SB Nation - Aaron Johnson

Game 25 Preview: Jackets Return Home to Take on the Flames

Mike MacLean — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:49:07 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Finally, back home. The Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to face the Flames tonight, after concluding a disastrous five-game road trip. The Jackets won the first game, but then promptly lost four in a row. The team played horrible defensively, and the goaltenders were anything but sharp. Mason however did look good in the last game against Ottawa, making big saves when needed, however he lost focus on the game winning goal for Ottawa, a wraparound by Nick Foligno late in the third. Mase was again haunted by a play that developed from behind the net.

The Flames are a fairly high scoring team, and they play physical. They play a lot like Columbus does when the Jackets are "on", so this on paper is a pretty fair matchup. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Jackets can get their act together in the defensive zone. Something is broken, the effort level isn't there and the goalies haven't been good. These factors need to be remedied immediatly, as the Jackets are losing ground fast. The Preds and Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL right now, and the Jackets need to keep pace.

There have been some shakeups to the forward lines. Raffi Torres should be lining up with Vermette and Nash on the first line, and Umby is moving to the second line right-wing position with Jake moving to the third line. Look for recently called-up Alex Picard to see some action on the fourth line. I love his game- tons of jam and he still actually has offensive talent, although he has yet to show it at the NHL level. I fully expect him to take advantage of this chance and have a strong game.

Fearless Prediction: Picard scores his first NHL goal!

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline

Game Page: Flames vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Flames vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Blue Jackets aim to snap a season-high, four-game losing streak. Since Oct. 7, 2005, the Blue Jackets are 7-1-0 against the Flames in Nationwide Arena, including a 2-1 win Oct. 13.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Raffi Torres	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	Derick Brassard	R.J. Umberger
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Jakub Voracek
Alexandre Picard	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Rostislav Klesla	Jan Hejda
Marc Methot	Mike Commodore

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Kris Russell, Michael Blunden

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Andrew Murray, Derek Dorsett

Calgary Flames

Jamie Lundmark	Olli Jokinen	Jarome Iginla
Nigel Dawes	Daymond Langkow	David Moss
Curtis Glencross	Craig Conroy	Dustin Boyd
Fredrik Sjostrom	Eric Nystrom	Brandon Prust

Jay Bouwmeester	Mark Giordano
Dion Phaneuf	Robyn Regehr
Adam Pardy	Aaron Johnson

Curtis McElhinney

Miikka Kiprusoff

Flames Through Ten - M&G Roundtable

Kent Wilson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:55:51 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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For many reasons, the first 10 games of the season is at once the most important ten game stretch of the season and also the least significant. Most important, because it's the first (and, at the moment, only) information we have about the new team and we humans just love to elevate first impressions. Least relevant, because all sorts of screwy things can happen in a 10 games sample in the NHL season - moreso at the start of the year, when clubs are still ironing out kinks, trying out line combos, auditioning rookies, etc. As such, let's keep in mind that we probably haven't really seen the real team just yet.

With that in mind, the Flames have been...conflicted through the initial decade of contests. Some stats are outstanding (GF, PP) while other are downright lousy (SA, GA, PK). Time and regression will smooth out the peaks and valleys to some degree, but perhaps in the background there is a faint outline of what we can expect from the Flames going forward. Robert, Richard and I asked three questions each to see if we could better identify that outline.

Kent's questions:

1.) Ridiculous SH% aside, it looks like the depth players are going to be full value again this year. Excepting from Rene Bourque - who may be the star of the first 10 - which sub $2M player were you most impressed with?

R O: Dustin Boyd. He's been given middling responsibilities this year (weaker opposition, middle-of-the-pack in terms shift starting locations) and delivered with several games of consistent scoring chance generation.

Robert: Mark Giordano. He didn't look out of place as Bouwmeester's partner against top opposition, and if the Flames ever decide to move Sarich to free up cap space for a forward, I think the braintrust should take his good play into account.

2.) What's to be done with this Olli Jokinen?

R O: Jokinen's getting a bit jobbed by the bounces (shooting at a 5.7% clip) but he's not doing anything to help himself either (averaging 1.7 shots per game). He's an anchor but these ten games are probably rock bottom for him. Best case scenario is Sutter trading him for a servicable forward and a pick. Realistically I think (hope?) he won't be re-signed.

