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Calgary4LIfe · 11-23-2025, 05:05 PM

Chicago for me is one of the best examples of rebuilds.

They were in a 'forever rebuild' that everyone is so afraid of. Headliners like Tyler Arnason were the guys they were building around, and they didn't have any hope since the owner was a bit cheap (Dollar Bill).

Then he passed away, his son took over, started spending, and their rebuild turned into 3 cups, and could have won a couple more in that time frame too.

Buffalo is a mismanaged team, so for me, they aren't the poster child for 'what could go wrong in a rebuild'. They are the poster child for "what could go wrong when you mismanage your team".

Aside from me feeling like I was personally insulted in some way by Maloney, it is a really stupid take on his part.

I hate doing this, but...

"Fact" - On average, the most talented teams are the ones who get the most success.
"Fact" - The NHL helps the least talented teams in the league improve by giving them preferential choice in the yearly talent available to join the NHL. That's one of the most important mechanisms in achieving parity.
"Fact" - arguably the greatest strength of this organization is drafting and developing.
Not exactly fact, but it SEEMS like this draft and next are better drafts, so more reason to lean-in.

Why forcefully deviate from this? A pride thing? Where is the banner at the Dome celebrating" Never Picked Top 3"? I must have missed it.

The argument between pro and anti rebuild is that "You can find stars in later rounds too!". Sure, absolutely (though not always actually - some drafts don't produce squat in the later rounds). My answer will always be - Why not both?? Find someone with a high pick, and then find someone else like Gaudreau or Brodie in the 4th round, and find someone like Wolf in the 7th round. Selecting high in the draft doesn't exclude a team from selecting a high-end talent later in the draft, but selecting later in every round gives you lower odds of finding talent, period.

I don't really like to use phrases like: "It is such a Flames thing...". There is new management - even new owners that have come and gone (often sadly), so it isn't fair to label things as a 'Flames thing". However, one theme is that this organization never rebuilds and never picks high. It isn't quite true, but the last time they rebuilt, they were in a big hurry to exit the rebuild, and they turned into a mushy-middle team. I just hope that there were lessons learned.

I am not really worried about the Flames doing something and then resulting in not drafting top 3 this season. All actions point to a rebuild, period. I just hope there isn't this push to pull the Flames up from this rebuild so prematurely. If you don't want to spend so much time rebuilding, draft well. To draft well, get yourself more tickets. I have been more than happy so far in this rebuild, really. Maloney's comments do make me worried for the future, however. Not this season or this draft, but beyond.

11-23-2025, 05:05 PM	#668
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	Chicago for me is one of the best examples of rebuilds. They were in a 'forever rebuild' that everyone is so afraid of. Headliners like Tyler Arnason were the guys they were building around, and they didn't have any hope since the owner was a bit cheap (Dollar Bill). Then he passed away, his son took over, started spending, and their rebuild turned into 3 cups, and could have won a couple more in that time frame too. Buffalo is a mismanaged team, so for me, they aren't the poster child for 'what could go wrong in a rebuild'. They are the poster child for "what could go wrong when you mismanage your team". Aside from me feeling like I was personally insulted in some way by Maloney, it is a really stupid take on his part. I hate doing this, but... "Fact" - On average, the most talented teams are the ones who get the most success. "Fact" - The NHL helps the least talented teams in the league improve by giving them preferential choice in the yearly talent available to join the NHL. That's one of the most important mechanisms in achieving parity. "Fact" - arguably the greatest strength of this organization is drafting and developing. Not exactly fact, but it SEEMS like this draft and next are better drafts, so more reason to lean-in. Why forcefully deviate from this? A pride thing? Where is the banner at the Dome celebrating" Never Picked Top 3"? I must have missed it. The argument between pro and anti rebuild is that "You can find stars in later rounds too!". Sure, absolutely (though not always actually - some drafts don't produce squat in the later rounds). My answer will always be - Why not both?? Find someone with a high pick, and then find someone else like Gaudreau or Brodie in the 4th round, and find someone like Wolf in the 7th round. Selecting high in the draft doesn't exclude a team from selecting a high-end talent later in the draft, but selecting later in every round gives you lower odds of finding talent, period. I don't really like to use phrases like: "It is such a Flames thing...". There is new management - even new owners that have come and gone (often sadly), so it isn't fair to label things as a 'Flames thing". However, one theme is that this organization never rebuilds and never picks high. It isn't quite true, but the last time they rebuilt, they were in a big hurry to exit the rebuild, and they turned into a mushy-middle team. I just hope that there were lessons learned. I am not really worried about the Flames doing something and then resulting in not drafting top 3 this season. All actions point to a rebuild, period. I just hope there isn't this push to pull the Flames up from this rebuild so prematurely. If you don't want to spend so much time rebuilding, draft well. To draft well, get yourself more tickets. I have been more than happy so far in this rebuild, really. Maloney's comments do make me worried for the future, however. Not this season or this draft, but beyond.