Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
The team missed the playoffs by three points. If Feaster had actually made any kind of useful moves instead of picking up Freddy Modin at the deadline and twiddling his thumbs the rest of the time, he could very probably have got the team the extra couple of wins. So I do pin that much of it on Feaster.
Of course, making the playoffs would not necessarily have allowed them to win a round. But at that point we're into hypotheticals and counterfactuals, and nobody can say what would have happened.
|
You know as well as I do that the offseason is the period with the most opportunity to shape your team for the upcoming season. Pinning that on Feaster who came in as a caretaker just looks opportunistic.
I also love the line of argument that Sutter saved the team which is completely devoid of context. The rebalancing of the league with two incredibly important drivers did way more than save the Flames than Sutter trading for Kiprusoff ever did.
If the Sutter as Saviour argument is to hold then why aren't the Oilers in need of saving? Arguing that Sutter saved the Flames implies that his deft moves resulting in on-ice success turned the financial fortunes of the team around when the team was at risk of leaving town. The counter factual would be that in Edmonton after 8 years of unprecedented failure they would have to be on the verge of financial and spiritual collapse. But they aren't. They're in pretty good shape financially. So if you can drive a team into the ground without the need for saving then maybe, just maybe, the on ice product that people like Sutter were directly responsible for wasn't the real reason for the franchise to be saved.
The bottom line is two fundamental levers changed the economics for the Flames a) the Canadian dollar and b) the salary cap. Sutter was just the guy fortunate enough to be sitting in the captain's chair when the winds picked up. We all swooned at his ability to sign free agents and trade for people like Tanguay. Luxuries guys like Coates were never allowed. You can't hold that against Coates just as much as you can use it to praise Sutter.