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"I was thinking the last days, if I go, I know I can help the Flames get something for me," said Kiprusoff, who was asked by the Flames to discuss with Toronto the possibility of joining the Leafs for the playoffs -- a notion he rejected.

"But this morning when I did talk with Jay Feaster and said how I feel and how I found out they want to keep me here, it didn't surprise me. It's how they've been treating me since I came, and that tells a lot about this organization. It's first class, and I appreciate it."

That's not to say he didn't seriously consider leaving his newborn son and family.

"When you know another team wants you and I was thinking a lot about it, but I did get the feeling -- doubts -- it was the right thing to do," said Kiprusoff, who has struggled all season long.

"If you start second-guessing, I don't think it's the right thing to do for the Leafs if my heart is not 100% there."

Agreed.

Problem is, the Flames don't want or need him anymore, which was made obvious by the decision to start Joey MacDonald ahead of him Wednesday night. The rebuild is underway and having a 37-year-old starter next year makes no sense. The Flames need to start the search for the next Kipper and they have plenty of young candidates.

After all, who can drag their carcass out of bed for a mere $1.5 million a year as part of the NHL's very first "back-diving" deal?

Asked three different ways last night if he planned on honouring the final year of his deal next year, Kiprusoff danced.

"Right now, I'd like to finish this season here, and after that we are going to sit down with the Flames and talk with them," said Kiprusoff.

"I'm going to make a decision then."

He's done, and that's OK by all involved.

Despite being the man who almost single-handedly turned this franchise into a Stanley Cup finalist in 2004, the stage is now set for an unceremonial departure, which is why it wouldn't have been the worst thing had he abruptly left Wednesday.

Fact is, with only one team showing interest, the return wouldn't have been much higher than a mid-round draft pick. After all, he comes with a $5.8-million cap hit and has the worst numbers of all NHL starters.

It's been a tough year for ol' Kipper and things won't get better anytime soon. Especially now that some fans are angry he chose not to leave as Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester did.

Jay Feaster gave a nod to Kiprusoff's exemplary service while explaining why the trade wasn't forced on Kiprusoff.

Debate all you want about whether that was the correct approach.

But know that, like Iginla, Kiprusoff held all the cards and simply chose to play them differently.

One last chance at a Stanley Cup be damned.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667729 Calgary Flames

Flames lose ugly one to young Oilers

By RANDY SPORTAK, Calgary Sun

First posted: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:00 PM MDT | Updated: Thursday, April 04, 2013 12:09 AM MDT

Can't even be spoilers in the Battle of Alberta.

Welcome to the long march to the finish line for the Calgary Flames.

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone -- with Blake Comeau joining Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester in being dealt away in the first step of a rebuild -- the Flames began their second stage with Wednesday's 8-2 whipping at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

"That was embarrassing for us as players," Flames defenceman Mark Giordano said. "For us guys who've been around here and want to call ourselves veteran guys, that's disappointing. Myself, I feel embarrassed of my own play and that loss."

The coming phase is the continued plummet as far down the standings as possible to garner what should end up the highest draft the Flames franchise has received since moving to the Stampede City.

That would be the Death for Seth, Not Winnin' for MacKinnon, Losin' for Drouin or whatever you call the quest to grab a potential young star to be a big piece to start re-igniting the floundering franchise that's currently 28th overall in the league.

Thirteen more performances like that, and the Flames will be at the bottom. The only reason they weren't booed off the ice was the fact it wouldn't have been heard over the celebrating Oilers fans who filled the Saddledome and its announced crowd of 19,289.

That, and the fact any supporters were long gone.

"It definitely doesn't get any lower than that. It's embarrassing," said forward Curtis Glencross. "It's all about compete-level and wanting it ... and it starts right from myself. We've gotta find a way from inside this room."

The only route this team appears headed is not only a fourth consecutive season without playoffs but the worst finish in the final standings in franchise history.

