Interesting story out of Denver last night from Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald. The Flames snapped a two-game losing skid with a 4-3 win over the Avalanche, and they did it with over $7 million parked in the press box.
Cory Sarich ($3.6 million cap hit), Matt Stajan ($3.5 mil) and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond ($525,000) were all part of the suits-n-popcorn crew, and it’s not the first time this has happened. Sarich has been parked the last four games, Stajan’s only made 12 appearances this year and Letorneau-Leblond has played under 15 minutes. Not under 15 minutes a game -- 15 minutes this season.
Oh, and just to re-iterate: They’re all healthy scratches.
How is a proud man like Sarich, 33, doing in light of his assignment to the press box?
“I can’t stand it,” he said. “Other than that, I’m fine.
“What am I supposed to say?”
Inquiring minds want to know: is the nagging pelvic injury that hampered him last season causing him difficulty again? Is he healthy?
“I am healthy,” he said, enunciating every syllable.” I don’t really have anything else to say.”
Throw in the fact Niklas Hagman ($3 million) was recently assigned to the American Hockey League and you’ve got a team with over $10 million in unused players.
I haven’t seen such a waste of money since the Kardashian-Humphries wedding. (PHT: Your home for stale topical humor and pop culture references.)