Calgary Flames
Kotalik Trade Reactions
We've been over it a ton 'round these parts, so here's some of the Jokinen/Kotalik reactions from others:
– Blueshirt Banter is glad Kotalik is gone, but is somewhat annoyed Sather made a move for "now" rather than the future.
– Jonathan Willis thinks Jokinen is better than what he showed in Calgary.
– Copper and Blue's Scott Reynolds analysis is pretty much in line with my own:
So how can Kotalik be effective? Well, he needs to contribute on a “scoring” third line. This means a healthy dose of offensive zone draws against the non-elite players (though not necessarily the dregs) on the other team. This is exactly how Kotalik was used in 2007-08 with the Sabres, one of his most successful seasons statistically.
That sounds rosy, but he comes to roughly the same conclusion as I did below – the deal doesn’t seem to improve the Flames.
– FAN960's Pat Steinberg (now writing for Flamesnation.ca) finds it hard to believe this will be Sutter's final move.
– Puck Daddy compares the swap to the shuffling of garbage and still thinks the Flames came out on the short end. Then he gets a (virtual) tongue lashing from Jokinen's wife.
– Timo Seppa of Puck Prospectus likes the move for the Rangers, not so much for Calgary.
Feel free to add any others in the comments.
by Kent Wilson