Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Poll: "Do you believe in the current mgmt group"

Sgrath · 04-29-2013, 03:43 PM

Some thoughts on management

Things we know to be true or at least accept as common knowledge
* Before this season the Flames needed more scoring potential / increase in skill (still do but not the point)
* We needed to get younger
* Pre-season predictions were 14th in the West
* You don't make the play-offs with only 1 true centre
* You don't make the play-offs without grit
* you won't make the play-offs with a weak defence
* Ownership get in the way of decision making
* Ownership would not trade Iggy / Iggy wouln't agree to be traded unless he had no hope
* A rebuild couldn't really start while Iggy was here
* A rebuild had to happen
* Hartley is not the greatest defensive minded coach out there
* The players are mentally fragile.
* This is supposed to be a real deep draft year

Now this is the supposition on my part - with a good dose of hindsight
Feaster and staff were fully aware of all of the above points. He could not persuade ownership to blow the team up at end of last season. So how do you blow up a team while not obviously blowing a team up? Well building a team that is small with no grit and no centres is a pretty good starting point. In fact everything that was done in the off-season and since does point to a deliberate, if subtle, losing policy. Each off season trade / UFA signing attempts could be sold to ownership as part of "win-now" yet also be part of a tank strategy.

In fact with a full season to play with we'd have been out of play-off hunt and have a top 3 pick sewn up by Dec. and would probably have been able to get a better deal for Iggy and Bo.

The more I look back on everything the more I feel that this seasons team was deliberately built to fail from the start. The media knew we'd suck, we knew in our heads we'd suck (even if in our hearts we wanted success) and the players surely knew the team wasn't built for success, which may explain some of the performances.

On to the ROR offer sheet. This feels very much like it was a deal between GM's to force ROR's hand and just get a deal done. It would have kept the 'win now' faction of CGY ownership happy that we were really trying to win and it kept COL happy in that they got their guy signed to a deal they could accept without losing face. People did seem slightly surprised at the timing and the speed of the matching offer.

04-29-2013, 03:43 PM	#99
Sgrath Backup Goalie Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Calgary Exp:	Some thoughts on management Things we know to be true or at least accept as common knowledge * Before this season the Flames needed more scoring potential / increase in skill (still do but not the point) * We needed to get younger * Pre-season predictions were 14th in the West * You don't make the play-offs with only 1 true centre * You don't make the play-offs without grit * you won't make the play-offs with a weak defence * Ownership get in the way of decision making * Ownership would not trade Iggy / Iggy wouln't agree to be traded unless he had no hope * A rebuild couldn't really start while Iggy was here * A rebuild had to happen * Hartley is not the greatest defensive minded coach out there * The players are mentally fragile. * This is supposed to be a real deep draft year Now this is the supposition on my part - with a good dose of hindsight Feaster and staff were fully aware of all of the above points. He could not persuade ownership to blow the team up at end of last season. So how do you blow up a team while not obviously blowing a team up? Well building a team that is small with no grit and no centres is a pretty good starting point. In fact everything that was done in the off-season and since does point to a deliberate, if subtle, losing policy. Each off season trade / UFA signing attempts could be sold to ownership as part of "win-now" yet also be part of a tank strategy. In fact with a full season to play with we'd have been out of play-off hunt and have a top 3 pick sewn up by Dec. and would probably have been able to get a better deal for Iggy and Bo. The more I look back on everything the more I feel that this seasons team was deliberately built to fail from the start. The media knew we'd suck, we knew in our heads we'd suck (even if in our hearts we wanted success) and the players surely knew the team wasn't built for success, which may explain some of the performances. On to the ROR offer sheet. This feels very much like it was a deal between GM's to force ROR's hand and just get a deal done. It would have kept the 'win now' faction of CGY ownership happy that we were really trying to win and it kept COL happy in that they got their guy signed to a deal they could accept without losing face. People did seem slightly surprised at the timing and the speed of the matching offer.