association. Nothing says heritage like a Tim Horton's sponsored hockey event. The name is a legacy unto itself.

For the TV broadcast, the NBC Universal seemed to have listened to a lot of the criticism from the way they covered the Winter Classic, the camera angles were grooving in the more traditional patterns. Versus coverage did get a lot more of the crowd and the unused space camouflaged by the white sheets.

Those 41,022 in attendance braved the bitter cold as the players themselves huffed and puffed their frozen breath into the air as they skated back and forth. I could only imagine how much their lungs must have burned maintaining an NHL game pace. The player safety was the number one hot-button issue among the pundits on both the Canadian and American broadcasts. They even had to show the ice maintenance crew hand-clean the ice during intermissions. They feared that the sub-zero temperatures (in Celsius even) would begin to split and crack the ice. The Zamboni machine was given the night off. I hope nobody spent money on advertising on that thing.

For the teams themselves, the Calgary Flames went with the brave choice and chose to honor the historical Calgary teams in the past by designing a retro jersey that critics all agreed was not eye friendly. I heard some remarks that compared the Flames jerseys to McDonald's fast food imagery. I would like to see the sales totals on these jerseys. Would anybody want to buy and wear them? Montreal, of course, is an iconic brand unto itself. After 100 years, they stick with what works.

The game was a rout which made the Canadians and their fans wonder why they even showed up. The first goal by the Flames scored by Rene Bourque, was 8 minutes into the game on a power play. That was all that they needed, really. Bourque would score again in the second, but not before Anton Babchuk would get a short-handed tally. Alex Tanguay would also score on the usually steady Carey Price. Price's mask would serve him no inspiration or comparison to the unusually styled theme Jacques Plante painted on his new mask which debuted at the game. His counterpart, Miikka Kiprusoff, is now in among many trivia points derived from this game as he is the first goaltender to pitch a shutout in an outdoor game.

We can call this game a success on plenty of levels in hopes that the league will continue with this "cash cow" of an event that certainly celebrates the game in which it deserves to be.

Phaneuf traded in Blockbuster Deal

In a completely shocking trade announced by many in the blogisphere as well as NBC sports, the Toronto Maple Leafs have completely stunned the hockey world by announcing the acquisition of Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames.

"We're still open for business, we're not done," [Burke] added.

Once thought of as a franchise that had meekly little value to make any kind of trade, the Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke was able to send 4 disgruntled TML players to land a hard hitting defenseman Phaneuf.

"Disgruntled" and "underachieving" were two reoccurring words used by analysts on this trade. Both teams were able to swap players who were struggling to produce offense and buried on the back end lines. Jamal Mayers, one of the Leafs players being shipped off to Calgary in the deal had been linked to trade demands earlier in the past week.

I like this deal and give it my endorsement as Phaneuf matches the "truculent" style that Burke was after all along. This puts a defensive outlook for the Leafs that deepens the roster with stars. The Flames get more offense to jump start their blue collar style of play. Ian White, while popular in Toronto, will bring his reportedly consistent work ethic to the Flames to cut down on how many shots Kipprusoff faces on a game-to-game basis.

To Leafs: Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjostrom
To Flames: Ian White, Matt Stajan, Nick Hagman and Jamal Mayers.

But the Maple Leafs weren't quite done with the trading this day as Brian Burke raided his old Anaheim Ducks team to acquire disgruntled netminder J.S. Giguere. J.S. was unhappy riding the bench while his back-up Jonas Hiller was getting the starting nod more often. And the Ducks get Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake who were two disappointing and underachieving players in Leafs uniforms.

J.S. Giguere can stabilize a shaky goaltending situation in Toronto that might also have been the key to the Leafs win-loss record. Giguere fits in as a stopgap until Gustavsson can be ready for future NHL action. Burke, a cancer survivor, was a prime candidate to mentor young Kessel, but his departure was a necessary house cleaning for a 50 goals in 3 TML season disappointment.

To Leafs: J.S. Giguere
To Ducks: Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake

[Via: FOX Sports]

Theo Fleury's Comeback Stops in Flames Camp After Cuts

What was once thought of as a redemption project by hockey fans, Theo Fleury was a surprise human interest story who's personal demons once ruined what what sure to be a long successful hockey career. It is not uncommon for fans to be able to relate to what Fleury has struggled with in terms of substance addictions. Perhaps showing the fans that he has recovered significantly will help others.

But the real underlining revelation to the comeback attempt was the soon to be released autobiography and the publicity it brings along with it. But does it now undermine the attempt at a comeback as genuine? Probably in some fans' eyes.

"I believe Theoren did a great job and should be proud, especially considering all the factors including age, time away from the game and lifestyle change,” general manager Darryl Sutter said in a statement. “This is not a hockey story, it’s a life story."

I am just disappointed now that we won't ever see [Theo] Fleury score on [Marc-Andre] Fleury!

[Via: Yahoo Sports]

Flames Celebrate 30 Years in Retro Style

One of the iconic jerseys that identify with a sports culture is the original flaming C that Calgary inherited from the Flames of Atlanta. It was the same jersey that gets associated in the old video clips during the Stanley Cup playoff appearances in the mid 1980s.

With the success of other throwback jerseys, the Calgary Flames release a jersey styled after their humble origins. I never really liked the modernization to the Flames uniforms and the tie-ins to the rodeo and agricultural community. The black was trendy for all sports uniforms these days, but standing out, in my opinion, is being a little different - a unique color scheme that teams, fans, and sports communities can claim as their own.

When I see the photos from the press conference, I got a little nostalgic for the days of Mike Vernon stopping the pucks, for Lanny McDonald slovenly slurping champagne out of the Stanley Cup like a yak, and Theo Fleury sliding all the way accross the ice with an over-the-top goal celebration.

Of course, the Flames should only spend a little time devoted on what they look like compared to the real massive time that the organization should spend putting great players in them this season.

[Sportsnet.ca]

Calgary Teams Merge

It's not too common for other minor sports teams to be owned by some of the major owners. But rarely will news like this make history in Canada. As I'm dialing up the FAN 590 website and their headlining news is about the merger of an NHL hockey franchise and the CFL football franchise.
Rogers Sportsnet has reported that final preparations are underway to combine the two franchises with the Flames buying a minority stake in the Stampeders. They hope that all summer long, the Flames will benefit through a cross promotional package of the two teams. Apparently, the buzz word in the talking points memo is "synergy".

"As a minority partner we are prepared to assist in any way they deem appropriate and will be seeking synergies that are mutually beneficial to both organizations."

I think this is a good deal for the Flames who has been looking for more ways to entrench themselves into the Calgary culture. It began a few years ago with the Flame's black 3rd jersey featuring the horse's head logo. The "dirty little secret" is that the Flames are not born Canadian,... but the fans in Alberta have embraced the team regardless and made them their own since making the Stanley Cup finals last season.
Here's the company lines with their websites regarding the matter.

• Stampeders


• Flames