GMs live and die by their coaching hires. I thought that the clock started ticking when Treliving fired Hartley and hired Gulutzan's. I have always believed that the GM moves himself into the hotseat every time making that move.
With that said, I really don't think there is much to this story. For all we - and Friedman - knows, Flames just want to have the entire season added to figure out how much of a pay-bump to award Treliving. Maybe they do want to see who becomes available? Maybe the Flames wanted to re-sign Treliving already, but it is Treliving that is holding up for whatever reason.
Friedman sure sounded like it was pure speculation, and there are many plausible rationales as to why Treliving hasn't been extended yet.
Even if he doesn't, I will keep an open mind anyways. I didn't agree with Hartley being axed, but I did understand the rationale. If Treliving gets axed, I don't think that I would agree with it either, but at the end of the day, this is a results-based industry. There are a lot of posters on this board that are becoming apathetic to the Flames due to the level of entertainment that they are providing (along with other reasons), and if you couple that with JUST finishing out of the playoffs, it could very well make more fans become more apathetic. There seems to be seats available most games, and the Flames have been in a playoff spot for a long while. That alone will not sit well with any president or ownership group, and will at least shorten the proverbial rope.
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