Ownership and Management Perspective

[Ferarri]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the moves that were made today (or lack there of) and tried to rationalize what ownership and management make of this team. There has been enough posts on this board to gauge a large portion of the fan perspective but do we really know what is going on behind the scenes. I have a few theories (although what do I know) as to how things might have gone down on a trade deadline day like this.

I assume at this point ownership has gone to management and coaching and asked for a report as to what exactly has gone wrong. In the off-season the team was labelled as cup favourites and now they are not even in a playoff spot, with a good chance of missing all together.

The assessment I believe that was put together by Tre and his team and Sutter and the coaches is probably the following:

1. Goaltending - this position has been atrocious to say the least. Neither guy has performed to the level expected and Markstrom has fallen off a cliff

2. Lack of Superstar Presence- the guy we brought in (Huberdeau) has significantly underperformed. No where near the level that he was playing like in Florida

3. Unfortunate Circumstances/Bad Luck - This argument is kind of weak, but nonetheless there have been several games where they probably deserved a better fate but were denied points. The structure has been there, as shown by outplaying opponents like Boston and still losing. Hitting several posts and a tendency to play from behind as your goalies let in the first goal on the first shot of the game

Now ownership probably asks, what to make of this and I believe the following. The brain trust probably has said this is a “good” team that has underperformed. They aren’t “great” like last year but they should be better than what they’ve shown. With competent goaltending they are in a playoff spot and with our goalies playing an above average game they could be winning this division. The caveat also exists that they shouldn’t invest draft capital into this group to try and do short term improvements as this could be dangerous if the group continues to underachieve.

They firmly believe that Marky’s numbers may not get to the level that they were last year but they will certainly not be as low as they are this year. As far as Huberdeau, he’s probably never going to hit 115 points again, but should certainly not hover around the 40 mark that he’s at right now.

From the ownership perspective, they believe that they have invested a TON of money into this team. From giving Huby the richest contract in Flames history to bringing in a guy like Kadri. Because of the money factor I’m willing to bet that they refuse to throw in the towel after 60 games. If the brain trust is right and the factors above change, then they are looking at a completely different situation.

Where it gets dicey is the gamble they are willing to take. If Edwards firmly believes that the money invested is too high to give up now, and his management and coaching team is correct, then he’s probably willing to give this another shot even if they miss the playoffs. Maybe he goes into next season not burning draft capital but willing to give it another X amount of games before he says the experiment failed.

The unfortunate truth is that fans will be outraged if we miss the playoffs (deservedly so) and will want everyone fired and the team to blow up. If that doesn’t happen and they don’t sell in a draft labelled as quite good, then this place will explode especially if we go into next season and have similar results before they give up.

It’s a tough situation for ownership and risks fan outrage. I can see many people not wanting to renew season tickets, labelling the franchise as the definition of mediocrity (which isn’t wrong) and being furious with the decisions made, but you got to see if from another perspective as well. Ownership is committed to making a profit (as should any business) so they have a lot more invested than the average fan who wants immediate change after a season of potential failure.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Good write up, well thought out.
I think you've hit the main points.

[Jiggy_12]

Well summarized. It’s a tough spot for them.

We as fans get to pick a side without repercussion. The owners and GM have a lot more to consider. It’s messy right now and I don’t envy their position (in relation to most of the league)

[taxbuster]

On the other hand, the primary owner might have ranted and raved and pounded the table and the management and the rest sat and listened to what he thinks should be done, which may, or may not, make sense.

It wouldn't be the first time for that scenario with an owner (not necessarily in Flames land though). Think Elon or Donny The Orange.

[Mathgod]

There's a number of things no one could have reasonably predicted coming into this season. Atrocious goaltending, Kylington's absence, team leading the league in hit posts...

To point the finger at coaching or management is very shortsighted, imo. Not saying you've done it, but many on this board have.

[PuckSlap]

I struggle to articulate what's on my mind, and it often comes across long winded and uninformed. But this is basically what I feel. Good write up!

