[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Dino has self awareness though. He embraces what he is on here and expects the homer flak he'll get, while diligently getting better at providing justifications for his takes. They aren't just pro-Flames for the sake of it.

We can disagree with people while still respecting how they go about their business.

I'm traditionally pro-Flames, but am more open to seeing it from the other side lately. There are criticisms they've earned for being almost perfectly mediocre and middle of the road that it seems like they do certain things in a way that inadvertently protects that identity. Otherwise they wouldn't remain trapped there.

They're adverse to taking a lot of risk. There's always a foot in the door of just trying to get in again, while also claiming that they want to build to a much better future. And they can't commit fully to one or the other as a result. Which is what keeps them exactly where they are.

Now in most realms, playing it safe and being calculated is the way to go. But this is sports. And teams that set themselves on fire, or make big swings knowing full well that it can backfire on them are the ones that end up getting to where they want to go.

If this team is elite at anything, it's playing it safe. And I've been suckered into their frame of thinking too, pushing away the tank mindset, convinced that we can retool on the fly and eventually get there. But where has that gotten us? 96 points and eliminated by a tie breaker.

In my opinion, they need to have space available for young players pushing up at all times. This keeping replacement level journeymen on who don't move the needle and aren't a part of the future just impedes your ability to capitalize on the young swath of talent you're building. We lost Solo and potentially could have lost Kerins too. That's one, and potentially two less darts to throw at the board, because you can't open up a top 9 spot and because you want to keep the likes of Miromanov and Bean on. That way of operating isn't serving what your blueprint is, and isn't how a rebuilding team (which should be especially accommodating to graduating prospects) should operate.

So yeah, while I think they're doing a lot of things right to build up given that they're intent on trying to make the playoffs in the meantime, there is certainly room for a skepticism, given that we want this team to thrive one day and not just survive in the mushy middle.