Clearly the man exceeded all expectations in what he's managed to get done this summer. The Hamilton trade was stunning, his signing almost equally so. Frolik was the guy we all wanted (when does that happen?).
Didn't love the Bouma contract, but I'm fully aware that he doesn't need to score 16 three straight years to make that a good contact.
Curious to see how he handles three different gluts;
1) the goaltending. Great asset management if he can get a third out of Hiller, keep the younger and better Ramo in the fold and promote Ortio. Bad asset management if he loses Ortio on waivers.
2) 18 forwards coming to camp that have a good case to be here. Competition is great, but that's a lot of bodies to sort out.
3) Prospects. He made a move with Reinhart, and these will be key as the Flames can't possibly progress that many interesting bodies through the system. The Flames ability to pick the right half of these guys will be the make or break between a decade of good hockey and an iffy peak.
and now the controversial one ... curious on Hudler. I'll be pretty pumped if he does one of two things soon.
1) Get Hudler on a short term team discount (don't blame Hudler for not doing this)
2) move him soon for young players, picks to keep bolstering a rebuild
Moves like this separate the GMs that are trying to save their jobs from the ones that have the confidence to act like they are here for a generation.
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