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

There's a number of things no one could have reasonably predicted coming into this season. Atrocious goaltending, Kylington's absence, team leading the league in hit posts...

Huberdeau's point total. I thought maybe he might struggle a little getting used to a new team but I didn't imagine this bad.

I'm not worried about him being able to rebound next year though. Maybe he doesn't get 115 points but he'll be more like what we thought the Flames were getting.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Good writeup. We heard Treliving say flat out today that he has the view they are a good team that has underperformed. And that they can’t rewrite games 1-62 so have to focus on the next 20

(and if fans are, as you suggest, furious, they could use a reset on their priorities or at least some temper control)

[browna]

Good points.

There's also the aspect of drastic changes after a offseason of change. This season, unlike many others where there was a general malaise or a bunch of contributing factors where it's hard to pinpoint where things are going wrong and why, this year, unfortunately it's cut and dry...goaltending.

A lot of the gripes about Huberdeau, Kadri and others is a lot quieter (and they don't have to play much better) if average goaltending has this team in a comfortable play off spot. I think that's being conservative, becuase the Flames would be much more confident game after game after being rewarded for their effort and structure in winning games...but even not counting that, this roster is shown good enough to be higher in the standings overall than it is.

There are also so many other issues behind the scenes that never come to light in the public, with team dynamics and relationships and personal issues both now and previous...and relationships in the room and with the coach and GM and constant conversations they drastically alter the situation and circumstances as to how it appears to the interested fan base.

Promises made to players, business and marketing decisions, organizations and the GM's reputation with agents for future clients, in addition to yes, the buisness side (ie season ticket renewals and playoff tickets normally come out in the next week) etc etc all factors in, in some regard to be weighed by the entire organization when determining how to push forward on decision days such as today.

[CGY12]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

It’s a tough situation for ownership and risks fan outrage. I can see many people not wanting to renew season tickets, labelling the franchise as the definition of mediocrity (which isn’t wrong) and being furious with the decisions made, but you got to see if from another perspective as well. Ownership is committed to making a profit (as should any business) so they have a lot more invested than the average fan who wants immediate change after a season of potential failure.

And after 30+ years of rinsing and repeating, you'd think they be intelligent enough to come up with a new strategy and learn from failure. Instead they don't and continue to prioritize the hope and a prayer philosophy that'll net them hopefully some sort of profit, not understanding that the people of Calgary are intelligent hockey fans and would support a young team with a clear decisive direction, even if it was predicated around short term challenges, but with an opportunity of sustained long term future success. The mindset they seem to have really just tells me they don't understand the market their own team plays in.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by CGY12

And after 30+ years of rinsing and repeating, you'd think they be intelligent enough to come up with a new strategy and learn from failure. Instead they don't and continue to prioritize the hope and a prayer philosophy that'll net them hopefully some sort of profit, not understanding that the people of Calgary are intelligent hockey fans and would support a young team with a clear decisive direction, even if it was predicated around short term challenges, but with an opportunity of sustained long term future success. The mindset they seem to have really just tells me they don't understand the market their own team plays in.

They have to evaluate the risk that the few people with consensus opinions on a message board aren’t reflective of the opinions of the actual people buying 19000 tickets every night

[blender]

Post #9: A reasoned, articulate and cogent big-picture view of a season in the history of a professional sports franchise.

Post # 10: Angry rant by emotional fan.

[CGY12]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

They have to evaluate the risk that the few people with consensus opinions on a message board aren’t reflective of the opinions of the actual people buying 19000 tickets every night

And if this strategy that they continue to deploy is what they ultimately come up with year after year, we are ****ed as fans. Like I said, the fan base is an intelligent one and learn years are certainly possible. It is a risk to change course whatever you do, but the current mindset from an outside perspective tells me what I already know, building a championship caliber team isn't priority. For me personally, it sucks to be invested monetarily and emotionally for a franchise that has that type of philosophy.

