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With the Flames undefeated since the unfortunate
demise of
Greg Gilbert as coach, one would expect the controversy around the team
to be at a minimum, but of course that is not the case. First off is the
coaching situation. After promising to make a quick decision on a new coach,
Al MacNeil was appointed on a interim basis to lead the club. The
grandfatherly MacNeil, who won a cup with Montreal as coach in the early
seventies, has the club playing hard, if not well, and backstopped by
several good performances by
Roman Turek, is undefeated. But MacNeil is not the coach of the future
for the Flames, and likely not the coach of the present much longer either.
But for every game he successfully leads the club, he makes it that much
more difficult for a new coach to come in and take over. Essentially, he is
eating up the honeymoon period that any new coach needs to get established.
The longer GM Craig Buttons drags his feet, the more questions will be asked
about his stewardship, with those asking the questions wanting to know who
really is pulling the strings in Cowtown - as it obviously is not Buttons.
Jim Playfair and
Ted Nolan are the rumoured frontrunners at this time and the question
remains - what is taking so long?
Following on the coaching debate are rumours of player trades, with
Jarome Iginla's name front and center. Last year's breakout forward has
been decidedly ordinary so far this season. Given that he signed a large
contract in the off-season, it is not surprising that the cash strapped
Flames might consider moving him - if they thought they weren't going to
make the playoffs. But even for the Flames, it is too early to come to that
conclusion. The latest rumoured deal has Iginla accompanying Turek to
Philly, with
Roman Cechmanek,
Simon Gagne and
Pavel Brendl coming back to the Flames.
There are several problems with this rumour, not the least of which is that
Iginla is currently injured, and the Flyers would be looking for more
immediate help. Still, for Philly, this is a deal that could make a little
more sense - Iggy could explode playing beside top forwards and Turek is a
decent stopgap until
Robert Esche develops. It would load them up with power forwards,
without mortgaging the future to do it.
The problem for the Flames is that Cechmanek and Turek are pretty much the
same age so they really don't gain anything there. Gagne is a decent young
player, with lots of potential, but Brendl is quickly moving beyond being a
top prospect, into the category of project. What they would gain from this
deal is beyond us, unless they are looking to make another addition to
Buttons' book of suspect trades.
Expect the Flames to stand pat on any deals for the time being - at least
until a new coach is in place - whenever that might be. They'll want to see
if a fresh face can get a healthy Iggy back on track. Then if they are going
to move him, they will be able to demand top dollar. In the meantime, expect
the controversy over who is running, and coaching, the team to continue. |
