Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
It's plain that the governing principle of the Flames franchise for the last 10 years has been to make Jarome Iginla happy. To that end, management:
- Brought in players Iginla liked
- Brought back players that Iginla liked
- Turfed every coach that got exasperated with the Iginla-led players
- Continued to operate in a Win Now mode to keep the goal of winning with Iginla alive
- Tip-toed around serious and ongoing issues with the compete level of the veteran players
If the Flames started making serious re-tool moves three of four seasons ago - moving out Phaneuf for picks and prospects, moving Regehr for picks and prospects, hanging onto their own 1st and 2nd rounders instead of dealing for Jokinen and other vets - Jarome Iginla would not have been a happy camper. They would have had to move him too.
Flames management has been incompetent in a lot of ways and for a long time. But their biggest mistake in the last five years was treating Iginla like something more than what he is - which is a commodity. I hope they learn their lesson, and never treat another player, regardless of how big a star or how well liked, as though he's bigger than the team. |
There's 2 ways to look at this:
1) They did all of the above to keep Iginla happy, as you've suggested or;
2) They did all of the above to
get the most out of Iginla (& the rest of D. Sutter's "core"; Kipper, Regehr & briefly Phaneuf)
In retrospect both perspectives are incredibly flawed. I think you are correct though; they had better have learned their lesson. Build for long-term success.
Sutter & King both knew they had a very limited window to win with that 'core'. They threw everything they could at it & knew they were gambling the future success of the club. We're now paying the price.