Comeau Claimed on Waivers by Calgary

For the last few weeks, Jack Capuano has publicly warned his team that if some of them didn't start to perform, actions would be taken. It started with simple, yet necessary scratches. Now, changes will involve eliminating players from the roster all together.

Blake Comeau is the first casualty. After starting the season with 0 points in 16 games, and sitting out two games as a healthy scratch, the Islanders placed the winger on waivers, free to be taken by any team. Of course, that came with one caveat - the claiming team would have to take him at his full salary of $2.5 million.

For the Calgary Flames, this was no problem at all. The Flames and their struggling offense were all too happy to add Comeau and whatever potential he may have left to their line-up.

Comeau played on Friday night for the Flames, and once again had a rough go at it, turning over a puck that lead to a St. Louis Blues rush and goal at the other end.

A lot of people wondered why Jay Feaster would claim Comeau, and how he would work with Brent Sutter. It would seem to me that Sutter was in favor of the claim, having coached Comeau at the World Juniors in 2006. Comeau led Canada in scoring that winter, and was a huge part in helping them win the gold medal.

In the end, it was something good for all involved. Rival GM's were weary of the season Comeau had in 2010-11 and wanted to see more. The Islanders gambled and lost, hoping Comeau would get off to a similar start. In the end, his trade value went way down, and there was simply nothing out there for Garth Snow to do. Comeau will now get a chance to develop under a true hockey ops department, with a very experienced coach at the helm who may be able to fix him.

It's become clear in recent years that Comeau was hoping for a fresh start, and he gets that now. It will be interesting to see if there is anything he can provide to the Flames that they are currently missing. He may not have gotten the greatest start with them, but at the same time I'm surprised that the Flames threw him in the line-up that quickly.

Best of luck to you, Blake.

-Chris

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