The moment the season ended, speculation began.

Even Iginla himself wasn't sure if he'd remain a Flame past the summer, "I don't know what next year holds. I can't say. They're going to look at everything."

Of course, the immediate reaction was that Iginla was as good as gone- for better or worse. And then the pendulum swung back the moment Brent Sutter and the Flames decided parting ways was the right direction.

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In what is likely the first of several changes this summer, Brent Sutter has been fired reached a mutual conclusion with the Flames management that he will not resume coaching duties.

It's clear Sutter was not an ideal coach for this iteration of the Flames. Constant rumors of him arguing with players (Phaneuf and Iginla were big ones) and management (remember Minnesota?) hounded him, and Hockey Operation's insistence on sticking by the man was hardly admirable- it was much closer to foolhardy.

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A lot of things go into the selections at the NHL draft- especially in the top rounds: skating, hockey sense, puck skills, size, speed, mullet-a-bility; but if NHL writers picked draftees, only one thing would matter: how awesome of a headline can their name make?

Below are the top 20 North American skaters and the top 10 European skaters followed by a pun, a rating (1-5) for their Headline Potential. Enjoy!

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There are no easy answers for this Flames team that finds itself on the outside looking in (again). Just endless questions. Here's most of them.

• Has Jarome Iginla played his last game (for a while, at least) in a Flaming C uniform?
• How about Miikka Kiprusoff?
• What's a reasonable price for Olli Jokinen this summer?
• Will the Flames overpay that?

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Photo courtesy of John Gaudreau's Aunt Pauline

Generally speaking, when a prospect from beyond the first round succeeds or fails, it's hardly something to get worked up about. The successes tend to be 4th line types and the failures tend to be players the fans hardly knew.

Boston College freshman John Gaudreau is a different story.

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via user JZarris in last night's gamethread

There are a lot of very important questions circling the Flames these days: why are the Flames so bad? What is the future of the franchise? Should the Flames trade Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff?

At the end of the day, however, it comes down to one thing: why the hell is Flames management watching Modern Family during the middle of a game?

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The Kings, despite scoring "issues" (which are pretty simple poor luck at this point), are an elite team in the NHL. Darryl Sutter has brought them there from being a "pretty good team" in the NHL.

This is in direct contrast to the Calgary Flames, who are a mediocre to poor team that survives on good luck and better looks. So of course, I fully expect to see the poor Calgary Flame's heads rolling around on the ice after what will be an atrocious version of the Game of Thrones.

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This year, many hockey fans, including myself, heralded the arrival of Brendan Shannahan as that of a straight shooting U.S. Marshal, not unlike Raylan Givens from Justified. He blew in from another department, six-shooters loaded and ready to be drawn at the first time of trouble.

Initially, that's what we got. Or at least, that's what I thought at the time.

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Puck Daddy's Harrison Mooney seems to think so:

It's beginning to look nigh impossible for a Western Conference player to garner a Hart Trophy nod this season, what with the remarkable campaigns of Claude Giroux, Evgeni Malkin, Steven Stamkos and Henrik Lundqvist, all of whom look deserving of a win, let alone a nomination. There's no denying that, regardless of which Conference you might think is stronger (it's the West, which has long had better teams and better beasts), the standout players this season have come from the East.

But, if the Hart stipulated representation from each Conference, I'd be inclined to select Jarome Iginla.

Of course, this is absolute nonsense. I'm not complaining about a Canucks fan showing Iggy some love, because that's kind of awesome. What bothers me is the assumption that Iginla is the most important player on the Flames these days, and as anyone who's kept up with the Flames can tell you, that's hardly accurate.

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A coach is hired, given a pretty good roster (including a legitimate starting goaltender- who's sometimes excellent and sometimes less than excellent, a top offensive player, and a great set of defensemen), three years to turn it into a playoff team (which it had already been) and fails to do basically anything but flounder around and narrowly miss the playoffs repeatedly.

Another coach is hired, and while he's given some good offensive players, his goaltending is terrible and the defensive depth is entirely lacking. He, of course, also fails to make the playoffs. If you're the GM of either of these coaches, what do you do?

Clearly the answer is retain the coach who failed to do anything with the decent roster and fire the one who failed to do anything with the poor roster. At least, that's what NHL GM's would do.

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Best known as the secondary part of the Bourque-Cammalleri trade, Patrick Holland of the Tri-City Americans has been signed to an Entry Level Contract by the Montreal Canadiens. Here's what SBN Habs blog Habs Eyes On the Prize had to say:

Holland was recently ranked 11th by Hockey's Future among Habs prospects. His profile notes that the 20-year-old is "one of those players who can sometimes go unnoticed but he can do it all." Well he got noticed.

He'll finish his season with the Tri-City Americans (WHL), where he has 24 goals and 77 assists in 66 games. Since the January 12 trade that put his NHL rights in the hands of the Canadiens, Holland has scored seven goals and 37 assists in a 26-game span.

