GM shakes up Flames
30.12.00
Flames send prospect and Wilm for Chris Drury and Tom Barrasso
Hot off the heels of another loss, a 10-1 drubbing at that hands of the Vancouver Canucks, GM Dave Fyvie pulled the trigger on a deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
Coming to Calgary is veteran netminder Tom Barrasso, who's currently toiling in the minors, and former Rookie of the Year centre Chris Drury (pictured). Going the other way is shutdown centre Clark Wilm and Russian AHL'er Oleg Saprykin.
"Drury offers a lot of what we need on this team right now. We're having a difficult time finding a fit for the second line. By getting Chris, we may be able to move bodies back to where they belong." Fyvie didn't mention names but he did highlight the musical chairs of trying Stillman, O'Neill and MacDonald centring the second line. Whether Drury goes to the second line, or moves to the top line remains unclear. But everyone agrees that the Flames got the best player out of the 4 involved in the transaction.
Going to the Avalanche, Clarke Wilm has slowly established himself as productive shutdown presence down the middle, and the 19yr old Saprykin has shown flashes of brilliance in the AHL.
"We'll certainly miss them." Said Fyvie of the duo. "I think Saprykin is not far from making the NHL. We're quite deep on the wings so it seemed best to move him to a team that needs him."
Coming along with Drury is 35yr old goaltender Tom Barrasso. Currently playing in the AHL, Barrasso is hoping for another chance to play in the National Hockey League. Sources indicate that taking Barrasso was integral to completing the deal for Colorado who were eager to offload the netminder.
Colorado currently sits second on the Conference with 51pts in 38 games. Calgary sits 11th with 36pts in 38 games and are currently mired in a 6 games winless streak.
Drury is expected to start tomorrow when the Flames host the Montreal Canadiens in the annual New Year's eve battle between the two teams.