The End of an Era - Russians Removed!!

[Locke]

Friends, the National Hockey League’s pre-season can be a lot of fun. The games aren’t really high stakes. You get to see top prospects (and obscure try-out players) dip their toes into the NHL game a bit. And the NHL’s official roster sheets feature everybody on an NHL team’s training camp roster and reserve list, resulting in comedically-long lists of scratched players.

https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-end...s-reserve-list

A few notables? But go read the article....

- Andrei Medvedev - He could have had a shot this season!
- Andrei Taratukhin - There were openings...
- Ruslan Zainullin - I thought he was due to break out! Maybe even save our season!

Once again, a little fun from Ryan Pike.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

LOL, I was just commenting on this in the off-season. I decided to take a walk down the memory lane of their stat lines. Some of those guys had halfway decent careers. Others...not so much.

[devo22]

I'm still only 70% convinced that Ruslan Zainullin even exists.

[Locke]

Oh Andrei Medvedev....trying to disprove the 'NHL Sumo Wrestler Goaltender' theory one burger at a time...

I totally forgot about Taratukhin.

But I just love Zainullin's name!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

I'm still only 70% convinced that Ruslan Zainullin even exists.

70%?

I'm more of a 50/50 man myself...

[activeStick]

Who was the guy we got back for Marc Savard?

[Jiri Hrdina]

Ruslan Zainullin

[redmile04]

I always look at Martin St.Louis as the worst player that got away for nothing in flames history but thinking about it, other teams passed on him too- Ottawa I believe and maybe others. Savard? You chose Greg Gilbert over Savard and for Zainullin??! That has to be the dumber move than St.Louis actually.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by redmile04

I always look at Martin St.Louis as the worst player that got away for nothing in flames history but thinking about it, other teams passed on him too- Ottawa I believe and maybe others. Savard? You chose Greg Gilbert over Savard and for Zainullin??! That has to be the dumber move than St.Louis actually.

this is why nobody listens to Craig Button on tv. this and the Turek contract

[devo22]

Originally Posted by redmile04

I always look at Martin St.Louis as the worst player that got away for nothing in flames history but thinking about it, other teams passed on him too- Ottawa I believe and maybe others. Savard? You chose Greg Gilbert over Savard and for Zainullin??! That has to be the dumber move than St.Louis actually.

had both St. Louis and J.S. Giguere in the system in the late 90s. That still sucks.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

had both St. Louis and J.S. Giguere in the system in the late 90s. That still sucks.

Thats just part of being a Flames fan.

Part and parcel.

[getbak]

If you're curious, here's the full list of "scratches" for last night's game in Seattle...

Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Tyson Barrie, Jarred Tinordi, Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Rushan Rafikov, MacKenzie Weegar, Anthony Mantha, Joel Hanley, Justin Kirkland, Rasmus Andersson, Dan Vladar, Pavel Karnaukhov, Ryan Lomberg, Alex Gallant, Kevin Bahl, Martin Pospisil, Demetrios Koumontzis, Yegor Sharangovich, Jonathan Aspirot, Ilya Nikolaev, Trevor Janicke, Connor Zary, Yan Kuznetsov, Joni Jurmo, Jake Boltmann, Rory Kerins, Devin Cooley, Ilya Solovyov, Daniil Chechelev, Daniil Miromanov, Walker Duehr, Lucas Ciona, Arsenii Sergeev, Cade Littler, Parker Bell, Andrei Kuzmenko, Jaden Lipinski, Etienne Morin, Aydar Suniev, Matt Radomsky, Yegor Yegorov, Axel Hurtig, Luke McNamara, Eric Jamieson, Henry Mews, Andrew Basha, Jacob Battaglia, Luke Misa, David Silye, Waltteri Ignatjew, Kirill Zarubin, Trevor Hoskin, Hunter Laing

I know Boltmann went back for another year of College, but I still don't understand how the Flames apparently continue to own the rights to Koumontzis.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by redmile04

I always look at Martin St.Louis as the worst player that got away for nothing in flames history but thinking about it, other teams passed on him too- Ottawa I believe and maybe others. Savard? You chose Greg Gilbert over Savard and for Zainullin??! That has to be the dumber move than St.Louis actually.

He fired the coach anyways.

[CSharp]

I wondered where Andrei Taratukhin went.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by CSharp

I wondered where Andrei Taratukhin went.

He apparently had trouble adjusting to the North American lifestyle and toiling in the minors with no guarantee of it paying off into an NHL career, wasn't worth the stress. At least he gave it a shot and I can respect that moving far away from home just didn't work for him.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

He apparently had trouble adjusting to the North American lifestyle and toiling in the minors with no guarantee of it paying off into an NHL career, wasn't worth the stress. At least he gave it a shot and I can respect that moving far away from home just didn't work for him.

There were difficulties for his wife and kids getting visas, so they were back home. Kids were quite young too.

From what I heard.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by redmile04

I always look at Martin St.Louis as the worst player that got away for nothing in flames history but thinking about it, other teams passed on him too- Ottawa I believe and maybe others. Savard? You chose Greg Gilbert over Savard and for Zainullin??! That has to be the dumber move than St.Louis actually.

Yup.

St Louis was a guy that admits himself that he got a lot better after leaving Calgary. Was stupid to buy him out but it was more bad luck that he blew up in Tampa Bay.

Savard already had 50 and 60 point seasons as a Flames player, was 25 years old, and you traded him for a former 2nd round pick that had shown nothing in Russia.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Yup.

St Louis was a guy that admits himself that he got a lot better after leaving Calgary. Was stupid to buy him out but it was more bad luck that he blew up in Tampa Bay.

Savard already had 50 and 60 point seasons as a Flames player, was 25 years old, and you traded him for a former 2nd round pick that had shown nothing in Russia.

But if we kept St. Louis, maybe we win the Cup. Not because he ends up being the same player with the Flames but because Tampa doesn't have him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Ruslan Zainullin

Can he run a Powerplay tho?