Flames Management Confidence - Vision

[Bingo]

Still can't get my head around the Calgary view of management in the Athletic piece so I'm going to use the fact that it's August to launch a quick topic for every section in that piece along with a poll.

Not very concerned about how confident Torontonians are in Calgary's management but I'm dying to see the Calgarypuck version.

Poll One - Vision

1 - low
5- high

[Textcritic]

Eagerly awaiting the actual poll...

[Finger Cookin]

nm

[Textcritic]

This is a difficult question, and I am reticent to answer with any confidence like in your other polls.

Bingo, can you add a few sentences about your understanding of "vision" in this context?

[ForeverFlameFan]

After this season, I’d go with a four. Treliving basically subtracted all of the players that weren’t making as much of a difference (with the exception of Hamilton). He didn’t make a big fuss on trading a top pairing defenseman either and got 2 cost controlled RFA’s that have great upside. Our direction is looking good.

[Dion]

I gave him a moderate as I think he has pushed the rebuild too quickly in the past few years and as a result created some unfair expectations.

[iloveicedhockey]

Yeah this is a difficult one to define for me. In the Athletic poll, Toronto were second, though I don't know how being bad, picking top ten a bunch of times, getting a franchise superstar #1, then persuading JT to sign counts as vision.

If you define it as knowing what you need before you need it, then I can't really score treliving that highly at the moment, even though he's proven that he can provide what's required when it's pretty clear. Perhaps the vision score will increase when the defence prospects finally come through but for now, it's average.

[Jacks]

Before the draft I'd have probably voted 2 but they did a big makover of the roster in the last couple of months that was badly needed. Feel better about this season they I have in a while.

[Flashpoint]

Rated it a 1.

If you have a long term vision for your team, you don't bring Gary Bettman to town to threaten the team is leaving to get a new building.

That was a BS, and unbelievably stupid move.

To a lesser extent:

If you have to choose a coach between Darryl Sutter and Bill Peters, I cannot fathom why the 2 time Stanley Cup winner is still sitting at home on his ranch. I don't care what your plan was from before Glen G. when Darryl wasn't available. One is clearly superior to the other.

They have failed to retire #14 for no justifiable reason, other than someone in ownership has hurt feelings.

The "Forever a Flame" malarky. What, suddenly you need numbers available? Honor a player, or don't. Stop fudging it.

[Flashpoint]

I guess I defined "Vision" as the organization as a whole. Not just the GM.

[mrdonkey]

Operating under the assumption that vision encompasses the long-term direction of the franchise and building an identity, I’m going to have to go with a 2 here. The Flames seem stuck in that no-man’s land of being not bad enough to score game-breaking talent in the draft, and not good enough to be considered contenders. They look on paper like a team built to be a 1st round exit with no discernible help coming through the pipeline, and the only team identity I can decipher is being totally average up and down the lineup.

[GranteedEV]

Gave them a 2.

They say all the right things but I see:

- An annual bubble team that is constantly struggling with the salary cap, never clearing the cap space to potentially go after a big fish
- too many low reward moves (Raymond, Stone, Brouwer, Frolik)
- too much ice time wasted away on total plugs (Bollig, Hathaway, Bartkowski) when legitimate prospects could do at least as well as said plugs
- too few high-impact moves in free agency (mostly limited to re-signing already-Flames like Giordano and Gaudreau, with a gamble on an aging Neal being their magnum opus)
- most trades have been either selling vets for B-draft picks, lateral at best (Hamilton/Ferland/Fox/Lindholm/Hanifin), or blatant losses at worst (Hamonic) and overall give away too many first round draft picks (2 given away in 4 years).
- A cycle of annual buyouts minimizing our annual cap ceiling on annual basis, annually.

Don't know how anyone could give them a grade over 3.

[flame^thrower]

I went with moderate .. hopefully we are heading in the right direction now. I sure feel better about this roster. I know they had a vision, but sure couldn't seem to put it together. Either that or man, was that a crappy vision hahah!

[FiveSeven]

5, I can see the vision as clear as day and I have total belief.
I guess I`m of the understanding and acceptance that things won't always be the best case, sometimes they end up worst case. Sometimes you have to take a swing at something, you can be educated as best you can but you cannot predict what another person will ultimately do or how he will perform, for that I'm not quite as critical about mistakes.

Tree was a new GM when he showed up, but it seems evident to me that he's highly intelligent, critical of his mistakes, and is always learning and trying to be innovative. He isn't stuck in his ways and changes his approach based on previous experience. I'm not particularly versed in the actual person and resume of other GM's but to me, he is the perfect GM for the Flames. I believe that the Flames are going to do and be really good and he's going to be around for a good while.

[Regorium]

I can see Treliving's vision clear as day, but I think it's completely incorrect. What do I vote?

[bubbsy]

Gave it a 3 but close to a 2.

Annual change in direction and rectifying recent season decisions/failures.

Giant, ill advised leaps, like trading high picks despite being a non-playoff /barely a playoff team.

I don't see a big master plan. The previous regime won the lottery with Gaudreau, without which this is likely a perennial bottom 10 team over the past few years.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Vision is strong overall, especially in getting good young cost-controlled players under team control.

However, there may have been a jumping of the gun by getting Hamonic before they were really ready to compete for a cup.

[Lanny_McDonald]

2. Treliving basically threw away the plan he had in place over the past couple of seasons and elected for a retool on the fly. This is a complete makeover of the team and is a welcomed shift from where he was going. Still have a major problem with his vision of what the identity of this team is and with his coaching hires. Still have no idea what this club is going to be this winter.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

I guess I defined "Vision" as the organization as a whole. Not just the GM.

Me too, as I see "Roster Building" as the GM's vision.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Do coaching hires fit in vision?