Robert: I can't really add much to Richard's assessment. He's here until the end of the year, and I hope he gets back to some sort of normal (3-ish shots a game, 10-12 SH%). He's still a lost cause in his own end, and I hope he doesn't play with Iginla, because those two are lethal together, and not in the good way.

3.) Thoughts on Aaron Johnson?

R O: He's only played two games for us so it's hard to say, but his PK work against the Oil did not impress me. On the first goal he was covering Penner in the slot. He then decided to abandon him to watch Gagner pass to Hemsky, and completely missed the backdoor. Granted it's not his responsibility to cover the backdoor but he didn't anticipate it at all, and if the pass had gone to Penner instead he wouldn't have been there either. And that cross-check to Jacques bugged me.

He's a bottom-pairing D and at the end of the day his mistakes probably won't cost us too many points. From an organizational viewpoint I'd prefer to play the D that we developed in-house (Pardy).

Robert: Anton Stralman is a better hockey player. So is Adam Pardy. Staffan Kronwall isn't any worse. He's more likely to play than Kyle Greentree was, so the trade is OK from that regard, but that doesn't make him all that useful. If he's nothing but injury insurance for the rest of the year, I'd be fine with it.

R O's questions:

1.) Among the defencemen, one player stands out as having had the toughest workload - toughest comp, worst zone starting shifts, and his shots for/against haven't been great. Among the forwards, one player has similarly been assigned the most work, and his shots for/against have also suffered.

The defenceman is Jay Bouwmeester, the forward Jarome Iginla. I sure have seen the former good and the latter bad. Your thoughts?

Robert: I'm of the opinion that Iginla suffers a bit when we assess him due to the halo effect of his earlier career. By that, I mean that we all remember him as the guy who smoked all comers up until 06/07, and killed decent comp in 07/08. At some point, we might have to accept that he can't do it alone any more. He's clearly struggled, but he's not in the prime of his career any more, and having a slipshod center like Jokinen did him no favours. He might be a guy that needs to play second lines to get going again. That's not likely to be the answer that people want to hear, but it happens to players as they age, and I'm not sure even having Langkow as his center would be a cure-all.

Bouwmeester's been OK. I try to keep in mind that he spent much of the early part of the year behind Jokinen/Iginla, and those two couldn't drive possession. If a team's top forwards aren't driving things, whoever plays behind them will have their SH for/against be the recipient of collateral damage.

Kent: I think Bouwmeester has been as good as advertised. His underlying numbers reflect playing against the big boys a lot, behind a forward group that couldn't handle the heavy lifting. As the Flames settle in and the match-ups get worked out, I think his stats will improve.

As for Jarome, his ability to win battles and make decisions with the puck in the offensive zone has been lacking. The play dies on his stick a lot right now because he skates into coverage or tries to force low percentage passes. His circumstances have stunk, but he's been part of the problem too.

2.) What are your thoughts on why the Flames struggled at EV out of the gate?

Robert: We're hard on Jokinen and Iginla, for good reason, but the second group hasn't gotten much going either, with the notable exception of Bourque. Langkow in particular hasn't looked quite right, and if your top six are struggling or in the case of Moss, hurt, you're likely hooped at EV. That's been the case. Throw in the fact that the team's number one shut down defender, Regher, looked like he was stuck in the mud for the first 7-8 games, and that about covers it. I don't think it's adjusting to the system or anything of that sort. The jury is still out, at least for me, on the line switches. If the Flames can get away with Jokinen playing third-level comp, I'd expect those EV numbers to come around pretty quickly.

Kent: As Bob suggests, I think it was mainly Sutter learning hard lessons about what sort of players he has. In Jersey, he rode Parise-Zajac-Langebrunner in a power versus power role at ES and clearly he thought he had similar weaponry in Iggy/Jokinen this season. Unfortunately, that's not the case, so the club suffered through his learning curve. In addition, with the break up of the Moss-Conroy-Glencross threesome, Calgary no longer boasts a third line that can drive possession in such an efficient manner. Conroy et al. were amongst the league leaders at moving the puck forward last year, which enabled the higher lines (particularly Jarome) to enjoy a whole lot of offensive zone draws.

3.) Do you notice any differences between the new coaching staff and the old coaching staff? Specifically in terms of ice time distribution as well as "systems" play (breakouts, forecheck, D zone coverage).

