Or, meet the Calgary Flames.
Fun Flames fact. Since they won the Stanley Cup in 1989, the franchise has won exactly 3 playoff series, and all those were in the same year. That's right. Since 1989, the Flames have been bounced from the Cup playoffs in the first round in every year they qualified, except 2004.
Ahh....2004. The Red Mile. Bare breasted women. Lots of beer and debauchery. And that was before Stampede. The Calgary Flames notched 3 improbable series wins, and were just one OT goal away from winning the Stanley Cup.
It really was an improbable run. 2004 was the first time in SEVEN seasons the Flames made the playoffs. They were not expected to go far. (As a shout out to Leafers, the Blue and White beat the Senators AGAIN this playoff year.) Ahem. Sorry about that.
Anyways, The Flames beat the Canucks in 7 games, the Red Wings in 6, and then the Sharks in 6. Then they lost to the Lightning in 7.
But something strange happened. Despite having a pretty weak roster. Despite having a goalie who clearly played above all expectations. Despite not having a playoff run at all in the previous 7 years. Somehow, inexplicably, the Calgary Flames all of a sudden thought they were One Player Away from being a serious Cup contender.
Seriously. The 2004 Flames were not a good team. They had Iginla and Kiprusoff. And nothing else. Look for yourself. Iggy was in a 3 way tie for the league lead in goals with 41. Not too shabby. Especially for the pre-lockout "dead puck era" when nobody scored. Jarome was tied with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk for the Richard trophy. However, the Columbus Bluejackets and the Atlanta Thrashers were not good teams either, and neither made the playoffs that year. Each team had one exceptional player among a bench of journeymen. On the league leaders list from 2004, Jarome Iginla is the only Flames offensive player to be found.
Who else was on this team? Iggy's centre was Craig Conroy, who finished second in team scoring with 8 goals and 47 points. Second. Iginla was the only 20+ goal scorer on the team. In fact, only 2 other playoff teams also had one 20+ goal scorer; the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators. Both of those teams lost in the first round.
The Flames also had Mikka Kiprusoff in goal that year. Kipper was traded to the Flames from San Jose the previous offseason for a conditional draft pick. Clearly, the Sharks were on crack. And what a season he had. Kipper set the NHL record for lowest GAA with a disgusting 1.69. Even in the playoff pressure cooker, Mikka had 5 shutouts and a 1.85 GAA in 26 games.
The long point is; this was not a very good team, and outside of Iggy, Kipper and a few overly defensive defencemen, not really much to work with. But, they scraped and clawed their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. A remarkable feat.
Yet, Darryl Sutter thought they were a great team. They had a great defence for sure. But, the scoring was pathetic. While defence and great goaltending keeps you in games, you cannot win without scoring a goal.
Sutter thought they just needed one player. They found Daymond Langkow as a free agent for the next season. Not a bad 20 goal man. And rookie Dion Phaneuf stepped into the NHL. He probably would have won the Calder if he hadn't been a rookie at the same time as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. But, when a rookie D-Man is 3rd on your roster for scoring, unless his last name is Orr or Coffey, you have a problem.
The next year, they traded for Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart. Then came Kristian Huselius. And then Alex Tanguay. And then Owen Nolan. And Jay Bouwmeester. And Todd Bertuzzi. And Mike Cammalleri. Oh and Olli Jokinen too. And on and on. And to add insanity to the whole thing, if a player didn't work out the first time, trade him away and bring him back a few years later as if it would work better the second time around. Craig Conroy, Tanguay, Jokinen, and Cammalleri have all been shipped out, and brought back to see if they could somehow do better the second time around. The Flames, mostly Darryl Sutter, have been looking for that One Player for 7 years. Trading away draft picks, core players and signing massive cap busting contracts. Another Flames fun fact. Last year, they actually had to finish the regular season with only 16 players on the bench because they spent over the salary cap and had ineligible players. And still, they lose in the first round every year. If the San Jose Sharks are the poster team for playoff choking, that's' because they read the Flames instruction manual on how to do it first.
The '04 Stanley Cup run deluded the Flames into thinking they were better than they actually were. And if they had stayed the course, they'd be much better off today. The Flames will most likely miss the playoffs again this year, for the 3rd straight season.
And, as luck would have it, just up Alberta Highway 2, there is a similar situation, with a marked change in result. The Edmonton Oilers went to the Cup Finals in 2006. They certainly weren't supposed to. They had Ryan Smyth and Chris Pronger as the team leaders, and they came oh-so-close against the Carolina Hurricanes. And they almost fell into the same trap. Except Prongers' wife wanted out of Edmonton. So, that put an end to that whole "let's-play-in-the-finals-every-year" idea pretty quick. They signed Joffrey Lupul. Craig MacTavish even got into a pissing contest with Brian Burke over Dustin Penner. But, the Oilers didn't make the playoffs even with the big name signings. The whole Chris Pronger debacle shook the team so badly, they choose to rebuild through the draft. I'd much rather be an Oilers fan than a Flames fan these days. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle (I'd give my left nut for this guy to be a Leaf), Taylor Hall, and MSP are all future stars, and an incredibly talented base to build with.
