"Ask And You Shall Receive!"

Good Morning Calgary Flames Fans!

While I know that my opinions are strong, I know how it feels to have decisions made that I don't agree with, where I can't always see the silver lining in trades that have been made in the past. However, right now I couldn't be happier with Darryl Sutter's most current movements, known by radio stations and TV networks alike as the Calgary Flames "blockbuster trade".

If we look back at my very last post from January 25th, I can't believe my own words. "Get rid of him", "changes are on the rise", "I plead to the Hockey Gods once again that the right decisions will be made this time around". Well, I woke up yesterday morning barely believing my ears and my eyes. Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames D man wearing #3, traded to the Toronto Maple leafs! It was actually sort of bittersweet. I flew to my computer, threw on the Fan 960 and stayed mesmerized for most of the day. All I can say is WOW.

Here's what the trades look like:

Who's gone?

Dion Phaneuf
Freddie Sjostrom
Keith Aulie (Prospect, Abbotsford Heat)

Who's arrived?

Ian White
Nicklas Hagman
Jamal Mayers
Matt Stajan

Also in the news is a rumored trade between us and the NY Rangers. Which player is under that potential spotlight? None other than Olli Jokinen! Well, if I didn't hit the nail on the head about changes a 'brewin! While Brandon Prust will also most likely be a part of that trade, through sources of my own I know that through friends Prust was asked not to show up at the rink today for practice or otherwise. Both Jokinen and Prust remain on the roster as of now... the only question is for how long?

All I can say right now is that I am happy with Darryl Sutter's decisions and I look forward to seeing how, in the very least, these four new players mesh on the ice tonight with their new team. Calgary has been breaking news all over the place over the last 2 days and while most are leaning towards favoring the Flames new stature, we have also been criticized. Many are saying that if the Flames don't at least make it into a play off spot that this wouldn't have been worth all of the trouble, or the losses. I beg to differ. We are in a bit of a tough spot and while I would like to assume that we win every last game from now until the playoffs, that seems like too high a hope for any team.

I am truly excited to watch tonight's game against Philadelphia to really get a feel for what my new team looks like. Adding four new players to the mix with talks of two more is going to take some careful practice and some major shuffling to find out where our new players, and our veterans will find their place. You often hear people say, "be careful what you wish for", but I think this time... we're all going to be pleasantly surprised!

GO FLAMES GO!

T