Sports Take

The Calgary Flames haven’t had the same success recently as in the 1980’s with the likes of Lanny MacDonald, Mike Vernon, and Joe Nieuwendyk. It looked as though the team wouldn’t reach the Stanley Cup finals again after the win in 1989, that was until the future all time leader in games played, goals, and points (and now a member of the Hall of Fame) was traded from the Dallas Stars to Calgary in the form of Jarome Igina, and in 2003-04 a trade with the San Jose Sharks brought the Flames their franchise goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff. The ’04 finals run lit the city and reenergized a fan base that was losing interest in it’s team. Since then the Flames have burnt out after the retirement of the all time wins leader (305), and the carousel of starting goalies in the organization has been non stop. Since Kiprusoff’s retirement the Flames have failed to get their next goalie, included among them are names like Jonas Hiller and Niklas Backstrom, (granted it was only for a year). For the Flames to win their next Stanley Cup they need a goaltender, and that’s been the problem with the Flames, they haven’t found one. The future of the position seems to rest in Tyler Parsons, Jon Gilles, Dustin Wolf, and Artyom Zagidulin, all four of whom could be the Flames next all-star goalie. They have the time with the core group all signed to long term contracts including Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Matthew Tkachuck, but the Flames are in a win now mentality and will need current goalies Cam Talbot and David Rittich to be at their best if their going to win the Cup any time soon.

The Montreal Canadiens have been floating near the middle of the pack in the NHL for years now, always a constant disappointment for their fans who had hoped that Carey Price was going to bring them their 25th Stanley Cup championship. It hasn’t turned out that way however, as the last time they made it to the conference finals was the 2013-14 season, and the last time they made the Stanley Cup finals is when they last won in 1993. For a historic team the Canadiens haven’t been the team everyone expected when they drafted Carey Price, their defensive core hasn’t helped their all star tender, the forwards haven’t been producing as much as they would like. But with a budding young core of players like Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, Cale Fleury, and Max Domi, it would seem that hometown boy Alexis Lafreniere would fit in to the young talented group that could emerge from the Canadiens. His size and speed will add to a relatively small team, his ability to find the open ice and create plays for his teammates would allow players like Domi and Kotkaniemi to flourish. He also adds some much needed net front presence and when he builds up on his frame he’ll be difficult for opponents to move. He’s a perfect fit in to the Canadiens, and with a healthy, reinvigorated Carey Price the Canadiens could become a new dynasty with Lafreniere. Who knows though, the Canadiens might just be the dark horse of these 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.