"At this rate, Jay Feaster may very well rack up the most exorbitant monthly cellphone charges in Calgary.

Perhaps even all of Alberta.

Such is life for the general manager of a hockey team mired in mediocrity like the Calgary Flames.

"I make phone calls," Feaster says in a rare quiet moment on the road. "I get phone calls. That's part unfortunately of being where we are.

"You don't have to generate a lot of calls in a time like this. The vultures circle."

In fact, the vultures are swooping over their target in the ditch. Heading into action Friday night in Buffalo, the Flames (5-5-1) sat tied with Detroit for 12th place in the Western Conference."