And that's the myth of the One Player Away philosophy. We've all seen it over and over. There really are only certain guys who can be that player. Being statistically proficient doesn't mean you're that guy. That guy has to bring a character and leadership to a team to push them over the hump of almost winners to Stanley Cup Champions. This is something the Detroit Red Wings have known for years. Draft well, raise talent within your system, and bring in character for the one player to put you over the top. You need a player like a Mark Messier, a Brendan Shanahan, a Scott/Rob Neidermayer, Patrick Roy, Rod Brind'Amour, Ron Francis. All guys who have the ability to lift a team on their shoulders with leadership and toughness and carry that team through a playoff marathon.
But who would be a candidate for that guy status in the NHL today? Ironically, Jarome Iginla would be an amazing fit for a team so close to the Stanely Cup. I think, if the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins, or San Jose Sharks, or Chicago Blackhawks want to make sure they're playing for a championship at the end of the year, they all need Jarome Iginla. Unfortunately, the Flames aren't willing to trade him as it would show their fans they've given up on the year. At some point, reality has to set in, and you have to cash in on what you have. This is much like the Mats Sundin situation at the end of his Leafs career. The Flames need to trade Jarome and stockpile draft picks and bluechip talent for the future and start over. Jarome, the best thing you could do as a Flame at this point is to allow yourself to be traded to a contender and allow the Flames to get something in return for your skills. How do I know the Flames would get amazing value out of Jarome Iginla? Last year, the Bruins thought they were one player away, and traded for Tomas Kaberle of the Leafs. The Bruins won the Cup, but gave the Leafs Joe Colborne and a first and second round draft pick. Iginla would command a much bigger return.
The Flames have nothing. The cupboard is bare, and Jarome is in the sunset of a brilliant career. The Flames don't have a backup goalie, or a plan B. I'm afraid Flames fans, this team is going to have to count on years of high first round draft picks and missed playoffs to turn this thing around.
And all because they took one little surprise trip to the Finals one year.
Fun Flames fact. Since they won the Stanley Cup in 1989, the franchise has won exactly 3 playoff series, and all those were in the same year. That's right. Since 1989, the Flames have been bounced from the Cup playoffs in the first round in every year they qualified, except 2004.
Ahh....2004. The Red Mile. Bare breasted women. Lots of beer and debauchery. And that was before Stampede. The Calgary Flames notched 3 improbable series wins, and were just one OT goal away from winning the Stanley Cup.
It really was an improbable run. 2004 was the first time in SEVEN seasons the Flames made the playoffs. They were not expected to go far. (As a shout out to Leafers, the Blue and White beat the Senators AGAIN this playoff year.) Ahem. Sorry about that.
Anyways, The Flames beat the Canucks in 7 games, the Red Wings in 6, and then the Sharks in 6. Then they lost to the Lightning in 7.
But something strange happened. Despite having a pretty weak roster. Despite having a goalie who clearly played above all expectations. Despite not having a playoff run at all in the previous 7 years. Somehow, inexplicably, the Calgary Flames all of a sudden thought they were One Player Away from being a serious Cup contender.
Seriously. The 2004 Flames were not a good team. They had Iginla and Kiprusoff. And nothing else. Look for yourself. Iggy was in a 3 way tie for the league lead in goals with 41. Not too shabby. Especially for the pre-lockout "dead puck era" when nobody scored. Jarome was tied with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk for the Richard trophy. However, the Columbus Bluejackets and the Atlanta Thrashers were not good teams either, and neither made the playoffs that year. Each team had one exceptional player among a bench of journeymen. On the league leaders list from 2004, Jarome Iginla is the only Flames offensive player to be found.
Who else was on this team? Iggy's centre was Craig Conroy, who finished second in team scoring with 8 goals and 47 points. Second. Iginla was the only 20+ goal scorer on the team. In fact, only 2 other playoff teams also had one 20+ goal scorer; the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators. Both of those teams lost in the first round.
The Flames also had Mikka Kiprusoff in goal that year. Kipper was traded to the Flames from San Jose the previous offseason for a conditional draft pick. Clearly, the Sharks were on crack. And what a season he had. Kipper set the NHL record for lowest GAA with a disgusting 1.69. Even in the playoff pressure cooker, Mikka had 5 shutouts and a 1.85 GAA in 26 games.
