Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
I wanted a young guy as well, but I wanted a young guy from a winning organization. There's the rub for me. Phoenix has been a middling team that plays a style of hockey everyone on this board hates with a passion. They have had no success in any shape or form and don't look like a team with much of a future. If the team is an extension of its management, this move bothers me. I like the direction the Flames were headed. They have developed a stable of good young prospects in a very short period of time. They play an exciting brand of hockey. There is a future here. I don't want a guy who learned how to build a 7th-11th place team to work his magic and build the Flames in that image. That is my fear and why I will take a wait and see attitude.
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What did we hear for the past decade about the Flames from fans and media outside the city? That "the Flames can't score goals" and "play boring hockey". Some of that actually has merit for the Darryl Sutter coached teams but the bottom line is that when the team wins fans don't seem to notice the style of play nearly as much. The Flames were an extremely boring team to watch for years to outside fans but most of us never cared because the team was winning games and competing hard.
It's all about playing to your team's strengths and Darryl Sutter did that as does Dave Tippet as the Coyotes simply don't have elite scoring depth. The long term plan I'm sure is to collect and groom talented players so the team can dictate a more offensive style of game but if you don't have the overall team skill to pull it off you become the Oilers or Leafs that can't win unless their goaltenders are standing on their head. I am totally fine with the team playing a close to the vest style of play as long as they are competing hard and have a chance at winning games.
As for the other statement Treliving never learned to build a 7th - 11th team nor did he not learn how to make a 1st to 3rd team. All he did with the Coyotes is try his very best to help ice the best team possible based on the budget and resources he was given to work with. Honestly can you say with a straight face the NHL was going to give him the resources to sign the top UFA's over the summer or make blockbuster deals where the Coyotes were bringing in a guy with a big contract? Heck how many players probably have the Coyotes on their NTC list due to their tenuous situation in Phoenix? I'm willing to be a lot. I really think you need to be a little more open minded here and give the guy a chance before you write him off and call him a guy that has only learned to built 7th - 11th teams.