The big mystery I'd like solved is how much of these staff and player decisions were BT's. They should all have been his. If they were then maybe it is time to move on - he's had an equal number of hits and misses.
If they were not, then is it fair to judge BT if the coaching budget he had to work with was compromised by ownership? I'd love conclusive evidence that this actually happened. It seems counter intuitive that any high successful business owner would make decisions this way. Spending $3M on a good coach in the grand scheme of things seems like a small price to pay for a worthy custodian of a $80M payroll and a business with a $855M valuation.
Look at what one full year of Sutter with the old core got us. What did we miss out on due to poor coaches?
The current state is a depressing mess. If it really is because ownership tie BT's hands (I don't believe this) then what difference will a new GM make? Especially if we hire one on the cheap and they are young and easily pushed around by ownership.
If Edwards is really that involved with hockey decisions then what choice does anyone have except to stop cheering for the Flames? This isn't the EPL, protesting ownership won't spur a sale.
BT may be the 3rd best GM in Flames history, but that says more about the organization than it does BT's acumen. He might be better a President of Hockey Ops, a layer between ownership and the GM. That structure seems to be more popular these days and we lost that when Burke left (Maloney seems less involved).
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