Does Jay Feaster get consideration for a GM Job?

[Flash Walken]

I don't hold Feaster personally accountable for things like trying to deal the Monahan pick, screwing up the Iginla situation, not rebuilding in years prior as I think that is completely on ownership and their representative.

However, he does bear the personal responsibility of being manipulated or choosing to be a yes-man for those circumstances. Giving the organization what they wanted to hear was maybe a professional success in the immediate term, but turned out to be a huge professional mis-step just a couple of short years later.

From that stance alone I doubt he's ever in the captain's chair. A reputation as a yes man is just as dangerous as a reputation for being easily led/misled.

Just imagine where this franchise would be without Monahan and that's all the argument you need for why he'll never find himself in a GMing chair again.

[Jake]

I think he'll be considered and could get one. He brought in Hudler, Gaudreau, Wideman, Russell, Hartley, Jooris, Colborne, Granlund, and Ramo, which I think outweighs the negatives. To me his major mistakes were the returns on Regehr and Iginla, as well as almost giving Monahan away. He also tends to make some asinine comments to the media.

[Erick Estrada]

Wonder how popular Feaster would be today if Brad Richards was on the Flames roster today not even half way into that 9 year deal? Feaster's near misses were of the catastrophic variety.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I think there is a chance. GMs get recylced all of the time, but it does seem like he is better suited for an AGM position. Keep him away from trades, offer sheets and a microphone.

[HelloHockeyFans]

I'd say no for a GM role, but his record with the Flames shows he does have success being involved in the management of a hockey team.

It makes no sense to attribute all the negatives during his tenure in Calgary to him and assigning all positives to the people around him. He's done some good and he's done some bad like any GM.

The O'Reilly offer really sticks out as what would have been a huge blunder, but he's had a few steals, like Russell, who's been a huge part of this team's success.

Keep him in the background though and I think he would compliment a team nicely.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Wonder how popular Feaster would be today if Brad Richards was on the Flames roster today not even half way into that 9 year deal? Feaster's near misses were of the catastrophic variety.

Yup, some almost catastrophes (Richards, O'Reilly) and some huge wins that the majority of the hockey world thought were misses at the time (Hudler, Russell).

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Funny thing is, people focus more on the what could have happened with Feaster, than what actually happened.

[mikeecho]

Sather seems to be doing fine and he's got more than a few "Richards" level catastrophies.

Winning fixes a lot and right now we'd probably be talking about how much of a visionary he was for saying his goal was to make the playoffs all along as opposed to calling him a loud mouth who should just shut up.

The reality is that during his tenure we went from an old, expensive, non-competitive team with bare prospect cupboards ready to fall off a cliff to a team on the upswing with one of the best prospect bases in the league. How long did it take? 5, 6, 7 years? More like 3 years and faster than anyone would have predicted and most have ever accomplished.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Yup, some almost catastrophes (Richards, O'Reilly) and some huge wins that the majority of the hockey world thought were misses at the time (Hudler, Russell).

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Funny thing is, people focus more on the what could have happened with Feaster, than what actually happened.

Well, the O'Reilly one actually happened - he just got saved by a matching offer.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Yup, some almost catastrophes (Richards, O'Reilly) and some huge wins that the majority of the hockey world thought were misses at the time (Hudler, Russell).

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Funny thing is, people focus more on the what could have happened with Feaster, than what actually happened.

They both happened. He made that ridiculous offer to Brad Richards and made that ridiculous offer sheet to ROR. Those events happened. The fact that he was bailed out by Richards and the Avalanche doesn't change the fact that both of those moves would likely stack up side by side with the Doug Gilmour trade as worst moves in franchise history. If a drunk driver makes it home safe without killing himself or anyone else does that mean the act is forgivable and we pat him on the back for the days he drove sober?

Craig MacTavish like Feaster offered more for the player he coveted in David Clarkson and got bailed out by Clarkson for choosing the Leafs. Bad GM's make bad moves. Sometimes you dodge the bullet but eventually you will take a hit.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Yup, some almost catastrophes (Richards, O'Reilly) and some huge wins that the majority of the hockey world thought were misses at the time (Hudler, Russell).

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Funny thing is, people focus more on the what could have happened with Feaster, than what actually happened.

Russell? did that even register on the NHL radar? Not sure how many people even considered that as a "miss"... more like, why the hell not. Hudler wasn't an awful signing, just underwhelming at the time... that has obviously panned out very well for Calgary

Feaster was not particularly good, but if he was and the Flames' current success is actually attributable to him, he'll get a job no problem...

botches of the iggy situation and boumeester and near Oiler-esque disasters like the Brad Richards/ROR variety would immediate exclude him in many teams eyes.