"That's our effort. That's what we deserved," said Matt Stajan, who scored twice on his team's first two shots to spot the hosts a 2-0 lead. "We didn't deserve anything better than that."

Trade deadline on Wednesday came and went with only one last move by the Flames, sending Comeau to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth-round draft choice.

The potential deal which would have seen long-time standout goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't materialize. The club honoured his wish to not be traded, even though Kiprusoff no longer has a no-trade clause and has one more season on his deal following this disappointing campaign.

Kiprusoff may return next season, although it's a strong possibility the 36-year-old netminder will retire.

All the trade deadline action made the latest instalment in the Alberta rivalry a secondary story in Calgary -- and seemingly among the Flames -- who are doing little to fight to the finish.

Sam Gagner and Ryan Whitney erased Calgary's lead by the end of the opening period, and the momentum carried from that point.

Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov each scored twice, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Hall added singles for the Oilers (16-13-7). Hall finished with five points for the team on the upswing of its own rebuild after finishing 30th, 30th, 29th in the last three seasons but now is in sole possession of eighth spot in the Western Conference and riding a five-game winning streak.

You can't help but think beating the Flames that bad wasn't a good feeling for the young Oilers. The result stung the hosts.

"There's always a little added juice to these games, with a rivalry game, and it definitely adds to the bad and adds to the good," Flames forward Mike Cammalleri said. "When it's bad, it makes it worse. When it's good, it makes it better. We were on the bad-makes-it-worse end of that, tonight."

Added head coach Bob Hartley: "They gave us a hockey lesson, plain and simple."

The Flames (13-18-4) have dropped three straight and seven of nine outings, and now embark on a three-game road trip which begins Friday in San Jose.

They'll look to snap an 11-game road losing skid, in which only one defeat didn't come in regulation.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667730 Calgary Flames

Flames prospect up for Hobey Baker

By WES GILBERTSON, Calgary Sun

First posted: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:14 PM MDT | Updated: Thursday, April 04, 2013 12:09 AM MDT

The little guy is up for a big honour.

Calgary Flames forward prospect Johnny Gaudreau, the 5-foot-6 world-junior gold medallist for Team USA and the leading scorer for the Boston College Eagles, was named Friday as one of a hat-trick of finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the player-of-the-year in the NCAA hockey ranks.

Quinnipiac Bobcats netminder Eric Hartzell and St. Cloud State Huskies forward Drew LeBlanc — a teammate of Flames acquisition Ben Hanowski — are also candidates for the prestigious award. The winner will be announced next Friday.

Gaudreau, 19, doesn’t have much more to prove at the collegiate level, although the Flames won’t pressure the pint-sized sniper from Carney’s Point, N.J., to turn professional right away.

“I don’t believe that we should ever be in a situation that we’re dictating to the player that this is what you have to do,” said Flames GM Jay Feaster. “I believe that’s an important family decision. The athlete has to be comfortable. The parents have to be comfortable.

“And what I’ve always said is that we’ll always be there supporting. If the athlete says ‘I’m ready to go. I want to turn pro right now,’ then we’ll be there with a contract. If the athlete says, ‘I think one more year, get bigger, get stronger. I want to win a national championship ... ‘

“Whatever the case may be, as I say, we’ll be there watching you, we’ll be there supporting you and we’ll be there for you when you decide you want to turn pro.”

As an added bonus, Gaudreau is apparently good friends with Yale Bulldogs forward Kenny Agostino of Morristown, N.J., one of two collegiate forwards — Hanowski is the other — that became Flames property as part of the Jarome Iginla trade.

