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Home > 2017 > 04/26 > To qualify or not to qualify?
Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
To qualify or not to qualify?
April 26, 2017, 10:00 AM | Pat Steinberg
By my rudimentary count (fingers and toes), the Calgary Flames have 12 pending restricted free agents this summer and will have to decide whether or not to extend a qualifying offer in each instance. By extending an offer before the June 26 deadline, a team will retain that player's rights regardless if it's accepted or not. Players who are not tendered offers, on the other hand, immediately become unrestricted free agents.
While a few of Calgary's RFA decisions are fairly easy, they've got more than a handful of difficult choices to make over the next two months.
Much of this conversation is framed by how the Flames went about their business last summer. Calgary had 13 pending RFAs one year ago but decided to qualify just four, which was a departure from the team's approach in prior offseasons. The Flames have back pressure and decent depth in their system right now, which makes it very possible we see the summer of 2017 play out in a similar fashion, at least in terms of qualified players.
It's a pretty safe assumption Calgary will extend offers to Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland, Curtis Lazar, and Alex Chiasson, and as such, they're not included in the coming analyses. I've split the remaining eight into two categories, which essentially break down to a "yes" column and a "maybe/no" column.
To qualify
Jon Gillies. Gillies just completed his first full professional regular season with the AHL's Stockton Heat and posted decent, but not spectacular totals. Splitting time with the slightly older David Rittich (more on him later), Gillies was the clear runner-up statistically.
While Gillies didn't have the greatest first full season in the American League, it still makes sense to qualify him and keep him within the organization. Gillies is a former third round pick, is still just 23 years old, and his ceiling remains pretty high. Additionally, he looked solid in winning his NHL debut against the L.A. Kings near the end of the season.
On the flip side, Gillies is no longer the organization's clear top goaltending prospect. That's mainly because the last calendar year for 2016 second round pick Tyler Parsons has Flames fans and decision makers alike extremely excited; personally, he's the prospect I'm most excited about right now, regardless of position.
That, coupled with Gillies' average first AHL year likely takes him out of the "guarantee" category on the qualifying front. That said, with his combination of size (6'6, 223 pounds) and agility, his impressive NCAA track record, and his status as a former draft pick, I think it makes sense for Calgary to qualify him, and I'd be surprised if they didn't.
Brett Kulak. If I were making the decisions, this wouldn't even be a conversation: Kulak would be qualified and signed, because I think he's a bona fide NHL defenceman right now. Everything I've seen from him at the highest level leads me to believe he's ready for a full time gig with the Flames. However, I'm not sure the team is 100% on the same page.
Kulak played just 21 games in Calgary this season and saw plenty of time in the press box while looking up at players like Dennis Wideman, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Matt Bartkowski on the depth chart. It's my contention he's an upgrade on all three and should have been a far more regular part of the Flames' blueline in 2016-17. That's not how the organization saw things, though.
Kulak's underlying numbers certainly support my contention. His 50.6% possession rate was third on the team among d-men, behind only Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton. Obviously Kulak didn't see the type of competition those two, or T.J. Brodie, saw, but he wasn't sheltered either. With a 45.7% offensive zone start ratio, Kulak's possession numbers were noticeably superior to guys with more o-zone starts (Bartkowski, Jokipakka, Wideman), and significantly better than Deryk Engelland's with similar usage.
Kulak's impact can further be explained by looking at his most frequent partner's results. Below are Engelland's outputs with the four guys he played most with this season. Again, the results with Kulak in comparison are better across the board. For context, Engelland was playing much tougher competition when paired with Brodie, and that does impact the outputs.
The Flames should absolutely qualify Kulak and he should be part of their full-time blueline mix next season. That's my opinion, of course, but even though I'm not certain it's fully shared by hockey ops, I still think he's pretty close to a slam-dunk for a qualifying offer.
Garnet Hathaway. Let's get this out of the way: the Flames went 18-7-1 with Hathaway in the lineup. Let's also get this out of the way: that has absolutely zero bearing on where I stand on his qualifying offer. As a fourth line forward averaging 9:08 of ice time per game, Hathaway had a negligible impact on wins and and losses, and certainly nowhere near enough of one to correlate that record to his presence. In saying that, I think it mostly makes sense for Calgary to qualify Hathaway.
Mainly, I think Hathaway is an affordable, short-term, bottom six option for the Flames and projects to fill a similar role as Lance Bouma going forward. The big difference here is price. While Bouma's cap hit is $2.2 million for next season, Hathaway's qualifying offer would come in at $715,000. A discrepancy of $1.5 million for comparable results doesn't make a ton of sense and tilts the scales in a big way towards Hathaway.
Both Hathaway and Bouma are largely replaceable players, but going forward, Hathaway makes more sense to keep in the fold. He's younger and cheaper, and most importantly, the organization seems to like him. I think the Flames will qualify Hathaway, and, knowing the price he'll come in at, it's tough to be staunchly for or against that decision.
