Some Props To Brian Burke

[browna]

Burke has brought a lot of intangibles behind the scenes that simply weren't there under the previous regime. Namely, a direction for the way the team should be playing and the values that it should have (ie the charity work off the ice, the desire for playing a style and sticking to a structure on the ice) which helps the team focus on and off the ice, as well as regaining a respect around the league behind the scenes and providing stability and a direction for the organization that was lost.

That credit, in some regard, should also be shared by Edwards, King and the owners for realizing that the previous model and structure weren't working, and worse, ruining the reputation the Flames had built back up, behind the scenes, under Sutter, as a organization that was trustworthy and no-nonsense when it came to dealing with other GM's, as well as players and their agents.

Burke handled the Feaster release as well as possible, and as swiftly as possible. He held onto Hartley through the year last year and into this year; something I am not 100% sure even thought he would've done the day he fired Feaster. I don't know if he thought Hartley would be the guy to see the maturing of the young team once they got a to a certain point in the rebuild, but I think that's changed. I think Hartley's changed a bit from the guy he was hired here by his pal Jay as well, and even since the beginning of last season, and the new contract will prove that the Flames believe he can see this into the next stage of the rebuild.

Then, waits out and chooses his guy as GM, a guy ready to make the next step and not stuck in the same mold as others. Also, adds Pascal and Conroy, explicitly as those are two guys that will learn from Burke and thus are personally going to succeed and grow going forward because of that, and the Flames are better for that as well in the futre. Then, as promised, he steps back and doesn't step in front of the mic, probably until they announce a Hartley extension.

Bottom line, the way this team has shifted from the unorganized mess on and off the ice from when he got here, to the direction (and right now, a bonus is the results on the ice this season) it is now, is very much due to Burke.

Look 2.5h north to see what happens when you have a collection of young talent (drafted, acquired through a "big trade", or otherwise), who should be, on paper, collectively well above the Flames younger talent, but are thrown into a toxic organizational situation with an egotistical, vindictive, two faced president president still pulling the stings day to day and with a GM, and certainly coach, who are in well over their head at an NHL level in trying to bring such a group together as a unit. With the organization so toxic, no outside help will be coming, and in general, its an organization that has no direction as far as providing any value system/structure (whatever you want to call it) on and off the ice to help mold the players and coaches into buying in as part of a bigger collective.

Burke, has added that element and structure with the Flames (who were headed down that path under Feaster) in 15 short months on the job.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by browna

Burke has brought a lot of intangibles behind the scenes that simply weren't there under the previous regime. Namely, a direction for the way the team should be playing

Burke handled the Feaster release as well as possible, and as swiftly as possible. He held onto Hartley through the year last year and into this year; something I am not 100% sure even thought he would've done the day he fired Feaster. I don't know if he thought Hartley would be the guy to see the maturing of the young team once they got a to a certain point in the rebuild, but I think that's changed. I think Hartley's changed a bit from the guy he was hired here by his pal Jay, and even since the beginning of last year, and the new contract will prove that the Flames believe he can see this into the next stage of the rebuild.

Bottom line, the way this team has shifted from the unorganized mess on and off the ice from when he got here, to the direction (and right now, a bonus is the results on the ice this season) it is now, id very uch due to Burke.

I don't agree with the bolded bits being credits to Burke.

The way this team is on the ice and in the dressing room is 100% Hartley. Whether Hartley changed between his first season and 13-14 is an academic question not really relevant to this debate, because the way he tried to get the Flames to play and they way they responded were established before Feaster was fired, IMO. As for not firing Hartley when Feaster was let go, if you believed Burke didn't want to be GM, there's no way you would have thought that he wouldn't let his hand picked GM have a say in the new coach. As it was, by the time Treliving was fired, the Flames product on the ice was recognized league wide as a huge credit to Hartley, making the choice to let him continue something that wasn't in any way bold.

So, since the way the team plays on the ice can't be attributed to Burke, nor can the vast majority of the players playing within that system, he deserves virtually no credit for the Flames surprising performance thus far, IMO. If there are some culture changes within management, he can take credit for that, but that's the limit so far.

[GioforPM]

I was concerned when Burke was hired because I didn't like his Leafs moves, and he seemed like a blowhard. But I just can't say anything wrong with what he's done, or about his class since he arrived.

[herashak]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

The speed of this rebuild is insane.

This is starting to sound like the oilers fans, they were 8-2-2 the year they drafted yakupov

[browna]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I don't agree with the bolded bits being credits to Burke.

The way this team is on the ice and in the dressing room is 100% Hartley. Whether Hartley changed between his first season and 13-14 is an academic question not really relevant to this debate, because the way he tried to get the Flames to play and they way they responded were established before Feaster was fired, IMO. As for not firing Hartley when Feaster was let go, if you believed Burke didn't want to be GM, there's no way you would have thought that he wouldn't let his hand picked GM have a say in the new coach. As it was, by the time Treliving was fired, the Flames product on the ice was recognized league wide as a huge credit to Hartley, making the choice to let him continue something that wasn't in any way bold.

