Quote:
Originally Posted by Northendzone
so we are all in agreement with what the flames should do then?
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Not exactly.
If you can add an impact top 6 forward such as Toffoli for a reasonable cost, you do it. However, what I'm not in favor of is the "emptying the clip" approach as some have suggested.
If you bare the cupboard and mortgage the future to go all-in this year, unloading picks and prospects like candy, how does that set the team up for the next 10-15 years?
What kind of message are you really sending to Johnny & Mony if you ask them to sign on the dotted line for 8 years each, yet at the same time you're setting the team up for little to no chance of team success beyond this and maybe next year? How interested are they really in spending 1-2 years on a contending team followed by 6 years of rebuilding?
And here's the other thing. While it may seem like a great idea to acquire players that have term beyond this year, the question becomes how on earth do you keep everybody while staying under the cap?
Looking at the history of this team since '06, every time they've tried to take shortcuts to get into contend-now mode, it's blown up in their faces.
A perrenial contender is not made by unloading futures every time the team is in a playoff position. It is made by patiently drafting and developing its own talent, and trusting in the process. Case in point, Johnny, Chucky, Eatbread, Mony were drafted by this team and developed patiently. Lindy & Hanafin were acquired via the Adam Fox trade, another quality Flames draft pick. Bennett was also drafted by this team, though mismanaged, unfortunately. The end result of this patient drafting process, combined with smartly chosen free agent pickups and quality coaching, is a team that is finding its way and having some success. The way to keep things this way long term is not to light the house on fire (pun not intended) just to enjoy one guns-blazing playoff run.
Remember, nothing in the playoffs is ever guaranteed, no matter how good a team you may have. The Flames could unload their entire collection of picks and prospects to beef up their roster to epic proportions, yet still not be guaranteed to beat Vegas and Colorado in the playoffs.