Quote:
Originally Posted by Phanuthier
Any level above Peewee
What do I consider a hockey guy - a guy who grew up in a world where hockey is a 2nd instinct, not a job. Someone who outside of their job function, will catch a game if they got a few hours before they go to sleep (I believe it is said that Jay Feaster doesn't scout any amateaur games, didn't watch Cervenka before signing him, etc). Someone who will talk endless hours of hockey at night, every night because its like a religion to them. Someone who, for them, hockey is a way of life, not just a job. Can you have that kind of burning passion where you watch every ounce of hockey you can because you love it so much (hell, maybe even midget not just for scouting but because you love it so much)... or can you not be bothered catch a junior hockey game because you are put in 50 hours in for work already this week? I just can't see a guy who never really thought about hockey till it was his job, to have that kind drive; but I think you need to have it if you're going to be one of the best GM's in the league, and if the Flames want to be the best in the NHL, we need to hire the best.
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Alright, so you feel that someone has had to play the game competitively for some time.
Feaster does scout. I have no idea how often he scouts, but he does. I remember an interview where he said he would be going out east for 3 days or so to do some scouting. Doesn't mean he is any good, doesn't mean he is bad - just means that he does scout 'x' amount of time (and I would personally assume it would be lower than the average as compared to other GM's - but just an assumption).
As for the 'living and breathing' thing - how do you or anyone else know that Feaster or King don't live and breathe hockey? How do you know they don't PVR and watch as many games as possible?
I am not here defending Feaster - I for one have never really liked him much. However, he has been involved in hockey now since 1988 apparently - longer than a large portion of NHL hockey players now. He never did play hockey, but he seemed to love the sport enough to want to continue in this field. After he left Tampa, he did some blogging for a while about hockey - seems to have enough love for the game to do that rather than return to his law practice (or maybe he did, but still loved hockey enough to try and remain in the game somehow).
I would much rather the Flames bring in a better GM (I don't particularly like most of his moves, and his constant drivel in the media I find a bit much), but when people throw out the terms: "not a hockey guy" or use the "newspaper man" when talking about Ken King, I just kind of scratch my head at times. I do think that the Flames should hire the best guys available, but that to me doesn't necessarily mean being a hockey guy. If it was, Lowe, Tambelini and Milbury would not be the huge flops that they were. Conversely, Bowman and Lamoriello wouldn't be seen as so brilliant (though they both played competitive hockey, none played close to the level of the 3 aforementioned).
I just think being a 'hockey' guy is less and less important as you move up the organization. I think it is definitely a 'plus' that Shanahan was a great player who played the game for a while, but what is more important to the Flames to him being president is his competency at being a president in the organization, not a scout or an evaluator of talent. That is simply not the job of a president I would think, but I do agree it adds value.