David Rittich. Here's where things get interesting. As laid out above, Rittich's season was superior to his AHL counterpart Gillies. In fact, the 2016 free agent signing had solid numbers period: Rittich's 0.924 SV% was top 10 in the American League and was only two ticks off the circuit's second best total. All things considered, keeping Rittich in the fold makes a ton of sense, and that very well could be the outcome here. However, his situation is slightly more complicated.
Rittich will turn 25 in August and, unlike Gillies, is not a Calgary drafted and developed product. That likely wouldn't matter in most circumstances, but right now the Flames are jammed with bodies between the pipes. Rittich is one of six organizational goalies currently, not to mention whoever is on the big team next season (ages below are to start the 2016-17 season).
Both Parsons and Schneider are eligible to turn pro next season, and it's almost a given the former will do just that. If that's the case, Parsons needs to get quality minutes, so hampering his development with three goalies at the AHL level makes no sense. Schneider, McDonald, and McCollum aren't really factors at the AHL level next year, but even so, a scenario with Parsons, Gillies, and Rittich in Stockton is one to avoid. Is ECHL Adirondack an option? Yeah, maybe, but not the most desirable one, at least in my opinion.
In a lot of ways, Rittich's fate might be determined by what Calgary does at the NHL level. If they go with a tandem of somewhat experienced goalies again, Rittich could end up being an odd man out. However, if the Flames are cool giving a younger guy backup minutes behind an established number one, there might be ample room after all.
Regardless, even if my read is off here, I think Rittich's qualifying decision could go either way. If it's me, I'm all for bringing him back under ideal circumstances. It remains to be seen if those circumstances will exist.
Tyler Wotherspoon. Wotherspoon finds himself in a very similar situation as Rittich, just at a different position. Once viewed as contemporaries, I think Kulak has surpassed Wotherspoon on the depth chart and potentially put a few bodies between them. To muddy things even more, Calgary's organization blueline depth has really taken a step forward in recent years (ages below are to start the 2016-17 season).
I've always been a fan of Wotherspoon's, but in saying that, he's got a battle on his hands to stay relevant. While Fox and Hickey aren't professional threats this season, they will be in the coming years, with the latter turning pro for the 2018-19 campaign.
Optimistically, two of Kulak, Andersson, Kylington, and Wotherspoon could make the opening day roster in October, which raises the question: where does Wotherspoon fit? This is less an indictment on Wotherspoon's future as an NHLer, but more a product of Calgary's depth on the backend. I still think the 2011 second round pick has third pairing chops, but I'm not sure that'll come to fruition with the Flames.
Personally, I'd like to see Calgary qualify Wotherspoon one more time and see if he can't push for an NHL job in training camp. But knowing how pragmatic the Flames were with QOs last summer, I'm not sure if that's the direction they end up going.
Ryan Culkin. We'll spend a little less time on the final three players here, starting with Culkin. The 2012 fifth round pick has had a hell of a time staying healthy the last few seasons, and there's no question that's hurt his development. But much like Wotherspoon, and to an even greater extent, Culkin seems lost on the organizational depth chart.
To make things more ominous for him, Culkin has spent significant time the last couple seasons in the ECHL. That doesn't bode well for a guy who turns 24 in December and has been property of the team for five years. My guess is the Flames decide not to qualify Culkin, and I'd understand why.
Kenney Morrison. Unlike Culkin, Morrison wasn't even drafted by Calgary, which makes his situation even less ideal. A college free agent signing two years ago, at least Morrison spent all of this season with Stockton and didn't spend any time in the ECHL. But still, do we really see him projecting to the NHL at any point down the road?
Sure, guys surprise us and there's a chance Morrison might turn into more at some point, but the Flames can't operate on big maybes. If Calgary wants to keep him in the organization, then by all means, sign Morrison to an AHL-only deal. But at this point, a qualifying offer doesn't make a ton of sense.
Linden Vey. How many remembered Vey was still in the organization? I don't say that in a derogatory sense, it's just that after being recalled for a four-game stint in November, we never saw Vey sniff an NHL game the rest of the season. With Vey turning 26 in July, he looks to have fallen into the "replacement level" category.
Vey does have a couple things going for him, though. He put up solid numbers in Stockton (15 goals, 55 points in 61 games), and head coach Glen Gulutzan is a fan. Will that be enough to get him a qualifying offer? Maybe, but if it doesn't, Calgary will be able to find another player like him fairly easily.
everton fc 5 years ago
Qualify:
Kulak (I think he didn't play here to keep his abilities hidden from McPhee and Vegas)
Rittich (Make him the backup, let Johnson move on).
