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Originally Posted by FormerPresJamesTaylor
35 year old Tony Amonte?
33 year old Darren McCarty?
31 year old Roman Hamrlik?
That had everything to do with player movement post new world cap era, nothing to do with buzz.
I like the sentiment from Pinder but it's a little disjointed from reality. You've listed four teams from two professional leagues, and from the two there is only one Canadian team between them both. Even in the NHL the New York Rangers and LA Kings can't afford a team of mercenaries, the cap and the way hockey works prevents this.. the Flames can build a winner, it's just more difficult than Boston, Toronto, Detroit etc etc.
Boston Mass native Noah Hanifin isn't going to give the Calgary Alberta Canada Flames much of a discount, he might with his home team or a city nearby. That's not an excuse, that's reality. It doesn't excuse losing however, but we shouldn't pretend it's a non issue.
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They used to talk about the Russian issue. Ie don’t draft players from Russia.
I think we have to talk about the US East Coast issue. Not to paint all players from the US east coast with the same brush, but we’ve had bad experiences with players from the us east coast wanting to stay here. Gaudreau, Fox, Drury,Hanifin to name a few. Scouting team needs to vet players before drafting them.
Players from the us midwest seem more agreeable to committing to Canadian market. Kyle Connor signed a team friendly deal with Winnipeg. Joel Otto stayed in town after he retired.
Need to draft and develop players who are open to being here for the long term. Don’t want us having to sell players who are reluctant to play here. Find players who want to play here and commit long term.