Robert: This system stuff makes me laugh a bit. It isn't magic out there. What might change between two coaching staffs could be the level of attention to detail, and what the consequences are for poor play. Sutter's been pretty good at rewarding good play from guys like Boyd, and hasn't played Joker/Iggy into the ground when they've been poor. That's what most of us would have liked from Keenan last year. He rewarded freelancing from his top players, as we all know, and I think the team suffered a bit for it. It's hard to expect discipline from people when you won't hold them accountable, and ice time is the one hammer a coach has in the modern game.

Kent: Aside from more blocked shots, I don't see any notable difference between the two coaches system wise. What is different, however, is Sutter's willingness to cede his assumptions to reality and make changes when the results demand them. That's in direct contrast to Keenan's "ride your favorites no matter what" strategy .

Robert's questions:

1) The Flames have a much tougher schedule in November, and Curtis McElhinney is likely to feature more prominently than he has to this point. If he falters, do the Flames simply play Kipper into the ground, call up Irving, or go outside the organization for help?

Kent: I think the Flames will bank on Kipper until he himself falters or gets injured. There isn't much out there right now, so I don't see a better option popping up anyways.

R O: I think they go outside the org. Maybe this is false hope but I know Sutter has the stones to fix a goaltending hole (e.g. getting Kipper in the first place as an alternative to Turek, getting CuJo in 07/08).

2) Dion Phaneuf has some pretty nice boxcar numbers. Is he actually playing better than in the past?

Kent: Phaneuf's offensive game looks the same as ever to me. His numbers are good because just about everything he sends at the net is going in right now. His defensive game has looked "quieter" than usual thus far, and I mean that as a good thing. I don't know if playing with Robyn Regehr (now that he's more like himself) against second tier competition has helped him or if it's a real turn around, but I guess we'll see.

R O: Agree with Kent on the offense. On the defense, I find it hard to come to conclusions because he's not accumulating a lot of minuses, and of course that's when we'll best remember his mistakes. I do know he's let his man go a few times (probably the worst instance being against Chicago) but every D does that.

3) Miikka Kiprusoff currently sports a .903 SV%, which is exactly how he finished last year. Is he playing to the same level?

Kent: I think Kiprusoff looks stronger at ES, which is supported by his .920 ES SV%. That said, I don't trust 10 game samples for judging goalies, because just about every tender in the NHL went through a couple of weeks of looking like an all-star (Kipper had his turn in February). I'm encouraged by his efforts thus far, but he'll have to continue indefinitely to convince me he's halted the decline.

R O: It depends on what theory you subscribe to. Last year he was worse at EV but better on the PK. One would intuit that PK goaltending is harder (and it is) but special teams analysis is like looking into a crystal ball. His EV number is a definite arrow in the right direction. His game still looks chaotic (e.g. he recovers from a save attempt at the speed of glass) but I trust the numbers - ten save percentage points is basically a goal every five games which I'm not sure any fan can pick up. That said, we are drawing a lot of conclusions from ten game-lines of data.

Reach-Arounds and Shafts in the Face: G10, BoA @ Calgary Post-Game

R O — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:06:46 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Take off your damn helmet, Gio.

The question on everyone's lips going into last night's edition of the Battle was: "revenge"? Thanks to Pat Quinn's asinine remarks about how (back in the day) he used to use the onion on his belt to beat people, there was some question of whether Jarome Iginla was going to get hosed by grease, so to speak. And so he did.

Oh, and the Flames dominated the Oil. That's not news though.

Breakdowns

First
EV Shots On Goal : 8-6
EV Shots Toward Net : 11-10
EV Faceoffs Starts : 7-3

Second
EV Shots On Goal : 9-7
EV Shots Toward Net : 12-11
EV Faceoff Starts : 1-5

Third
EV Shots On Goal : 7-4
EV Shots Toward Net : 10-11
EV Faceoff Starts : 5-2

Overall
EV Shots On Goal : 24-17
EV Shots Toward Net : 33-32
EV Faceoff Starts : 13-10

Note: I'm doing the breakdowns a bit differently this time around. Shots on goal and toward net are listed as CGY-OPP (i.e. 10-5 means the Flames outshot the opponent, 5-10 means the Flames got outshot). The faceoff notation is thus: Flames_OZone_Starts - Flames_DZone_Starts. And of course Kent does the Flames scoring chances which just adds another layer of data.

This game was fucking awesome. An improvement at EV over the Columbus game, which was already a terrific effort. The first period was played to a standstill, the second was dominant and the Flames shutdown strategy in the third actually worked for once. The Oilers didn't get an EV shot for the last 10 minutes of the third, which the coaching staff must have been happy about.

