Quote:
Originally Posted by shutout
Management taking a long term view of how to build the team, still does not mean that they want to lose on purpose. I do not think that there are very many people leading any professional sports teams that look at a season as trying to lose on purpose.
In the second half of a season they might make moves that build on where the team is going, but they don't start out with that mandate. Flames were never going to decide it was a lost season after the first month. Too many decision variables that come into play when deciding which players to move out and what price to assign them.
It was always going to be a January evaluation of the team and who they want to keep to continue to get younger, faster, and more skilled while properly developing the young players that come into the lineup.
When looking at the last twelve months, October looks like the outlier. So the team will look at who they have ready to step into the lineup that is younger like they have with Kuznetsov and Brzustewicz and who is best to help them succeed. If there is a player that needs to come in then they will decide who needs to go out. Players like Zary and Coronato are showing that consistency is something that has to be learned. Players like Backlund and Coleman are great at helping these players be their best.
Making space on the wings might end up coming from players like Sharangovich and Farabee being moved out rather than Coleman because of what he brings in the dressing room, on the ice, and to the younger linemates that he helps mentor.
Kadri is always going to be a tough choice because there is nobody to replace him in the lineup. Which means that other players are going to be playing over their heads up the lineup and not succeeding.
Easy to say lets trade these guys and lose on purpose. But you are trying to develop young players and losing the majority of your games does not do that. Along with the fact that players are smart enough to know if they have a chance to be competitive or not. If they are told that the standard expectation is that they should be able to win every game they play than making moves that just makes the team worse does not help with that development.
The trades need to be something that everyone in the organization and locker room see as helping the team or else you lose the team and culture they are trying to build.
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There is no culture that was built. I am so over this culture talk lol.
You know how you build a winning culture? Being a good team and winning playoff games. You know which team has not been winning playoff series for 20 years now? The Calgary Flames.