Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
Frank Seravalli on Frankly Hockey
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Out of thanks, but thanks!
Here is exactly why I wanted Treliving gone a couple of seasons before it happened. Treliving sometimes gets unfairly attacked on these boards, but I also think he is unfairly defended as well. Beyond this, you can see exactly how 'successful' the Flames have been. There aren't many organizations that have been less successful by this metric. This is the only thing I care about.
https://champsorchumps.us/team/nhl/calgary-flames
The 2020 season - it seems like an error, as it says: "Won 1 round" but has the Flames "Lost First Round". That was the play-in, and not an official playoff round that they won (it was against Winnipeg).
This is the history of this Franchise's playoff success. For a team that 'supposedly just wants to get in' for the playoff revenue, they have really sucked, right? I am not sure if the goal here is to just "get in and see what happens" - I think the Calgary Flames ownership group is a little smarter than this. The goal should be to win the cup, right? If you set your goal to actually win a cup, then by design, you should experience a lot more playoff revenue.
I am firmly in the belief that - although Baloney's interview was essentially spitting in every fan's face - I think it was all 'smoke and mirrors'. Why? I have no idea. I am not sure why they would want to tell the world that their aim is to turn this season around when they are clearly done. The only thing that makes sense is to appease the players, but I am certain they know the season is essentially over. Good on them for competing hard though - and I don't mean this sarcastically at all. That takes character to play the way they have been. Just look at Vancouver last night to see the difference, or pick up a Nashville game.
I am 100% certain that the Flames are rebuilding, and that vets will be traded-out.
I really only have two questions:
1) How deep this year? Andersson only? Or will it include Kadri? Coleman?
2) How patient will they be this time around?
Look at the Champs or Chumps link. Think back to when the Flames first hired Treliving, and how exciting that young core was, and think back to the last few years with Treliving and see what it turned out to be. That's an impatient rebuild. The Flames impatiently accelerated that thing to get back into the playoffs, but it turns out that they never had the horses. Never. If they did, you would have seen season-over-season playoffs (not just 'sporadically'), and you would have seen longer runs. Their longest run (which was twice) was a 5-game win playoffs.
I don't believe Maloney, and I don't appreciate the organization trotting out and assuming that I am stupid. I am not worried that the Flames won't rebuild. i am worried that they will just cut it short again with the intent to just become competitive before they are actually ready.
I don't really want to re-live the last decade as a Calgary Flame's fan. Heck, I don't want to re-live the last 30 years. One playoff run in 30 years is abysmal. Flames won the cup in '89, and then spent the next 13 seasons losing in the 1st round, or not making the playoffs. Then they had another run, and then spend the last 22 seasons (including this one) either not making the playoffs, or getting bounced in round 1, or winning a single game in round 2 (twice). That's WAY BELOW AVERAGE.
It is way below average in a 32 team league now, but the league hasn't been a 32 team league for a long, so it is even worse than it seems.
With the new building coming - which was built mostly on the backs of taxpayers - I hope that they are very successful. They need to have lots of deep playoff runs - the spin-offs from those playoff revenues will definitely help a lot of the businesses in town, etc., and won't make that building look so bad in hindsight. If they are an abject failure like they have been since the end of the 80s... Sigh.
If you take a look at my posting history, I am not one to go back and blame the sins of the past and insist it is a deeply ingrained problem in the organization from one management team to the next. Winning in the NHL is difficult.
I just don't know why it has to be so consistently below average. I can only hope that things will change here, but Maloney's BS ramblings don't inspire much confidence, do they?
There is nothing noble about "never picking in the top 3" or "never picking 1st overall" when the result is what we have seen in the last few decades. That's not good enough. That's nowhere close to good enough. There is always more than one way to skin a cat, but the Flames seemingly end up trying to skin racoons instead, and try to pass them off as cats I guess. How about we just - for once - do a proper rebuild with patience?
Here is a great example of what may happen - Winnipeg. Never won a cup, but they have consistently had a LOT more to cheer about. I don't even think that their rebuild was all that great, but until recently, Cheveldayoff was routinely criticized for being 'too patient'. Look at their success lately, and tell me that's not substantially better than the Flames. I don't even see it as good, but that's a lot more winning than the Flames have done. They are in a worse market, with more financial constraints, but somehow have had way more success.
https://champsorchumps.us/team/nhl/winnipeg-jets
To me, that's what I call 'average'. Not good, but simply average.
Let's take a look at what a good team looks like through the cycles of winning and rebuilding. Sure, a bit of an extreme example here, as this is Pittsburgh with Mario and then Crosby - but you still see clear periods of winning(ish) before Mario.
https://champsorchumps.us/team/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins
Why can't we have that in Calgary? Calgary drafts well. Build a good team, and you won't see players trying to jump ship. Have them grow up together. Settle in the city like so many of the 89 cup team did. Treat them better than the owners/GM treated those guys at the time too towards the end, and make sure you build your reputation as a place that treats players and their families well.
Go look for yourselves what 'good' teams look like through their cycles, and tell me that Calgary has been a good team. They probably have one of the smallest fan bases in the league not simply because they are in a small market. Win a bunch, have some exciting players on the team, and you will make fans all over the place.
This hasn't been a mediocre franchise. It has been a below average franchise. Not outright bad - that's the Columbus Blue Jackets (although it seems that maybe they are turning themselves around, but yeah, they have been abysmal to this point in time). Flames are SOLIDLY below average, but not terrible or embarrassing. Just boring. Sorry, but they have been one of the most boring franchises in terms of entertainment value. That's bad, when you are supposed to be in the entertainment business.
So do this rebuild right please. Don't come out of this too early trying to make the playoffs, and ending up with below average results again.
I will feel a lot better with Conroy extended, but I really do hope that there is a lot more patience this time around.