OK so I was part of the blow it up crowd. I'll tell you what, it's getting annoying having people hurr durr'ing and throwing it in our faces now like the rebuild option was ridiculous. It was not.
Yes, Flames had a fantastic year (still fell short of expectations) then it became apparent our two BEST players (100 pt men) were leaving. At that point in time, pivoting to maximize returns on your remaining assets with a deep draft upcoming was a reasonable direction. Flames fell short of expectations WITH those guys, so without them, things looked grim. A rebuild at that time would have given them a great chance to build a contender again.
The Tkachuk trade changed everything. Literally even the most positive Flames fan did not think that would be a possibility. I'd submit it was the greatest fleecing since in the cap era. The Kadri signing was also unlikely, as all signs pointed toward NYI. Don't sit there thinking you saw this coming.
I think the Flames are more competitive now than last season, but at the expense of trading younger stars for older stars. This will hamper their chances at maximizing returns when the inevitable rebuild happens, but if they win Cup(s) in the meantime, none of that matters.
I like Boomer but please don't act like you KNEW Brad was going to pull this off.
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