Good posts, BloodFetish.
People are (understandably) upset with the level of performance of the team right now, and the waiver situation has given a convenient target to vent anger upon. I would advocate a great deal of caution in overreacting to this situation as, from what I can tell, the "real story" is very much unknown at this point. It's far more complicated than to just say "we would have lost ROR, end of story". At the very least, it would have got very interesting very quickly.
Prior to that, the flack Feaster was taking was not addressing the center position. I'm not sure what kind of centers people think are just floating around out there, but they have very high acquisition costs. Getting a 1B center like ROR, with possible 1A upside (though unlikely, I admit) at the age of 22 for a first and a 3rd is, frankly, a steal. Colorado wanted much more than that in trade -- Feaster said as much. If people were offended at the cost of that, can you imagine what it would cost to get a bona-fide first line center?
You can't have it both ways, people. We can't hoard assets and address our weaknesses at the same time. Everybody around here is saying you can win with aging vets, you have to build through the draft and acquire young talent. Do you think you're the only people aware of this? Why would teams trade these sorts of assets for the kinds of assets we want to get rid of? You are not going to get a potential first line center for deadline-day veteran pickups like those everybody wants to ship off.
The last thing this organization needs to do right now is panic and fire Feaster. We need more stability, not less. Personally, I believe part of the problem with the Flames is that with so little homegrown talent on the roster, it's a team of professionals and mercenaries. I'm not suggesting they're playing for the pay cheque, but you don't have the same level of loyalty to a team that trades for you or signs you as the team that drafts you. How many Flames draft picks are on our roster? Sven, Backlund, Brodie?
Our captain, franchise player, longest-serving player, holder of all the major records, etc. etc. has to deal with trade talk EVERY SINGLE YEAR. That he can go out every season and do what he does is, frankly, amazing. Would you want to continue to gut it out for a city that talks about trading you, your slow starts, how old you are, that you've lost a step, etc.? Unbelievable.
This fan base has high expectations for their team. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But there's a difference between high expectations and unrealistic expectations. There are a lot of unrealistic expectations not only for the performance on the ice but for what the front office should do off the ice. A lot of you are acting like disenchanted wives.
"Why do you never buy me flowers?" (this team is too soft, why don't we add some grit?)
*tries to solve the problem*
"I don't like these flowers! I don't need this kinds of flowers! Also, why do you never take me on a date?" (why don't you get a first line center)
*tries to solve the problem*
"That date is WAY too expensive? What were you thinking? You're so irresponsible with money! You never listen to me!"
Etc., etc.
People want to get a high draft pick yet absolutely lose their shat when we lose a game. Do you have any idea how much losing you have to do to draft in the top 5? We're going to need to be WORSE than we've been so far. Consistently worse. For the next 30 games.
Ugh. I'm just very disenfranchised with our fan base right now. This is my long winded way of saying, don't fire Feaster.
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