Calgary Flames Betting Odds Favor Big Changes in 2012-13

Calgary fans: start dumping your Jerome Iginla gear now.

If we are to believe Bovada’s Calgary Flames Futures Odds, he will be part of a sweeping change in the locker room where to Flames are hoping to erase the memory of another miserable season. The Flames have been stuck in a tough spot for a few years now, failing to reach the playoffs in three years under Darryl Sutter despite having a veteran lineup. But they weren’t bad enough to get any elite players in the NHL Draft.

After another disappointment in 2012, it looks like the team is ready to blow apart and start over again. After the team and Sutter reached a mutual agreement to cut ties, there has already been a through search for the new head coach. Troy Ward is the front runner to land the job at 7/4, according to Bovada, followed by Bob Hartley (5/2) and Craig MacTavish (6/1). Jacques Martin is the longshot at (15/1). Bill Boughner looks to be a dead bet at 9/1 after telling the Calgary Sun he isn’t likely to leave the OHL Windsor Spitfires.

NHL Futures Betting Lines are giving 4/1 odds that Calgary will dump Iginla this offseason, and 3/1 odds it will ship out goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, too.

Iginla was a cult hero in 2004 when he had the Flames within a game of the Cup just before the lockout. But Calgary hasn’t reach the championship since and fans seemed resigned to the fact that he will win it one day – just not with them. Iginla will be a tough move, but because of his no-trade clause, we can narrow the likely teams down to those who will be contenders in the next few years.

For Kiprusoff, it might get a little more difficult. Trading top line goaltenders is a rarity in itself and it will be difficult to get good value back from him at 37 years old. The closest comparison seems to be the swap of Dominik Hasek in 2001, and Calgary will likely want a front line player and a late 1st-rounder for him at the least. And even when the value is established, it will be hard to find something that fits.

“Constructing a Kipper trade is a challenge,” Matchsticks and Gasoline writer Mitch Smith said. “Aspiring to a Hasek level return is a little heady, even in a short supply market. Kipper straight across really doesn’t work too well in my calibrations. The trade has to be a multi-player trade which opens up a whole new can of worms.”

And then there’s the issue with Olli Jokinen, who is just now returning from abdominal surgery. He would be a nice player to keep if he can regain himself next year, but the team may have already found a solution by signing Roman Cervenka. He had as many goals as Jokinen in 2012, and did it for pennies on the dollar. It might not make financial sense to take a flier on Jokinen and see if he can bounce back next season. Calgary Flames Futures Odds don’t think he will be around next year, either, placing a -500 payday that the team won’t re-sign him.

 

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