Quote:
Originally Posted by united
Overall I think Treliving is a competent and smart GM and the Flames are lucky to have him, but he is also one who has experienced some growing pains with it being his first time in the role. I think we've learned some things about him, and he's probably learned a few early lessons of his own.
What we know:
- Treliving has no concerns over-paying players he sees as key: (Monahan, Brouwer)
- Treliving is terrific in trade negotiations (Hamilton, Hudler, Russell)
- Treliving is good at finding impact players/signings (Frolik, Versteeg, Elliott, Johnson, Nakladal, Schlemko)
What I think he's learned the hard way - and I'm part of the conspiracy that Burke pushed him toward many of these:
- Paying a premium (trade or salary) for depth intangibles all-stars rarely works. (Engelland, Bouma, Bollig, and arguably Brouwer [TBD])
- Giving coaches too much say in roster assembly is dangerous and ill-advised due to their inherent favourites. (Chiasson, Grossman, Ramo)
Going forward, assuming Treliving has learned from his errors - thankfully mostly minor ones - I'm glad to have him in charge. The handling of Byron's departure, Bollig's acquisition, Chiasson's signing (Jooris for 600?), Grossman's signing (Nakladal) were obvious mistakes when they happened, but again thankfully relatively minor and easily corrected.
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I strongly disagree with the bolded. I firmly believe Byron's exceptional speed, consistent aggressive play in spite of his size, enthusiasm, low salary, and respect and influence on his team mates were greatly missed. I think it's the failure to appreciate the overall contribution of guys like Byron that can drastically change the chemistry of a team, and cause it to regress...especially when it's done primarily to increase the size of the team.
I also think failure to adequately address goaltending is a major weakness.
IMO acquiring Hamilton was also a mistake. I think we would probably be better off if we had gone ahead and made the draft picks.
Also IMO replacing Hartley was one of the worst things to happen.
This team is a mess, and heads should roll if we don't start improving.