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Ferarri · 03-03-2023, 09:51 PM

I’ve been thinking a lot about the moves that were made today (or lack there of) and tried to rationalize what ownership and management make of this team. There has been enough posts on this board to gauge a large portion of the fan perspective but do we really know what is going on behind the scenes. I have a few theories (although what do I know) as to how things might have gone down on a trade deadline day like this.

I assume at this point ownership has gone to management and coaching and asked for a report as to what exactly has gone wrong. In the off-season the team was labelled as cup favourites and now they are not even in a playoff spot, with a good chance of missing all together.

The assessment I believe that was put together by Tre and his team and Sutter and the coaches is probably the following:

1. Goaltending - this position has been atrocious to say the least. Neither guy has performed to the level expected and Markstrom has fallen off a cliff

2. Lack of Superstar Presence- the guy we brought in (Huberdeau) has significantly underperformed. No where near the level that he was playing like in Florida

3. Unfortunate Circumstances/Bad Luck - This argument is kind of weak, but nonetheless there have been several games where they probably deserved a better fate but were denied points. The structure has been there, as shown by outplaying opponents like Boston and still losing. Hitting several posts and a tendency to play from behind as your goalies let in the first goal on the first shot of the game

Now ownership probably asks, what to make of this and I believe the following. The brain trust probably has said this is a “good” team that has underperformed. They aren’t “great” like last year but they should be better than what they’ve shown. With competent goaltending they are in a playoff spot and with our goalies playing an above average game they could be winning this division. The caveat also exists that they shouldn’t invest draft capital into this group to try and do short term improvements as this could be dangerous if the group continues to underachieve.

They firmly believe that Marky’s numbers may not get to the level that they were last year but they will certainly not be as low as they are this year. As far as Huberdeau, he’s probably never going to hit 115 points again, but should certainly not hover around the 40 mark that he’s at right now.

From the ownership perspective, they believe that they have invested a TON of money into this team. From giving Huby the richest contract in Flames history to bringing in a guy like Kadri. Because of the money factor I’m willing to bet that they refuse to throw in the towel after 60 games. If the brain trust is right and the factors above change, then they are looking at a completely different situation.

Where it gets dicey is the gamble they are willing to take. If Edwards firmly believes that the money invested is too high to give up now, and his management and coaching team is correct, then he’s probably willing to give this another shot even if they miss the playoffs. Maybe he goes into next season not burning draft capital but willing to give it another X amount of games before he says the experiment failed.

The unfortunate truth is that fans will be outraged if we miss the playoffs (deservedly so) and will want everyone fired and the team to blow up. If that doesn’t happen and they don’t sell in a draft labelled as quite good, then this place will explode especially if we go into next season and have similar results before they give up.

It’s a tough situation for ownership and risks fan outrage. I can see many people not wanting to renew season tickets, labelling the franchise as the definition of mediocrity (which isn’t wrong) and being furious with the decisions made, but you got to see if from another perspective as well. Ownership is committed to making a profit (as should any business) so they have a lot more invested than the average fan who wants immediate change after a season of potential failure.

03-03-2023, 09:51 PM	#1
Ferarri First Line Centre Join Date: Sep 2007 Exp:	Ownership and Management Perspective I’ve been thinking a lot about the moves that were made today (or lack there of) and tried to rationalize what ownership and management make of this team. There has been enough posts on this board to gauge a large portion of the fan perspective but do we really know what is going on behind the scenes. I have a few theories (although what do I know) as to how things might have gone down on a trade deadline day like this. I assume at this point ownership has gone to management and coaching and asked for a report as to what exactly has gone wrong. In the off-season the team was labelled as cup favourites and now they are not even in a playoff spot, with a good chance of missing all together. The assessment I believe that was put together by Tre and his team and Sutter and the coaches is probably the following: 1. Goaltending - this position has been atrocious to say the least. Neither guy has performed to the level expected and Markstrom has fallen off a cliff 2. Lack of Superstar Presence- the guy we brought in (Huberdeau) has significantly underperformed. No where near the level that he was playing like in Florida 3. Unfortunate Circumstances/Bad Luck - This argument is kind of weak, but nonetheless there have been several games where they probably deserved a better fate but were denied points. The structure has been there, as shown by outplaying opponents like Boston and still losing. Hitting several posts and a tendency to play from behind as your goalies let in the first goal on the first shot of the game Now ownership probably asks, what to make of this and I believe the following. The brain trust probably has said this is a “good” team that has underperformed. They aren’t “great” like last year but they should be better than what they’ve shown. With competent goaltending they are in a playoff spot and with our goalies playing an above average game they could be winning this division. The caveat also exists that they shouldn’t invest draft capital into this group to try and do short term improvements as this could be dangerous if the group continues to underachieve. They firmly believe that Marky’s numbers may not get to the level that they were last year but they will certainly not be as low as they are this year. As far as Huberdeau, he’s probably never going to hit 115 points again, but should certainly not hover around the 40 mark that he’s at right now. From the ownership perspective, they believe that they have invested a TON of money into this team. From giving Huby the richest contract in Flames history to bringing in a guy like Kadri. Because of the money factor I’m willing to bet that they refuse to throw in the towel after 60 games. If the brain trust is right and the factors above change, then they are looking at a completely different situation. Where it gets dicey is the gamble they are willing to take. If Edwards firmly believes that the money invested is too high to give up now, and his management and coaching team is correct, then he’s probably willing to give this another shot even if they miss the playoffs. Maybe he goes into next season not burning draft capital but willing to give it another X amount of games before he says the experiment failed. The unfortunate truth is that fans will be outraged if we miss the playoffs (deservedly so) and will want everyone fired and the team to blow up. If that doesn’t happen and they don’t sell in a draft labelled as quite good, then this place will explode especially if we go into next season and have similar results before they give up. It’s a tough situation for ownership and risks fan outrage. I can see many people not wanting to renew season tickets, labelling the franchise as the definition of mediocrity (which isn’t wrong) and being furious with the decisions made, but you got to see if from another perspective as well. Ownership is committed to making a profit (as should any business) so they have a lot more invested than the average fan who wants immediate change after a season of potential failure.