Originally Posted by Sakari
Let's play make believe.
It's 10 games away from the final game of the 2013 NHL regular season. The Calgary Flames sit in the 9th seed in the west, 3 points out of a playoff spot. In these 10 games, the Calgary Flames play .800 hockey, going 8-2-0 in the final stretch of the season. They make the playoffs! They sit in 8th place, 3 points above the Dallas Stars. CP and the city of Calgary go wild! The streets are buzzing.
Let's move forward a bit.
The Flames are playing in the 6th game of their series against the Chicago Blackhawks. The series is 3-2 Blackhawks. It's now or never for the Flames. They play a strong first period, the score sits at 1-1. Chicago comes out of the doors with their game faces on. The period starts. The Blackhawks score 20 seconds into the period. 2-1. They score again. 3-1. By the end of the period, the score is 4-1 Hawks. Crawford stops 15 shots in the 2nd frame. Kiprusoff stops 6. The Flames come out of the gates in the 3rd skating, but end up giving up 3 more goals. The Hawks take the series, 4-2, embarrassing the Flames 7-1 in the final game. This weak, short-lived playoff stint gives the management hope. Iginla re-signs. They make small changes in the off-season. The team comes back, and completely repeats the previous season. This continues for 5 years.
I am all too afraid that this is exactly what will happen to the Flames.
Feaster's goal, in his entire stint with the Flames, has been clear-cut. Make the playoffs. What is every single every other ####ing teams goal? To win the Stanley Cup. Why? Because, for nearly the past century, that has been the most prestigious award you can win in ALL of sport outside of the Olympics, it takes the most work, drive, and passion to win. The Flames lack all 3 of those qualities, which is why our goal is to make the playoffs, not win the Cup.
Why is this Feaster's goal? Does he honestly believe that this tiny, heartless team can drive right into the heart of the playoffs? He must. After much consideration, I'm pretty much 100 percent against Feaster. Cleaning out the coaching staff wasn't the problem. King, Feaster, and everyone around them needs to go. We need a fresh start, we need a 1-2 year rebuild. I sound like a broken record, all of this has been said. But when the managements goal is essentially to break the hearts of the most important part of their team, the fans, there's a huge problem. And that is exactly what this team has been doing since the 1990 season.
The goal needs to be to build a Stanley Cup roster worthy of contention, not a roster that will, without a doubt, lose in the first rounds of the playoffs year after year, and that is final.
And Feaster certainly won't give us that.
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