Around the boards

Now that the Flames have honoured G Miikka Kiprusoff’s request to stay put in Calgary, we’ll find out if the non-stop trade speculation was a contributing factor to his recent struggles. To be blunt, Kiprusoff has stunk in his past two outings. “It’s been a pretty tough last few weeks, but I’m not going to use that excuse,” Kiprusoff said. “I haven’t played well and I know I have to pick up my game. I’m pretty happy this is over now” ... For the second consecutive season, Flames D Derek Smith could finish the season on the injured list. The 28-year-old is wearing a brace on his knee and admitted he’ll need “a few weeks” of recovery time ... That fifth-round pick the Flames acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for RW Blake Comeau? Might not sound like much, but keep in mind Kiprusoff and RW Lee Stempniak are both former fifth-round selections ... Strange coincidence? After receiving some shooting advice from Mr. T last week in Chicago, Flames RW Brian McGrattan scored in two straight games.

Off the glass

One week after the trade, it still feels strange to see stacks of sale-priced Iginla merchandise at the FanAttic store ... With Iginla and D Jay Bouwmeester traded away, the Flames roster has a very un-Edmonton feel for the first time in recent memory. From Bouwmeester (Edmonton) and Iginla (St. Albert) to C Daymond Langkow, D Dion Phaneuf and others, it’s been a long time since there wasn’t a single guy from Oil Country wearing the Flaming ‘C’. Next in the prospect pipeline is Spruce Grove’s Brett Kulak, who is currently toiling with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat on a tryout basis but will be back with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants next season ... On the flip side, Oilers LW Taylor Hall, C Sam Gagner and G Devan Dubnyk all have significant ties to the Stampede City, and they acquired former Hitmen C Jerred Smithson from the Florida Panthers hours before the deadline.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667731 Calgary Flames

Not everyone was available on trade-deadline day for Flames

By WES GILBERTSON, Calgary Sun

First posted: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:30 PM MDT | Updated: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:43 PM MDT

Calgary Flames winger Curtis Glencross was, apparently, on the wish-list of almost every would-be buyer leading up to Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline.

Didn’t matter, because he was on GM Jay Feaster’s oh-so-short list of untouchables, too.

Meeting with the media after a relatively quiet deadline day, Feaster made a point of rebuffing a rumour from a few days ago that he was dangling the 30-year-old speedster on the trade market.

“Someone said that we put Curtis Glencross out there — Jay Feaster put Curtis Glencross out there — and I’m telling you unequivocally that is false,” Feaster said. “I didn’t count them up, but I would estimate I had phone calls from 25 teams, maybe more, on Curtis Glencross. And of course, the minute that (rumour) hits, that you put him out there, then even the people you said ‘no’ to, they call and say, ‘Did you change your mind?’

“I won’t provide you a lot of insight into all the calls and conversations with teams, but I will tell you on that one, that while there were probably a good 25 teams that inquired, Curtis Glencross was never put out there. Furthermore, the organization, we weren’t even saying, ‘Well, what did you have in mind?’ or ‘What would you offer?’

“We were not and are not trading Curtis Glencross.”

When the Flames traded away longtime captain Jarome Iginla one week ago, Glencross was mentioned as a potential candidate to eventually wear the ‘C’ in Calgary.

At the same time, he was mentioned as a fit for the Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators, the New York Rangers ...

Glencross, who is in the second season of a four-year, US$10.2-million contract, has a no-move clause and would have had to green-light any deal. Again, didn’t matter.

Feaster’s only swap on deadline day was to send winger Blake Comeau to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

It’s a mild surprise Feaster wasn’t more active before Wednesday’s deadline, but the lack of movement in the final hours wasn’t a result of the Flames GM hanging up on any of his counterparts.

In fact, Feaster rattled off only a handful of names when asked about the current list of ‘untouchables’.

Grab a pen.

This won’t take long.

“It’s a small list. We’ve made a decision that we need to go a different direction,” Feaster said. “But we certainly weren’t going to trade some of our young guys. T.J Brodie wasn’t going anywhere. Sven (Baertschi) wasn’t going anywhere. Again, a guy like Glennie, we weren’t going to be trading him. A guy like Mark Giordano ...

“But clearly, that list this year of guys that we wouldn’t consider, it was shorter than it would have been in years past.”

After Wednesday’s 8-2 embarrassment at the hands of the Oilers, Glencross reiterated that he wants to be part of the long-term solution at the Saddledome.

