Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
It's difficult to compare without knowing the exact situation he was in. One mistake fans often make is that they assume GMs for every team have the exact same roles. It's true that the GM has to "ok" which players are drafted, but not all GMs are explicitly picking those players. The success of these GMs hinges on the people they have on their staff and how much stock they put into them. Feaster seems like this type of GM. It's often been mentioned that Button, Weisbrod and even Conroy are the guys coming up with the selections.
We don't know if Tampa was structured like this or even he was able to hand pick the people he wanted (and the fact Tod Button is still around makes me think he doesn't have 100% control here either, but on the other hand, Tod Button has survived like 4 GMs now, so maybe he deserves it).
On some teams though, the GM exercises 100% control. Sutter was probably more along those lines (at least in the early rounds).
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I know you like Feaster and defend him at almost every opportunity, but "we don't really know the exact situation he was in" is not a universal defense. It's like if I refused to credit Feaster because for all we know he is just a figurehead and it's really King making all the decisions. Either way, unless there is evidence to suggest otherwise, why would you assume Feaster didn't have the job responsibilities commonly associated with the GM position (and I'm not talking about trading the face of the franchise here)?
Strong evidence suggest that Feaster had ample control over his scouting staff to make a difference, both in Tampa and here. In Tampa, one of the first things he did was slash the scouting budget in half and fire half of his scouts. He kept the team's long-time headscout. Furthermore, Feaster made his share of wheeling and dealing at the draft. He moved the #4 overall pick in his very first draft. There's absolutely no way Feaster could have done that if he was somehow restricted in his power to run the draft table. Here in Calgary, Feaster hired Weisbrod and Conroy. Weisbrod, in particular, has claimed responsibilities for setting the direction for the team's amateur scouts. The fact that Weisbrod is so involved in the draft process and along with Contry are coming up with selections like you suggested instead of just Button and the other pro scouts is evidence of Feaster's power to change the way the Flames do things as far as amateur scouting and the draft.
But you are right in that Feaster isn't the one coming up with the selections. He lacks the ability to judge amateur talent because he's not a hockey guy. He pretty much admitted that he does zero scouting. He has guys doing that for him. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be held responsible for his team's poor drafting record because he is the one who chose which guys to delegate this important responsibiilty to.