Hathaway (No brainer, but remember, Chiasson can also play 4th line RW and they are about the same age, yet Chiasson's a regular NHL player who can score 10-15 goals and get you 25-30 points – maybe more is the situations are right)
Wotherspoon (I think they let Morrison go, and probably Culkin, though I still wonder what the latter could do in a full season w/no injuries. A +31 on a team like Stockton is mighty impressive. Or so it seems. I see Kulak and Andersson in Calgary next season. And I think we sign Stone. If we re-sign Engelland for one year [Kylington needs one more year on the "A", as the #1 d-man] then Bartkowski can be a 2-way option, if he clears waivers, which he most likely will).
Vey doesn't hurt as a 2-way player. But if they don't qualify, no real pain…
I think they let Gilles and Parsons man the nets in Stockton. Keep McDonald in the ECHL, perhaps partnered w/Schneider, though McCollum is the better goalie of the three. Let Rittich be the backup – he he falters, either bring up Gillies or Parsons. I personally think Parsons is closer to "ready" than Gillies. He'll either prove me right, or wrong, by the end of training camp!
I agree with most of what you're saying but the CHL to NHL jump for a goalie is near impossible, Parsons needs some AHL seasoning.
Cfan in Van 5 years ago
Ya, I'd make no assumptions about Parsons, other than he has a lot of potential. Even if he looked really good in training camp, it's still not enough to put him directly into the NHL. Patience with him.
T&A4Flames 5 years ago
I agree with most of this except thinking Parsons is ahead of Gillies. He looks good but it's way too early to expect him to be an NHL'r.
Also, we signed McCollum to fill the role of expansion draft requirement. When is the draft again? After the draft could we not just cut him loose? That seems like the best scenario to make room for Rittich who has much more upside than McCollum.
Kulak is 100% an NHL defenseman next year, the only reason I can think of for sending him down was to ensure we didn't draw too much attention to him prior to the expansion draft (or keep his contract value down).
If Andersson works on his foot speed and conditioning this summer there's no reason he can't challenge for a roster spot as well. I'd rather have a younger guy with upside than an aging defenseman on the decline.
I really want to believe they were trying to hide Kulak. I hope that's the case, because I think he could have really helped us this year if they didn't shove him back down to Stockton (instead of Bartkowski, another expansion move).
FlamesFanOtherCity 5 years ago
Before they signed Bart, they needed to have Jokipakka play enough games to be exposed. Once they signed Bart and traded Kevin, they didn't need another D-man to have the proper amount of games in two seasons. Once Bart signed, we could not really risk waiving him to bring up Kulak.
class1div1 5 years ago
WasHickey sending a message when he decided to finish school
Yes…"I'd rather finish my degree than toil in the AHL in 2017/18."
Was Hickey sending a message when he decided to finish school ? Finish your degree and go from there ,instead of being plugged in the middle of rotation in Stockton.Management has to do a better job developing and promoting there prospects……..eg Janko getting 10 min in the bigs….ridiculous.
I have nightmares about him walking and going to the oil since he is from there.
Parsons needs to be in Stockton next year. That means they need to open a spot. Rittich might be ready for a backup role but Gillies probably isn't. As much as I had high hopes for Gillies you might need to trade him to open his spot for Parsons. I wonder if he is enough to get Vegas to take Brouwer.
Vegas would gladly take Gillies.
cjc 5 years ago
Rittich and Gillies could platoon in the backup position; I believe both would be waivers-exempt if re-signed.
I think that would be a good scenario if the flames sign a proven #1.
It is a little early to give up on one of our top prospects after 1 full year in the AHL. He needs to polish his game but he has a high ceiling. Having said that, I think Rittich will take the reins as the starter on the playoffs. The biggest difference that I see is that Rittich can completely shut teams down while Gillies seems to lose his focus at times. I would like to see them given a chance to battle it out to be the Flames back up. As for, Parsons, I have seen a few of his WJC and LK games and he faced a ton of high danger shots on his Junior team similiar to Fuhr in his day. He is not a big goalie by today's standards but exceptionally athletic….seems like a bright future. I can't think of any keeper that ca e from the CHL to the NHL in recent times.
I don't think trading Gillies is giving up on him, you could probably get a good return. You need to invest in goalie development with AHL starts. So I'd view it as investing in Parsons not necessarily giving up on Gillies. I think the worst case scenario for 2017-18 is Rittich, Gillies and Parsons sharing starts in Stockton.
True but the last thing you want is to have Gillies come back and bite you every time you play him. I think 1 year is a little premature to trade him. A new goalie coach might be all he needs. He let a soft one in his NHL debut but he looked like he could be an NHL quality keeper, albeit a small sample size. I would like to see Rittich moved before Gillies.
