Button managed the Flames at a time when the Flames were a "poor" team and the gap between the rich and poor teams was huge. He was at a disadvantage, especially compared to where the Flames are now.
Having said that, the Flames should not have had a rookie GM at that point. Small mistakes were magnified and the Flames didn't have the financial backing to correct them. Things like mismanaging the Savard/Gilbert situation, casting off players that still had potential and some bad signings that crippled the budget were magnified. We needed homeruns in the draft and didn't get them. Maybe an unfair expectation, but it was pretty much the only thing that would have gotten us out of the hole we were in.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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