"It's Just Business"

Today I'd like to take some time to get serious about this past year and through to next. See, we're slaughtered by all of the rules and regulations instilled into our league from our 2004-2005 lock out, we're stuck in a rut if you will. Salary caps are keeping us in lock-down along with our string of injuries that keeps us digging deep into our pockets for the change we have left. Pennies? A few nickels? Michael Cammalleri said himself in an interview after their practice on Monday that it was nice to have a full bench of men. That hasn't happened for the Calgary Flames in a long, long while. Two reasons for the half empty bench I've already mentioned: injuries and salary caps. We can't bring boys up from Quad City without sending somebody down. We're penny pinchers! We're going into the Playoffs counting our pennies!!!???

What's worse, in my opinion, is the "free up"of money in our Salary Cap on the horizon. Right after the Playoffs one of what I think is our best addition to our team is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA). That's right folks, Michael Cammalleri. I didn't know much about him before his start as a Calgary Flame to be honest, but now that he's here that's where I want him to stay. I also was unfamiliar with Olli Jokinen, unfortunately that's mostly because he'd never made it anywhere big enough to make heads spin. I appreciate both players and I've seen a goal of a lifetime when Olli skipped up a wrister, weaved through two opponents and slapped his puck midair right into the back of the net! Mike has been hot all season with one goal shy of 40 and racking up the assists with a final tally of 43. That's 82 points all season and only trailing our Leader, Captain and Role Model, Jarome Iginla by a mere seven points in the regular season. This is a head spinner. Olli or Mike. That's what it's come down to for me. Which one?

We don't have many choices here if we look this target straight in the bulls-eye. Cammalleri walks this year unless we make a grab at him. We need to keep him and his graceful talent with his team's chemistry balance they've all worked hard for all season. He's young and he's a top liner with all of the skills as a team member and a team leader. (He's no Iginla, but who is!) If you had to sign up for a poll I would be there with my check mark next to his name. I can't say anything bad about this guy and I sure can't complain about the boost he's given the other players. I can't say "to hell with him and his 82 points this year"! That's insane. It's a question of what it would take to keep him.

What to do with our newest addition to the Flames family? Keep him? Of course. Why else would we snag him in a trade off with Phoenix for Matthew Lombardi on Trade Deadline Day. D Day. (I love Lombardi's move, his speed and his drive. I know he wasn't the best player on the team and I'm not saying we didn't have the upper hand in this deal. I know it was a great move, better than the moves Lombardi has. I was sad to see him go but also relieved to hear he is making out ok on his new team. It's probable that he has to watch with sad eyes as the team he helped lead there will be put into position on Chicago's Centre Ice for the first puck drop of their Playoff Series, without him.) It's been talked about since we acquired Olli Jokinen that it would be impossible to hold onto both substantial players. Michael wants upwards of 7 million and we're paying Olli 5.5. Once the next season is over he'll also become an Unrestricted Free Agent.

I've been told that I have to look at this from the business side of things. We'll see how right I am about Mike when we lose him... It'll be a sad, sad day for the Calgary Flames indeed.

T