Of course by that point the outcome was a forgone conclusion, the Oilers were mailing it in, and they're not exactly a good team anyway (the roster were flu-stricken - plus, they're the Oil). But this is a game that the Flames should have dominated, and they did. So give the Flames a slow clap because the boys deserve it.

It wasn't all tequila and strippers though. Here are some things the Flames need to work on:
- The PK is still bleeding goals and chances at a rate that this fan is not proud of. The first Oilers PP goal caught three guys (Kipper, Johnson and another PKer) watching the puck and not even remotely close to anticipating the wide-open backdoor play. Johnson's PK work in particular doens't impress me very much.
- Jokinen's a bum.
- The top line struggled a bit. I didn't notice but other commenters saw Glencross struggling. Myself, I saw Iginla lose a couple puck battles in the D-zone. His O-zone work wasn't great, he got two 10-cent chances but there was no sequence that I could remember in which he converted any sort of half-wall battle into a chance below the face-off dots. Disappointing night even though his numbers were ok.

Aside from their generally excellent EV play, here are some observations about the Flames strengths:
- The Flames first PP was uber dangerous and a big factor was the fact that Phaneuf was able to advance from his point position. The Oilers weren't pressuring the points and it cost them. The second PP saw an Oilers adjustment on the PK, but I think that can be broken with better pressure from the forwards.
- Boyd and Bourque were incredible. They had turns where they looked like Iginla-of-old out there. Boyd especially - when did he steal that off-the-boards move from Iggy, and when is he going to give it back?
- Bouwmeester's defensive stick work is a thing of beauty.
- How about that Kipper eh? Talk to me when game 70 rolls by but he's having himself quite the little run at EV (1 EVGA in his last three starts and a 0.981 EVSV%) - as if that'll last but let's enjoy it while it lasts.

And some general game notes:
- How about that McGrattan-Macintyre fight, eh? I don't like our current goon iteration - I don't mind a player with goon in him but he better be able to play hockey, like Georges Laraque or something - but that was a very entertaining tilt. McG's still useless (two shifts, 1:01 ice time - picking up a +1 was injustice) but he's good at fighting.
- I might be the minority in saying the officiating was pretty even (except for one glaring exception which is elucidated below). The Oil fans are complaining but the PP ledger ended up 8-3 in favor of the Oil - what the fuck more do they want? And some Flames fans are complaining but 4 of the 8 PPs came in the end of the second, and 3 of them were deserved (and the 4th - the second Sarich minor - was just plain bad luck that Stortini split open again). There were missed calls on both sides but these were mostly balanced out (again with a glaring exception) and the flow of the game was not interrupted.
- Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes might not be the most insightful CBC play-by-play duo, but "reach-around" and "shaft in his face" were priceless quotes.

Now I have three hockey ethics issues I want to rant about. In ascending order of importance:
1.) Aaron Johnson's crosscheck to JF Jacques' head bugged me a lot. It was dirty and unncessary and unbelievably dangerous. Shame on him.
2.) Mark Giordano needs to remove his helmet in the fight against Smid. He just has to. It's a point of honor, you do it as a sign of respect for your opponent, and Smid had just obliged him. I hope El Capitan took him aside for that.
3.) The Zack Stortini run on Iginla was a fucking farce. A helpful Oiler fan has provided a clip of the run on Youtube, which they are trying to pass off as evidence that the hit was a clean legal check.

BULLSHIT.

- The hit was late. I don't care if the Oil fans are calling it "less than a steamboat late", the fact of the matter is that there is no way for Stortini to use the hit to gain possession since Iginla had relinquished the puck, and so it is penalizable. And it should have been, because...
- The hit was dirty. Don't fucking tell me that hit was just "finishing the check". I wasn't born fucking yesterday. Stortini comes in with speed, he is aiming to injure and it is just plain good luck that Iginla turns and receives the check in the chest. If Iginla had not turned Stortini would still have hit him straight into the boards.

What the hell, Stortini? A better player than you will ever be learned the hard way in 03-04 the consequences of eye-for-an-eye. There is a difference between the split-second bad decisions that often happen in a league as fast as the NHL, and the bush-league ... thing that you tried.

Flames Game Day: Training camp redux?

