I do think that there are simply too many players on record criticizing Hartley for anyone to simply disregard. However, I also think that what we mostly heard of (other than Stajan) were from players whose careers were at the very tail-end and probably didn't like their ice-times and importance on the team come to a very quick end. I don't think I would waste too much time trying to defend him, but I would love to listen to the other half of those teams and hear about what he did right as well, because there most certainly were a lot of good things that he did.
At any rate, I will forever look fondly at that team. It wildly exceeded expectations, and it gave us some massive entertainment value at the time. Whether you hate Hartley or you love him, it is undeniable that the team then were so incredibly fun to watch and kept us all on the edges of our seats, and I don't think that I have ever yelled louder for Flames' goals since the '04 run and haven't since that magical season came to an end.
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