[News] Friedman: Feaster/Flames are not going to blow it up

[SOMBRI2]

It is unbelievable that our roster is swung from 'physical and running around without wisdom' to 'we have some skills but we got run over every game'.

The team is not fast, the team is not smart, the team has no promising prospects to cheer for. The franchise player is just a PR face off the ice.

I agree we could keep Iginla and make over the veteran core, but will this interest Iginla to stay? Unless he is willing to take a, say for example 5 million per, to stay with this team. We are in cap jail when the cap number is going down next season.

Gallagher of Montreal is something we are missing - intensity and passion even he is physically challenged every night.

The roster on paper looks good, but the players don't bring the substance to the ice every game.

I am torn by this team. I don't even know what I want...I am sad.

[Flash Walken]

Trading away a top 10 pick is never a sign of rebuilding, no matter what player you're targeting or how old they are.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by GGG

I think the last two years were handled correctly. A tandom likeIggy and Kipper dont come around that often so while there was a reasonable chance of making the playoffs with them you kept going for it. This year we clearly dont have a chance and oneof the reasons we arent close is that we are trying to rebuild. This years team would have been better with Joki in the line up. Instead we bought some lottery tickets with Cervenka and gave backlund a bigger role.

So i think it is incorrect to say we arent rebuilding. The good news is that if we keep this play up we should be out of it by deadline day. Then it is timeto move people.

I have to say I disagree profoundly with this, I think it was obvious years ago that regardless of Kipper and Iggy the team didn't have what it took to win the cup and, due to their age one or both of them should have been moved at least 2 years ago.

I also don't think just allowing a team to rot away to nothing counts as rebuilding.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by T@T

Repeat after me..."blowing it up" doesn't guarantee anything but a fun draft day,in most cases it means complete suckage for many many years (look up north)

I continue to believe this team is 2-3 pieces from being a solid team again.

Feaster gets paid 900k to get those pieces.. if he can't then he should retire.

How do you propose the Flames acquire these 2 to 3 pieces? Just like the Oilers, this team has been mismanaged to the point that the rebuild will be forced upon us, nothing we can do about it. Move players or don't, this team will be finishing in the bottom third of the league regardless, so you might as well embrace it and management should be focused on doing whatever they can to reduce the length of our inevitable stay in the leagues lower echelons. Hanging on to our aging veterans is not going to shorten that stay.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by SOMBRI2

It is unbelievable that our roster is swung from 'physical and running around without wisdom' to 'we have some skills but we got run over every game'.

The team is not fast, the team is not smart, the team has no promising prospects to cheer for. The franchise player is just a PR face off the ice.

I agree we could keep Iginla and make over the veteran core, but will this interest Iginla to stay? Unless he is willing to take a, say for example 5 million per, to stay with this team. We are in cap jail when the cap number is going down next season.

Gallagher of Montreal is something we are missing - intensity and passion even he is physically challenged every night.

The roster on paper looks good, but the players don't bring the substance to the ice every game.

I am torn by this team. I don't even know what I want...I am sad.

Kid was a 5th round pick too... that's why you don't trade draft picks; you accumulate them.

[Matty81]

Yes the writing has been on the wall for most rationale folks watching the team for years now, even here where I think a lot of the most hardcore supporters gather there have been rebuild calls for probably 3 years at least.

I am continually blown away by the Flames fans who criticize anyone saying the team is bad on here. Thought I was a homer but that is taking it to new levels. Worst part, Feaster is right there with them among the 1% of the hockey world who can't see how poor the current team is and worse, how dark the future looks.

Hopefully behind closed doors he is smarter than that. Also don't agree that playing down rebuilding is to preserve value or something. The trade deadline is all about bidding frenzies and talking players up, the tradecentre media does half the GMs job hyping up trade bait if you let them have a few crumbs.

[atb]

Healy mentioned after the game that after the last loss that there were two owners, president, and GM in the dressing room afterwards? That seems a little nuts and can't do anything but undermine the coach and can only negatively impact the players.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by atb

Healy mentioned after the game that after the last loss that there were two owners, president, and GM in the dressing room afterwards? That seems a little nuts and can't do anything but undermine the coach and can only negatively impact the players.

Did he actually say that?

Jeeeeeezuz.

[Matty81]

I like Ken King, he seems like a great guy but he needs to stay the F away from hockey operations.

