Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSquatch
I explicitly stated that I think they want to win. I think the ownership wants to win. I think Tre wants to win. I think the players want to win.
But there's a disconnect in wanting to win (the cup) and doing what is necessary to do so. I want a Corvette, that would be amazing. Am I willing to work an extra 30 hours a week for one? No. Flames are not willing to have a period where they don't make the playoffs. So they draft 17th every year and stay right where they are in the standings, every year - a bubble-ish team that can't get farther than a round against other bubblish teams.
This isn't speculation. I remember Feaster saying the mandate was playoffs. Was he lying? Sutter said the same thing when he was GM, and his moves reflect it. "Let's win right now." That's not the same as "Let's build a great, stable team." I think the Flames ownership group has been totally transparent about this mandate, and I don't feel like I'm stretching the truth about it or making anything up. I've posted in this vein many times. The trouble with the organization is that philosophically, the mandate from ownership is wrong. Do I have that written on a piece of paper, a note from Murray Edwards to Jay Feaster? No. Has it been said by GMs and Presidents from time to time? Yes, absolutely.
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Exhibit #1 for why the draft lottery system should have more even odds across all teams.
The mandate for all teams "should" be to make the playoffs every year at a bare minimum. It's a flaw in the drafting rules that makes it so this isn't always the low-bar for every team.
I get why it was like that before the salary cap and when teams held a player's rights into their 30s, but those days are over. Parity was achieved and a heavily weighted draft lottery is now counter to parity. The difference between a a playoff team and non-playoff team is not what it used to be and rewarding non-playoff teams is overkill.
The league has made changes in the right direction regarding this, but it still needs tweaking.