So, since the way the team plays on the ice can't be attributed to Burke, nor can the vast majority of the players playing within that system, he deserves virtually no credit for the Flames surprising performance thus far, IMO. If there are some culture changes within management, he can take credit for that, but that's the limit so far.

Understand what you're getting at, but in my opinion, that time from when he was hired, through December 12 last year when Feaster was punted, he was close to the team and figured out what he had to work with as far as skill, but more importantly character, and was tied in closely with the roster. That was part of "culture change in management" which you're discounting far too much as just some administrative improvement.

I'm arguing that the changes in culture that he made to bring in accountability (individual, and team), and discipline off the ice resulted in stability and a direction for the team, and that direction and expectation off the ice IMO translates and resonate through to the roster, coaching staff to allow better on ice results.

If you know what the organization expects of you on and off the ice as a team and as an individual, and you can see that the stability and strong, proven leadership had plan for off the ice is there, it contributes to less distractions and more focus on the ice for players and coaches.

As for Hartley, I don't see it as an impossible scenario as soon as either when Burke came on, or when he fired Feaster, that Hartley could've easily been gone at the end of April, no matter the way the rest of last season played out, to let the new GM pick his coach. I don'think Burke knew Hartley that well before, and thus Hartley had to prove his worth on the ice and behind the scenes, after Feaster got let go. It's wasn't "bold" decision to stick with Hartley, but it also wasn't a 100% certainty; this team finished the lowest it ever in the standings. If you listened to the naysayers when Burke got fired, he was going to go "scorched earth" with discarding coaches and young small skilled talent ASAP.

As for players, the majority of the guys remaining for last year seem to be playing at a higher level so far then they were last year (Ie Brodie, Wideman, Hudler, even Gio). IMO, for vets who've been through various coaches, and been under Hartley here for a couple years, that's more due to the confidence of finally having organizational stability and that the guys in charge behind the scenes know what they're doing and those players can see the plan, and have been told how they're a part of it.

And Burke brings in a GM that he thinks would be a good fit to stock this team with the necessary roster to compliment the young skill and rebuild, with an eye of the $ to spare. So far, I don't think you can find much wrong with Treliving's work, so he came as advertised.

The attitude that both Burke (you'd be silly to think that the rookies don't know what Burke expects of them, the way they are to carry themselves as Flames) and Hartley have taken with the young guys as well is part of that culture change Burke has brought ;there is a clear message of what this organization expects of them off the ice (Burke) and on the ice (Hartley) to be a Calgary Flame. Having that clear unified message from President of Hockey Ops, GM, and coach is 100% important for the young guys.

As I said, those are intangibles that can't be proven out or discounted one way or another, but IMO, Burke and his presence has provided a comprehensive culture change off the ice which has trickled its way down the entire organization, and brought in stability which lays the groundwork to allow greater confidence for the roster (vets and rookies) to go out and perform under Hartley.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I don't agree with the bolded bits being credits to Burke.

The way this team is on the ice and in the dressing room is 100% Hartley. Whether Hartley changed between his first season and 13-14 is an academic question not really relevant to this debate, because the way he tried to get the Flames to play and they way they responded were established before Feaster was fired, IMO. As for not firing Hartley when Feaster was let go, if you believed Burke didn't want to be GM, there's no way you would have thought that he wouldn't let his hand picked GM have a say in the new coach. As it was, by the time Treliving was fired, the Flames product on the ice was recognized league wide as a huge credit to Hartley, making the choice to let him continue something that wasn't in any way bold.

So, since the way the team plays on the ice can't be attributed to Burke, nor can the vast majority of the players playing within that system, he deserves virtually no credit for the Flames surprising performance thus far, IMO. If there are some culture changes within management, he can take credit for that, but that's the limit so far.

The one small adjustment I would make is that, certainly, Hartley is responsible for the Xs and Os and the game to game work. However, GMs play an important role in back-stopping coaching decisions and ethos, lending additional authority and credibility to the coach. This includes making it clear to the roster that anyone can sit at any time, you're not above being benched, etc...

Don't forget that GMs can indirectly undermine coaching decisions by putting their thumbs on the scale, such as the talk surrounding Jiri Sekac in Montreal. From the outside, it should looks like Burke is doing a fine job.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by browna

As I said, those are intangibles that can't be proven out or discounted one way or another, but IMO, Burke and his presence has provided a comprehensive culture change off the ice which has trickled its way down the entire organization, and brought in stability which lays the groundwork to allow greater confidence for the roster (vets and rookies) to go out and perform under Hartley.