So a couple years ago we were all so high on Gillies but now after one year people are ready to move on from him because we now have a new shinier toy in Parsons? So what if in another couple years Parsons has only a good ( not great) season like Gillies? We move on from him as well? Seems like a dumb plan. You need to give goalies time.
If there were jobs for all the goalies that allowed them to get starts and develop at the same time I'd support keeping everyone. Its my view that splitting starts in the AHL is not the way to develop goalies. Since you only have 1 spot for a #1 goalie in the AHL, the shiniest toy gets that spot. How would you develop a #1 NHL goalie for the flames?
I don't think benching Kulak was a way of hiding him from Vegas and McPhee. Gulutzan makes lineup decisions and he was the one benching Kulak when Kulak was on the roster. Really don't want to lose this kid, so let's hamper his development by not playing him in the AHL or NHL? Makes no sense. Rather, I think we can look to Gulutzan's puzzling usage decisions.
That said, Kulak has only been okay. It's not clear that he is the next Brodie. Three assists in 21 games. Given the talent pushing behind him (Kylington, Andersson, Hickey, Fox and even Wotherspoon), I can't see Treliving being too worried about losing Kulak to Las Vegas. Hell, he may even throw him in to get McPhee to bite on Brouwer. I wouldn't be opposed to that.
Agreed. I liked him a lot at the start but then he really seemed to hit a rough patch. The coaches have to comity to these prospects, give him 15 games then assess what you have. I think Ras is the most NHL ready but I thought that last training camp as well. He has work to do but he seems the most poised.
I wonder how management can evaluate players in Stockton, There is no continuity in there schedule. They play 1 game and practice for the next 4 days ,play another and 4 days practice.How those players stay focused is a feat in itself.
Good point… Might go a long way in explaining why the keepers have had some rough patches. There is much more consistency in the NHL.
KenBone18 5 years ago
I would qualify Kulak and try him on the third paring next year. The rest are bum stains that I would let walk.
Should Vey finishing a close second in scoring to Janko in anyway make me think less of Janko's much-ballyhooed rookie season or more of Vey? Hard to do the latter as Vey couldn't even cut it as a fourth liner on Calgary's overpriced and underwhelming fourth line.
You have to think that Janko surpassed even the loftiest of expectations. You can tell when the interview Huska that what impresses him the most is that he is leading the team offensively but he seems to rise to the occasion when he is asked to do more.
After being shutout in the first game by SJ despite out chancing the, he took it upon his shoulders and went end to end and scored in the first 2 minutes of the second game….to send the team on its way to believing.
For any player to do that is impressive for a rookie to put the team on his shoulders is even more impressive. All you have to do is look how some polished rookies like Tkachuk and Marner dropped a level in the playoffs.
Anar 5 years ago
I think Jon Gillies and Garnet Hathway certainly qualify.
In terms of player qualification, I think both Jon Gillies and Garnet Hathway would certainly qualify.
Jay 5 years ago
I think Kulak, Hathaway, and Gillies (as the backup) should be full time NHLers next season.
Just sign a couple UFAs and we could be legitimate contenders by next season
Gaudreau-Monahan-Oshie
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Versteeg-Bennett-Ferland
Chiasson-Lazar-Hathaway
Giordano-Hamilton
Alzner-Brodie
Kulak-Stone
Pyroflatulence 5 years ago
Any player list looks good when Bouma and Brouwer aren't on it
Looks good but Alzner is overrated IMO and definitely not worth $6M per season as the reports have suggested.
Hubcap1 5 years ago
Curious, but what would you give him?
If he took Brodie money or a little more say 5M for 5yrs would you say yes? I just might.
Agree. Alzner will be over-priced. And Oshie will get his asking price. We can't dream here.
On a much lesser level, I hope they qualify Culkin. I think he'll do well w/no injuries. But I doubt he gets an offer. Move Bouma to a team w/cap-floor issues, who also need "truculence". I'd be somewhat tempted to move our first in a deal to "86" Brouwer.
I think Oshie is going to look for 7M/ for 6 yrs and get it. Just too much for him.


Out of memory error is thrown from java.util.zip.ZipFile.open method.
This is inherent bug with JDk1.4 , still open in jdk1.5 and is fixed only in Jdk 1.6. So the only option is to get rid of the old JDK and replace it with JDK1.6. JDK1.6 looks like the best bet for all the issues related to java JDK. Even though 10.1.3.3 is not certified with java 1.6 its always better to use java 1.6 since this bug is only fixed in java 1.6.
I have the same error in OIM under OAS 10.1.3.1, but the problem is in production, so the upgrade jdk is discard. another solution can be applied?
The only solution is to upgrade the JDK, we had run Soa suite 10.133 with jdk 1.6 in production. It works fine..Oracle doesnt have a solution as its a jdk bug.
Thank you. I'll try. I appreciate your help.


text:
<?php

namespace GeeksAreForLife\Utilities;

/**
 * Strings class.
