[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by New Era

David Jones has been brutal for the majority of his time with the Flames. The fact that you hand pick the last month to point out how good he has been is the textbook definition of confirmation bias. But it is MY confirmation bias that is the problem, not your own. Maybe you should consider reading some Heider to gain a little more insight into what you post.

Ok, you claim the problem is that we are losing right now because the vets suck. You mark a list of vets you want to get rid of. One of those vets is a guy who has been among our better players recently, and you think getting rid of him improves the team? And you're telling me *I* need to gain insight? Your argument is nonsensical precisely because you are ignoring the present to focus on a cherry-picked version of the past. If David Jones was ineffective as a player right now, then suggesting he should be replaced right now would make some sense. As it is, your argument is little different than suggesting we should sit Giordano because he struggled at some point in the past too.

You might also consider that it is 'correlation does not imply causation,' which means I don't think you have as good a grasp on the subject matter as you would like to claim. That can apply directly to points a through d.

The fact that you ignored the points entirely is noted. It is also completely unsurprising.

As I said earlier, players develop at different rates. Some players games will also develop better in different leagues. Michael Ferland is a great example. I think his game is actually best suited to developing in the NHL rather than more time in the AHL. He is still a work in progress, but his game is probably best suited to developing against the speed and style of play in the NHL over the AHL.

Ok, lets play ball. What makes you say this, aside from the fact that you have a clear bias towards wanting the kids around? Is it just because he was providing energy? We're already getting that in spades. It obviously isn't for offensive influence. So what makes a guy with 60 pro games in his life ready to be an every day NHLer, right now?

The thing here that I think is lost is the entertainment value. I really enjoyed watching the young Flames go out there, give their all, and find ways to win every night. It was exciting and it was entertaining. Now that certain veterans have returned to the lineup that same level of enthusiasm and energy is not there. The team has lost something that made them fun to watch. You can argue that the youth and enthusiasm may not contribute to the change in the team's performance, but I don't think you can argue the loss of speed and tenacity has hurt us.

What the team lost was unsustainable shooting and save percentages. And the guys who lost it are still here. Jooris, Wideman, Russell, Brodie. All with zero goals in the losing streak. All still playing with the same guys they were before, so you don't even have the lineup disruption card to play.

Anyway, I've stated my case and I'm not going to change any minds because the narratives have become so strongly entrenched. I hope to see our kids up adjusting to the NHL game and entertaining us with their speed and skill sooner than later. You hope they spend more time in the AHL to somehow become better players playing against inferior competition. We'll just see how it all plays out over the next two years, and whether we develop more NHL players or develop career minor leaguers.

No, you're making assumptions about what I want to see. My argument is that knee-jerk reactionary moves do not make the Flames better. I don't buy into the vapid rhetoric of "OMG WE"RE LOSING TRADE EVERYONE CALL UP EVERYONE OH GOD DO SOMETHING" that we are seeing in PGTs and several threads right now. I have known all along that a rough patch was coming, and I have known all along that people would have serious problems dealing with it when it got here.

The irony is that we are losing despite consistently matching or outplaying our opposition. We are being undermined by mistakes, and I would note that most of those mistakes are coming from the guys you don't have tagged for demotion/trade/waivers.