Hockey Outside the Grizzlies Box - 3/10/2011

A look at some other hockey news while the Grizzlies are gearing up for their last 13 games...

AHL

The Abbotsford Heat fake traded defenseman Keith Seabrook to the Manitoba Moose for center MacGregor Sharp this week. We say "fake traded" because somehow they worked it out so that the parent clubs (Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks) retain the rights of their own players, they just go play on someone else's team for a while. We guess it's kind of like getting a foreign exchange student or something. Confusing? That's nothing compared to the ironically named "clear day list" the Heat had to submit to the AHL on Monday. From what we could gather, this is the finalized 22-man roster each team has to set for the playoffs. However, the Heat's list included several players currently on IR, and left of some that are actually getting ice time. Here's the trick - there's an "emergency conditions" provision that allows them to use players not on the list if someone gets injured. Therefore, by putting currently injured players on the list, everyone else falls into that "emergency" category, and they can keep as many players as they want. So what's the point of the 22-man clear day list? "I don't really understand it, to be quite honest with you," Abbotsford's coach Jim Playfair said. Maybe they should rename it the "clear as mud day list." Ha ha...

Abbotsford is currently in 5th place in the North Division, but they're only 5 points back of 1st place Manitoba. Says goaltender Leland Irving, "It's going to be a battle the rest of the year. In a sense, I think it's good for us because it forces us to play playoff-type hockey right up until the playoffs start. By that time, we'll be ready to go." The Heat host the leage-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday and Saturday. The two teams' goalies are old buddies. For more on the Heat, check out the Heat Report.

NHL

We have to admit it - at the beginning of January we had pretty much written the Calgary Flames out of the playoffs. Long time general manager Darryl Sutter had just resigned and rumors of franchise forward Jarome Iginla being traded were about 23947 times more abundant than points in their win column. (There were a lot of rumors.) They ranked in the bottom third of the league in special teams play and had the worst road record in the Western Conference. They lost 2 of their first 3 games of 2011. But then they started something. They lost a couple in shootouts, but picked up a couple of points. Then they went on a 6 game winning streak, and they've been one of the hottest teams in the league since. They currently sit at 5th place in the Western Conference, tied in points with the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. We've got to give them credit for turning things around. Of course, with the clown car that is the Western Conference playoff race this season, we never know who will be getting out of it, and there's still plenty of time for several teams to push their way in. Should be interesting for the Flames going down the stretch. If the playoffs started today, they'd draw the Blackhawks. Tonight they play the Coyotes in Phoenix.

Speaking of the Blackhawks, they're scheduled to meet the President at the White House tomorrow (3/11/2011) at 3:00 pm ET. Unfortunately, not all members of their Stanley Cup winning team will be available (half the team was traded or not re-signed over the summer), but they do have a few guys coming back from other teams to be honored. Following a brief ceremony, they'll be conducting a youth clinic on the south lawn with the Washington Capitals. Sounds like a security risk to us... We'd love to see the Secret Service send someone to the penalty box though.