The Calgary Flames (9-6-2) have taken many people by surprise thus far this season, performing well beyond expectations and proving themselves a talented, if somewhat inconsistent bunch. Their most recent game, a 4-1 loss to the woeful Carolina Hurricanes, highlighted some of the weaker aspects of their roster though, namely a contingent of veterans whose presence in the lineup may be hurting the team more than it helps.
"Brad Treliving has made a handful of curious moves in his tenure as GM for the Calgary Flames, trading for Brandon Bollig and signing both Derek Engelland and Devin Setoguchi," writes Colin Dambrauskas of HockeyBuzz.com. "To my eye, those 3 players are absolutely the weakest links in the Flames lineup, and the sooner they're out of the lineup the better."
Many would expect a team replete with rookies and call-ups to struggle, and at times, they have. But it hasn't been those youngsters that have brought the team down - it's been a veteran core, including Setoguchi, Engelland and Bollig.
"Bollig is poor positionally, bad on his skates, ineffective on the cycle, and generally terrifying to see on the ice as a Flames fan. As soon as Michael Ferland heals from his concussion I want to see Bollig waived and demoted."
Setoguchi was brought on with a relatively cheap deal, so his signing, while unhelpful, has not been a hindrance financially. It has, however, proven harmful when it comes to getting ice time for some of the organization's young guns.
"Call up Emile Poirier, and send Seto back to Taber. He can drive a forklift at the McCain's plant there as far as I'm concerned. Maybe there's a team in Europe that would be interested in picking him up as a loaner... either way. I'm done with him. David Jones has earned his ice time on that right side of the ice. Devin has earned a one-way ticket to anywhere but here."
As for Engelland, Dambrauskas simply dubs him, "a disaster."
With a very talented goaltender in Jonas Hiller (2.24 GAA, .925 SV%, according to ESPN) brought onboard this off-season, and a roster chock full of young talent, the Flames may be poised to continue surprising people. But in order to do that, they may need to first surprise a few of their vets with pink slips.
