Jay Feaster History

[The Fonz]

Para-phrasing

"The Jankowski pick will be looked back upon in 10 years as the best pick of this draft"
"We just acquired the 2 best goalies who are not currently in the NHL"
"We managed to draft 3 guys who we had in our top 13"

[Wingman17]

Originally Posted by kipperfan

The ROR fiasco, in and of itself, was more then enough for ANY GM in this league to be fired on the spot, let alone one that had a very poor track record both with his current team and with his last team.

I am not going to say he didn't have a few (small) wins: the Smid trade, the Cammi trade, both wins IMO, even if not home runs. The Monahan pick was nice, though it was a pretty tough pick to screw up. The Erixon trade seems to have worked out OK, even though it is still kind of early to judge that one. But all in all, the good did not outweigh the bad and clearly Burke agrees with that assessment.

I don't see the Smid trade as much of a win. The Oilers wanted to dump salary to sign Bryz and we gave up a younger 2 way forward for a defensive defenceman and a crappier goalie prospect. Smid is good for us but we should be killing it on these salty dumps.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by combustiblefuel

No that guy works for L.A.

I agree that Feaster inherited a tough situation but having aaid that he nearly buried this franchise several times. He was brutal for saying one thing and doing another. Brad Richards would have been terrible, RoR would have devestated the franchise if the Flames would have lost him to waivers.

Sutter really messed up trading Dion and Joker but Feaster did pretty poorly moving Regehr, Iggy, Bouw, Tanguay.

To me whenever Jay tried to do something bold it blew up in his face.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

Worst GM in Flames history. By quite a wide margin.

Doug Risebrough would hope people agree with you.

[FanIn80]

For those commenting on his drafting...

2011 Draft:
(1,13- Sven Baertschi)
(2,45- Markus Granlund)
(2,57- Tyler Wotherspoon)
(4,103- John Gaudreau)
(6,163- Laurent Broissoit)

The majority of the scouting for this draft was done while Sutter was in charge. Feaster was officially named GM just days before the draft, and stated at the time that most of the scouting plans had been formulated under Darryl's direction.

2012 Draft:
(#21- Mark Jankowski)
(#42- Patrick Sieloff)
(#75- Jon Gillies)
(#105- Brett Kulak)
(#124- Ryan Culkin)
(#165- Coda Gordon)
(#186- Matt DeBlouw)

This draft was all Jay Feaster, and he said as much at the time. He was excited about this one being the first Flames draft with his stamp on it.

2013 Draft:
(#6-Sean Monahan)
(#22- Emile Poirier)
(#28- Morgan Klimchuk)
(#67- Keegan Kanzig)
(#135- Eric Roy)
(#157- Tim Harrison)
(#187- Rushan Rafikov)
(#198- John Gilmour)

It was mentioned in the media today that Feaster was kept at arm's length for this draft, after picking Jankowski in the first round the year prior. Apparently, this draft was all Wisebrod.

So, in terms of discussing the success of Jay Feaster's draft record with the Flames, I guess you can say that zero out of one ain't bad...

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Wingman17

I don't see the Smid trade as much of a win. The Oilers wanted to dump salary to sign Bryz and we gave up a younger 2 way forward for a defensive defenceman and a crappier goalie prospect. Smid is good for us but we should be killing it on these salty dumps.

Smid, Cammy, Erixon trades were probably Jay's best work when dealing with multiple assets. None of them were unbelievable though.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

...

Not what I read here. Posts claiming it was Wisebrod kept at arm's length for the Jankowski pick, not Feaster.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Smid, Cammy, Erixon trades were probably Jay's best work when dealing with multiple assets. None of them were unbelievable though.

All taking advantage of other team's situations.

Cammalleri had walked out on the team in MTL that day.

Smid was the Oilers desperate for a shakeup and to help with some cap space for Bryzgalov that day.

Erixon was clear and almost blatant tampering from the Rangers, and everyone knew it, so the Flames get compensation in form of a trade to keep things on the down low..

I'll throw the Jones/SOB deal there as maybe the best deal he made. Got rid of a guy who was going to do nothing without Iginla, and was signed for 3 more years at $4+, and a guy who hated Hartley (Sarich). Lateral move for Jones as far as an anchor, and a downgrade from Sarich, but Tanguay was unmovable.

But overall, his moves were lackluster to say the least, his attempts at Richards and not getting value for Regher is annoying, going after a guy like Smyth, the ROR thing, the botching of the Iginla trade (IMO) and his general hot air and buzzwords, time and time again, with no action, were annoying.

[4oh3]

2011-06-01 Traded Tim Erixon and 2011 5th Round Pick (#133-Shane McColgan) to Rangers in exchange for Roman Horak and two 2011 2nd Round Picks (#45-Markus Granlund; #57-Tyler Wotherspoon)

Best move now that we have smid from horak ?

[Steve Bozek]

If Burke is as smart as everyone seems to think he is, there must be a lot of reasons for removing Feaster that are more important than the Jankowski pick. It's not looking great, but the book isn't closed on Jankowski yet. IIRC, there werer "experts" saying at least one other team was ready to pick him in the first round if the Flames didn't. The Flames (and Burke) have made some bad picks with higher first round selections in other draft years. If the Jankowski pick is a major part of the decision to fire Feaster, we're in trouble.

[calgARI]

He did a horrible horrible job as a GM. Didn't inherit an easy situation but still did a horrible job.

