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Originally Posted by TOfan
So if Paul Byron stays, what does that mean for the Flames today? Are they challenging the Leafs for top spot? Obviously there’s no telling. The point being, these are relatively minor decisions. They’re also similar moves made by, arguably all GM’s across the league. Brad Treliving isn’t the only GM buying out players or waiving others.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TOfan
Sure, we can quibble over PTO’s, waived players, and 4th liners on one year league min contracts but, again, all GM’s play these cards. Are we going to be talking about how good Tobias Rieder was on his one year two way deal 4-5 years from now? Goes both ways. Not too sure why we cling onto the ‘mistakes’.
But let’s be straight, it’s the core that is the issue.
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It's indicative of a horribly flawed/rushed philosophy with the rebuild.
Anything like this is a butterfly effect that's impossible to predict. Kinda like trading a 35OA pick early in a rebuild for a single year Elliott goaltending. Do we pick Kyrou or Debrincat who fill that elusive RW? Probably not, but maybe we use some of those assets in trades instead of chasing shortcuts.
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Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
He’s been a colossal disappointment and he’s absolutely a big reason the Flames aren’t where they want to be. This could all be stated in the Sam Bennett thread, but I can’t even bump that thread anymore with all the overly sensitive Sam Bennett fans who may have to finally come to terms with what he actually is instead of blaming everything and everyone else.
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Any rebuild predicated on an 18yo becoming a 22 yo superstar is failure.
I think it's clear to all that Bennett's ceiling is simply not what we hoped. But I think it's fair to wonder how much his development was pooched by the rushed rebuild and a team trying to run before it could walk.
Leon got sent back down. Couturier took yeeeeeears to blossom. Olli Jokinen's first four years were way worse than Bennett's. Ryan Strome showed promise in his 21yo season but it took 5 more years before he exceeded 35 points. Playing C in the NHL is hard...lots of high picks take a long time to figure it out...most don't get asked to be swiss-army-knives to patch holes on flawed rosters.
Expectations were simply out of whack for the reality of 4OA picks, which are closer to a coin flip than a sure thing.