Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
This is the part that people should be paying attention to. We traded Hanifin in 2023-24 for a player that will not be drafted until 2026 and most likely not see the Flames lineup full time until 2030. We just traded away Andersson for draft picks we will not see until 2027 and 2028 and those players not see the Calgary roster until probably 2032 or later, if they make it at all. Vegas is playing with and gaining benefit from our future, and we received no benefit from allowing them to do so. Trade for immediate picks. Period. Sports is a game about immediate results. This trying to play 4D chess stuff is stupid. If a team doesn't have the picks you want (next draft), move the hell on to a team that does. I mean, Conroy got played so badly on Hanifin that the pick they should have received was used in a later deal to grab Hertl, which made the pick we received less valuable. Just brutal management and vision.
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Don't confuse bad management with bad ownership. It's on the directive from Maloney and ownership who refuse to allow the team to make progressive, shrewd moves when it makes the most sense, at the expense of short term idiotic 'competitive' play. There isn't a GM out there that wouldn't have seen the value in moving Andersson at the draft last year, and Conroy certainly was rumored to be trying to do so. You can guess why it didn't happen - the suits upstairs said it would affect the drive to finish 8-10 this season too much - rebiggle.
The Flames are 100% doomed to toil in the mushy middle for eternity unless we absolutely luck out on a few guys like Gridin and late round gems like Wyttenbach repeatedly moving forward. I have no faith at all Kadri and Coleman will actually be moved when they still have term on their deals this year or in the offseason either so adding actual drafted pro ready prospects is unlikely to happen. We will ride our vets until the value is diminished either physically or contractually as we do with everyone.
The only saving grace here is that Conroy did well on the trade as a pure rental IMO. I don't see how anyone can be overly upset with the trade from this standpoint. If the goal was to maximize Andersson's value the team rightly should have moved him 1-1.5 seasons ago. At least the team will now be worse off this year and likely draft higher because of it and we may hit a home run with a top 3-4 pick that is desperately needed.