Summer Fill: Questions With Matchsticks And Gasoline

SB Nation is continuing their "summer fill" segment, which involves two SB Nation blogs interviewing each other about their respective teams. Hayley, the managing editor for SB Nation's Calgary Flames blog, Matchsticks And Gasoline, was nice enough to answer some questions for Blueshirt Banter.

So go over there and see their response to my answers (they didn't like what I had to say about goons in the NHL) and give them some hits!

Here are Jim's questions: 

I don’t think many Flames fans were surprised when Kotalik didn’t get bought out. Sutter has historically avoided buying out players until his bizarre decision to buy out Nigel Dawes this summer, as doing so, especially to a player whom he gave up something for, is too close to admitting he’s made a mistake for his liking. While I’m getting anxious that Kotalik is still on the roster this close to training camp and his cap hit makes up the majority of the Flames’ overage, a buyout of his contract would offer the team minimal savings in the long run.

There are other options of course (the AHL, Europe), but at the moment it seems pretty likely that he’ll at least start the season with the team. I think we can expect a bounce-back year from Ales to some degree; he shot a career-low 4.2% in 26 games with the Flames last season and was only operating at 8.0% previously with the Rangers, so you have to believe that the percentages will even out for him at some point.

The general expectation seems to be that the Flames will demote a defenceman, most likely Steve Staios, to Abbotsford. The Flames currently have eight defencemen on their roster including Staffan Kronwall, who spent last season in the AHL. The 37-year-old Staios is slated to make $2.7M next season, and had an overall negative impact on his partner Jay Bouwmeester since his acquisition at the trade deadline. Starting him on the third pairing against inferior competition with less ice time is certainly an option, but not for $2.7M. Adam Pardy’s name has also been bantered about as trade bait or potential AHL fodder. The Flames also currently have fourteen forwards on their roster, including top prospect Mikael Backlund, who spent twenty games with the team last season, mostly after the Olympic break.

If centre Daymond Langkow, who suffered a neck injury and missed the final ten games of the season, is healthy and prepared to start the season, Backlund likely gets squeezed out with the likes of Craig Conroy, Brett Sutter, and Ryan Stone (all natural centres) also competing for a roster spot. Most people are of the opinion that he isn’t quite ready for third-line minutes, but also don’t want to stick him on the fourth line with Ivanans and Jackman (one of whom could also be sent down to Abbotsford). Plus, Backlund currently makes the most of any Flames prospect in the system at close to $1.3M--the equivalent of David Moss’ salary and more than Curtis Glencross’.

It’s very unlikely that any prospect outside of Mikael Backlund secures a steady roster spot this season (barring injuries), and even that is up in the air. On defence, Matt Pelech is certainly a candidate for seventh defenceman/bottom pairing duties if the Flames manage to clear one or more bodies from the blueline. Brett Sutter, who spent ten games with the big club last season, could also work his way into the bottom six.

I think so, but I suppose it depends on whether or not the Flames are in contention for a playoff spot, if he continues his apparent decline, and the general state of the organization at that point in time.

More questions after the jump.