As you may recall, Sarich was involved in a very serious accident last summer when he was run over by a truck while riding his bike near Invermere, BC.
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Sarich suffered five cracked vertebrae, muffler-burns on his shoulder and wrist from sliding under the offending truck, severe road rash. (“My helmet was busted up in probably seven or more pieces,” he said a month after the wreck. “It was just in pieces hanging by the chinstrap and was actually choking me, so good thing I had that on because it helped in saving my life.”)
Sarich, who makes his offseason home in Calgary, has been training all summer with his brother-in-law, Nick Schultz (their wives are sisters). Now, he's just looking for a chance to get back in the game, even if it means starting the season in the AHL.
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“I’m doing well,” said Sarich, who, in June 2013, was traded from Calgary to Colorado with Alex Tanguay in exchange for Shane O’Brien and David Jones. “Everything is back to normal. Conditioning-wise, I feel great. Overall health is fantastic.”
But to give his NHL career games total a nudge — he’s stuck at 969 — someone needs to call. He says he would even toil in the American Hockey League, where he hasn’t skated in 14 years.
“I am open to any opportunity, but so far none have presented themselves.”
Optimistic?
“I really was in August,” replied Sarich. “Now that it’s, all of a sudden, September? You realize there’s only 15 or 16 days to training camp and things start to look a little more bleak. I’m a realist, though. If nothing happens, that’s the way it is. At least I’m in good shape. It was a fun summer.
It's good to see he's healthy and back in shape. Obviously, there's no room for him in Calgary (or even Stockton), but it would be nice to see him get a shot somewhere.
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“I just said take it all to the dump and I’ll keep my helmet as a teaching aid,” Sarich said. “Other than that, I don’t think you’ll ever see me on a bike again. I was reluctant to even start (cycling) and I had kind of gotten comfortable because I was riding in Denver on the trails with no vehicles involved. It’s just one guy’s opinion, but I always thought cyclists were nuts. I enjoyed the workout . . . and I just let my own personal guard down.”
It looks as if the Flames are going to be a playoff team this year. A healthy Sarich would have been our #5 D against Anaheim....
If he is willing to work in the AHL and be in the stands for a large portion of his NHL time he would be an ideal #7. Great playoff insurance when less gets called and warriors win.
Would rather have Sarich at the league minimum and helping out the kids in the AHL on what takes to be a pro than Smid at 3.5M
Don't know if he and Hartley are buddies as Hartley sat him a lot in Sarich's last year as a Flame.
God, I love big hits. And Sarich sure was good at delivering them.
From what I can tell, he is a pretty incredible athlete which is paramount to staying in the NHL. Wish him the best in his come back bid. You can't teach experience, and there are teams who need it.
Ugh, watch him sign with EDM.
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I wish him the best of luck in his return but safe to say the chances of Sarich returning to the Flames is about the same as Shane O'Brien. He and Hartley are not fans of each other.
It looks as if the Flames are going to be a playoff team this year. A healthy Sarich would have been our #5 D against Anaheim....
If he is willing to work in the AHL and be in the stands for a large portion of his NHL time he would be an ideal #7. Great playoff insurance when less gets called and warriors win.
Would rather have Sarich at the league minimum and helping out the kids in the AHL on what takes to be a pro than Smid at 3.5M
Don't know if he and Hartley are buddies as Hartley sat him a lot in Sarich's last year as a Flame.
... I know I'm probably in a tiny minority but I always liked Sarich and wouldn't mind him as a bottom pairing guy on this team.
He deserves it.
No he doesn't it. I love Cory Sarich, but you can't run an NHL franchise like that, you'll screw yourself.
The best players deserve the spots, that's how you build a contender, not by saying "This guy was a fringe defenseman when he left, then had an accident and missed a full year, but let's sign him and put him on our bottom pairing because by golly he deserves it!!".
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I've always wanted someone with way more time than me to make new NHL suspension videos on all of these classic hits, and dole out hypothetical suspensions.
(Although this hit is fairly clean, I'm sure it would be review in this era)
Can you imagine some of them for Stevens and Hatcher, and Messier's famous elbows.
No he doesn't it. I love Cory Sarich, but you can't run an NHL franchise like that, you'll screw yourself.
The best players deserve the spots, that's how you build a contender, not by saying "This guy was a fringe defenseman when he left, then had an accident and missed a full year, but let's sign him and put him on our bottom pairing because by golly he deserves it!!".
Sarich would have been an improvement over our bottom 2 d-men last year if he was back to form.
Sarich would have been an improvement over our bottom 2 d-men last year if he was back to form.
I'd give him a PTO.
Yes, a PTO would be fine, I guess. There's about a 1% chance he'd earn a contract with our team, considering where he's at age wise and physically and our current defensive situation. But no harm no foul, I guess.
Sarich would have been an improvement over our bottom 2 d-men last year if he was back to form.
I'd give him a PTO.
Back to form? The guy is at least 5 years removed from being an effective player.
Some of you guys seem to forget how poorly Sarich played here near the end. He was an extremely slow skater. No offence. Not the best puck mover. Sure he was physical, but he started losing that edge. That entire Flames team was soft so it wasn't saying much when anyone says he was our most physical D. Having said that, he was the only guy some games who would actually fight and stick up for rest of the team. So I guess there was that.
There were many posts dedicated to saying he needed to be shipped out. And I also think he was part of the country club mentality that saturated the team for a number of years.
I'll always be glad for his service to the team, especially ''the hit''. But let's not pretend he would have helped the team last season. I'll be amazed if he gets a contract this upcoming season.
Last edited by Huntingwhale; 09-02-2015 at 12:16 PM.
Cory Sarich looking to make a comeback
