Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
A little while ago when I was moving, I came across my old hockey magazines from that era and there was one piece, I think written by Eric Duhatchek, where he deconstructed the Flames season and pointed out that St. Louis had a strong finish to the season and was a huge bright spot for the Flames future. The forecaster also said he was a player to keep an eye on. Personally, I also recall being really impressed with his energy.
So there were some people who saw St. Louis as a player worth investing in. Did anyone see him becoming as amazing as he did? No, not likely. But he definitely wasn't buy out material at the time.
It is worth mentioning though that when he went to Tampa, he complained to Tortorella that he wasn't getting quality ice-time to produce. Tortorella gave him some pretty tough love by plastering him to the bench and 4th line. St. Louis went scoreless in something like his first 20 games and then out of the blue, Torts put him on the first line and told him to prove it. He made St. Louis want it so bad that once he had the chance, he wasn't going to let anyone take it away. If he stayed in Calgary, I am not sure he would have developed the same way.
The exact same kind of tactic coaches here used on Bennett and people thought it was unfair. He didn't respond nearly as well as St. Louis did.
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I have only taken the time to call the Flames management twice. Once with regard to Martin St. Louis, and once with regard to Conroy, after the 2004
SC loss. In April, 2000, I called Ron Bremner (Flames CEO) and said, "Whatever you do, make sure you definitely keep Martin St. Louis". I explained that he was exciting to watch, and I was impressed with his speed and good hockey sense. Ron responded responded with "Isn't he great" and sent me a Flames clock (I call it my Martin St. Louis clock). A short time later, a newly appointed GM, Craig Button, decided not to renew Martin's contract option and he subsequently signed with Tampa Bay Lightening. I recall telling my brother-in-law at the time, who spent his winters near Tampa Bay, to keep an eye on a player called Martin St. Louis. The rest is history, part of which was Martin's goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 2004 SC final, which denied us the SC.
As for Conroy, I expressed my opinion that we should do whatever we had to to keep him, immediately after the 2004 season, I thought he was indispensable in the continuing success of the team. The team's character was essentially destroyed, when they let guys like Conroy, Nieminem (spelling?) and Commodore go.
As far as Bennett is concerned, I think it is far too soon to see what he is capable of in the long run. I sure hope I am wrong, but I believe he is presently playing far above what his long term stats will show.