More fodder for discussion from Sportsnet's Resident Guru, Damian Cox:
http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/201...pointless.html
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It's really amazing how dumb the Calgary Flames have become.
A lack of strategic thinking has the Flames in a terrible spot with a disappointing record, still trying to deny all the strong evidence that they need to take a giant step back and rebuild, hanging on to veteran players beyond their due date in some faint hope that the club can scrape into the post-season and make magic happen.
It was evident last season in the way they hung on to Jarome Iginla, and with the deal done to give up a second round pick and a prospect in the deal to bring forward Mike Cammalleri, then 29 years old, back to Alberta. It was further evident in the free agent signings of Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman last summer to inflated salaries.
What are these guys thinking? Its like the Leafs of the final days of Mats Sundin being played out all over again in western Canada.
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Goes on to talk about the waiver-wire conundrum, how Calgary actually made the division tougher by getting O'Reilly back into an Avalanche uniform, and skewed future contracts and arbitration because of the offer sheet.
He ends with this beauty:
Quote:
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Now, the fact they would have lost their first and third rounders and never got O'Reilly at all is looking like one spectacular embarrassment for a once-proud franchise.
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Abrasive, but he makes a few good points to think about. I think he undervalues what a player like O'Reilly could do for a team like Calgary, and I'm not sure how much an offer sheet structured to undermine the rights-holder plays into setting the market.
And, it all hangs on the confirmation that the info in the Johnston article is actually factual.