Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason14h
Well 21 games ago the majority of posts on this board were saying one of the following
1. The Flames missed the playoffs by 1 pt, are adding the next Cale Makar in Parekh, the young players should continue to grow, and guys like Shags, Frost and Farabee will bounce back. This is a playoff contending team.
2. Wolf will prevent the Flames from EVER bottoming out, so why even discuss it.
3. The Flames will never do tear it down to the studs rebuild, so no matter what Kadri, Coleman and Weegar arent moving (Or something about Culture)
If the majority of people on this board believed at least some of the above only 21 games ago, is it so unthinkable that the Flames owner, management, etc could believe the same? And could still believe it?
Could they not think this year is the aberration, not last? That adding a top pick, plus the young guys taking a step forward, plus bounce back years (next season) from Shags, Farabee, Weegar and Frost, plus a UFA or 2 addition and they are back to being a mid 90's point team?
Do I think that? No - I have though this team was horrible and lacking talent for 2 seasons and would be bottom 5 the last 2 years.
However, I was proven very wrong last season, and very right this season. So what is the 'right' answer for what this team is?
Heck - Maybe these first 21 games are an aberration and they aren't THAT bad. Maybe they play .500ish hockey from here on out. To me this is actually the biggest risk to the go forward future of the franchise, and the #1 reason I would be happy seeing Kadri and Coleman (and Andersson gone)
If we screw up this years tank, I not only reduces the quality of player we get, but it gives management an excuse/thoughts that we aren't a bad team and can get into contention next season with some tweaks
|
Sorry for the long post...
You are right - there were a large number of posts shouting down any talk of a rebuild, and there were also posts shouting down any possibility of this team bottoming-out with Wolf in net now. I used the term 'shouting down' simply because there were a number of posts that were very belligerent, dripping with condescension, and outright personal attacks: "Get it through your thick skulls - Calgary is not rebuilding you dummies!", "You're stupid if you think this team can bottom-out with Wolf. Get over it." Yep, hopefully some of those posters will be better next time they are in a disagreement. Most have moved on. Some feel it is just Huska holding this team back. There will always be differing viewpoints, and it will really be impossible to prove something as true or false. For instance, what if Huska gets canned in 2 seasons, just as the Flames are ab out to turn a corner, and the new coach comes in and we see significant improvement? There will still be the same posters claiming Huska sucked, and there will be others saying the team sucked, but it was turning a corner. Some things never get resolved, even with hindsight.
Point is, it doesn't matter what happened last season. The outcome to me is often unexpected. Right? I also thought that the Flames had a chance at finishing in the bottom 3, but definitely within the bottom 5. They had drafted 9th overall the season before, and were going to be an entire season without Lindholm, Zadorov, Tanev, Hanifin, Toffoli, Markstrom, and Mangiapane. That's a lot of change, with just 'internal growth' as an expectation? With that much cap room? I think it was designed to fail, but the Flames played in the margins all season, were gifted a friendly start to the season, and things just snowballed. This happens in sports. Sometimes the underdogs win. Sometimes there is a Cinderella team. There are always exceptions to every rule.
It is almost as if we have all forgotten that 2014-15 happened, and was quickly followed-up by 2015-16. We can look at the underlying metrics and how they were different from both of those teams, but the one constant between them was that last season's Flames and the 2014-15 Flames out-worked every other team that they met. Then they stopped the next season.
So was your opinion wrong? Or was it simply an 'unexpected outcome'?
I think the Flames stay bottomed-out next season too. Why? As long as they don't suddenly spend to the cap, sell some of the futures in some 'win now' moves - I don't see how adding McKenna (or insert your fav prospect) into the lineup will change it. I am sure that the Oilers have seen what adding Celibrini in San Jose did (nothing) and what adding Bedard did to Chicago (nothing) the following season. Or what adding Connor McDavid did to the Oilers in the first season (dropped them down a spot in the standings year-over-year actually). Sure, there are exceptions like Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado, but it was a 'blip' in the radar much like the 2014-15 Flames were.
The owners are all sharp individuals. They are - on average - much sharper individuals than most of us here are. Doesn't mean that they are infallible, but I do think that they understand what the Flames are doing right now. I am sure that Conroy would A) Not be able to trade the vets out that he has for futures or B) not have been allowed to let the Flames stay at the bottom with all this draft capital and cap space lingering around.
The fact that Conroy did not add at the deadline last season when the Flames were close should tell everyone where the owners are with this.
The unexpected does happen, but you can't bank on unexpected. I am sure the owners all have that wisdom by now. We should all respect them way more than what we do on these boards. Why? This is a little morbid, but think of this. Look at how Calgary has lost some of their owners and long-time management personnel. Then look at the ages of some of the current owners now. To not understand why these owners prefer NOT to rebuild is cold. To continue insisting that they are unwilling selfish and whatever adjectives people want to attach to them even though it seems rather clear that the rebuild path is being taken, and there is a chance one or more of them may not end up seeing the fruits of that sacrifice... more than callous IMO. I am not pointing the finger at you (or anyone), but just pointing out something that I never see posted on these forums that I think about sometimes (maybe a bit morbid of me to think this way at times). There are many fans on here too (and elsewhere) that may not see the fruits of this sacrifice too, so we should understand sometimes that people have different reasons for wanting different things, right?
However, at this stage, I really doubt that the Flames are not in a rebuild, and that the owners don't understand what that really entails. I don't think the Flames are in a long rebuild - it has been 2 years - this being the third. I think next season they bottom-out again somewhere in the bottom 3 depending on competition, but then we start seeing a bit of a rise - somewhere in the bottom 10 the following season? Somewhere in the bubble (but outside the playoffs) the next - something like this. So the Flames will be adding some good players through the draft for a while yet.
The thing for me is, this is just entertainment. Don't worry so much about it. If the Flames unexpectedly improve - actually, WHEN the Flames put together a string of wins (they will!), I doubt it changes anything. Like I said, if they didn't add last year, or this past off-season, what is 20 games going to do? It would be supposing that they have only decided to rebuild since they started off poorly this year, right? That doesn't align with their moves that they made before getting into this situation. It simply doesn't make sense to me that they are basing their future moves and direction on what has happened this season. I don't get the vibe that this is unexpected by them. In fact, it seems like last season's success was unexpected and not part of the plan.
So just enjoy the wins. They will come, and there will be a few winning streaks even. Just really enjoy those. That's what sports is - competitive entertainment. So just enjoy the Flames being competitive and winning. Reassure yourself that the losing will result in the team being more exciting to watch, as well as more competitive and successful later on. That's what I am doing. I didn't see Conroy deviating from 'the plan' last season when they unexpectedly did better (except maybe not selling Andersson - maybe). This season, they are last, and there is no deviating from the plan this time around, including a win streak here and there. Playoffs are realistically out of reach, so Conroy can just relax, be patient, and make the moves he intends to make when the market cranks up. That's what I think of all of this anyway. You may have your own opinions on it, but these are mine. We will see what happens and things unfold. Either way, just remember to relax and enjoy the ride.
