Quote:
Originally Posted by TOfan
Spoken like a person who has never been in a leadership position.
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There’s different ways owners and management can create a good environment for players. The training facilities and style of travel they provide. How they handle all the off-ice stuff like accommodation, tickets for family, etc. How they treat support staff. The Panthers organization gets top ratings for that stuff.
However, like most top teams they’re ruthless when it comes to player personnel. They didn’t hesitate to move core, life-long Panthers in Huberdeau and Weegar to improve the team. They’re likely going to let mainstay Ekblad walk, just like Tampa let Stamkos go. The same way Vegas hasn’t let sentiment sway them from all kids of heartless moves in their short history. But players still want to play for those franchises because they win.
Maybe small-market, unattractive destinations like the Flames can’t operate the same way. In the absence of great weather or a winning pedigree, we may have to rely on goodwill (and higher financial compensation) to attract and keep players. But being utterly ruthless around personnel is a trait common to top franchises in pro sports.