The organization had decided before Burke was brought in that it needed a change, thus the Iginla and Bouwmeester trades. What, exactly, is the culture change you feel Burke brought in? Serious question.

Hartley instilled a work ethic and attitude the summer after the 12-13 season and in the 13-14 camp that was showing results, which carried through the entire season, notwithstanding poor results on the ice.

IMO, for you to try to draw a direct connection between Brian Burke's general attitude and, e.g. Brodie's emergence or Gio's continuation of his great season last year, is some pretty extreme speculating, and IMO if you're going to do that, it's on you to gather the evidence if you don't want it discounted.

Right now, previous regimes deserve credit for putting together the players on the roster (with a few exceptions), and Hartley and the leadership in the room deserve the credit for getting those players to perform. Any credit to Burke is going require some proof.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

The one small adjustment I would make is that, certainly, Hartley is responsible for the Xs and Os and the game to game work. However, GMs play an important role in back-stopping coaching decisions and ethos, lending additional authority and credibility to the coach. This includes making it clear to the roster that anyone can sit at any time, you're not above being benched, etc...

Don't forget that GMs can indirectly undermine coaching decisions by putting their thumbs on the scale, such as the talk surrounding Jiri Sekac in Montreal. From the outside, it should looks like Burke is doing a fine job.

I agree in theory, but it was clear that Feaster had Hartley's back 100%, so you can't say Burke has lent him any additional authority that may have improved the uptake of Hartley's message.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Mike F

The organization had decided before Burke was brought in that it needed a change, thus the Iginla and Bouwmeester trades. What, exactly, is the culture change you feel Burke brought in? Serious question.

As mentioned, a strong message of accountability and discipline, and then the stability and proven leadership he's brought and proven again, all feeds the change, over the previous few years since Sutter left.

I think all the things Burke touched on his his early pressers, he's done and passed on down the line. For example, the fact that he has pointed out a few times that he expects the team to give back to the community, and that's non negotiable. That gives a glimpse into his values and what he believes in expecting players to hold themselves to a higher standard off the ice. I am sure there are other "standards" that he's communicated to those players and coaches, as his expectations and the organization's, both for off the ice and on the ice, and coaching staff, and everyone has had to buy in over the past 15 months.

Also, the Flames once again having that structure, and strong leadership direction from a proven leader and winner in this league by itself makes players respect, and that helps gives the players confidence that the management and coaches are now all on the same page and have communicated that plan. And that gives players confidence in how things are moving forward.

Originally Posted by MIKE F

Hartley instilled a work ethic and attitude the summer after the 12-13 season and in the 13-14 camp that was showing results, which carried through the entire season, notwithstanding poor results on the ice.

IMO, for you to try to draw a direct connection between Brian Burke's general attitude and, e.g. Brodie's emergence or Gio's continuation of his great season last year, is some pretty extreme speculating.

Right now, previous regimes deserve credit for putting together the players on the roster (with a few exceptions), and Hartley and the leadership in the room deserve the credit for getting those players to perform. Any credit to Burke is going require some proof.

Not giving Burke 100% credit, of course, but what has changed since last season? Gio has always been solid, but the emergence this year is a lot more clearer. For a veteran, he's not "learning" any more so much, so (outside of any injury) improvement in him and other vets in their game is more a matter of comfort/confidence of some variety. Brodie as well younger, but he's not doing anything more, he's just doing it more confidently and consistently...looks like increased confidence. Wideman too...he's been here a couple years as well. What has changed since last year to make his game improve? Again, IMO, I think its the confidence/comfort level that comes with stability in the leadership of organization, and organization now settled with GM and coaches, so these vets now know their roles, IMO.

All those intangibles lead to an increased confidence. Confidence that this team is in the right direction leadership wise. and there is a plan of progression...confidence that their role on the team is better defined and their position on this team. Confidence that the organization, the coach and GM are no longer in a state of flux. As I said, all intangibles, hard to measure, but I think that full year with Burke installing his values/putting his mark on the hockey operations, letting the players know where they fit, gives players the confidence that they just have to worry about what's happening on the ice, not all the other questions that were circling the organization.

Don't get me wrong, winning believe confidence and there are all sorts of other things that contribute, but I think Burke coming in and taking over and shoring up hockey operations from the previous situation, has, at the most very basic level, settled a lot of the instability/crap off the ice that lead to distractions which , like it or not, affected players and coaches.

[Hackey]

Loved the Burke hiring. Loved the Feaster firing. Thank god we finally have some competent hockey minds running this team. Always been a Burke fan. Straight forward guy who tells it like it is and actually sticks to his guns. His brash personality makes it difficult for some to see his true character and that is a stand up individual. Actions speak louder than words and away from the rink the guy does a lot. Can't wait to see Burke lift the Cup with the Flames.

