Fans seem to misunderstand how challenging GMing is and how lucky (and patient) a general manager needs to be to build a successful team.
Florida finished 2022 with 122 points, got swept by TBL in the second round and traded for Tkachuk in the offseason giving up a top pairing d-man and a top line LW. They then BARELY make the playoffs in 2023 with 92 points but because they did, they went all the way to the Stanley Cup playoffs that year and dominated the next year with basically the same roster, riding the confidence of being the underdog the previous season to a stanley cup championship.
What if they missed the playoffs in 2023? Would Zito still have a job? Would that team have imploded on themselves like Calgary's did after missing the 2023 playoffs with a better record than Florida that year?
And while there are some GMs that are flat out bad, Treleving isn't that. Sure he made some boneheaded and desperate moves at the back end of his time with Calgary, but he also re-established the front office and the Flames' amateur and international scouting departments. He also identified, hired and trained talent like Craig Conroy, who's decisions and explore-all-opportunities-work ethic very much mirror the way Treleving did the job (even though Treleving is still mocked for it).
Where I hope Conroy deviates from Treleving is by being more patient in these next couple years. Stay the course and take advantage of desperate GMs. And then keep making the team's draft picks and build a deep base of prospects that'll reinforce a competitive hockey team for at least a decade. They've got the front office and scouting talent to do it. Allow it to happen.
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