Quote:
Originally Posted by hulkrogan
Keeping Stempniak looks like it may have been a very good call.
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I was one of the people upset with his re-signing. But both Lee and Jay have proved me wrong. It was a good idea keeping Stempniak, especially given how Hartley's system caters to his skillset.
To me the Regehr/Butler trade doens't look that bad anymore now that Hartley has Butler playing in a proper role and not forcing him to play #2 minutes.
Hudler, Wideman and Cervenka all look like fantastic deals. All 3 players have IMO been the main reason for the increased in skill we get to see every night.
Hiring Hartley has been a godsend. It's still too early to say, but I have a very good feeling we might have finally found the right coach for this team.
Going back to last season, Feaster kept his word on giving young players a chance. Horak, Brodie, Aliu and various other callups that have really fit in well with the team. We rarely got to see that happen under Darryl's rule unless it was an emergency.
His drafting IMO will really be his legacy when all is said and done. If you look at Tampa's picks when he was in charge, I was a little worried about how it might go here. However hiring more scouts and having more experts inputs will really turn the Flames draft record around. We might be a smaller team now and in the future, but skill will be plentiful.
I think Feaster has done a solid job and deserves a 7.5 on my scale. If we make the playoffs, 8+.