The fact remains that at the time of the trade, most Flames fans were ecstatic, and why wouldn't they be? Tkackuk (and Gaudreau) didn't want to be on the team anymore, and they got an elite winger and a guy who has been touted as an underrated top-pairing blueliner.
Obviously it hasn't worked out (yet), but some of the criticisms are absolutely hindsight. Should Treliving have waited to extend both Huberdeau and Weegar until he had seen how they fit in?
That's a reasonable argument. But the Flames just spent a whole year wondering if Tkachuk and Gaudreau were going to leave. You can't blame them for not wanting to go through that again.
Huberdeau has been very good-to-elite for at least 5 straight seasons. Weegar.has been very good for 3 straight seasons. The track record was there.
You could legitimately argue that they should have waited, could have flipped them for assets if the season didn't work out. But if the season does work out, maybe re-signing them doesn't become as easy. And maybe ownership doesn't want to go that route.
Hard to be blame Treliving for that when pretty much every lauded it as a great deal for the Flames, dealing from a position of weakness and turning it, on paper, into one of strength.
And to be frank, both Huberdeau and Weegar have lots of time to turn it around. Probably not this season, but new city, new team, new environment - they're pros, but maybe it takes longer.
Maybe the Flames need to identify players that can work their style and get them.
Or maybe the Flames problems aren't really the players. Everyone wanted Sutter back, and everyone was thrilled, and he did a hell of a job last season - but two big reasons for that performance are gone, and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that as society changes, as how we treat players changes, that coaches like Sutter are at risk of being left behind if they are unable to adapt.
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