Treliving really does seem like a great human being, and I thought he did well keeping the Flames a respectably run organization, which is what Burke was brought in to change. I wish him well, and I hope he attains more success somewhere else, as long as it does not come at the cost of the Flames, or if he ends up working for a rival.
I am ok with this. The Flames were stuck in limbo for a long time. They had a couple of seasons in those 9 years that they appeared to be contenders, but then the playoffs came and they ended up as a speed bump. Sure, I understand the sentiment that the next guy might do a worse job, but I don't really care at this point. Why?
Flames have been in limbo. Treliving hasn't shown himself to be this amazing GM - if he was, the record would support that. He isn't terrible either - again, the record supports this. I felt that there was the possibility that Calgary could be contenders a couple of seasons during those 9 years. They showed that they never truly were. This is a team that hasn't been able to build on its success - one good season, one poor one. One playoff year, one year on the outside looking in. They have essentially been a bubble team.
Blame the players. Blame the coaching. Blame what you like. At the end of the day, the GM is responsible for the players, and responsible for the coaching staff. I won't even say that I disagreed with a lot of Treliving's moves. There were some that I didn't like, but there were definitely others that I loved at the time, but time proved that that to be incorrect. He also made some very good moves over his tenure here. There was a lot of good, but enough bad to keep this team from moving forward.
So, the new guy (whether it continues to be Maloney, or whether it is someone else) might be an improvement, and this makes me happy. However, the new guy might be worse too. This doesn't scare me, however. Maybe the new guy is bad enough to end up forcing the Flames to rebuild. There are worse things... and continuing to be a bubble team is worse. Either get better, or get worse. That's why I am probably much more optimistic about the future today then I was yesterday.
Not a shot at Treliving. I think he is a good person, a solid GM, and a great ambassador for the franchise and the city. Everything about him is quality. I just don't think that the Flames would have made significant changes with him at the helm. Now it is time for a different look and a different opinion, and hopefully a different plan and process. I don't relish today, but I also don't think this is a particularly sombre day either.
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