Robert Cleave — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:25:06 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

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Calgary Flames vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Pengrowth Saddledome

7:30 PM MT

Opposition: The Cannon

TV: Sportsnet West (HD)

With the Flames in the midst of an extended period in Calgary, punctuated by rare outbursts of hockey, it's a fairly quiet time around the team. The Flames have been off since Friday, when the juggled lines produced a win, once again led by the bottom of the roster, and one that looked fairly dominant until the last 5 minutes or so. The Canucks almost looked disinterested for much of the night, which struck me as odd, but welcome. Tonight's opposition, driven by a demanding coach, doesn't normally put forth that sort of effort.

The Flames have made plenty of noise about adjusting to "the system", so in theory, this unusual home stand should be a welcome opportunity to hone things. In theory. Mike Rogers shot that idea in the head Friday afternoon, and the premise that Calgary's best players weren't showing up away from the puck because of systemic nuance is pretty much as he's called it, an excuse. Friday did show some signs of improvement, however, so I'll grant the possibility that his (and my) cynicism might be a bit premature.

The lines from Friday appear to be a go again, with Moss still sidelined, so Glencross-Conroy-Iginla get another outing. None of the lines were awful, and these three weren't either, but Iginla still looked off, with only two EV scoring chances when he was on-ice. That's two fewer than Brian McGrattan, in about 2.5 times the ice time. He's also still on the wrong side of possession more often than not, so whether having a center with a passing familiarity of his own end will give him a boost continues to be open to question.

Dawes-Langkow-Bourque ended up on the good side at EV +/- and scoring chances, if not Corsi. The trio has also done some nice work on the PP, and if it lasts it's a positive sign in the long term for the team. It means that there are options beside Jokinen-Iginla, and the opposition can't sleep on the second unit. They had two terrible EV games last week, so the numbers will look bad for a while, but efforts like Friday will fix that. If Daymond Langkow and Rene Bourque stay in the red at EV, I might have to change my worldview, but I doubt they will, or I'll have to.

Olli Jokinen was on the ice for zero chances for at EV. Zero. I'd certainly never submit that the 'Stroms are the kind of players guaranteed to lift a slumping scorer out of the ditch, but zero? In fairness, they didn't get scored on, so I'm sure this is simply part of a plan to turn Olli into a low event bottom sixer. Er...

The "fourth" line kicked the crap out of Vancouver. Dustin Boyd was terrific, driving things the right way all night and getting a well-deserved goal for his efforts. McGrattan and Prust did their thing, and played decent hockey as well, which is always going to be a bonus, particularly from McG. They'll get another chance to work together tonight with the status quo forward groups. If Dustin Boyd wants a chance to be more than a peripheral player in the organization, more nights like Friday will likely grant him opportunities.

The defence might get an adjustment tonight, but Regher-Phaneuf will carry on. Fluffy news articles aside, the duo is still in the red while playing second-level comp, although Regher looked much better against the Canucks. They have a ways to go before they're the reliable first pair that the team seems to want them to be.

Bouwmeester and Sarich got the tough stuff Friday, and have the Corsi/scoring chance numbers to show for it. As I said Friday, I don't hate the idea of them working together, so I'll call the pair a work in progress. They might see some of Nash and Huselius tonight, which would be a worthy challenge.

Aaron Johnson should get an outing with Mark Giordano on the third pair. As Kent noted last night, Pardy has been acceptable in his role so far, so this really isn't about him. Johnson is a strange case. He rode some favourable match-ups and a lethal Blackhawks' start last year to a ridiculous +19 in about half a season, got hurt, and then fell off the face off the earth. That +/- is still good, regardless of circumstance, so tonight marks our first chance to see how he does on a team that isn't quite as good at that EV out-shooting business.

Kiprusoff goes tonight, and I don't expect a McElhinney sighting until early November. Kiprusoff was pretty good against the Blue Jackets last time out, giving up two goals and likely being the only member of the team that looked worth a damn.

Columbus has gotten off to a good start, sporting a 5-1-0 record so far. Steve Mason has been excellent, with a .925 SV% so far, and Columbus is giving up almost as many shots per game as the Flames, so he hasn't been sipping daiquiris back there. When getting out-shot, your goalie can help you ride out a rough patch, and Mason's done just that. No sophomore jinx yet, by the looks of things.

