Calgary need now kindling to restart their Flames and make them go higher
So the reality is that the Flames have two great assets in their organisation that other teams will want and the first one is of course Jarome Iginla who has 12 points in his first 23 games this season and looks like a shell of himself and does not look like a real leader as the team no sense of direction. He maybe gets re energized by joining a contending team and he has 7 million dollar a season for this season and next and if they can get a draft pick and/or a prospect for him along with a player who has close to the same salary for this season who can be turned into a free agent at the end of the season. The Calgary Flames got him from Dallas in '95 for Joe Nieuwendyk and they gotten so much out of Iginla and can still get more for him. The other asset is MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF who is a pretty good goalie and can help a contender most likely as a starter and they can get either a pick or prospect along with a player whose close to Kiprusoff's 5.8 million dollar contract and hopefully save money over the next two seasons as Kiprusoff has two more seasons of 5.8. So the reality is that they need break down the team to rebuild like their arc rivals down the road in Edmonton.
Oilers getting great goaltending and leadership
NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN has been reborn with a 9 and 5 record with an amazing save% of .936 and an even better goal against average of 1.88 and he has one more season of 3.75 million on his contract and Ryan Smyth who is on the final year of his contract and will be a free agent at season's end and right now is showing get leadership for the very young Oilers like Hall, Eberle, and RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. So will see if the Oilers can carry this momentum to getting into the playoff or at least give the fans hope that they can challenge for a playoff spot late in the season.
Cory Schneider is taken the reins
With Roberto Luongo not able to start a game in it has been Cory Schneider who has taken control of the Canucks' net and in the last 5 Canucks' games all started by Schneider they are 5 and 0 while he has a save% of .976 as he has stopped 164 of the 168 shots that he has face over those 5 games including two shutouts and a 0.80 GAA. So it looks like Schneider is the goalie to turn the Canucks' season around as just like last season the Canucks had a horrible start and then under the goaltending of Roberto Luongo the Canucks went onto being the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. This now begs the question of if U keep the pending free agent Cory Schneider as your starter and try to get something for Luongo which will be hard with his massive contract where he has 9 seasons left after this one where he is to make 5.3 for the next three seasons and has a no trade clause in his contract. The other thing is will the Canucks hold on to Schneider if at the trade deadline that Luongo is the starting back stop and risk losing him for nothing or trade him to get another valuable asset for the playoff run and see what the 25 year old can do leading another NHL team.
Always interesting in the western conference
Tom Mehegan
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