I like Treliving and feel he shouldn't be lambasted here - at least not yet. He has made some good trades, some poor trades, some good signings, some poor ones, etc.
Overall, I think his biggest mistake was hiring Gulutzan. I hope that he remedies this first. I generally find that the biggest mistakes a GM can make are one of three things:
1) Sell too soon on young skilled players - they can make a GM look incompetent quickly (i.e. Look at Forsberg - after the trade people thought it was a poor trade right away, but after Forsberg's rookie season, they though McPhee was a complete buffoon - looks like he isn't such an idiot after all). Byron was the only player I have felt that Treliving has thrown away (and it was a big mistake at the time, regardless of how people like to rationalize it - I called him the Flames best depth player with his versatility and ability to play on any line and in any position, and still help the team). I will be floored if Treliving trades Bennett or Brodie for peanuts. I don't think he would do this.
2) Giving high dollar/high term contracts to players - this can really bite some in the ass. This is one area where I at least feel 100% confident that Treliving hasn't screwed up AT ALL. Calgary is extremely well positioned in terms of cap space and future obligations, while having a core that is actually on the cheap.
3) Hiring the wrong coach. This kills a GM quickly. I said it when he fired Hartley - the clock starts ticking now. I really do believe a GM - unless he has won the cup or has had a lot of success in the playoffs - can survive 2-3 coaching hires, and that's it. As soon as he fired Hartley, who wasn't 'his guy', it started for him. I believe hiring Gulutzan was a mistake in hindsight (obviously). Hopefully his next coaching hire isn't a mistake. Darryl Sutter was a pretty good GM in Calgary who couldn't hire the right coach. He last 3 coaches, with the last coach being the 'most wrong'. It precipitated him doing a mid-season irrational trade in the hopes of bringing better balance to the club, and it was the impetus for his dismissal and for people losing complete trust in his abilities. So many 'in Sutter we trust' signs, all gone overnight.
Has Treliving made mistakes? Yes he has. He has made a bunch of UFA signings that didn't just pan out, but they were over-priced and carried too much term. However, none of them really matter much. It hasn't 'hurt' the Flames at all, so that is a win so far in my books. He has traded players for lesser pieces (I still think the Granlund for Shinkaruk deal was a poor one, as I never thought much of Shinkaruk).
He has traded away not one, but two first round picks. For all the grief that Sutter took for trading away picks, the Flames have only one single season under his tenure where they didn't have a first round selection. That is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser here, but it isn't like they were getting UFAs or old players (Hamilton and Hamonic were both worth the acquisition cost IMO).
It is good that the Flames are close to the salary cap (but have breathing room) as Treliving has not been strong at signing UFAs, so I don't worry about that. I worry that Treliving might look to sign Peters out of Carolina as I feel he may be just another Gulutzan with a bit more bite. I would have been fine with Peters had the Flames been transitioning from Hartley and looking for 'fresh blood' so to speak, but I do think it is time this organization looks at hiring an established coach with a proven trace record of turning around a team.
If Treliving hires the wrong coach again, it may propel the Flames into that downward spiral and quickly accelerate the stopwatch on Treliving's time with the Flames, and having him try and make a bunch of in-season trades trying to balance this team out. Treliving has shown a lot of restraint in every season so far (thankfully, kind of) with not making big trades in-season. However, I also don't think he has really felt that ticking clock yet and the pressure that comes with it. It was rather easy to stay pat under Hartley - a guy he didn't coach - and not make a move to acquire a solid goaltender mid-season to try and salvage the year. Heck, the Flames should have been a rebuilding club anyway.
We will see what happens. I think if he doesn't let Gulutzan go, that stopwatch moves a lot quicker... Hire a new coach, that stopwatch slows down some after Treliving 'made a big move' an the allowance a new coach gives a team in 'learning the system' and the growing pains it sometimes gives. However, it is never fully stopped until the Flames make it far in the playoffs, and it is NEVER reset unless the Flames win the cup.
This off-season (whenever it starts for the Flames) is going to be really interesting. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking your time to fire Gully if that is the decision that he has arrived on, and just wants to give more time and have a thorough discussion with everyone involved in the organization - you might as well be sure about it. However, he better be started on whatever he has to analyze about the available coaches and who could possibly make a good fit.
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