[News] Flames claim Beecher off waivers

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flame On

That's what i was wondering.

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Meh, don’t mind trying another C I guess…. I don’t see why they don’t just give Zary a top 9 C spot in a lost season to see how he can progress.

Who are you bumping out of C? Frost?

[Calgary Highlander]

Cool, this guy can center the first line once Kadri and Frost are traded.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Meh, don’t mind trying another C I guess…. I don’t see why they don’t just give Zary a top 9 C spot in a lost season to see how he can progress.

Right now they just need to get him back to being effective on the wing, at all. The skating demands are even higher at center, and right now, he's just not quick enough.

[PepsiFree]

1 year older than Kerins
Same age as Zary and King
1 year younger than Klapka
2 years younger than Morton
5 years younger than Kirkland, Hunt, and Bishop

Not a bad pickup at all.

[SuperMatt18]

See I'd like this more if Morton made the team out of camp like he should have, didn't show a whole lot in his 20 games, and then now we were claiming him as a better fit.

What I don't like now about the timing is you kind of wasted games with Kirkland as a 4th line center, and now Morton didn't really get a look before you're bringing Beecher in.

Hopefully it works though - a center with speed and size that can play bottom 6 isn't the worst thing - I just don't think it's great when guys already in the org haven't gotten a real look yet.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Sandman

9 games, 0 points, -4. Only averaging about 10 minutes the last 4 games.

He hasn't played since November 1st

[JTech780]

Beecher skates really well, add in the size, faceoff ability and age and I can see why Calgary would want to see if he can find a regular role with the team.

This team needs more players that can play with pace, and Beecher will help with that.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

Wolf must've sold him to Conroy, Conroy would have asked around and got the approval of other guys.
I don't see this being something that can be taken lightly.

We need possession of the damn puck badly . If he's winning at a 53 percent clip and can play a 200 ft game why not .

Scouting says he likes getting in the way of the goalie as a hard to move screen. F do we need that.

Well see how it goes I guess

LOL

I sometimes wonder if fans actually believe this is what it's like in NHL front offices - all the guys sitting around playing poker or whatever, and the waiver wire comes through. Someone says "anyone know this guy?"
"Nope"
"Well ask some of the players, maybe they know him"...
"Apparently Wolfie played with him 5 years ago, says he's a good guy"
"Awesome - let's claim him!"

[FBI]

This one’s a bit of a Reacher

[Toast_Man]

Flames are going to be able to make a dam with the logjam of players in the bottom 6.

[Calgary4LIfe]

This is fun! Someone new to check out!


It is hardly a surprise that Calgary has been looking for a few things:


1) SIze
2) Speed
3) F/O ability


Yeah, not a big point producer by the looks of it (and never has been in his entire career as far as his hockeydb page shows), but that's ok. I think he is probably a stop-gap for the next while as Calgary probably wants a bit more of those 3 elements. If Huska and the coaching staff can get him to be an effective 4th liner, F/O specialist and PK'er, great! If not, oh well. He will help the Flames do what they need him to do for the next little while. No downside here. It is a free look.


I think it is likely to end up similar to Zohorna, but maybe he sticks. I have said that the Flames need to be bigger, faster and harder to play against while adding skill to the lineup. You want some big guys to protect the kids too, and make some room for them. At any rate, it is one more guy to have a look at and see how he fits.


Morton must be unhappy. King I think should be fine - I would assume that the plan with him would be to develop for a year in the AHL and see how he does with it. Kirkland has another body to try and climb over now as well. I think the only other guy that this impacts in the org would be Ciona, even though he isn't a center. Hopefully this just makes everyone simply work harder to get where they need to go. Everyone overlooks the 4th line and laments about it not being a scoring line, but I think a good 4th line that can skate well, is physical with that 'snarl', and is defensively responsible can really help a team. Flames just haven't quite had that - or they had it only in spurts. Maybe Beecher between Lomberg and Klapka will do exactly that?

[taxbuster]

Glad to see that Conny reads CP...he probably decided that people needed more to complain about, so he claimed Beecher. /s


Seems to me that some of the young guys on the Wranglers have either failed to progress, impress or are felt to be too small to compete at this stage. Flames seem to have chosen a few who have not been able to stand the rigors of the NHL (not the players' fault...just the way they are built).


A free guy who isn't in anyone's way, has decent size and is decent on FOs...and is RFA at the end of the year? Why not, indeed.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by FBI

This one’s a bit of a Reacher

And Jack is a nickname for John. It tracks.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Win-now mode is still a go!

Rebuild mode is still a go! They can trade Kadri now. I can make stuff up too!

[Monahammer]

Much coping in here for a strange at best move. I would rather play Kirkland than this plug, and I want Kirkland on the wrangler lol.

Stromgren has better ahl and other league numbers if we want to give a big body lw a tryout. Beecher wasnt playing centre in Boston but sure I guess he can.

[Jay Random]

I'm fine with the acquisition. A centre who's big, fast, wins faceoffs, and likes to park himself in front of opposing goalies? Yeah, gimme some of that. It's a temp job anyway, until the team finds someone who does those things and also has skill.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Sandman

9 games, 0 points, -4. Only averaging about 10 minutes the last 4 games.

And hasn't played since November 1st.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Much coping in here for a strange at best move. I would rather play Kirkland than this plug, and I want Kirkland on the wrangler lol.

Stromgren has better ahl and other league numbers if we want to give a big body lw a tryout. Beecher wasnt playing centre in Boston but sure I guess he can.

Last season he played centre almost exclusively in Boston, on the 4th line, which got pretty good reviews.

[CliffFletcher]

Guy is being brought in to play a role that the Flames’ depth prospects couldn’t: Big + skating + face-offs. And it’s not as though he’s 29. He still has runway to improve his game - he’s a year older than Kuznetsov and a year younger than Bahl.

If the Flames didn’t claim Beecher, another team almost certainly would have. One of the nice things about being last in the league is getting a first crack at guys like this.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Much coping in here for a strange at best move. I would rather play Kirkland than this plug, and I want Kirkland on the wrangler lol.

Stromgren has better ahl and other league numbers if we want to give a big body lw a tryout. Beecher wasnt playing centre in Boston but sure I guess he can.

sounds like you are the one coping

He is far younger than Kirkland and has good faceoff numbers, he is a center...he has taken over 1000 faceoffs with the Bruins the last 2 years and is over 50%. Being put on the wing for a handful of games doesn't change a guys natural position.