Hockey Talk for Flames Fans Since 2013

For The C of Red...By The C of Red

Tag: Mike Smith

This is still a work in progress. Many older episodes weren't tagged correctly with all mentions, and even some newer episodes are missing tags. We hope to update and add to this repository over time. If you're looking for something specific, please contact us and we would be happy to help.

Episode 210: A Home-And-Home Split

Posted on April 15, 2019

We’re two games into the series, and the Flames and Avalanche have split the wins. We talk about what we saw in the first two games, and what the Flames need to change to make sure they can win this series.

Listen

Episode 204: Iggy Is #12 In The Rafters, #1 In Our Hearts!

Posted on March 5, 2019

This was an up-and-down week for the Flames. The team ended a season long 7 game win streak, coming up short against the Minnesota Wild on the evening that the Flames retired Jarome Iginla’s #12.

We discuss Oscar Fantenberg’s first few games as a Flame, what the pending returns of James Neal and Michael Stone will mean to the Flames lineup, and the decline of both of the Flames goaltenders since the Trade Deadline and what it might mean for a long playoff run.

And of course…we give our thoughts on the jersey retirement ceremony for Jarome Iginla, and share our thoughts on Iggy’s legacy as a Calgary Flame.

Listen

Episode 202: Mike Smith Is Looking Good Again!

Posted on February 19, 2019

Mike Smith is looking like an NHL goalie again, James Neal is out of the lineup and Dalton Prout is becoming a serviceable defenceman. We discuss if these factors should change the Flames trade deadline strategy? We’ve talked alot about what the Flames should acquire at the deadline, and this week we look at what the most likely asset(s) for the Flames to give up are.

Plus we read some listener emails about the sky falling in Calgary, and if the Flames need veteran leadership. And of course a healthy dose of Oilers bashing this week. Could an XBOX do a better job of managing the team than the past GM did?

Listen

Episode 198: Heading Into A Hard Earned Break

Posted on January 22, 2019

In our last episode before the Flames take a hard earned break, we discuss the last week of games including the big win over the Oilers. We speculate on how many starts each goalie will get for the remaining 32 games of the season. Plus we answer a fan question, and give our prediction on the Flames final game of the month.

Listen

Episode 197: 30 Wins In 47 Games!

Posted on January 15, 2019

The Flames tied a franchise record this week, winning 30 games in the first 47 they’ve played this season – tied with the 88-89 Calgary Flames team. We discuss the last 3 games for the Flames, and how they’re managing to win even when not playing their best hockey, and what the team has to do to stay #1 in the Western Conference with two teams now right on their heels.

Of course we have to look ahead to Trade Deadline, talk about what impact a returning Michael Stone will make to the lineup, and if David Rittich is a long-term starting goalie for the Flames past this season, and we look at the Stockton Heat – plus answer a listener question and more.

Listen

Episode 196: Still On Top Going Into 2019

Posted on January 8, 2019

The Flames have past the half way point of the season and are still first place in the Western Conference. With seven weeks until the Trade Deadline, we discuss what the Flames may need to acquire and what a suitable return would be to make those upgrades.  With Michael Frolik’s agent tweeting to criticize the team’s use of him, is it time for the Flames to move on from Frolik?

We discuss if Dillon Dube and Curtis Lazar are legitimate NHLers, and if they either player should have a spot in the lineup this season, or what they’d have to do to make the team next season.

The Flames play the Jets next season on October 26, 2018 in Regina for one of the Heritage Classic outdoor games. We discuss and speculate what retro style jersey we’d like (or not like) to see the Flames wear for that game.

Listen

Episode 195: Purple Gatorade Power!

Posted on December 18, 2018

The Calgary Flames top line, and the power of the purple Gatorade lead the team to three wins this week. In a week with injuries and lineup changes, the team still managed to keep their spot atop the Western Conference.

We recap our 2018-2019 predictions as we close out the 2018 calendar year, and share our thoughts on Bill Peters so far as the coach, as well as looking ahead to the 2019 portion of the season, and what the Flames need to do to last as a top team in the West.

Listen

Episode 194: Three Wins, Two Suspensions and One Loss

Posted on December 10, 2018

This week had ups and downs for the Flames, but can be summed up as 3…2…1. Three wins before the loss to the Oilers (the end of a 5 game streak), two suspensions and one loss. We discuss how the Mikael Backlund injury and the suspensions have changed the Flames lineup and compare this year’s […]

Listen

Episode 193: Five Of A Possible Six Points

Posted on December 4, 2018

The Flames ended the week with 5 of a possible 6 points this week, on a week when they arguably didn’t play great hockey.  We discuss how Mike Smith looked in two consecutive starts, and what the goalie scenario might look like for the rest of the season.

With the Flames having some injuries, we see Oliver Kylington and Ryan Lomberg draw into the lineup. We discuss how these guys looked, and if Lomberg deserves a spot on the NHL roster. Will Dillon Dube’s demotion to the AHL prove to be the best move for him?

As well we recap some Stockton Heat team news, and look ahead to the Flames December schedule, and our thoughts on what the team’s record has to do to make this month a success.

Listen

Episode 191: Beating The Oilers Is All That Mattered

Posted on November 20, 2018

The most important news item this week, is the Flames beat the Oilers. David Rittich looks like he’s going to be leaned on as the starting goaltender for a while. The guys debate if that’s a good idea, and what the Flames need to do to give Rittich the right chance as a starter. Plus some Stockton Heat news.

Listen

Episode 190: Getting The Most Of Our Assets?

