Flames Heating Up

Despite the fact that they went out and hired Mike Keenan the Flames have been making some noise and the developments are promising. Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regher recently extended their contracts with the team and that is great news. Add them to recent additions of Corey Sarich, Adrian Aucoin and Owen Nolan and things are definitely looking up. Expect Aucoin to log some serious minutes this season as he's dedicated himself this off-season to a serious fitness program. Nolan provides a nice steadying veteran presence and Sarich is definitely under-rated. A little more pop up front would be welcome for poolies, but the Flames look to be poised to make some noise...in Montreal, the Habs seemed to have bid adieu to Sheldon Souray. His booming shot from the point on the PP will be missed, but his -20 plus/minus will not. GM Gainey extended a pricey offer to Roman Hamrlik to replace Souray and Hamrlik will fit in nicely; he'll have less points but his +/- will be better than Souray's. Also, Bryan Smolinski has signed on with the Habs and he might be worth a late round fantasy pick. He's better than the departed Radek Bonk and his skill in the face-off circle will be welcomed...in Edmonton, they're still licking their wounds from the Nylander debacle, GM Kevin Lowe has set his sights on Eric Lindros as his next free-agent signing. He hasn't played more than 47 games in one season in any of the past 4 years, but when healthy Lindros still has the skills that allow him to contribute. The tipping point for Lindros to the Oil is the Edmonton's desire to use the Big E down the middle...Atlanta re-upped Slava Kozlov to a 3 year deal and this is good news for Kozlov owners. The Thrashers play an up-tempo style of play and Kozlov thrives in the type of system that doesn't focus on defensive hockey. Look for another strong season from Kozlov again this coming year...