The defence added short-term Flame Anton Stralman to the line-up last week, just in time to score a 5 v 3 goal against the Flames to jump-start their offence. In today's Columbus Dispatch, Stralman notes that he's still scrapping with U.S. authorities to get his family entry to the country. He also said he was sure he'd made the Flames' six regular defencemen coming out of camp before the trade occurred. Makes two of us, Anton. Jan Hejda is out for 4-6 weeks, which is a shame for him, and good for Calgary. That guy can play other team's good forwards to a standstill and then some. Through his first 5 games he played 17 minutes a night at EV, faced the second toughest comp amongst the D, and was 6 GF, 0 GA. that's 0, as in zero, as in Olli Jokinen's chances at EV Friday night zero.

The forwards other than the Nash-Brassard-Huselius group are very low event, just as Hitchcock would like. No other forward has been on-ice for more than 3 goals for or against through the first six outings. I've heard of the "Nothing Line" but the nothing three lines?

Tonight, as with last Tuesday, will likely be a test of who Sutter and Hitchcock want out there at certain times. Pahlsson went head to head with Iginla's line in Columbus, so I'll be interested to see if that match-up holds in Calgary against a juggled Flames' roster. If Jokinen stays with the 'Stroms, I'd guess Hitchcock may try to get Nash out there to face them. Not facing Hejda and Commodore on the Jacket D should give the Flames some opportunites, and Klesla and Tyutin have struggled so far on the back end, so they might be two to target. Let's see if the Flames can out-shoot someone for once.

Game time is 7:30 MT, with coverage on Sportsnet West.

Flames trade Kyle Greentree for Aaron Johnson

Kent Wilson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:32:39 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

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It's been announced that the Calgary Flames have moved minor league scorer Kyle Greentree to the Chicago Blackhawks for 26 year old defenseman Aaron Johnson. Greentree led the QC Flames in scoring with 39 goals last year (good for 2nd in the AHL) while Johnson appeared in 38 games for the Blackhawks, scoring 3 goals and 5 points.

I gotta say, I'm confused as hell by this trade. The Flames had a similar player (in terms of impact, cost) in Anton Stralman a couple of weeks ago. In fact, one could argue he has a higher ceiling than Johnson given his age and the fact that Aaron has done little more than bounce between the minor and big leagues for the last 5 years or so.

Anyways, traded Stralman, after a stellar pre-season, for a nominal return (3rd round pick) only to turn around and pick-up Johnson some 2 weeks later for an actual player who has at least proven he can kick ass at the AHL level.

The deal clearly indicates 2 things:

1.) Cory Sarich is badly hurt and the organization wants to (further!) shore up it's depth should someone else go down in the mean time. That or Staffan Kronwall looks as awkward to the men in charge as he does to me and he's on his way to Abbotsford.

2.) Sutter and company didn't have any faith in Greentree being able to take the next step to the NHL.

That said, I still find the deal curious. The Flames are relatively thin on scoring forwards at the organizational level, but are bursting at the seams with young defenders (although they saw fit to move one of them for magic beans recently). Perhaps the fact Johnson has 184 games of NHL experience makes him more attractive than the likes of Stralman and the various kids laboring on the farm, but...yeah, no I still don't really get it.

On the other hand, good news for Kris Chucko I'd say.

UPDATE - Sam from 2nd City Hockey provide this insight on Johnson:

The consensus here is that Johnson got caught hitting on Quenneville's wife or something. During the fall last year, he was leading the league in +/- and Behind The Net Rating, but got hurt against San Jose at Thanksgiving (American version). After he came back two months later, he could not displace Matt Walker for reasons unknown. He's been passed over for Sopel and Jordan Hendry now, and the Hawks are not thrilled with his agent, Alan Walsh, for flaming the RFA fiasco. Still, as a #6 or #7 he'll hardly let you down, plays a very simple game that he doesn't stray from. But don't you guys have like four of those already?

Blackhawks controversy evaporates as RFAs all sign contracts

James Mirtle — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:58:35 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews, right, celebrates his goal with Cameron Barker (25) and Kris Versteeg, center, against the Detroit Red Wings.

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A source confirmed the Hawks and restricted free agent winger Kris Versteeg have finalized a three-year deal worth more than $9 million. The contract could be announced officially by the team on Wednesday.

Signing Versteeg for roughly $3 million puts the Hawks just about at the $56.8 million salary cap. A $3 million cap hit for Versteeg would put the Hawks' payroll at approximately $55.578 million, not counting the salary for the backup goalie.

