It's now or never

When Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter traded away the popular Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference to the Boston Bruins for soon-to-be unrestricted free agents Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau, the sweatiest palms in the NHL might possibly belong to Edmonton Oilers' GM Kevin Lowe. The Oil has been almost pathetic on the blueline this year, one season removed from when d-men Chris Pronger and Jaroslav Spacek backed their team to a credible run at the Stanley Cup. Marc-Andre Bergeron, he of "let's run the opponent into the crease and take out our number one goalie in the Stanley Cup finals" fame, is the team's leading scorer on the point with 7 goals and 24 points. Not much to be proud of.

Meanwhile, the Flames, having an abundance of depth in front of goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, merely added a proven presence while clearing room for up-and-comers Mike Giordano and Ritchie Regehr. The same goes for Wayne Primeau, who adds a confident and disciplined 6'4" demeanor on either the wing or as pivot. Primeau is also a noted face-off specialist, an aesthetic clearly coveted by Sutter.

Yesterday's humiliating loss to the Detroit Red Wing, while understandably a let-down after Saturday's difficult loss to the Sabres, was not indicative of the near future of the team. There is no doubt that the team has added to, rather than lost from, the current roster. Whether or not they can gel before season end is another story.

What is certain, however, is that the Flames are gearing up for what could possibly be their last major chance at Lord Stanley for the next three years or so.

We'll see in June whether this was a good deal or no.