Tuesday...Tlump?

Written by Arik Knapp | 01 February 2011

Before the regular season resumes tonight I'd like to log some thoughts on both the first "half" which isn't really a half, as well as the All-Star Game and some other things.

• How great was the All-Star Draft? I know some people were whining and bitching about it, but seriously- it was fun. I already can't wait til next year when the last two picks are Phil Kessel and the mandatorily included Flames player.
• I've never understood why people hate on the All-Star Game as a whole. "It's a meaningless game meant to make money!"...really? That's your argument? I mean, all of the NHL is really, when you get down to it, a meaningless game making rich people richer. The ASG is a celebration of the best players, and I enjoy having a beer and watching some absurd hockey get played for a couple hours.
• Everyone on Twitter was stomping all over Team Staal on draft night- I have no idea why. They had some of the best centers in the league. Plus Jeff Skinner! He's adorable! I want him to date my sister so I can pinch his cheeks!
• Loved seeing the Caneiacs at all the events. Hopefully that'll shut up some naysayers claiming that hockey in the south doesn't work. Folks, it's all about marketing. The Hurricanes have done a bangup job over the years. If the Coyotes ever get real funding and management, they could be just as successful.
• The Flames are at an odd sort of crossroads right now: within sight of 8th and within sight of 15th. I think we need to stop referring to them as a bad team: clearly the proper term is horribly mediocre. Next year's team will be even more awfully mediocre too...
• With Darryl Sutter gone- what are the odds the Flames do anything interesting at the trade deadline? Next to nothing. Say what you will about his management capabilities, but the man certainly entertained. In the same way Old West hangings entertained.
• Here's hoping Conroy gets a job in the Flames FO or somewhere similar. Guy was a class act. That being said, I don't blame Feaster et al for pushing this to happen. It's important to separate the emotional ties to the past from the present. I do wish he hadn't been waived, but then, maybe he had asked for a chance to get picked up by another team when the Flames let him know they were asking him to retire. There's a lot that happens behind the scenes that we're not aware of.
• I watched bits of the AHL All-Star Game last night: Brodie looks pretty solid. If anyone in the top four D goes down, he needs to come up.
• If the Flames are planning on calling up an AHL forward- I'd like to see them call up Bouma. He's got a skillset more suited towards where a rookie would be placed (3rd or 4th line) is a bit...rough, and can score pretty well (more SOG than Nemisz). He's also got NHL size already, something you won't see with Wahl or Nemisz.
• Finally, a bit of personal news: turns out my employer, the US Coast Guard, has decided to move me for the second time in 2 years. I don't have orders yet and I'm not sure where I'm going, but it's disrupted a lot of things, including my plans to go to Calgary for the first time ever this spring. Looks like I'll be watching the Heritage Classic from my futon.