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After the Calgary Flames were stonewalled by goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I’ve always hated playing against him.  I wanted to see how Miikka Kiprusoff would hold up after such a spectacular start to the season but I really just wanted to see the Flames burn the Oilers.

Things started well for Calgary.  We got on the scoreboard just 1:52 into the first when Curtis Glencross easily beat Khabibulin.  Surely, that was a fluke, I thought.  Edmonton answered with a goal by Dustin Penner but then David Moss scored on Khabi again.

In the second period, each team scored a goal making the score 3-2 in favor of Calgary going into the second intermission.  When Sam Gagner tied the game and the clock began to wind down, I got myself ready for overtime but seriously couldn’t believe what happened next.

I’m sitting there with my family watching and with less than a minute left, Khabibulin comes out of the net to try to deal with a bouncing puck only to have it plucked away from him by Moss, who, in one flukey/crazy movement, managed to score on the unmanned net.  It took us all a second to register what we’d seen and then we just erupted in laughter – deep, slightly painful, pointing-at-the-screen laughter.  I’m serious.  I had tears running down my face.  Maybe it’s because I hate Edmonton since they are our natural rivals but seeing Sheldon Souray lying facedown as Khabibulin looked down at him in shame still has me chuckling.  I’m such an asshole.

Here’s the real kicker – Kiprusoff had to make 31 saves while Khabibulin struggled with 17.  Lame.  Let’s hope things improve for the newly acquired Edmonton goalie.  You gotta watch this video.

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You might remember that Comrie was originally drafted by the Oilers in 1999 and he really had a golden career with the team from 2000-2003.  During the 2001-2002 season, he had a career-high of 60 points and then things went terribly wrong.

Comrie had been given a $10 million entry-level deal with the team (which included a signing bonus) and, for whatever reason, he held out in a contract dispute for 30 games during the 2003-2004 season and the fans really turned on him (with good reason, in my opinion).  I know he was doing well but he was still so new to the game that it was a bit surprising that he chose to go down this path. 

It looked like a solution had been found when the Anaheim Ducks were willing to acquire Comrie in exchange for Corey Perry and a first round draft pick but Comrie didn’t want to reimburse $2.5 million in bonus money so the deal fell through and he ended up getting traded to Phoenix.

"I had to make a decision on some of the options I had,"Comrie said. "This was the one that felt right. I got chills walking back into this rink. It’s been a while since I had a feeling like that."

Hopefully, the Oilers fans will be able to move past the bad blood and give him a second chance.  He’s an Edmontonian and, even though I’m a Calgary Flames fan, I’m happy for the Oilers.  I think this, along with the other deals they’ve made this summer, is the start of a better season for them.  I’m looking forward to seeing Comrie in the all of the upcoming games in the Battle of Alberta!

image: TSN

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Oilers GM, Steve Tambellini, seems happy with the deal: "Wayne brings an array of experience from both the NHL and international level. We feel his knowledge of the game will be a compliment to our coaching staff."

Fleming does have great NHL experience after working with Calgary, Philadelphia, Phoenix and the New York Islanders.  He was assistant coach and GM on Canada’s Olympic 1992 silver medal-winning team.

He will join fellow assistant coach, Kelly Buchberger, in working alongside new head coach Pat Quinn and associate coach Tom Renney.

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His humanitarian efforts in his community did not go unnoticed, of course, as he is very active with several charities in the Edmonton area. 

Moreau made sure to not only thank his teammates and his club’s organization but, also, made sure he showed his appreciation to his city and fans who have supported him for a decade.

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Wow.  Let me just get that out of the way.  Wow. Wow.  Wow.  I don’t even know what else to say and, judging from the reaction around the internet, fans are divided about what this means for the future of the hockey club. 

The men have worked together in the past with general manager Steve Tambellini when Quinn was the head coach and GM for the Vancouver Canucks where Tambellini worked in the front office and Renney got his first NHL head coaching job back in 1996.

Let’s hope the friendship is still good after all this time because they really have their work cut out for them with the team they’ve got.  Fortunately, Quinn has an impressive résumé.  He won the Jack Adams Award (1992), has led his teams to conference and Stanley Cup finals, coached Team Canada to a gold-medal finish at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and led Canada’s national men’s team coach for the 2006 Spengler Cup.  Most recently, he coached Canada’s junior team to its fifth straight gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championship.

If the dynamics between Quinn, Renney and Tambellini are still strong and the team is eager, I’m fairly confident that they will have a much better record next season.

image: TSN

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If the name sounds familiar then you probably recognize him from the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships.   He was one of the three “Top Canadians Stars of the Game” in Canada’s gold medal victory over Sweden and made the game-tying goal during the semi-finals against Russia.

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I hope Kovy is alright and can rejoin his team soon.  You really don’t want to be without your leader at this point in the season.

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While it’s true that he didn’t need surgery right away, the full extent of the injury isn’t immediately clear so doctors will have to monitor it over the next few days.  

Here’s the video of the injury.  It’s pretty gruesome so don’t watch it if you think it’s going to bother you:

image: TSN

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Garon and Sabourin have similar stats this year when you look at them side-by-side:

In 15 games, Garon posted a 6-8-0 record, a 3.17 goals-against average and .895 save percentage but last year, in 47 games, he finished with a 26-18-1 record, .913 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average.  He also had the most three star selections.

In 19 games, Sabourin posted a 6-8-2 record, a .898 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average this season.   Last year, he had 10 wins in 24 games. 

I know that Garon has more potential but I think the Oilers got a lot in return considering how that goalie is performing this year.  It’ll be interesting to see how this trade works out.

image: TSN

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