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Flames owners bank on Kolanos to fill seats

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By Craig DeVrieze | Thursday, November 15, 2007 11:47 PM CST | () comments

It didn’t take Quad-Cities Sports Ventures partners Kevin Murphy and Dennis Voss long to add another six figures to their inaugural Quad-City Flames bottom line.

In a meeting last week in Calgary, Alberta, Voss and Murphy asked the Calgary Flames brass how they might field a more competitive Q-C team in the American Hockey League’s rugged West Division.

Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter told QCSV adding a veteran player might help.

“But he said ‘It will be at your cost,’ ” Murphy reported Wednesday. “We answered ‘Yes’ in one second.”

That conversation led to Tuesday’s announced signing of veteran NHL center Krys Kolanos to a QCSV-funded one-way AHL contract that Murphy confirmed was worth six figures.

Add that to a first-year budget that already is more than $1 million higher than last year’s Quad-City Mallards bottom line.

Murphy said he and his partners strongly believe the addition of Kolanos will lead to more success on the ice, and Murphy said that, in turn, should lead to more fans in the seats.

The Flames have averaged 3,517 fans a game through their first nine home games, just 400 more than they averaged a year ago in their final season in the less-costly United Hockey League.

“I feel strongly that if we have a more competitive team on the ice, we will get the (Quad-Cities) crowds of the past back,” Murphy said in reference to the packed houses that turned out for the Mallards a decade back.

One-way AHL contracts that do not count against the parent team’s NHL salary cap are not unusual in the developmental minor league. Murphy noted division-leading Chicago has several players signed to one-way deals. A league spokesman said there is no limit on the number of players AHL teams can sign to one-way deals, but Murphy said too many such players defeats the league’s developmental mission.

“Some of these teams have too many of these guys taking time away from young guys,” Murphy said.

Doing that is not in keeping with the Calgary Flames’ philosophy, but Q-C coach Ryan McGill noted Kolanos is not the first one-way AHL player he will have coached for Calgary.

Defenseman Tim Hambly, the team’s No. 2 scorer entering last night’s game in Cleveland, also is playing under a one-way AHL contract.

Murphy said Kolanos can help young players develop on and off the ice by providing the benefit of the experience he culled from 115 games in the NHL and a team-leading seven professional seasons.

Kolanos was with the Calgary Flames in training camp, but he opted to play in Switzerland rather than reporting to Q-C camp.

After 14 games with Langnau of the Swiss-A league, he is back in North America.

“He is familiar with the players and he is familiar with the coaches,” McGill said. “Now, it is a matter of making sure when he plays, he makes a difference on the scoreboard.”

Murphy said QCSV won’t make a habit of signing one-way AHL players.

“We want this team to be competitive but we’re not just going to throw money at it,” Murphy said. “I don’t think you will see anymore veterans on this team anytime soon.”

Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com