Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
I think that there is a big misconception on CP.
There is no rebuild process in the NHL.
Each team gets to spend a certain amount of money and the team that spends it the best wins.
We are taking the Oilers as the model 5 year re-build process. This was the case when Detroit and NYR could spend 3X what the Flames and Oiler could spend. Now if the Oilers and Flames can't compete year in and year out it is their own fault and they have incredibly bad management.
The Oilers and Flames have just made the wrong decisions and are a weak management team and not able to get out of their own way.
Their next rebuild starts next year as their core : Hall /Eberle / Horcoff / Smid are signed for a third of their cap space (21M/ year) over at least the next 2 seasons.
The Flames core is Tanguay, Hulder, Wideman, Gio and Glencross are signed for 2+ years for 19M /year.
If the Flames are not able to add to this rather solid core with the other 2/3 of their cap space and be a more solid playoff and SC contender than the Oilers I will be very disappointed and surprised.
All the prospects and potential do not amount to a hill of beans..... It is all about value contracts.... Ray Whitney's play and goals at age 38 count every bit as much as much and contribute to a team's success as much as Eberles or Yakapov's.
The big thing is getting players , no matter what their age, to contribute more than they are paid.
The Flames have not had this for years. Iginla at 7M 3 years ago was was almost living up to his contract..... not so for the last 2 years.. Bouwmeester was not ever, Sarich was not ever, Cammalleri definitely is not, Regehr was not, Stajan was not, Phanuef was not.
These bad contracts have for the most part moved on. Now it is clearly in the management teams responsibility to find some value contracts.... players that get paid at the 4M level that play like 6M players or at least 4M players.
There will be a lot of them available this summer.
If the Flames are not a playoff team next year OR have an internal cap of 50M then the whole hockey operations team , King , Feaster, Harltley and all the coaches and scouts need to be fired and Davidson be lured from Columbus with total control of all Flames Hockey operation.
Edmonton and Bill Wirtz are NOT the model that need to be followed.
Crap its has been 4 years since the Flames made the playoffs.... 2013-14 is year 5 of a 5 year plan.
The biggest problem with the Flames (and Oilers) is that they have been so reluctant to admit their mistakes.
The Flames should have known that Bouwmeester was not a 7M d-man after 40 games.....or a year before signing him. What were the thinking when they signed a 31 year old Iginla to a 7M 5-year deal?? That he would be as good as he was from 28-31 when he was one on the top 5-6 players in the league and worth 7M / year???? Was he not going to ever slow down and decline...
Did they really think that Cammalleri would ever again produce at a 6M level when he did it so seldom over a 10 year career??
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Would you just let 31 year old captain Iginla coming off his 2nd 50 goal season and 98 points walk as a UFA? IMO, Iginla earned every dollar of his last contract up until this final year, I suspect the biggest reason he's gone is because he(and his agent) still thinks he's worth about the same for four more years, I believe Feaster thinks otherwise.
Flames didn't sign Cammalleri to his deal, we picked him up and a future goalie for a lazy bum and a nothing prospect. Considering he's leading the team in scoring I would say it's not a bad deal.
Everyone uses Detroit as the NHL poster boys, how about the 12 year 73 million deal to a 30 year old Zetterberg who had 40 goals once in his career and most likely wont sniff 25 ever again.
Fact is if you want to keep your stars..you have to pay them. some work out,some don't...even GM's don't have a crystal ball.