 *
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class Strings
{
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            return false;
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    /**
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    public static function endsWith($string, $search)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
HomeWorld NewsTwo Pakistani Soldiers Killed After Clashes With India.
Two Pakistani Soldiers Killed After Clashes With India.
Cloud2 News 29 September
Indian army says it conducted "surgical attacks" along the disputed bordeIncident comes less than two weeks after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an attackTwo Pakistani soldiers were killed after clashes with Indian troops in the disputed region of Kashmir, Pakistan's military said.
The Indian army said it had conducted "surgical attacks" across the de-facto border between the two countries to foil a "terrorist attack," according to India's Director General of Military Operations.
But Pakistan insisted that no incursion had taken place into the territory it controls, saying there had only been an exchange of fire. It promised a "forceful response" if there was a repeat of the operation.
India said it had acted to protect its citizens -- Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh told reporters on Thursday the strikes had been based on "specific credible information" that militants were planning to carry out strikes in Indian cities, including Jammu.
"The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens in our country," he said.
Army base attack leaves 17 Indian soldiers dead 03:52
An Indian government official told CNN some border villages in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir State had been evacuated. Educational institutions were also ordered closed on Thursday evening.
The incident comes less than two weeks after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack by armed militants on an army base in Uri, about 63 miles (102 kilometers) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
It was one of the deadliest attacks to take place on an army base in Kashmir since militant attacks began in the late 1980s, and sparked a furious war of words between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan leader slams 'evil designs'
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the latest attack in a statement, calling it "unprovoked and naked aggression" of Indian forces.
He said Pakistan's forces were capable of defending their territory and would stop any "evil design" against their country.
Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the country's army had responded in a "befitting" manner.
"If India tries to do this again we will respond forcefully. India is doing this only to please their media and public," he said.
'Fear and tension' in Kashmir
In a statement, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the incident, saying India's claims to have carried out surgical strikes were "baseless" and accusing India of "deliberately" escalating tensions.
"Such falsified, concocted and irresponsible statements can only escalate the already fragile security situations in the region," the statement said.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been disputed territory between India and Pakistan for the past 70 years.
Both of the nuclear-armed countries hold separate parts of it and have fought two wars, in 1947 and 1965, over their claims. They came close to a third, in 1999.
Kashmiri mourners shout slogans at a funeral in Srinagar on September.
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, a resident of Indian-administered Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmad Chaudhary, said border residents had not forgotten the horror of having shells and bullets raining down on their communities.
"The latest developments have set in the fear and tension as the deteriorating situation may trigger cross [border] artillery duels [such as] we have witnessed during the 1990s when several villagers were killed and wounded," he said.
Source- Cnn

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text:
Russia, Ukraine strike preliminary gas transit deal
Naftogaz executive director Yuriy Vitrenko said on his Facebook page that Ukraine and Russia had reached a preliminary agreement on gas transit in 2020. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says a contract may be signed by year-end.
By Ben Aris in Berlin December 15, 2019
Russia and Ukraine have struck a preliminary gas transit deal to replace the contract that is due to expire on December 31, 2019, Naftogaz executive director Yuriy Vitrenko said on his Facebook page on December 13.
"[The talks with Gazprom were] relatively successful, we continue working," Vitrenko told TASS responding to a question about how the negotiations went. "We continue our work, which is already a success," he added
Vitrenko made the comments after meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller in Vienna, but went on to say that a "preliminary" deal had been agreed, but gave no concrete details.
December 13 was the last day that a deal was possible due to technical reasons, Vitrenko told bne IntelliNews in an interview on November 26.
Previous bilateral talks took place in Vienna on November 28. They involved Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine Aleksey Orzhel, Miller, the heads of Naftogaz of Ukraine and the operator of the Gas Transportation System of Ukraine.
It was noted that the parties discussed Russian-Ukrainian cooperation in the gas sector, "the settlement of mutual claims for the execution of contracts, the conditions for the transit of Russian gas to Europe from 2020, the prospects for direct purchase of Russian gas for Ukrainian consumers."
Vitrenko suggested in his post that Ukraine is prepared to drop a $12bn lawsuit against Gazprom seeking compensation for bypassing Ukraine and cutting off gas deliveries.
If dropping the litigation is included in the deal then Naftogaz has taken a step towards Moscow's position that it is offering a "package solution" that includes a settlement agreement on litigation and direct purchases of gas at reduced rates. As a fallback, Russia is ready to extend the current transit agreement for 2020. Ukraine considers the dismissal of legal claims and the signing of a short-term contract unacceptable.