[TheChief]

I wish we still had Todd Bertuzzi. I think its possible we pick him up if we get close to a playoff spot come march. There is also numerous burke connections with Todd. Honestly would be a better guy then Seto or bollig who both do nothing.

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Loved the Burke hiring. Loved the Feaster firing.Thank god we finally have some competent hockey minds running this team. Always been a Burke fan. Straight forward guy who tells it like it is and actually sticks to his guns. His brash personality makes it difficult for some to see his true character and that is a stand up individual. Actions speak louder than words and away from the rink the guy does a lot. Can't wait to see Burke lift the Cup with the Flames.

I agree, but we do have Feaster to thank for sowing a lot of the seeds for this rebuild. I was happy to see him go, but he did a decent job of 'restocking the cupboards' in a short space of time. In the current lineup we have Feaster to thank for Bob Hartley, Monahan, Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Baertschi, Jones, Russell, Wideman, Smid, Jooris, Colborne and Ramo. With many other solid Feaster-era prospects coming through the pipeline I think this franchise has a solid base to build from.

Treliving and Burke are in a great position to take the franchise to the next echelon of success and I think they're probably the right men for the job. But thank you Jay Feaster, even though I immensely disliked you at the time, for steering the ship away from the rocks.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

I agree, but we do have Feaster to thank for sowing a lot of the seeds for this rebuild. I was happy to see him go, but he did a decent job of 'restocking the cupboards' in a short space of time. In the current lineup we have Feaster to thank for Bob Hartley, Monahan, Hudler, Gaudreau, Byron, Baertschi, Jones, Russell, Wideman, Smid, Jooris, Colborne and Ramo. With many other solid Feaster-era prospects coming through the pipeline I think this franchise has a solid base to build from.

Not sure I would be give Jay Feaster the Auto Thanks for a few of those players (Wideman, Jones, Smid, Baertschi etc.) I don't think he went off the board to get Monahan at 6.

I'm really left with the thought of his immaturity (his recent tweets), and doing something for the sake of doing something. I think he was over his head in many ways and did the best he could, but sure let us know every time.

He's also benefitted from luck in that we don't have RoR or Brad Richards on this team.

[FlameZilla]

^^^^^
Despite his best efforts he's left us with a pretty solid team.

[Aarongavey]

Who are the non-Feaster guys on this team? Hiller, Raymond, Seto, Bollig, Engelland. Is that it? Is that the on-ice Burke and Treliving contribution?

[trackercowe]

^ Pretty much, but you have to think Burke was heavily involved in the acquisitions of Colborne and probably Smid as well.

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Hard to say how much of the current roster credit actually goes to Weisbroad. Add Hartley, and Jay gets a thumbs up from me for his staff selections.

Loved the Burke hiring since day one as I've been a Burke fan (in spite of having a few despicable employers)

[EricCartman]

Any love for Sutter? He got us what is arguably the best defensive pair in the NHL. Backlund, Stajan, Bouma, Ferland, and Glencross as well. He didn't end off well, but he has fingerprints on this team.

[PeteMoss]

Teams getting the most points from guys making under $1m

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/to...ng-1m-or-less/

1. Calgary Flames (26 goals, 56 points)
You’ve got to hand it to Flames GM Brad Treliving and his predecessor, Brian Burke. The cupboard was bare in Calgary just a scant few years ago, but they’ve managed to pack it with cheap talent acquired through the draft, trade and college free agency.
Their draft picks and cheap free agents are contributing in a big way this year, which puts them on top of this list and, surprisingly, in third place in the Pacific Division right now.
To no one’s surprise, former sixth overall pick Sean Monahan leads the pack of bargain players on the Flames roster, with seven goals and 12 points on his entry-level deal. But right there with him is Johnny Gaudreau, the diminutive forward drafted out of college who has put up three goals and 12 points in the second year of his entry-level deal.
Paul Byron, long ago acquired in the Robyn Regehr trade with Buffalo, now has four goals and eight points on a $600,000 pact. Twenty-four-year-old Lance Bouma has five goals and eight points on a $775,000 deal, and college free agent signee Josh Jooris has four goals and seven points in the last year of his entry-level deal.

Most of these guys are Feaster guys though.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Where ru Chris O'Sullivan

Not sure I would be give Jay Feaster the Auto Thanks for a few of those players (Wideman, Jones, Smid, Baertschi etc.) I don't think he went off the board to get Monahan at 6.

I'm really left with the thought of his immaturity (his recent tweets), and doing something for the sake of doing something. I think he was over his head in many ways and did the best he could, but sure let us know every time.

He's also benefitted from luck in that we don't have RoR or Brad Richards on this team.

There was only one other forward in that draft they had ahead of Monahan and that was Mackinnon. When Carolina took Lindholm at 5 there was a circle grin at the flames table.