[Nuje]

Originally Posted by T@T

Repeat after me..."blowing it up" doesn't guarantee anything but a fun draft day,in most cases it means complete suckage for many many years (look up north)

Awesome argument. "Blowing it up doesn't work, look at Edmonton". They're terribly managed. That is their problem. Also, they didn't say "blow it up" one day. They were forced to trade Pronger, and the sad sack team had to trade Smyth at the deadline. If they were truly rebuilding, Hemsky would have been traded a long time ago. Like the Flames, the management is reacting, rather than properly planning ahead. Imagine if the Flames felt Phaneuf had to go, and Darryl went after some youngish prospects (21-22 years old) instead. These players could be contributing now, and would almost definitely be better than what we have now. The seasons would hardly have been much leaner than they were, due to the fact that every player that came back in that trade was crap.

Letting Iginla and Kiprusoff simply expire here in hopes for another round of playoss (if we're lucky) is a dumb decision. Now is their time to go.

Originally Posted by T@T

I continue to believe this team is 2-3 pieces from being a solid team again.


Feaster gets paid 900k to get those pieces.. if he can't then he should retire.

How solid? Contending for a cup? That is where a team should strive to be. 2-3 pieces (save 2-3 really GOOD pieces...which aren't ever free) would have to be all game changers, top players, to get this team near that spot. Feaster gets paid to ice a team year in, year out. If his idea of planning ahead ends at "what do we need in the next two weeks" he is not doing a good job.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Did he actually say that?

Jeeeeeezuz.

The same "analyst" who played Globetrotters music to sensationlize a Kings PP that was like any other PP goal? Pardon me if I think he's up to more melodrama/hyperbole.

Which loss? Last night's?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

I have to say I disagree profoundly with this, I think it was obvious years ago that regardless of Kipper and Iggy the team didn't have what it took to win the cup and, due to their age one or both of them should have been moved at least 2 years ago.

I also don't think just allowing a team to rot away to nothing counts as rebuilding.

It was highly unlikely but by waitint two years how much value did we lose from Iggy? Brayden Schenn, simmonds and a first was the rumour at that time. He still gets a propsect and a first at the deadline so not much value has been lost by waiting. And as small as the odds of winning the cup were you still take it as the opportunity cost is small.

This years deadline is the real test though. We will find out all we need know in about 20 days

[browna]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I like Ken King, he seems like a great guy but he needs to stay the F away from hockey operations.

There's no proof that he has any, just a bunch of heresay from the usual pot stirrers in the press over the years who's trying to form their opinion into fact.

He's got to be close enough to Sutter/Feaster to communicate through to the owners when it comes to moves that impact the team in a major way as far as trades or money involved. That doesn't mean he's making decisions or anything of the sort.

I don't think anyone here, or in the press, has any idea of that dynamic and starts to make inneundo because King is the go between owners who care, and the GM, that he's got his fingers in the pie and garbage up to stir the pot.

[atb]

Originally Posted by browna

The same "analyst" who played Globetrotters music to sensationlize a Kings PP that was like any other PP goal? Pardon me if I think he's up to more melodrama/hyperbole.

Which loss? Last night's?

Yeah I'm not a fan of Healy at all, but what he said was:

"Too much meddling though. They lose the game the other night, you got in the room, and I've been in rooms, two owners walk in the room, President, the CEO, a GM, is there anyone else who wants to stick their hand in this mess? Stay out. The players feel it. You see the way they played tonight. That is not a confident group. That is a group waiting for the shoe to fall."

It's at the end of the game broadcast on cbc.ca, at 2hrs 55min: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynight...#id=2341842404

[Dion]

The frustrating part for me is that this team will win enough games not to be a top 5 draft picker when this season is over. The philosophy of management and the ownership group seems to be icing a competitive team while waiting for our prospects to develop.

Thing is I don't want to be forever a copy of the Toronto Maple Leafs that always fall short of a playoff spot. There is a huge gap between our aging vets and our top prospects. At some point management has to start looking at the situation and realise we need to start a rebuild.

Finally we are too small of a team and when we play teams like the Ducks and the Kings we get man handled.

[Ashasx]

Whatever philosophy you use to build a team... it doesn't matter if you don't do the other things correctly.

