Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
2 years after those trades, Calgary finished first in the division and west, second in the league. And I dare say if the Hamonic trade had been for a different player they might still be up there. Again, it was the player acquired, not trading a pick per se.
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It was trading the picks plural that was the problem, not the players they got in return. Well run organizations do not trade two firsts and five second round picks in 24 months when no rational hockey observer thinks they are anywhere near being a contender. It just never happens except for a 24 month period for the Flames. One would hope that there would be at least a small period of time where burning that much draft capital would result in having a decent team. For the Flames, that was the first 45-50 games of the 2018/2019 season. But you lose that much draft capital and you are going to be bad more often than not 4-6 years after those trades. That 4-6 year period is where we are at now. Most teams like the Lightning burn all that capital when they are trying to (and actually do) win a Cup. Brad traded all that capital to get a team that could make the playoffs in 3 of the next 6 years.