The long point is; this was not a very good team, and outside of Iggy, Kipper and a few overly defensive defencemen, not really much to work with. But, they scraped and clawed their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. A remarkable feat.
Yet, Darryl Sutter thought they were a great team. They had a great defence for sure. But, the scoring was pathetic. While defence and great goaltending keeps you in games, you cannot win without scoring a goal.
Sutter thought they just needed one player. They found Daymond Langkow as a free agent for the next season. Not a bad 20 goal man. And rookie Dion Phaneuf stepped into the NHL. He probably would have won the Calder if he hadn't been a rookie at the same time as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. But, when a rookie D-Man is 3rd on your roster for scoring, unless his last name is Orr or Coffey, you have a problem.
The next year, they traded for Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart. Then came Kristian Huselius. And then Alex Tanguay. And then Owen Nolan. And Jay Bouwmeester. And Todd Bertuzzi. And Mike Cammalleri. Oh and Olli Jokinen too. And on and on. And to add insanity to the whole thing, if a player didn't work out the first time, trade him away and bring him back a few years later as if it would work better the second time around. Craig Conroy, Tanguay, Jokinen, and Cammalleri have all been shipped out, and brought back to see if they could somehow do better the second time around. The Flames, mostly Darryl Sutter, have been looking for that One Player for 7 years. Trading away draft picks, core players and signing massive cap busting contracts. Another Flames fun fact. Last year, they actually had to finish the regular season with only 16 players on the bench because they spent over the salary cap and had ineligible players. And still, they lose in the first round every year. If the San Jose Sharks are the poster team for playoff choking, that's' because they read the Flames instruction manual on how to do it first.
The '04 Stanley Cup run deluded the Flames into thinking they were better than they actually were. And if they had stayed the course, they'd be much better off today. The Flames will most likely miss the playoffs again this year, for the 3rd straight season.
And, as luck would have it, just up Alberta Highway 2, there is a similar situation, with a marked change in result. The Edmonton Oilers went to the Cup Finals in 2006. They certainly weren't supposed to. They had Ryan Smyth and Chris Pronger as the team leaders, and they came oh-so-close against the Carolina Hurricanes. And they almost fell into the same trap. Except Prongers' wife wanted out of Edmonton. So, that put an end to that whole "let's-play-in-the-finals-every-year" idea pretty quick. They signed Joffrey Lupul. Craig MacTavish even got into a pissing contest with Brian Burke over Dustin Penner. But, the Oilers didn't make the playoffs even with the big name signings. The whole Chris Pronger debacle shook the team so badly, they choose to rebuild through the draft. I'd much rather be an Oilers fan than a Flames fan these days. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle (I'd give my left nut for this guy to be a Leaf), Taylor Hall, and MSP are all future stars, and an incredibly talented base to build with.
And that's the myth of the One Player Away philosophy. We've all seen it over and over. There really are only certain guys who can be that player. Being statistically proficient doesn't mean you're that guy. That guy has to bring a character and leadership to a team to push them over the hump of almost winners to Stanley Cup Champions. This is something the Detroit Red Wings have known for years. Draft well, raise talent within your system, and bring in character for the one player to put you over the top. You need a player like a Mark Messier, a Brendan Shanahan, a Scott/Rob Neidermayer, Patrick Roy, Rod Brind'Amour, Ron Francis. All guys who have the ability to lift a team on their shoulders with leadership and toughness and carry that team through a playoff marathon.
But who would be a candidate for that guy status in the NHL today? Ironically, Jarome Iginla would be an amazing fit for a team so close to the Stanely Cup. I think, if the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins, or San Jose Sharks, or Chicago Blackhawks want to make sure they're playing for a championship at the end of the year, they all need Jarome Iginla. Unfortunately, the Flames aren't willing to trade him as it would show their fans they've given up on the year. At some point, reality has to set in, and you have to cash in on what you have. This is much like the Mats Sundin situation at the end of his Leafs career. The Flames need to trade Jarome and stockpile draft picks and bluechip talent for the future and start over. Jarome, the best thing you could do as a Flame at this point is to allow yourself to be traded to a contender and allow the Flames to get something in return for your skills. How do I know the Flames would get amazing value out of Jarome Iginla? Last year, the Bruins thought they were one player away, and traded for Tomas Kaberle of the Leafs. The Bruins won the Cup, but gave the Leafs Joe Colborne and a first and second round draft pick. Iginla would command a much bigger return.
The Flames have nothing. The cupboard is bare, and Jarome is in the sunset of a brilliant career. The Flames don't have a backup goalie, or a plan B. I'm afraid Flames fans, this team is going to have to count on years of high first round draft picks and missed playoffs to turn this thing around.
And all because they took one little surprise trip to the Finals one year.
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