Posted on November 13, 2018

The Flames have returned from their California road trip and we break down three very different games from this week – including the goaltending in each game as the Smith vs. Rittich debate continues. 

Our main discussion this week centres around some of the players that we, and our listeners, have tagged as “disappointing so far”. We discuss what we need out of these players for them to not to have a disappointing season.

And just for fun, Dan and Matt kick around the idea of the Flames acquiring William Nylander, what it would take, and if that cost would be worth paying.

Listen

Episode 189: Stop Winning Games In The Third Period

Posted on November 6, 2018

One month into the season the Flames are riding high in a four game win streak. The Calgary Flames finally seems to be coming into their own, but how long can the team win games in the last 20 minutes? and how much is their goaltending to blame for their bad starts?

We can’t avoid the goaltending discussion again – who should get starting minutes? Do the Flames need to acquire a goalie, and if so at what cost? Can the team promote from within to solve their goaltending issues? Outside the net the Flames have a lot of players doing things right. Sean Monahan was the first star of the week, and Monahan, Gaudreau and Tkachuk are in the top 10 in league scoring with Lindholm not far behind at number 13. Plus, we debate if Dillon Dube should be in the NHL or AHL right now, who his replacement might be, and answer a question for a Flames fan in the UK.

Listen

Episode 188: Let’s Never Mention That Penguins Game Again

Posted on October 30, 2018

Coming off of a 3 game losing streak, and a disastrous game against the Penguins, the Flames played the best defensive game we can remember against the Leafs to break the losing streak, and the Flames are now guaranteed to end October with at least a .500 record.

TJ Brodie has been getting a lot of criticism from Flames fans. Matt suggests trading him and Dan asks what we think a reasonable return would be – and we discuss Michael Stone and Mark Jankowski’s positions in the lineup going into November and what the Flames schedule looks like for the next month, as well as our predictions for the coming week.

Listen

Episode 187: Airing Our Concerns Despite The Great Record

Posted on October 25, 2018

We’re 10% of the way through the season and the Flames have a 5-3 record – their best start in recent memory, and one of the highlights of the team has been backup goalie David Rittich. The guys gave Rittich a hard time early on – have they changed their tune?

Despite the great record we have some concerns about a few players on the roster, which we discuss and put our General Manager hats on to decide what to do with these players.

Listen

Episode 175: Missing Mike Smith

Posted on March 7, 2018

The Flames are falling hard after a four game losing streak. What will it take for the Flames to make the playoffs at this point?  We break down our thoughts on how the Flames have looked without Mike Smith, and if it’s been the team or the young goalies that have been the issue recently. With Michael Ferland back in the lineup after an injury – who should be on the first line? Bennett? Brouwer? Ferland? Someone else? Plus we’ll look at the Flames injured players and their status and more.

Listen

Episode 172: In Rittich We Trust

Posted on February 15, 2018

The big Flames news of the week is Mike Smith is out. How will this affect the Flames playoff chances? Can the Flames still win games without their best player? Does David Rittich have what it takes to be a starter? Will Jon Gillies get into the Flames net before Smith comes back?  We answer these questions and in general talk about the Flames netminding this week.

Listen

Special: Recapping The Season on The Bottom Line View NHL

Posted on January 23, 2018

Because of the Flames bye week, we don’t have enough to discuss for a full show – but this week Dan and Matt joined Kevin Olenick of the Bottom Line View NHL YouTube channel to recap the Flames season so far, discuss where the Flames might go this season – and look ahead to the trade deadline.

We’ll be back with a regular episode next week, but we hope you enjoy this recap in the mean time.

Listen

Episode 162: The Old Timey Train Ride

Posted on November 23, 2017

We’re analyzing the team at the quarter mark of the season, and giving our thoughts on where the team sits, and where we predict the team will finish. As well, we discuss the goalie changes over the last week – Mike Smith getting hurt, Eddie Lack starting in Detroit, and Jon Gillies relief effort. How long can the Flames keep riding Mike Smith like they are, if they want him to be ready for the post-season? What do they have to do to find a capable backup goalie?

Listen

Episode 161: Secondary Scoring Has Arrived!

Posted on November 16, 2017

The Flames have ended their longest homestand of the year with good news…their secondary scoring has finally come alive! Mark Jankowski and Jaromir Jagr have had fantastic chemistry this week to propel the Flames to 2 big wins in a row. Of course we’re discussing the secondary scoring and how we feel about the roster and the Flames chances at the 17 game point. With Mike Smith’s injury in the St. Louis game, we’ll discuss the options for the Flames in net on their road trip, and how we feel about the Flames chances in their next 6 games in 11 days on the road.

Listen

Episode 154: Jobs Up For Grabs

Posted on September 28, 2017

It’s training camp, and the Flames have jobs available in the NHL, but very few of the young players look like they want to take those jobs. Who has looked ready to make the jump to the NHL and who hasn’t? Which veterans are we excited about, and we discuss one of the questions we’re asked frequently…how does the goalie tandem of Mike Smith and Eddie Lack look so far?

Listen

Episode 151: A Busy Week of Surprising Changes

Posted on June 27, 2017

It’s been a busy week for the Calgary Flames and GM Brad Treliving. The NHL Entry Draft, the Expansion Draft, and the Flames acquiring goalie Mike Smith and Defenceman Travis Hamonic to fill two big holes in the lineup, and put them into “win now mode”. The guys will break down all these moves and discuss what it means for the future of the franchise.

Listen