“Obviously, it’s a privilege, but it’s going to be a grind,” Glencross said. “We’re starting over here and it’s going to be a big battle for myself, too, mentally. All of us got frustrated here tonight, and when you get frustrated, you start double-thinking things and not sticking to the gameplan.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for myself. Pride is a big thing — playing for that logo and your city and your ownership group and the guys in this room. It’s something where you have to find a way within the 20 guys in this room to find a way to get it done.”

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667732 Calgary Flames

Flames must avoid past mistakes

By RANDY SPORTAK, Calgary Sun

First posted: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:36 PM MDT | Updated: Thursday, April 04, 2013 12:06 AM MDT

“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”

— George Santayana

Are the Calgary Flames headed to the very same spot a few years from now they find themselves today?

Having finally embraced the idea of a rebuild or retool or new direction or whatever the organization wants to call its recent teardown, the Flames braintrust — which doesn’t just include GM Jay Feaster, but also the ownership group headed by Murray Edwards and president Ken King — has to ensure they don’t find themselves in the same spot again in a few seasons.

This year’s trade deadline, and the buildup before it, was all about the Flames finally coming to the conclusion this was not a playoff team, let alone a potential Stanley Cup contender.

In turn, the job was to see what could be done with its long-time stars Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff and a big-ticket player in Jay Bouwmeester, and seeing what they can be turned into in terms of draft picks, prospects and players.

The answer is: Two players in the NCAA ranks, a minor-league defenceman and a European goalie, plus a pair of first-round draft choices.

Can anybody imagine what would have happened had the Flames had their moment of clarity — found that much-needed intellectual honestly — two or three years ago?

What would the team have received in trade then if Iginla, Kiprusoff and Bouwmeester could be convinced then to waive their no-trade and no-movement clauses?

We’re not sure exactly what the bounty received in such trades would have been, but it would have been a heck of a lot more.

That’s the price the Flames paid for hoping they could add a couple of final parts to a core based around those three, and it would be good enough to bottle the kind of lightning that resulted in the 2004 playoff run.

It also must be a cautionary tale for the Flames going forward.

The salary cap has brought even more parity to the NHL, therefore fewer and fewer sellers in the hours leading up to the trade deadline.

This year, being a truncated 48-game season, the disparity in the number of buyers and sellers was even more pronounced, so the Flames had a golden chance to parlay one or two of their players you would normally call “untouchable” into a big return.

Yes, we’re talking about Curtis Glencross and Mark Giordano.

By no means do we know if one or both of those veterans would even have accepted a trade by Wednesday.

They both have no-trade clauses and contracts that are very friendly for the salary cap reality of the league, especially with the cap dropping next season.

Glencross is signed through the 2014-15 season with a US$2.55-million salary cap hit. Giordano’s contract runs through 2015-16 with an average of $4.02 million.

For what those players offer, the Flames could possibly have cashed-in in a seller’s market.

Feaster admitted more than two-thirds of the NHL teams called about Glencross and he didn’t even ask what opposing teams were offering.

This team can’t afford to not listen to overtures — not to any of the players it has.

Look what Jason Pominville and a fourth-round pick garnered the Buffalo Sabres in trade from the Minnesota Wild: A couple of top prospects, a first-round pick this year and a second-rounder in 2014.

Couldn’t the Flames, whose cupboards are nowhere near as full of up-and-comers as they should be, use an injection like that?

By all means, NHL teams that plan to inject youth to the degree the Flames are planning for next season needs solid veterans around to help guide the ship.

However, those wishes must be weighed with whether those players are willing to be around for the time it takes to rebuild (although the Flames outwardly appear to have a belief they’ll be a playoff team next season).

If those players are willing to be the positive guiding forces needed to help turn a franchise around, good for them.

But there comes a time players with top skills and top character have to be traded even before their expiry date simply to prevent diminishing returns.

