Well, I learned my first blogging lesson yesterday: Don't post something unless you hear it from a reliable source. The other day I posted that Taylor Vause and Colin Bowman might be back this week. Well, the information I got was second hand, and it was pointed out to me that there were no conversations about Vause coming back this week. Apparently the original message was that they could be back when and if their AHL teams are out of the playoffs. Lesson learned. But that does bring up something I wanted to write about. The affiliation between Calgary, Adirondack and Colorado, and how playoff implications for each team can and will affect the Eagles roster.
As of this afternoon, Calgary sits in 3rd place in the Pacific Division. The top 3 teams in each division make the playoffs, along with the next 2 teams with the best record in the wild card spots. Calgary is idle tonight, and if the L.A. Kings win tonight, that will bump Calgary into 9th place and out of the playoffs with 8 games to go. The NHL regular season and the ECHL regular season end at the same time. The AHL regular season extends one week past the other 2 leagues. So essentially, if Calgary misses the playoffs, they have 2 forwards (Granlund and Ferland) who are eligible to be sent to Adirondack. That could possibly bump someone down to the Eagles depending on who is injured in Adirondack, and where they are in the standings.
Adirondack is sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference of the AHL. The 3 division winners in each conference make the playoffs followed by the 5 next best teams. Adirondack is 2 points out of a playoff spot with 12 games to go. They currently have 17 forwards, 11 defensemen and 4 goalies on the roster. Injuries are 1 goalie, 1 D-man and 3 forwards (1 forward is on paternity leave). One of the healthy goaltenders is an amateur, which means Carr is the backup until Joni Ortio gets healthy, which would probably be after the first round of the ECHL playoffs.
There are also several forwards in Adirondack that are on amateur contracts, so Vause will probably not sit behind them. We wont see Brett Kulak back unless the flames miss the playoffs, and even then they may not take a chance on injury by sending him back here. He has been playing well up in the A.
With the AHL Western Conference playoffs coming down to the wire, I think it's most likely that the Eagles won't see anyone from them until the end of the ECHL regular season, if not longer. If Adirondack makes the playoffs, that could push out possible reassignments until the ECHL Conference Finals. But with the good relationship the Eagles have had so far with their affiliates, you never know.
Colin Bowman is on a PTO with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. PTO's are 25 games maximum. After that, the player can be signed to another PTO, to a standard contract, or released. A player on a PTO can be released at anytime during that PTO. Bowman has played 15 games so far, so he only has 10 to go before Iowa has to make a decision. Seeing how Iowa is out of the playoffs with 11 games to go, Colorado could possibly see him at any time, the latest would be after the first round of the ECHL playoffs.
All of this, including the injuries Colorado is suffering through right now, will greatly affect the team the Eagles will be icing in the playoffs. With a huge 3 game series this weekend, the Eagles need to dig deep and pull a nice 6 point rabbit out of their hat.
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