Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
But it's not a solid core - it's one of the weakest in the NHL.
NHL teams enjoy sustained improvement, the kind of improvement that sees them occupy the top 4 in their conference for several years, only one way: having a core of elite players in 21-27 age range. Filling out the roster with efficient UFA signings is how you augment a core, not build one.
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I'd agree.
Once again, Sutter screwed us.
Look at our draft picks under the Sutter reign as GM:
2003: Phaneuf: great pick. Traded for garbage with negative value. The only decent player in the deal was White, and Sutter found a way to replace him with healthy scratch (Babchuk). Phaneuf was actually chosen the year before Sutter took charge. I include him on the list to show how badly Sutter screwed us over.
2004: Chucko: awful. There were several much higher ranked skaters still on the table at this point. We actually traded down from 19 to get Chucko. This was actually a pretty deep draft too. Baffling move.
2005: Pelech: big physical player. Can't play pro hockey.
2006: Irving: a goalie. Always a bad choice and a long shot for a 1st round pick.
2007: Backlund: actually not too bad...I'll give Sutter credit for this one. At 24th overall, this was a solid pick.
2008: Nemisz: Big physical player. Hasn't yet shown he can play pro hockey.
2009: Erixon. Not really sure if this is Sutter's fault. But it seems like some homework should have been done here. If it was his intention to sign with the NYR, I feel like someone in our organization should have known.
2010: No pick. Traded for Jokinen. We didn't have a second round pick either, because we acquired Kotalik.
Sutter was given way too much rope. After the cup run, he became fixated with building that team again and finding that last piece. The problem was, we weren't in the clutch and grab era anymore. Players like Nemisz and Pelech may have been superstars in 2001, but not in 2011. It just comes down to poor overall asset management. The Flames should not have been trading away assets like Phaneuf and first rounders.
Our core should additionally feature Phaneuf and at least 2 drafted top 6 forwards. That's the difference.