Posts About "David Rittich"
5 Battles to Watch at Flames Camp
September 11th, 2018 The Calgary Flames are a much different hockey club than they were 12 months ago – or even four months ago – as a disappointing season led to organizational change. Those changes have made for an eventful summer, as well as seem to have the Flames primed for an interesting training camp. Here's a rundown of the five battles to...
Flames Scramble Without Mike Smith
March 3rd, 2018 In hockey, good goaltending can cover up for a lot of a team's deficiencies. But it's incredibly difficult to cover up for deficient goaltending. While it's difficult to characterize the Calgary Flames' goaltending without Mike Smith as deficient, it's safe to say that the team is a lot better with him than without him. A recent...
Why Are the Flames so Bad at Home?
February 19th, 2018 Heading into the home stretch of the 2017-18 National Hockey League season, the Calgary Flames are a team that has accomplished several things. Mike Smith has cemented himself as a top-flight starting goaltender. Johnny Gaudreau has pushed himself into the upper echelon of NHL scorers. But one problem has perplexed virtually...
The Importance of Mike Smith
January 29th, 2018 On June 17, 2017, Mike Smith was acquired by the Calgary Flames from the Arizona Coyotes for goaltender Chad Johnson, defense prospect Brandon Hickey and a conditional third-round pick. At the time, many were skeptical about the deal wondering what they were getting in a ‘below-average’ goaltender from Arizona. However, Smith has...
Have the Flames Fixed Their Crease Carousel?
December 22nd, 2017 Since the franchise began in Atlanta in the 1972-73 season, the Calgary Flames have only had stable goaltending for two distinct periods. The first was during the tenure of Mike Vernon throughout the 1980s and very early '90s, the second was during the decade that Miikka Kiprusoff tended the twine. Since Kiprusoff retired at the...
Flames Future Bright Between the Pipes
October 20th, 2017 The long, tedious process of finding a consistent number-one goaltender ended for the Calgary Flames when they acquired Mike Smith from the Arizona Coyotes. Although Smith has been nothing short of spectacular so far, he's 35 years old and likely won't be re-signed when his contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 season. With...
