Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
In the end I think the Flames have been pretty consistent in that they arent willing to go as deep as Chicago, San Jose, etc went in their teardown to guarantee a top 5 pick.
They took at shot at being bad this year IMO (No proven goalies, 2 proven d-men, suspect forward group, lowest salary cap in the league) and somehow landed in the 16th OV pick.
So now you have to make a decision...do you tear it down even further to try and be even worse which maybe still doesn't guarantee a top 5 pick.
Or do you try to build more gradually just by continually adding talent via the draft, FA, and trades, but never really bottoming out.
Personally I think as long as the asset management remains strong (move out the aging players for picks / prospects, dont sign retirement contracts for 29+ players, focus on trying to bring in elite talent) then it's fine.
There is more than one way to win as long as management is patient and makes long term decisions without selling out for the short term.
Going after somebody like Marner is fine IMO...just don't go overspend on the Boeser and Bennett's of the world.
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I mostly agree with your take here.
The only thing I would add is that I feel it is important to look at the top of the drafts coming up if you find yourself in the bottom half of the NHL. Is the top of the draft "good" but not "great'? Then a slower rebuild makes even more sense. However, with the kind of drafts coming up in the next 2-3 starting next year, maybe it does make more sense to bring it down a couple of notches and set yourself up for a crack at them - you probably don't walk away with all 3, but 1 of them is likely over that span. Still have to gauge where your team is really at in that spectrum. I can see a good argument both ways - removing a few pegs and going after McKenna, Dupont and possibly Shultz, or simply continuing what you are doing and draft wherever your team finishes and look for opportunities to add talent as they come up.
What I would never do is try and tank in a year - especially over a few seasons - where there isn't 'star franchise' players available. I also wouldn't try to trade futures for win-now players when the team is in the bottom half either, as that's' just ensuring that you eventually are forced into a 'burn it to the ground' rebuild at some point.
I like what Conroy has been doing, and I find this off-season one that is incredibly difficult to predict.