Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
good article.
but I think Lombardi forgot a couple things:
Carter for Johnson + 1st (in 12 or 13)
Richards for Simmonds, Schenn + 2nd (in 12)
I fully agree, however, that the BACKBONE of building a team is through the draft and development.
The Flames have been horrible at this for the past 20 years. Improvement has come, but even if it is real improvement, it will be years before the good fully pushes out the bad.
By the way, Lombardi isn't talking about a rebuild, he is talking about an ongoing commitment to it in order to maintain a solid franchise. And I 100% agree with him.
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I believe this to be exactly what Calgary is doing now.
People are upset about the bad start, and not 'blowing it up'. Fans want a rebuild. The 'rebuild' started a few years ago under Darryl - he laid the foundation for the drafting and development program. Without this foundation, we would eventually become the Oilers - one year would have been 'horrible', with a few more bad years to come whereby we don't draft much beyond the '1st overall'.
So the Flames started their rebuild with the scouts and their development program - wise place to start! A lot of teams that are 'lost in the desert' for years are teams with small hockey ops departments, and affiliations with AHL teams that really don't do a whole lot to develop a player. They just want to win.
Scouting - even under Darryl, things went from 'absolutely horrible' to 'below average' I thought. The last few drafts started getting better, with his last one a pretty decent draft. I am starting to see this as one of the few (if only) organizational strengths now. Not a strength in the quality and quantity of prospects, but a strength in how much better they have been drafting and developing (and Calgary is increasingly ranked higher - though still NOT even in the top 2/3rds of the league).
As for 'winning now' - this philosophy has dramatically changed. Flames would in the past borrow from the future to pay for the now. All 'contenders' do this. I can't think of one Stanley Cup winner since the lockout that hasn't - to varying degrees. They trade prospects/picks for players to push them over the hump. It was doubly hard for Calgary in trying to remain a contender - their development program sucked, and so did their drafting. They simply were not drafting enough good players.
Now the 'bleeding' has stopped. Flames no longer trade away picks to win 'now' - and if they do, they are usually as part of a package in getting young-ish players in return in packages. No longer do you see the Flames pull out all the stops in trying to get themselves into the playoffs.
Flames are relying on drafting, development + good free agent signings/occasional trades. The average age of the Flames have dropped substantially. Our most effective players for the most part are under 30, though our 'most talented' players are over that. Iginla, Tanguay and Kipper are the only players that could be called 'core' that are over 30. Look back 2 years ago, and you would see more.
So, Flames have 'stopped the bleeding'. They don't trade youth for vets, and they are seemingly drafting and developing much better (and for those that argue that we are not, look back at our drafting and outside of an occasional pick that 'wowed' us, the Flames haven't been drafting this CONSISTENTLY WELL since the 80's). Just look at how many scouts and development personnel they have. The Flames invest a LOT more money into this area, and it is just a matter of time before it really starts showing results.
"The Iginla Situation" - I don't really see why everyone is getting so 'angry' for at the moment when it comes to him. Don't worry "Blow it up" crowd - you may get your wish yet. Iginla not signing a contract yet is very telling. I don't think it was just Iginla, or just the Flames. I think they had a discussion in the off-season, and figured this may be the best way to proceed this season. "Don't sign a contract yet, see how the Flames are doing in the standings. If they are legitimately a playoff team (not a bubble team), then sign a contract then. If not, give us your 2, 3, 4 or whatever teams you would like to go to, and we will trade you to the one that makes the best sense to us. If you don't re-sign with the team you were traded to, we will always take you back here on the Flames as a free agent."
Question is, who else goes if the Flames continue their current path?
This team is NOT as bad as people make it out to be. There is a lot of talent here. There just isn't enough 'impact' players left. I do think Gaudreau and Jankowski have a very solid chance of becoming impact players, but they are probably still at least 2 years out from either even joining the team (Jankowski) or being an impact forward on the Flames. There is a LOT of supporting players coming up too. Baertschi, Backlund and Brodie look like a very solid trio coming in. Things are not 'horrible'.
Now look at the standings year-to-year. Most contenders and winners didn't spend years at the bottom since the lockout. Boston and LA are both teams that FINISHED bottom 5 in the league. Don't argue the stupid Toronto trade as part of building a contender - a rookie Seguin vs a more prime Kessel hurt more than helped - but their future is much more bright with either Seguin or Hamilton, nevermind both of them in exchange for Kessel. Just that playoff run, Boston would have been an even 'stronger' team had they not made that trade. Philly picked JVR 1st or 2nd one year as well.
It seems that both our pro and minor scouts are doing a much better job now. I used to love Darryl because he could find that 'diamond in the rough' and turn that player into an impact player - Bourque, Husselius come to mind. All of the Flames' off-season NEW acquisitions seem to be great - Wideman, Hudler and Cervenka. Begin is 'so-so' for me - adequate and cheap enough. Comeau was just a good PK'er and brought some much needed grit that is VERY lacking on this team. Overall, I think the talent level on the Flames this season is BETTER than last season - and once again (besides Begin) there was no 'old vets' brought in.
I hope that if the Flames do not get into the playoffs, they finish bottom 3 (scared of the draft lottery - I think the top 4 picks this year will be closer to franchise types, and then there is a slight drop-off). One year is all it really takes. There is enough 'support' coming down the pipe (Reinhart, Horak, Arnold, Ramage, Breen, Seiloff, Wotherspoon) that there should be at least some decent 3/4 line 4/5/6 defencemen in that bunch to fill holes in the roster. Jankowski, Gaudreau, MAYBE Granlund could be 'go-to' guys in the future to compliment Baertschi, Hudler and Cervenka, plus this year's 1st(s) and whatever prospects come from any trades.
I think this is as bad as it is going to get. Last few games the Flames have remained competitive with a rookie goalie who is NOT ready to be a #1 and a top line that has not been a factor and has been outplayed by the 2nd line (and would have been by the 3rd line had Backlund not been hurt in almost certainty, as it was regularly when Backlund was in the lineup). The wheels didn't all completely fall off, and the effort wasn't even all there! Not saying this is a 'good thing', but in my opinion, this was the 'worst case scenario' and the Flames are staying alive.
I just take solace in the fact that no matter what happens, the Flames are committed to their drafting and development program. As long as they stay the course, this team will eventually start going up again - even if they never trade Iginla and company. NO TEAM succeeds any longer without one. Very few (If any at all!!) are constant failures when they decide to invest in those areas, regardless of what they do with their current 'vets'.