The Oilers are on their way to four 1st overall picks. They could have a powerplay that consists of 80% first overall picks. They are putting up good numbers for the most part.

So why is the team still losing? Because poor drafting and development everywhere else. All Tambellini has to do on draft day is go to TSN.ca and look at McKenzie's draft list. Beyond that first pick, he's screwed. That team has no idea what it's doing.

Likewise for the Flames, until we start to make changes in our development system, it doesn't matter who we trade or who we draft. We won't be successful until we change our methods, not our philosophy.

[trackercowe]

Personally I think this team is one player away from being a playoff team, and that player is... Sidney Crosby! I think adding him might actually make as a playoff team (barely). So Feaster should see what it'll take to get him. Maybe our next 30 first round picks? Not like the Flames can draft anyway, so who cares how many picks we give them.

Seriously though, trading for more picks and prospects is great, andI agree that's what they need to do, but I don't trust Feaster to rebuild through the draft anyway. So we're sort of in a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation. I sort of wish both Feaster and King would get canned, and someone like Burke could run hockey operations, but that's probably a pipe dream.

We should face the facts, the Flames won't likely be relevant for another decade if they continue going in the same direction, we all better get used to it.

[browna]

Originally Posted by atb

Yeah I'm not a fan of Healy at all, but what he said was:

"Too much meddling though. They lose the game the other night, you got in the room, and I've been in rooms, two owners walk in the room, President, the CEO, a GM, is there anyone else who wants to stick their hand in this mess? Stay out. The players feel it. You see the way they played tonight. That is not a confident group. That is a group waiting for the shoe to fall."

It's at the end of the game broadcast on cbc.ca, at 2hrs 55min: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynight...#id=2341842404

Yeah, just went back myself there before you posted this, and saw what he said, as I turned off the broadcast after the buzzer. I still call BS on that, unless he was intending to say there was meddling when he was in rooms, and just applies the rumors that he's heard about the Flames ownership being involved, and applying it here again as potentially occurring, but not necessarily last night.

I didn't hear that at any time through the game or pregame, or post game last night, and I figure someone out there may be aware of that. Are any of the owners actually travelling with the team to LA? Is King? Do the owners ever go in the room? I've never heard that, and I am sure some of the local scribes would be smart enough to pick up on that and start their own rumors if this was a common occurance in the past. Given that any sort of visit yesterday wasn't mentioned anywhere else and he tosses that in there last minute, I have my doubts.

More surprising is that Feaster actually spoke to someone (Friedman) today.

Again, as that was about Iginla, then showing a player's face when they're down 6-2 in ar game, (and I believe it was right after a chance that the Flames missed, as Iginla mouths the words "are you kidding me") isn't quite a solid indication that he's given flustered to the point that he's given up on the franchise or sees the end in sight, as the panel was quick to be intimating.

Finally, when the panel is talking about the Flames valuable to other teams at the deadline, at no point does Bouwmeester come up. By far the best asset the Flames have if they decide to make that major move, and teams will be lining up to add a 25 minute per player game, who still has all the skills that teams were lining up for almost 4 years ago, along with a full year left on his contract. Goes to show you how out of touch that the panel is with the Flames, when doing a proper overall analysis, yet their acting as if they've got all the answers as they pile on.

[JohnnyB]

There is no reasonable way this team does not trade both Iggy and Kipper if they're not in a playoff position come the deadline. Taking those two to the deadline in these years of their contracts is giving them and the team as many chances as possible to do something with them on the roster. If they're not in the playoffs there is nothing more to be gained from them on the ice foe the Flames. If they're going to be sentimental about those two they should at least do so by trading them to a team with a good chance.
If Iggy really wanted to stay he could always come back afterwards. If he doesn't then there is no loss in trading him. To keep him is simply ludicrous.

[ComixZone]

this team won't make the playoffs with Miikka Kiprusoff as their #1 goalie and Jarome Iginla as their #1 forward.

So, Feaster, Edwards, King...everyone involved in Flames management, by all means - continue your incompetence, but if this team stands pat once again at the trade deadline because they're in 14th in the Western Conference but only 6-8 points out of 8th, you can consider yourselves one fan shorter.

There's no excuse. This is a cap-team that is utterly incompetent. No one else has spent the amount of money the Flames have and yielded worse results over the last 3 1/2 seasons. That is incompetence.