The Flames owe it to their fans to not make the same mistakes again.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667733 Carolina Hurricanes

Canes' GM Rutherford insists season is not over

Published: April 3, 2013 Updated 2 hours ago

By Chip Alexander — calexander at newsobserver.com

RALEIGH — The NHL trade deadline came and went Wednesday, and the day proved to be a mostly quiet one for the Carolina Hurricanes.

And a glum one.

The Hurricanes announced Wednesday morning that defenseman Joni Pitkanen would be sidelined 10 to 12 weeks after suffering a broken left heel bone in Tuesday’s game against the Washington Capitals. That takes another key player out of the lineup as the Canes attempt to end a 1-8-1 skid and remain in contention in the NHL’s Southeast Division.

The Canes made one trade Wednesday, sending forward Jussi Jokinen to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2013 draft pick. Carolina will receive a sixth- or seventh-round pick depending on how many games Jokinen plays for the Pens.

Jokinen was dealt to the Canes by Tampa Bay in February 2009 and helped Carolina reach the 2009 Eastern Conference finals against the Penguins. A popular player, the Finn scored some of the most memorable playoff goals in franchise history, including a last-second score that beat New Jersey and goaltender Martin Brodeur.

The Hurricanes acquired defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron in a trade Tuesday with the Lightning. That would be their only addition.

Pitkanen was injured in the second period when he raced down the ice to touch the puck and force an icing call against the Caps. The Hurricanes said he broke the calcaneus bone in his left foot as he fell and slammed into the boards.

The Canes (16-17-2) are 11th in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, trailing divisional leader Winnipeg by four points. Injuries to such key players as goaltender Cam Ward, defenseman Justin Faulk and now Pitkanen leave the Canes in jeopardy of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

"It couldn’t have come at a worse time," general manager Jim Rutherford said of the team’s recent slide. "We spent more money on our team this year. I believe we had a team in place that was a very good team.

"But when I talk about it coming at a worse time, this is a year we have decided to raise ticket prices and do different things. That doesn’t sit right with the paying customer, when they watch a team that was so good in the first half (of the season) and a team that wasn’t good in the second half.”

Rutherford made a number of calls Wednesday, but said there were no deals that made sense and not many impact players available. He said the injury to Pitkanen did not change his plans or scuttle any potential deals.

The Jokinen trade was made to move salary – Jokinen has one year left on a contract that has a $3 million salary cap hit next season. The Hurricanes retained a portion of Jokinen’s salary but Rutherford did not disclose the amount.

"It wasn’t about him or him as a player," Rutherford said of the trade. "It was about what we’re doing in going forward, payroll-wise."

The Hurricanes placed Jokinen on NHL waivers last week but there were no takers.

In another personnel move Wednesday, the Canes reassigned defenseman Brett Bellemore to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Bellemore played six games for the Canes in his first NHL recall.

Carolina also signed forward Brock McGinn, a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract. McGinn, 19, was immediately assigned to the Checkers.

McGinn scored 28 goals and had 26 assists in 68 games this season with Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

The Hurricanes face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday at PNC Arena and have 13 games remaining in the regular season. But Rutherford’s said he is "about as frustrated as you can get" about the way the Canes’ season has unraveled.

"We’re not sitting here saying it’s over," he said. "But the most frustrating thing is that in the first part of the season we showed what kind of team we had ... and we played very well. A whole lot of things happened that put this team in the position that we’ve gone on a long losing streak and it came at the worse time possible."

Alexander:

News Observer LOADED: 04.04.2013

667734 Carolina Hurricanes

DeCock: Canes are stuck in NHL's neutral

Published: April 3, 2013 Updated 2 hours ago

By Luke DeCock - staff columnist — ldecock at newsobserver.com

RALEIGH — It was the kind of thing a fan would say, or a sports columnist, or a radio host. To hear it come from a general manager about his own team was to produce the kind of head-turning double-take that makes chiropractors think about getting a bigger boat.

“I believe we had a good product,” Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. “As we speak today, we don’t.”