Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Frankly, that's one thing I forgive Sutter for. People in Calgary don't want to admit that this isn't exactly a AAA destination for NHL players. We'll have to overpay to bring (or keep) free agents here. Not as bad as Edmonton. But we're not far behind. So drafting and signings guys who would find Calgary attractive for reasons other than $$$ makes sense.
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The problem is, it doesn't work. If the Flames restrict themselves to drafting WHL players, they're cutting out about 80 percent of the talent pool — but all 29 other teams are drafting from 100 percent of the pool. Nobody else is going to stay out of the Flames' back yard just because the Flames choose to stay in it.
You can see a similar problem with the Montreal Canadiens' coaches over the years. They have, to be quite frank, hired a number of bozos to coach that team just because they were francophones. There are plenty of great francophone coaches, but all 30 teams are competing to hire them. So you get Vigneault in Vancouver and New York, Julien in Boston, etc. Even Hartley came to Calgary rather than sign with Montreal. The Habs ended up having to rehire a coach they had fired once already.
When you're catching and keeping the very same fish that you caught and threw back once before, you know you need to fish in a bigger pond.