[Jacks]

I doubt Feaster will get another shot but if he did it would need to be the right situation. He is clearly not adept at getting a veteran team over the hump. He had a couple of wins (Hudler/Wideman) but most if not all of his mistakes (ROR/Richards) were in trying to land that elusive #1 centre to play with Iggy and an aging core. We would have had to overpay for a player like that even if they were available. Once the team/management/ownership/whoever made the decision to tear it down he did a great job of getting rid of salary and building up the prospect pool. Pre-rebuild Feaster I agree did a poor job, post rebuild Feaster did a great job.

[Geeoff]

I think he had a great gameplan "keep key vets while plugging young players into the lineup". His execution left a lot to be desired. I think he'd excel in a role where he flowcharts things out but isn't responsible for connecting the circles. Monahan is already better than O'Reilly, so even if we got ROR, it would have been a loss.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by mikeecho

Sather seems to be doing fine and he's got more than a few "Richards" level catastrophies.

Winning fixes a lot and right now we'd probably be talking about how much of a visionary he was for saying his goal was to make the playoffs all along as opposed to calling him a loud mouth who should just shut up.

The reality is that during his tenure we went from an old, expensive, non-competitive team with bare prospect cupboards ready to fall off a cliff to a team on the upswing with one of the best prospect bases in the league. How long did it take? 5, 6, 7 years? More like 3 years and faster than anyone would have predicted and most have ever accomplished.

Rangers better win soon though because they are gonna be an absolute disaster in a few years...they have mortgaged the future like never before

[madmike]

I still think overall he did a great job with the Flames. I'm even ok with Jankowski, who I think could turn out to be a solid pick.

What kills Feaster as a GM candidate is the RoR debacle. That had the potential to really set the Flames back. I know he says the Flames' interpretation of the situation was different from the league's, but you really can't take that kind of chance.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

It wasn't really a character tear down, it was just passing down the news on why the decision was made for a change in GM and assist GM.

the actual source of all that if memory serves was Friedman saying that Weisbrod had a reputation for always thinking he was the smartest man in the room and that rubbed a lot of people in the NHL the wrong way. It wasn't directed at Feaster.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Agree with those saying the O'Reilly affair was the one that marks him with the Scarlett letter.

I'd be surprised if the Jankowski pick is a dealbreaker. If failed first round picks* were death sentences, this league would run out of GMs pretty quickly.


* Before the knives come out, I'm not saying Jankowski is a failed pick. Just reflecting the negative perception.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

Agree with those saying the O'Reilly affair was the one that marks him with the Scarlett letter.

I'd be surprised if the Jankowski pick is a dealbreaker. If failed first round picks* were death sentences, this league would run out of GMs pretty quickly.


* Before the knives come out, I'm not saying Jankowski is a failed pick. Just reflecting the negative perception.

He could've just picked Jankowski and not said 'he's going to be the best player from this draft in 10 years'. The pick wouldn't be nearly as maligned if he would've just said the standard stuff GMs say when they draft an 18 year old kid. That probably didn't help with the perception of Feaster thinking he was the smartest guy in the room that the GM fraternity seemed to have of him. I can only imagine how much his 'peers' mocked him to each other after he said that.

My biggest beef with Feaster wasn't his ho-hum trades or even his near-disasters like ROR and Richards, it was how he ran the team sort of unprofessionally like with the above quote and other instances of him blabbing when he should've kept his cards closer to his chest. Sutter and Treliving are much more reserved managers and just make moves as needed. Feaster was mostly bluster IMO, big talk and nothing to back it up. I can totally see why he didn't get the respect of his peers, he acted how I imagine I would act if given the keys to an NHL team, basically like a kid being given the keys to a fancy sports car for his 16th birthday. I'd be so excited I wouldn't be able to contain myself and that's sort of what I got from Feaster. He was a fan running a team when what we needed was shrewd professional.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

I could see him being an AGM at some point but I would be shocked if he ever runs a respected team/contender. Maybe he could get an expansion team gig when expectations are low and there are no assets to butcher trades with while he lets the scouts stock the cupboards for a few years. Then when the time comes to take the next step, he would be the fall guy just like he was here.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

* Before the knives come out, I'm not saying Jankowski is a failed pick. Just reflecting the negative perception.

He's not going to be a complete failure unless he never makes the NHL. As of right now he's on track to be a Joe Colborne (also 1st round pick)type player which isn't a total failure but given Maatta was there will always bee some woulda coulda shoulda associated with the pick.

[dammage79]

He'll get on somewhere in an AGM capacity I think. He's really good with contracts and numbers before anything else. Can also be valuable in putting together the right information from scouting.

Scouting does the work but when it comes to making the list, I think Feaster did a bang up job finalizing that list in CGY and executing it. Which is why Feaster should be given a ton of credit for the drafting success of the Flames in his tenure.

He's a good man, a it of a chatty Cathy but I liked that about him while he was here.