Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames89
I am not sure I agree with that perception.
Hartley has the team he has been given and the mandate to run it. While some debate the treatment of Baertschi, I have not seen the kid demonstrate the consistent effort required. As for young players taking a step back? Other kids are getting a bunch of chances. Playing big guys helps balance our size, and I actually think McGrattan is a better hockey player than given credit for.
We need to focus on being a winning team, despite the odds, else we will turn into the Oilers.
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Agreed, the only people who think he's focused on winning are folks who think being in a rebuild means play every player you have under 25 at the NHL level for as many minutes a possible..........some how that means you are playing for the future.
Like you said, you can debate the treatment thus far of Sven, but you can't confuse it with a focused on winning strategy. To me, Hartley is doing the opposite of win now:
- Sitting Sven for his long term development mulitple times, despite it being clear that Sven is easily a Top 9 forward on this team. This means the Flames are better with Sven in the line up, and therefore have a better chance of winning if they don't sit him.
- Continuing to play Berra despite mulitple questionable games and an equally capable / similar level back up on the bench. Giving Berra that extended stretch of games was clearly not a "win now" move. It was done to evaluate Berra and give him a chance to show case. Berra was weak numerous times in that stretch, a win now coach tries Ramo much sooner than Saturday.
None of this smells like a coach who doesn't understand the teams situation or mandate. The Flames aren't flush with young talent yet, and Hartley is trying his best to create a competitive atmospher on a team that still has a long way to go in teh asset aquiring process for a rebuild.