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Burke says Flames need upgrades at forward, defense

Brian Burke

Brian Burke, Calgary Flames’ president of hockey operations, announces the firing of general manager Jay Feaster and assistant general manager John Weisbrod during a NHL hockey news conference Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, in Calgar, Alberta. Burke will serve as acting general manager. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Larry MacDougal)

AP

If there’s one thing we know Calgary Flames president of hockey operations, and acting general manager, Brian Burke won’t do, it’s tiptoe around subjects.

Yesterday, Burke was asked what he asked about the state of the team heading into trade deadline day. As Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun shares, he was honest.

“I think we could use upgrades on forward and defense,” said Burke. “Other than that, I think we’re fine.”

Hopefully you can sense Burke’s sarcasm in there because he’s laying it on with the Flames being one of the worst teams in the NHL. But hey, at least the goaltending is OK then, right?

The Flames could be busy today as forward Mike Cammalleri figures to be traded and Burke says they’re in a good position at the deadline because they can take on other teams contracts because of where they’re at salary cap-wise.

According to CapGeek, the Flames have just over $10 million in cap space. Perhaps Calgary could be involved in helping broker a three-way deal to help things out. Of course, don’t expect Burke to help out of the goodness of his heart. The Flames rebuild needs some help and he won’t make a move just because he’s “supposed to.”

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