Gazprom is preparing to bypass Ukraine via two new pipelines: Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream (aka TurkStream). However, after construction delays caused by Denmark dragging its heels over granting permissions, Nord Stream 2 will not be ready until May at the earliest. Turkish Stream is also experiencing delays. Russian President Vladimir Putin lambasted Bulgaria on December 4 and accused it of deliberately delaying completion of its section of the pipeline that was due to be ready by New Year's Day.
The upshot is that Russia will have to send some gas via the Druzhba pipeline that runs over Ukraine's territory in 2020 to meet its obligations to European customers. Both sides have been building up reserves of stored gas and Ukraine has some 20bcm of gas in its storage tanks – a record level – and says that it can get through the winter and supply Europe even if it gets cut off. Russia has also been pumping record amounts of gas through Ukraine this autumn and has also built up significant stores of gas in Europe to meet demand. But even with these reserves it's going to be tight and gas shortages are expected.
Russia supplies Europe just under 200bcm of gas a year of which about 90bcm passes through Ukraine. The capacity of the two new pipelines is a combined 85bcm, which could replace Ukrainian supplies, but Gazprom also wants to increase gas supplies to Europe by 70bcm in the coming decade to meet rising demand so it is likely that Ukraine will play some role. Druzhba's total capacity is 140bcm so if Gazprom does ramp up its supply to Europe there is little choice at the moment other than sending it via Ukraine.
In the meantime Russia is using its leverage to negotiated a temporary deal with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy confirmed over the weekend that some sort of deal was close.
"I think there is a very high probability that the contract on gas transit will be signed [by the end of 2019]," Zelenskiy said as cited by Tass.
"A contract on gas transit is important not only for Ukraine, but for Europe as well," he added.
Zelenskiy said he discussed this issue with Putin at the Normandy Four (N4) summit in Paris on December 9. "I see that everyone is interested in signing a document," he noted.
Zelenskiy said that Russia "suggested to sign a contract for one year, and we suggested for 10 years, and then we were offered a compromise - three years." "Negotiations will continue," he said noting that gas price "will not be political". "This is an economic issue," he stressed.
Turkey 'to sign $2.7bn compensation deal for pre-war work carried out in Libya'


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'Tula, The Revolt' To Go Into Production This Fall (Scripted Feature On 1795 Slave Uprising In Curacao)
Our last post on this was almost exactly a year ago – a slave uprising project titled Tula, The Revolt, from Dutch director Jeroen Leinders, which is based on a true story about a slave uprising on the island of Curacao, a Dutch colony in 1795, and the man called Tula, who dared to stand up against his oppressors, and led the revolt that would last about a month.
At the time of that last post, the filmmakers were feverishly working to raise the necessary funds to see the film to fruition.
A year later, it looks like they're just about ready to roll, but with one problem.
They weren't able to raise the full amount that they initially budgeted for the film, but have decided that they've raised enough to get it made. In essence, they're readjusting their initial budget, so that they can get the film produced for the amount of money that they have raised.
By any means necessary.
I guess it's either that, or they spend another who know how long trying to raise the rest of the initial budget.
Another motivation is that they want to complete the film to release in 2013, a year that marks the 150th anniversary since slavery was finally abolished on the island of Curacao (1863).
So they're aiming for an October start date, and have begun putting together cast and crew. No word on whether they'll cast primarily local actors, or if they're going after *bigger* international names for the project.
Director Jeroen Leinders (whose background is heavy in documentary filmmaking) is said to have spent much of his youth on Curacao, and has been working there for the past 6 years, when he learned of the historical account of the slave wrote, and pursued the idea of turning it into a film; and here we are.
The source of the rebellion was that Tula and an initial group of 40 to 50 slaves requested 3 things of their overseers: an end to collective punishment, an end to working on Sundays, and lastly, the right to buy their wears from anywhere they wanted, not just from their masters, which was the rule of the day.
Apparently, they didn't get what they asked for, and thus, Tula organized a group of fellow slaves who resolved not to work as slaves anymore. The rebellion, which actually began peacefully and was meant to be 'won with words, rather than arms," lasted for more than a month. But, unfortunately, it didn't end as peacefully as it begun, because the colonial forces crushed the revolt, Tula was captured, tortured, convicted and executed.
This film will tell his story – a man who's revered in Curacao today. The producers are calling it an action-drama.
The below video was shot by the filmmakers about 3 years ago, to use as a sales promo for potential investors, giving them an idea of the style in which the film will be shot (so it's not a trailer or anything from the upcoming film, which hasn't been shot yet):


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Into The Spine
Stories about video games and what they leave behind
Into the Spine of: Persona Dancing Games
Bay baby baby baby.
Are you ready to have your favorite character from the Persona series dance to your favorite songs? Well, the characters from Personas 3-5, at least (sorry, Persona veterans)? Atlus is ready for you to dance the night away with the new releases Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, along with the PS4 release of Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Are these spin-off titles worth adding to your collection?
