The Calgary Flames 2008-2009: Post Mortem

they played shit and deserved to lose, but ultimately, injuries were their undoing. list of injuries:
regehr
giordano
phaneuf
sarich
bourque
langkow
conroy

our 4 best d-men either didn't play or played hurt. do that to chicago and they get smoked. same goes for our second line. no wonder they were awful.

thoughts on players:

Jarome Iginla: taking so much unwarranted heat. sure, he was average in games 1-4 and plain bad in games 5 and 6, but they way some people are throwing this guy under the bus is unreal. it's not his fault they got booted. he had another very good season and is the heart and soul of this team. anyone suggesting that the flames need to move him is seriously retarded. don't forget that he'll be canada's captain in vancouver next year, so just shut up.

Miikka Kiprusoff: again, taking so much misplaced blame. watch the goals, especially in game 6, and tell me they're his fault. he had 45 fuckin wins this year. this team is nowhere without him. get some D around the guy and he'll be back in vezina contention. not the problem.

Olli Jokinen: didn't play well, but taking too much blame. i'm not thrilled that he'll earn over $5mil next year but that's not his fault. he's a solid first-line center and that's what the flames have been after for years. i expect him to be solid next season. he deserves more time to prove himself.

Dion Phanuef: after a very patchy season i was pretty pleased with his playoff performance. i thought he stepped up and carried the majority of the load with regehr out. he'll bounce back with a big year next season. remember, he's only 23.

Robyn Regehr: his injury was probably the main reason why the flames went nowhere in the playoffs. easily our best defenceman and third most important player after iggy and miikka. nobody seemed to acknowledge this fact. the team was doomed without him.

Mike Cammalleri: over-achieved this season and was a huge success story. i like him BUT he was absolutely invisible in the playoffs. just terrible. his contract is up and, thankfully, the flames won't be able to afford him. someone will pay him $4+mil and this season will remain his career high. you'll see.

Todd Bertuzzi: way too inconsistent to deserve a re-signing. it's a shame too, because he can be so good at times.

Conroy, Bourque, Langkow: courageous in the playoffs, all played hurt. bourque is vitally important to the future of this team and conroy and langkow are necessary veterans.

Mike Keenan: hope he's fired but it's unlikely.