The winger's offensive prowess will be a welcome addition to the Hamilton Bulldogs next season.

Of note, former Habs coach Jacques Martin was spotted at a few WHL rinks, doing some scouting on Holland, shortly after the young forward was dealt to the Canadiens.

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It's hardly a surprise. Everyone should've seen this coming. The Calgary Flames are recalling Sven Baertschi on an emergency basis.

After failing to build much needed depth at the trade deadline with the injury counts climbing, the Flames have reached a level of desperation that has culminated in them recalling 13th overall draft pick Sven Baertschi, who leads the CHL and WHL in PPG among players with 40 games played.

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In hockey games, many things decide the outcome of a game: coaching, player quality, injuries, even luck. But for the Flames, one thing can outweigh all of these.

Tonight, with the Canadiens in the 'Dome, the Flames fans who want a playoff appearance should hope for one thing and it's none of the above listed things: that Curtis Glencross doesn't score first.

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He's not always the easiest to find in the hairy situations on ice, due to his smaller size, but finding Grant Clitsome on waivers would be well worth the effort for Jay Feaster and company.

One of the better defensemen belonging to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Grant Clitsome was put on waivers today by Scott Howson, a continuation of his fumbling around in the dark. Ostensibly, this move was to make room for the incoming Johnson, but despite being larger and being more well known, Johnson isn't quite as effective as Clitsome.

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The popular opinion seems to be that Jeff Carter is a whiny baby quitter who's injury prone and signed to an awful contract while Rick Nash is an elite player who's worth the world. Nothing could be more wrong.

With both Columbus stars theoretically available at the trade deadline, the talk has shifted from "I'm not sure I'd want Jeff Carter" to "WOWEE DO I SURE WANT RICK NASH", seemingly without regard to actual production and future production. While that reaction shift is certainly entertaining, it's also off base for several reasons: production, contract, "reputation", and value of draft picks.

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This will be the last thing I write for a while on good ol' Mikael Backlund- I can't say I expect it to change anyone's mind, but I can hope.

I went to Hockey-Reference to generate three lists of players (Kent Wilson helped me pick the ranges, as generating statistics isn't something I have a ton of experience with). Here's what I used and why:

Age: 21-24. With Backlund currently 22 and turning 23 in about a month, a range was necessary. 21-24 kept both ages he'll be during this season in the middle.

Year: 2nd. Same as Mickis.

Seasons: 2001-02 to 2011-12. Ten years is a decent sample size and keeps the game within the same style of play (no terrible 80's goalies inflating points)

Position: Forward. Duh.

Points: I have three different ranges: 10-25, 25-35, and 40-50. To be more specific, those are the points players would have if they played a full season. The actual filter is points per game with a minimum games played of 43 (over half a season) to rule out call-ups who show up for a game, score a point, and go back to the AHL.

Tables after the jump!

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I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't start the post off with this video (s/t to Bucky's Fifth Quarter).

Ramage Hit On Oliver St Cloud @ Wisc (via firstandskol)

Big beautiful clean hit. Of course he got the 5 and a game.

Anyways, John Ramage, being a shutdown defenseman picked in the 4th round and playing in the NCAA, doesn't get nearly as much coverage as CHL players do, and in a way that's really too bad. So I reached out to Bucky's Fifth Quarter (SBN's UW-Madison blog) and asked Chuck Schwartz, the hockey editor if he could give me a scouting report. Here's what he had to say on the team captain.

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Every so often someone writes an article or post that is so completely terrible, awful, and thoroughly bad that it deserves complete and utter derision. Andrew Walker, the Fan 960s morning sports update anchor, has written such a thing.

"Mikael Backlund - So long? Or long term?" takes the ol' college try at evaluating Mikael Backlund and comes up with the conclusion that he's nearly a bust. Yup, the best defensive forward (EDIT: originally said player by accident, clearly didn't mean to) on the Calgary Flames is clearly a bust. But let's break this down in old fashioned FJM style after the jump.

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Granted, I'm a few days late on this, however I had trouble finding some stats I wanted to use.

Certainly the All-Star game and draft aren't perfect and not everybody loves them, but as I enthused in the open-thread on Thursday, I'm enthralled with them, particularly now that players have to be mini-GMs of a sort. From picking teams to deciding on lines and participants in the Skills Competitions, it's fascinating to see who has a better understanding of the players available.

Of course, looking at the winner of a single game is hardly indicative of who did a better job. If the Stanley Cup playoffs were only one game per series, history would be entirely different. So given the nature of the All-Star Game (all offense, zero defense) who could we reasonably expect to win an All-Star game series?

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It's understandable that Flames fans are so protective of Sven Baertschi. He's the first "legitimate" prospect Calgary has had in ages. However, the reaction to a suggestion that Sven could be packaged with more for Jeff Carter was entirely hilarious.

