Flames Are A'changin'

The Calgary Flames may not have made any exciting picks during this year’s NHL Entry Draft (in fact, they made no picks at all until the third round), but that doesn’t mean that the club’s roster hasn’t been going through a makeover of its own. From the management at the top of the ladder to the team’s foot soldiers, the Flames are slowly revamping themselves in hopes of making the 2010-2011 season much better than the last.
The biggest splash made so far: Darryl Sutter’s decision to re-sign two former Flames, Ollie Jokinen and Alex Tanguay. Jokinen was traded off to the New York Rangers in exchange for right-winger Ales Kotalik in February and became a UFA at the end of the season. Flames fans were (and still are) skeptical of the decision, as both Tanguay and Jokinen’s goal production and play were unimpressive in the past year. But Sutter and the rest of the team stand by the decision, stating that their return will strengthen the team.
Other new additions to the roster are defensemen Gord Baldwin and Matt Pelech, forwards Tim Jackman, Raitis Ivanan, Gaelen Patterson, Ryan Stone and Kris Chucko, as well as goaltender Matt Keetley. The Flames’ former backup goalie Vesa Toskala gained UFA status at the beginning of the summer and is not returning to the Flames roster for the 2010-2011 season.
Former Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Jay Feaster, who oversaw the team when they beat the Flames in 2004 for the Stanley Cup Championship, has also signed on to lend his managerial expertise to the Flames. He has been named assistant general manager.