Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Here's the thing. Fans are past tired of the owners "win now" approach and the Feaster and Co. are going to feel heat because of their bosses mandate. I have been happy with some of the organizational changes and while bringing in Hulder, Wideman, and Cervenka look good on the surface the team is arguably playing worse than they did last year. Sven and Gaudreau look nice but they are both small players and it's debatable just how much future impact they will add. IMO neither player are replacements for Iginla as franchise players. Bottom line is that I'm not going to give major credit until those two do anything of merit in the NHL. Throw in a farm team that seems to be more interested in winning hockey games with career AHLers than developing players and there simply isn't a lot to be happy about for Flames fans. We can't look at the farm and say oh well our NHL team sucks but our prospects are coming along because most of them aren't playing much and maybe it's because they aren't good enough but maybe it's because the situation on the farm is not optimum for developing confidence and bringing along players slowly.
Frustration is boiling over and these Mickey Mouse moves aren't exactly enduring management to the fans. Doesn't mean we want Feaster or Hartley fired but it means we expect better. A lot of talk and hoopla about a fourth line player being put on waivers but at the end of the day it's simply another head scratcher to add to the accumulating pile of puzzling moves this franchise is making. Maybe a team trades for him and they sign Arnott which will make some sense of things but on the flip side adding Jason Arnott has more of the same old stopgap, win now, failure written all over it.
|
The mandate isn't exactly a 'win-now' approach, however. Well, I guess it is open to interpretation.
To me, a 'win-now' approach means you are trying to to load your team up at the expense of the future. I don't think the Flames are doing this (and I should hope they continue not to). Flames have poured a lot of money into drafting and development, and they aren't trading picks away any longer.
Flames are a 'rebuild on the fly' type of team that is trying to stay competitive while doing so. It is somewhat admirable, rather than the tanking that goes on. I haven't been exactly thrilled with the 'standing pat' thing the last couple of years at the deadline either - felt the Flames could have made a few moves to get a couple more picks. However, this year I do think if they are out of it something will happen. Iginla is not signing. That (to me) speaks volumes of what might just happen.
As for the Heat - Darryl got criticized for only having young legitimate prospects on the team. The team floundered, the city was upset (the nice little arrangement they have with Abbotsford where they city pays for all losses)... Prospects weren't improving any better. Based on how the prospects came up and filled very well last year during the injury run, I think they are coming along fine. Always room for improvement, but the Heat and the Flames' development program are hardly to be faulted.
It is usually a good thing to bring young players along with good vets that can help them to become good pros. I hear this mantra quite a lot. I do think there is a ring of truth to it.