The trilogy of Persona Dancing games all use the same gameplay concepts. Notes come from the middle to the screen to the edges, and you have to hit the correct buttons that correspond to the notes as they overlap on the outer rim. There is also a 'scratch' note to keep in mind, that you need to use either the joystick or L1/R1 button to hit. These notes won't break a combo if you miss, but they add a lot to your score, so it's important to hit them regardless.
The gameplay isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it's a simple system that allows even those that don't play rhythm games often to quickly grasp and play, which is arguably more important for fanservice games like these. With that short introduction in mind, let's get into the titles themselves.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night
It might seem weird that I'm talking about these games out of order. However, Dancing All Night is the first of the three titles to be released, coming out on the Vita in 2015. Being first, there are a few things different here over the other, newer titles, and lessons learned from this title that goes into the Dancing in Moonlight and Dancing in Starlight, so it seems unfair to not review this first.
First and foremost, Dancing All Night has a completely canonical story in the Persona universe. It involves, as one might expect, dancing, Shadows, and saving people from a dark version of themselves. Additionally, it's about eight hours of slogging through line after line of a watered down subplot of Persona 4, and by far the weakest part of the game.
Originally, when I played Dancing All Night on the Vita three years ago, I was just sick of Persona 4. With all its spin-offs, it just felt time to move on, and I felt that heavily when working through the story. Coming into it on the PS4 three years removed, with Persona 5 released and all, and… well, I still feel largely the same.
The thing is, the actual rhythm part of the game is pretty fun. The tracklist for Dancing All Night is overall solid, offering songs that are both nice to listen to and note maps that are fun and challenging to complete. The characters' dance moves are energetic and fun to watch, and the Shadows reacting to how well you're doing in the background adds a lot to the overall atmosphere. I wouldn't say as a rhythm game, Dancing All Night is one of the top hitters of the genre, but it's a decent game for the Persona fanbase. The problem is that you have to get through so much talking to just get to the better bits.
There is a Free Dance Mode, but you cannot unlock everything without completing the entirety of the Story Mode. That, and the less than fantastic use of DLC by Atlus, really bog down a game that could just be some fun for Persona 4 fans.
Now, for the two new Dancing titles. Dancing in Moonlight and Dancing in Starlight are practically identical mechanically, so let's do an overview before delving into each game separately.
Unlike Dancing All Night, these two titles don't actually have a Story Mode to work through–a huge boon for me. After a short intro, you're able to just start playing the songs, and any sort of conversation is relegated instead to the Social menu, where you raise your friendship with the other members by meeting certain goals. You do need to unlock enough events in order to see the credits and unlock the final two songs for each title, but generally, it's a lot less talkative and restrictive than Dancing All Night's Story Mode.
Things like social link and challenge unlock requirements, trophies, and even the outfits and accessories unlocked are mostly the same between the two games. So what makes one preferable over the other will mainly depend on what tracklist and characters you like more.
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
Finally, we see the entire Persona 3 cast again! Granted they're all being forced to dance in this strange dream world, but when it comes to Persona 4's under-loved predecessor you'll take what you can get.
The tracklist to Dancing in Moonlight is overall a bit stronger than Dancing in Starlight's offerings, which I'll get into more below. Like Persona 4, Persona 3's tracks seem easier to remix into more upbeat tracks that are easier to map notes to. I wouldn't say every remix is a hit, though… although these remixes were created especially for Dancing in Moonlight, it may have been prudent for Atlus to attempt to use some of the already, perfectly good remixes for the Persona 3 tracks instead.
Also, quite honestly, a lot of the game lacks a certain energy that Dancing All Night, and even Dancing in Starlight have. Due to the game's setting characters are just supposed to 'imagine how they'd like to dance and they can do it', offering the ability for each character's personality to shine. But the dance choreography fails to show off the personalities of the Persona 3 cast, and for certain character just feels lazy. Junpei mainly flails around with his bat, Akihiko punches the air and moves his feet from time to time, Fuuka generally just acts like a chaste Christian schoolgirl who has never even considered dancing in her life… you get the picture.
It's almost as if Atlus forgot what made these characters special, instead of regulating most of the Persona 3 cast's personality to the Social scenes you'll eventually unlock. But without a clear grasp on when Dancing in Moonlight takes place, it seems none of the party members have gotten through their key character developments yet. I wouldn't really say everyone in the P3 cast is immediately likable when you first meet them, and the Social events feel overly lengthy to boot, as if we need to be reminded who exactly these people even are in the first place.
