People are wildly overreacting to this.
Maloney has several stakeholders to think about in an interview: ownership, sponsors, STH’s, the coaches, and the players. He cannot publicly say the team is giving up 20 games into the season. If he did, the players will check out, the coaching staff will stop taking the job seriously, and ownership would be furious, especially with a new arena coming and ticket prices likely increasing for a team that may miss the playoffs.
Everything we’ve heard from people around the team suggests the Flames are comfortable with this being a step-back year aimed at getting a high draft pick and building for the future.
Anyone who is upset about Maloney’s comments doesn’t understand how to manage the media, particularly this early in the season.
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