[CGY12]

Originally Posted by blender

Post #9: A reasoned, articulate and cogent big-picture view of a season in the history of a professional sports franchise.

Post # 10: Angry rant by emotional fan.

I'm not angry. At my age #### like this doesn't make me angry. Lets replace angry with frustrated. Also I'll be sure to read post 9 now. Thanks for the great insight.

[Mindtravellee]

I'm still a bit surprised they didn't take a retool opportunity (and they still might). 1 - 2 years missing play offs is better than a full year down rebuild.

[Goriders]

The way I see things ownership and management pumped a bunch of money into a group of players who shot the bed.

This season is on the players in my mind.

- first shot goals against
- .800 save percentage games
- defensive coverage breakdowns
- selfish penalties at the wrong time
- anemic shooting percentages
- horrible powerplay
- impossibly inept OT record.

Look in the mirror over the summer. You’re paid millions of dollars to perform. Bottom line is you didn’t. But the owners still have to pay you.

Don’t think this is the owners fault. It’s their problem though.

[InternationalVillager]

Huberdeau is elite.

Maybe not this season.......but he is elite.

[curves2000]

If I am ownership, I have to ask some very very hard questions and I want NEW answers. I find Tre to talk a lot and say a lot of corporate speak, general chat about compete, opportunities, doing the work, following the process etc. He is a salesman through and through. He's the guy who will tell you how great something is, the best of the best, the Rolls Royce of whatever but you may also need to buy the extended warranty to protect risk cause the thing will probably break down.

How do you explain to your owner that your 2017 first round pick (Valamaki) is chosen to be traded and you kept Mackay instead. I understand at the time there was a cap consideration for the higher AAV but realistically, management and coaching didn't really play him. He may have been a cheaper option but than didn't really contribute. He was than traded for what is without a doubt a more NHL caliber D in Stretcher, but at a higher cost contract, nullifying some of those savings.

Why risk mitigation measures were put into place for Johnny ?? Why did Tre wait until the very last second to hear back a polite no, I won't be back? Could that have been handled better for the overall health of the organization?

What was the line of thinking about offering such large contracts to players who hadn't skated on the Dome ice before with our new lads from Florida? Was it a PR move to indicate we have players who want to be here? Did we need to strike while we had an advantage in case the players went red hot and the cost went up?

There are lot's of examples and more so. It's almost like we need an evaluation of a lot of the work and how it adds up to success or lack of it. Lot's of people have been in this organization a long long time and sometimes dogma set's in. Sometimes you think your doing something the best way but other's are pressing the accelerator even further.

There are decisions, policies, practices and more that separate the top performing teams in the last 10 years vs teams like Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver etc.

A recent article on how the new management team is modernizing the Habs was interesting to me. Some of the most basic things like having a skills coach for the organization was missed by management. Why??

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...r-jeff-gorton/

Lot's to answer for these days

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by CGY12

And after 30+ years of rinsing and repeating, you'd think they be intelligent enough to come up with a new strategy and learn from failure. Instead they don't and continue to prioritize the hope and a prayer philosophy that'll net them hopefully some sort of profit, not understanding that the people of Calgary are intelligent hockey fans and would support a young team with a clear decisive direction, even if it was predicated around short term challenges, but with an opportunity of sustained long term future success. The mindset they seem to have really just tells me they don't understand the market their own team plays in.

This is just so annoyingly vague. What “clear direction” do you want? We’ve had several editions of young teams over the last 30 years. None worked out. Our most recent version, included elite talent that the Flames had drafted their selves. The direction was forward with them. They chose to leave Calgary. Both of them. That happened 8 months ago….

[Pipty]

I think it comes down to this is a young man's game now. Ufa signings are generally bad and bad signings can crater a franchise for a decade. Cup winners have multiple top 5 picks. Flames have been masters of big news signings since 2004 that ended up being bad. Need to let go of players that are 29, particularly forwards. Stop rushing the system by big name signings and build via draft.