In the end, more than anything Dancing in Moonlight just makes me want a remake of Persona 3. The plot and cast have not been relevant in RPG communities for quite a while, and it'd be nice to see the game updated with some of the features from Persona 5. On the flip side, though, I come away with a tinge of disappointment from Dancing in Moonlight–for being a tease for a remake that is probably not meant to be, and for making the cast of my favorite Persona game feel so bland and lifeless.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
I'm going to come out swinging with this one–I am honestly shocked by the tracklist for Dancing in Starlight, and not in a good way. Persona 5's dancing spin-off shows off, more than anything, how uneven the soundtrack for the actual game was. There are some tracks in Persona 5 that are amazing, but surprisingly beyond that, not much is memorable.
It seems Atlus knew this, and Dancing in Starlight features more remixes of singular tracks than the other Dancing titles. There are three versions of the main battle theme and Rivers in the Desert. We got two remixes of the boss battle track, as well. With twenty-five tracks total, having eight tracks dedicated to only three songs more than it may seem at first glance.
However, despite what I think is the worst tracklist of the trilogy, Dancing in Starlight is the first of the three titles I kept coming back to and eventually reaching the credits on. The reason? The game just has more soul than Dancing in Moonlight. I'd attribute a lot of this to Persona 5 being a much more recent release than Persona 3–without feeling the need to re-introduce the characters to the audience, Atlus was able to focus more on giving the P5 cast actual personality in their dances, and it shows.
It's still not quite as energetic as Dancing All Night (the lack of an audience in the background really ruins that), each character has a unique flair to their routines, and it's fun to see them dance together and separately… even if I'm listening to Rivers in the Desert for the umpteenth time.
Social events also feel a lot snappier, and since Dancing in Starlight is placed firmly after the events of Persona 5, we aren't reminded much of the various characters' goals and ambitions. We're mainly treated to fun interactions about dancing, and occasionally a more serious scene about how someone may have grown during their time as a Phantom Thief. It's more enjoyable than Dancing in Moonlight's scenes.
But it's trading a tracklist for better a characterization. It's nice to have one or the other, but especially considering Dancing in Starlight and Dancing in Moonlight don't have Story Modes, it's strange that the developers couldn't manage both.
Coming away from the Persona Dancing games, I can't help but feel disappointed. There's a solid enough rhythm game base in these titles, but none of them seem to get everything right. Dancing All Night has a slog of a Story Mode, and while the two new games nix that, they lose more in the process. For rhythm game fans, there's plenty other out there to enjoy, but for Persona fans… while there's enough to enjoy, don't expect any of these titles to make a lasting impression.
Posted on November 27, 2018 0 By Elizabeth Henges	Reviews Posted in Reviews Tagged #Atlus, Persona, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Elizabeth Henges
I'm actually an accountant, but I like being a multifaceted nerd. I enjoy writing about nearly anything, but I'm partial to video games, cats, and trying to find neat little doodads.
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Out with the old CTrains, in with the new
Kevin Fleming Video Journalist
@CTVKevinFleming Contact
Published Tuesday, August 20, 2019 5:05PM MDT Last Updated Wednesday, August 21, 2019 6:13AM MDT
The City of Calgary is phasing out some of its oldest light rapid transit cars that date back to the launch of the CTrain's first line in 1981.
82 of the German built U2 cars were purchased in the 80's, and around half have been retired.
The challenge for the city when it comes to trying to keep older trains running is that the cars are well past their original service life and replacement parts can no longer be found.
Calgary Transit fleet manager Russell Davies says some of their parts are used on other cars to keep the remaining U2 fleet operational for as long as possible.
"Some of those electronics parts we're keeping those separate, some of the better parts we find on there if they've been through repairs recently," Davies said.
"Over the last few years we're taking them off and keeping them in a corner and keeping them for maintenance for the rest of the fleet for now."
Some trains have even been sold to Edmonton Transit, who use the same style trains, for parts.
In some cases rust is eating through them.
The cars are almost 40 years old and have recorded upwards of three million kilometres over the course of their life span, carrying millions of passengers around Calgary.
Sadly, there's no museum of old CTrain cars.
Instead, the majority are cut up into more manageable sized pieces, then sent to a southeast metal recycling yard, where they're crushed for scrap.
Davies says he likes the look of the new red and white trains and won't miss the old colour scheme.
"There's a lot of people that have romantic memories of them I think, but I like the new way it's gone," he said. "It's consistent with the city and a little crisper actually".
It's an unceremonious ending for light rail cars that were the workhorses for Calgary's public transit.
Brand new LRT cars built at a California Siemens plant are making their way here monthly.
The order went in for 69 cars in 2014 and 64 are presently in service on Calgary tracks.
The remaining five should be delivered by December.


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New harness to run up to 4 cameras on the John Deere Gen 4; 4640 screen when being used in machinery that is not pre-wired for the new 4640 screen.
Has a multi pin plug to go into screen and a power plug with 4 camera in-puts.
Do not try and force the cwicabgs3 plug into the Gen4 screen!!(it looks similar and that's all) it will not work and you could smoke your screen! yep it has happened.


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