— Tim Sassone, Between The Circles

Versteeg's the last of six restricted free agents involved in the qualifying offer "debacle" of last week to sign on the dotted line, thereby making the NHLPA grieving the situation a relative non-issue. Here's a look at the contracts they signed:

Players	2008-09	New contract	Cap hit
Cam Barker	0.984	Three years	3.083
Kris Versteeg	0.490	Three years	3.083
Troy Brouwer	0.700	Two years	1.025
Ben Eager	0.650	One year	0.965
Colin Fraser	0.500	One year	0.700
Aaron Johnson	0.525	One year	0.540

Make no mistake, Chicago could have had a real problem on its hands after bungling the qualifying offers, but it was clear from the start all six players were more interested in playing as Blackhawks this coming season rather than fighting through a grievance to become UFAs. The four lower-end guys here either accepted small raises or just took their qualifying offers (Johnson, for instance, could have received much more had he fought for it), while Barker and Versteeg likely received a little more than they would have as RFAs but less than on the open market.

Had this issue occurred involving a team or market where players wanted out of, I imagine the results would be quite different. As of now, 'Hawks fans and front office brass are breathing a sigh of relief.

Click here for a look at where Chicago sits against the cap. They are likely fine this season with their current group intact, but there'll need to be major changes next summer to accommodate new contracts for captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

NHLPA Files Grievance- Barker and Versteeg Could Become UFAs

Matthew Dirt — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:10:54 -0000

OK - so it's a molehill.. but it's a really fucking big one.

According to TSN - The Players Association has filed a grievance on behalf of Kris Versteeg and Cam Barker based on the qualifying offer mishap and will argue they should be ruled UFAs.

So now the league can agree with the PA - and the Hawks are screwed. Or they can disagree and the case will move to a hearing - and the Hawks might still be screwed. The league will almost certainly disagree with the Players Association so we're bound for some fun "hearings".

The Hawks likely won't be able to afford either player if they hit the open market. It wasn't even a sure thing they could afford them both if they remained RFAs. If they do become UFA's though the Hawks lose any rights to draft picks given up when a team signs a RFA from a team. One of them is certainly going to look to get paid and smart money is on Versteeg to be the one who bolts.

It ain't all bad news though - There's also news that Troy Brouwer, Corey Crawford, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and surprisingly, Aaron Johnson have all signed new contracts.

Brouwer and Crawford were given two-year deals, everyone else gets a one year contract.

Chris Block over at Third Man In says the numbers for the contracts are $700K for Fraser, $956K for Eager (Double Nickels on the Dime from here on out), and Brouwer gets $1.025M for each of this two years. No word on $ amount for the other two contracts but Allan Walsh says Johnson's deal is a one-way deal.

Don't get your hopes up just because the Hawks were able to sign three of "The Chicago Five" (Ever heard of the Seattle seven? That was me... and 6 other guys). With all the money that could potentially be on the table now, Versteeg and Barker are almost certain to wait to see what happens with the hearing now - or they should fire their agents. And if their agent is Allan Walsh, they should probably fire him anyway...

UPDATE:

According to Darren Dreger - The Hawks got some good news today when Barker signed an extention with the Hawks for 3 years - $9.25 M. That's a 3.08 M cap hit which is probably less than he could have recieved from the open market. This is probably yet another sign that our time with Versteeg is probably done - which is upsetting since he was such a fun player to watch last year, both on and off the ice. We'll still keep an eye out for any news about him though...

This whole situation does say a lot about the future of the Hawks though. Any one of the players signed today probably left money out there if they had decided to push it - especially the ones that could have joined in with the grievance and tried to become UFAs. Getting players to take less to play here (or at least agree to long term deals like Hossa's) is the way to keep a strong team despite the salary cap.

Things are certainly different, eh? Who thought this day would come...

Mountain? Nah - Just A Molehill - Blackhawks Sign Eager, Brouwer and Fraser

Matthew Dirt — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:58:18 -0000

First is the news that we all expected - The NHL decided not to punish the Blackhawks for their mistakes with the postal service. It was said in the comments a lot but I agree - The NHL knows it has a great story with the Hawks and doesn't want to do anything to mess that up.

Then on his blog, Chris Kuc says the Hawks have re-signed 3 of the RFA's. Obviously the big news in this story is what isn't there. Still no word on Cam Barker or Kris Versteeg...

