Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
First, I recommend that you simply take a step back, and look at the moves made. If this isn't practically a tear-down rebuild, I don't know what is. If you are in doubt, take a look at other organizations that have undergone tear down rebuilds. Tell me how many vets were traded out. I think if you were to look around at other rebuilds, it would skew your opinion of what Conroy is doing.
As for 'announcing the rebuild' - when should he have announced it? So the Flames under Feaster announced it. There wasn't any issue there. They had just traded out the Captain and face of the franchise (as well as Bouwmeester) to kickstart that rebuild. Now take a look at how many more vets have been traded out as compared to that team, for reference. So why didn't Conroy simply announce the rebuild?
Should he have announced the rebuild when players were asking for trades publicly? Zadorov and Toffoli both did. Gaudreau had left the season before as a UFA. Tkachuk demanded out. Players were demanding exorbitant sums to re-sign. Conroy traded them all out. The amount of vets for futures was unprecedented, and yet many on this board thought "Flames are competing" simply because a rebuild was not announced.
There was no good time. The Calgary Flames name was being dragged through the mud. Conroy couldn't go public and say: "We are rebuilding because nobody wants to play in Calgary." Then the next season, this team exceeds expectations - at the deadline, he doesn't add anyone. He could have traded some bodies out, but that would have caused animosity with the vets, and once again, risked having a 'nobody wants to play in Calgary." embarrassing scenario.
Unfortunately, a small market team like Calgary has to pay attention to its image - every team does, but it is even more important for a team like Calgary. Conroy has been going out of his way to show players and the league in general that Calgary is a 1st rate organization. He has asked Backlund to let him know how the Flames can do more - better lunches, more support, etc.. He went out of his way to pick up Frost and Farabee, which many players around the league noticed.
If you listen all along to what he has been saying, he is basically saying that the Flames are rebuilding without saying it. He has on many occasions said; "This will take some time", "The bulk of this team will be built through the draft", and only prioritizing young players. Not signing UFA vets. Not trading any futures for win-now players.
The Flames are 100% in a rebuild, not a retool. A retool last a season. Gadreau and Tkachuck out, Weegar and Huberdeau in = retool. Lindholm, Zadorov, Tanev, Toffoli, Mangiapane, Markstrom, and Hanifin all for futures - that's a rebuild, and as close to a complete tear-down, scorched earth, burn it to the ground as you can get in one season. I don't can't find a team that has traded-out more vets for futures within just over a season than Calgary has.
All that is missing is the announcement. If it comes, it will come this season at the trade deadline or in the off-season. However, Conroy is probably just loving the fact that even fans here in Calgary are bickering over what is really happening. Maybe he never announces it.
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