What people often forget, is that while it's fine to get excited about and look forward to the future of young players with the team, prospects, at the end of the day, are still prospects. An NHL career is hardly a sure thing- remember Rob Schremp? 145 points in his last year in junior, and he's currently in the SEL after posting 20-34-54 in 114 games in the NHL between three teams.

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GOOOOOOOD EVENING.

With Calgary's best player leading goals/game scorer MVP points leader and all-around cool dude Jarome Iginla representing the best Albertan city in Ottawa tonight, I thought an open thread would be warranted.

Just think- Jarome Iginla could be taken first overall- or he could be taken last overall. THE DRAMA. More after the jump.

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There must be something in the water in Calgary. While I'm sure every hockey player has had a family member get upset about an article written by a reporter or blogger, how many actually vent their frustrations to that writer? When it comes to Greg Wyshynski, at least two from Calgary.

Though it's some time removed, you may recall the email Katerina Jokinen sent the Y! Sports blogger over an article that she found particularly "mean" to her husband. Tonight, Lee Stempniak's brother- douche and professional moocher extraordinaire Jay Stempniak- decided to follow suit by repeatedly called Wyshynski a "jock sniffer", apparently the only insult he knows. Read the full conversation after the jump.

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At this moment, according to Sports Club Stats, the Calgary Flames have a fourteen percent chance of making the playoffs. That is not very good. Of course, if you asked Jay Feaster, he'd probably say the Calgary Flames have a one hundred percent chance of making the playoffs. That, in theory, is a lot better.

This is why, barring a massive losing streak to rival the nine-gamer of a few years back, you can expect the Flames to be considered "buyers" (though I loathe that term as well as "sellers" due to the connotations, but more on that later) despite what any outside observer would realize: the Flames aren't going to succeed in making the playoffs, and if they do, it'll be at best a 4-2 with the Flames enjoying the second round from their couches and resorts in Mexico.

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In today's "wuttttttt" news, Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Cammelleri has been acquired by Flames General Manager Jay Feaster for an as-yet unspecified return.

Needless to say, this is far more interesting than the ongoing game with the Anaheim Ducks.

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Your Calgary Flames are currently mired in a battle with mediocrity, and the experts are suggesting that The Flaming C needs to win at least 27 of their remaining 39 games to qualify for a playoff berth. No easy feat, but I’m here to tell you, chums, that the picture isn’t as bleak as it seems. Thanks to the extended road trip forced upon the team due to the lending out our fabled Saddledome to Hockey Canada and the World Juniors, the Flames will rock the Dome for 23 of those aforementioned 39 games. Couple that with the 11-5-2 record the team has compiled here in CGY, an impossible task now seems…well, very implausible, but hey…never tell me the odds.

Considering the majority of the remaining games will be played on home ice, it would be good practice to make the Saddledome a hard place to play. For opposing teams rolling through Calgary, they have to be made aware that they’re in for nothing short of a war. Fear should strike their hearts. Bottom line, this doesn’t happen right now, in large part thanks to what can only be defined as an apathetically mute fan base, and, let’s face it, the least effective goal song in the entire league.

We can’t amplify the crowds without a massive culture shift in the city, and that takes more time and mind control than a simple blogger is able to influence. Goal songs, that friends, is an attainable goal.

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It's not this goal. It's all of them. All five hundred.

To say it's a rare feat in a league that ices about seven hundred skaters a season and has been in existence for nearly one hundred years is nothing. As only the 42^nd player to achieve this, Iginla finds himself in rare company. More amazing still: he's only thirty-four years old, and while his prime has passed, he has plenty of years to climb the all-time goal scoring chart. Six hundred is hardly out of reach.

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It's safe to say the problems Calgary faces are numerous: lack of high skill players, constant injuries, constant mismanagement, and poor coaching. However, some of these issues could be alleviated by directly solving only one: the poor coaching.

Very rarely do coaching changes have a noticeable difference on teams. Look at the Washington Capitalswith Bruce Boudreau and the Washington Capitals with Dale Hunter; look at the Anaheim Duckswith Randy Carlyle and Bruce Boudreau. In both cases things hardly changed. More often than not when a coach change occurs that seems to solve things it's because of a coinciding player has been acquired or returned from injury (Darryl Sutter in LA with Mike Richards returning).

Still, there are times when a coach is a strong detriment to the quality of the team: Marc Crawford, Wayne Gretzky, John MacLean just to name a few. And while Brent Sutter is a perfectly capable coach in theory, he is not a perfectly capable coach for Calgary.

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I ran a similar report to this about 1/5 of the way into the season, but now that we have a larger sample size and a better idea of what this team really is this season, re-running the spreadsheet seems like a smart thing to do. Table after the jump.

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I wrote this morning that sweeping changes are coming, and clearly this is it. Blair Jones, a center for the Tampa Bay Lightning has been acquired for Brendan Mikkelson, according to the Twitter feed of Flames head PR guy, Sean Kelso.

Blair Jones

#49 / Center / Tampa Bay Lightning

Height: 6-3

Weight: 216

Born: Sep 27, 1986

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