It's also worth noting another RFA that isn't there - Aaron Johnson. Johnson is represented by Allan Walsh who also represents Martin Havlat. Walsh isn't making any friends with the Blackhawks front office with his twitter exploits and other quotes to the press.

There are no numbers yet but we'll update this if we hear anything..

Tomas Plekanec, One Of 20 NHL Players Headed for Arbitration

Robert L — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:51:47 -0000

After having his point totals shute from 29-40-69 in 2007-08 to 20-19-39 in 2008-09, Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec has elected to take his salary discussion to arbitration. The case of Plekanec and 19 others will be heard between July 20 and August 4.

Plekanec earned $1.8M last season, and shouldn't be expecting any type of substancial increase in salary after seeing his totals drop 30 points.

The Canadiens have not been to arbitration in recent seasons with any of their players. Michael Ryder, in three successive years, has elected the arbitration process, only to settle in each instance, before having his hearing heard. In 2007-08, Ryder and Gainey agreed on a one year contract valued at $2.95M. Ryder was coming off seasons of 25, 25, and 30 goals when he settled on that renumeration. The soon to be 27 year old Plekanec has totalled 20, 29, and 20 goals in his three full campaigns with the Canadiens.

In my take, Plekanec and the Canadiens would likely settle somewhere between $2.2M and $2.5M. Anything more than these figures, and I'd colour him goners via trade shortly after this is settled.

I'll maintain the Canadiens would have been better served by retaining long time captain Koivu as a second line centerman.

Incidentally, there are two Koivu related articles - must reads - posted at Habs Inside Out this a.m.

Other players having filled for salary arbitration include

Ryan Callahan et Nikolai Zherdev (Rangers), Travis Zajac (Devils), Milan Jurcina (Capitals), Colby Armstrong (Thrashers), Kyle Wellwood (Canucks), Matt Smaby (Lightning), Matt Hunwick (Bruins), Clarke MacArthur (Sabres), Tuomo Ruutu (Hurricanes), James Wisniewski (Ducks), Aaron Johnson (Hawks), Jiri Hudler (Red Wings), Marc Methot (Blue Jackets), Kyle Brodziak (Wild), Denis Grebeshkov (Oilers), Nate Thompson (Islanders), and Nigel Dawes and Daniel Winnik (Coyotes).

The Zajac, Zherdev, Ruutu and Hudler cases should be the most interesting. Ruutu's stats are close to Plekenec's numbers, for comparison purposes.

Twenty elect for salary arbitration

James Mirtle — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:48:04 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Browse more photos »

Here's a look at the 20 players who filed for salary arbitration by the deadline on Sunday:

Team	Player	08-09 cap hit
Anaheim Ducks	James Wisniewski	0.900
Atlanta Thrashers	Colby Armstrong	1.200
Boston Bruins	Matt Hunwick	0.750
Buffalo Sabres	Clarke MacArthur	0.522
Carolina Hurricanes	Tuomo Ruutu	2.250
Chicago Blackhawks	Aaron Johnson	0.525
Columbus Blue Jackets	Marc Methot	0.522
Detroit Red Wings	Jiri Hudler	1.015
Edmonton Oilers	Denis Grebeshkov	1.500
Minnesota Wild	Kyle Brodziak	0.497
Montreal Canadiens	Tomas Plekanec	1.600
New Jersey Devils	Travis Zajac	0.984
New York Islanders	Nate Thompson	0.500
New York Rangers	Ryan Callahan	0.575
New York Rangers	Nikolai Zherdev	2.500
Phoenix Coyotes	Nigel Dawes	0.588
Phoenix Coyotes	Daniel Winnik	0.532
Tampa Bay Lightning	Matt Smaby	0.792
Vancouver Canucks	Kyle Wellwood	0.998
Washington Capitals	Milan Jurcina	0.881
	Average	0.982

All relatively young, all relatively cheap and all, likely, expecting a raise of some sort.

Last year, 15 players elected for arbitration and just two — Shaone Morrisonn and Ville Koistinen — actually went through the process. I wrote extensively about Morrisonn's hearing last summer (full story), and it wasn't a pretty one — which may be why he didn't elect to go through the same process again despite having those rights.

He was awarded a contract just about right in the middle of what the two sides had asked for, $1.975-million, while Koistinen received $700,000 after being a low impact player the year before.

I'll have more coverage of arbitration as we get closer to the hearings at the end of the month. Expect many of these 20 to sign slowly over the coming weeks, with quite a few deals getting done as the hearings approach.