Erixon shouldn't be a part of this debate.
Erixon stated that he was happy to sign with the Flames, and was even 'excited'. At the last second, suddenly he had 'questions' and kept bringing up excuses. Flames would address them (even giving him guaranteed playing time apparently), and he would have another issue, all in the final moments before he would reenter the draft. We can no laugh at that as his career was awful, but at the time, he was a huge riser post-draft, and became a valuable piece. He just strung the Flames along until the final moments.
I disliked Feaster as GM, but that man turned that situation from ugly to fantastic (and it ALMOST became a gift from the hockey gods). I can only assume that Feaster smelled interference from the Rangers, as Erixon's dad Jan Erixon was working for them. Feaster got Horak (the guy that Conroy identified as the one who stirred the drink on the Howse line in Junior, who the Flames had already drafted), and two second round picks - turned into Markus Granlund and Tyler Wotherspoon.
None of the players involved became impact players, and only one of them was able to last for any significant time in the NHL - Granlund.
However, the 'almost' gift from the hockey gods? Todd Button regretted not picking Kucherov with Wotherspoon pick, as he felt both Kucherov and Gaudreau would be available with their next two picks.
Morale of the story - just pick the best asset. You can always flip assets later. Yes, the person may not want to be part of your organization, but you can always flip them later. Even in a rebuild, you don't exit a rebuild with a perfect roster. You have to make a few trades to balance it out anyway.
|