[Jakester]

Mixed legacy for sure.

On the trade front I think Feaster does deserve credit for turning Erixon into Horak, Granlund and Wotherspoon. Bourque for Cammalleri was also a good deal for us. Bourque was a floater here and he's still a floater in Montreal; Cammalleri has been one of our best forwards since the trade. Russell and Colborne have also been good acquisitions.

His worst trade was probably the Regehr deal. He went for two 2nds at the deadline last year and the Flames should have got more than that for him on his own, considering he was two years younger and not a pending UFA. Instead, they combined him with Kotalik's bad contract in a trade and ended up with two marginal NHLers. That they also gave up a 2nd in the deal only added insult to injury. I know management didn't want to buy out Kotalik or bury him in the minors, but squandering one of your best assets for peanuts was not the way to do it.

Too early to tell with the Bouwmeester trade. Early indications on Poirier are good; Cundari and Berra less so. I have to wonder if they couldn't have gotten more for him had they agreed to pay part of his salary. They have the cap space and the contract's up at the end of this year.

With Iginla, the issue was more timing than the actual return. In hindsight, they should have traded him after the 2011 season. It would have taken a lot of guts, and there aren't many GMs (and ever fewer ownership groups) who would trade their star and the face of their franchise unless forced into it. As it was, the return they got was about the best they could hope for given the circumstances.

Overall, Feaster's free agent signings were not good. Hudler has looked very good, both as a player and a mentor for their young forwards. Wideman, while not a bad player, was signed for too much money for too long a term in my opinion. We can also consider ourselves lucky that Feaster didn't sign Brad Richards or Ryan Smyth to a long term deal. And, of course there was the near debacle of the Ryan O'Reilly offer sheet.

Much has been made of the improved drafting and prospect pool, and while Feaster and co. do deserve some credit, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that both have gone from abysmal to about average in both departments IMO. The prospect pool is decent, but not great. Lots of guys with 2nd-3rd line/2nd or 3rd pairing potential, a few forwards with 1st line potential and no top pairing defense prospects (goalies are always a crap shoot).

As far as drafting, no real issues with the Baertschi or Monahan picks. In perfect 20/20 hindsight, the Flames should have stayed at 14th overall in 2012 and picked Hertl. For me the real test of how good the Flames drafting really was under Feaster is how the later 1st round picks as well as the players drafted in later rounds turn out.

Overall, I think Feaster was put in a difficult situation and had to make a number of trades under less than ideal circumstances. At the same time, he didn't help himself much either.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

I find it hard to give Feaster credit for doing well on a trade he would not have made and did not want to make under normal circumstances. Sather had him over a barrel the entire time.

That's exactly why you should give him credit.

[zoom]

Originally Posted by jakester

mixed legacy for sure.

On the trade front i think feaster does deserve credit for turning erixon into horak, granlund and wotherspoon. Bourque for cammalleri was also a good deal for us. Bourque was a floater here and he's still a floater in montreal; cammalleri has been one of our best forwards since the trade. Russell and colborne have also been good acquisitions.

His worst trade was probably the regehr deal. He went for two 2nds at the deadline last year and the flames should have got more than that for him on his own, considering he was two years younger and not a pending ufa. Instead, they combined him with kotalik's bad contract in a trade and ended up with two marginal nhlers. That they also gave up a 2nd in the deal only added insult to injury. I know management didn't want to buy out kotalik or bury him in the minors, but squandering one of your best assets for peanuts was not the way to do it.

Too early to tell with the bouwmeester trade. Early indications on poirier are good; cundari and berra less so. I have to wonder if they couldn't have gotten more for him had they agreed to pay part of his salary. They have the cap space and the contract's up at the end of this year.

with iginla, the issue was more timing than the actual return. In hindsight, they should have traded him after the 2011 season. It would have taken a lot of guts, and there aren't many gms (and ever fewer ownership groups) who would trade their star and the face of their franchise unless forced into it. As it was, the return they got was about the best they could hope for given the circumstances.

overall, feaster's free agent signings were not good. Hudler has looked very good, both as a player and a mentor for their young forwards. Wideman, while not a bad player, was signed for too much money for too long a term in my opinion. We can also consider ourselves lucky that feaster didn't sign brad richards or ryan smyth to a long term deal. And, of course there was the near debacle of the ryan o'reilly offer sheet.

Much has been made of the improved drafting and prospect pool, and while feaster and co. Do deserve some credit, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that both have gone from abysmal to about average in both departments imo. The prospect pool is decent, but not great. Lots of guys with 2nd-3rd line/2nd or 3rd pairing potential, a few forwards with 1st line potential and no top pairing defense prospects (goalies are always a crap shoot).

As far as drafting, no real issues with the baertschi or monahan picks. In perfect 20/20 hindsight, the flames should have stayed at 14th overall in 2012 and picked hertl. For me the real test of how good the flames drafting really was under feaster is how the later 1st round picks as well as the players drafted in later rounds turn out.

Overall, i think feaster was put in a difficult situation and had to make a number of trades under less than ideal circumstances. At the same time, he didn't help himself much either.

+1

[#-3]

I really don't mind that body of work as a whole.

Even the "Big" Trades were not that bad when you consider Cap Space, Flexibility, and a New Direction were part of the return.
(Out side of the Regher Trade, that was just bad. Really it should have been Regher going a year earlier for the Phanuef Package.)

It was the Moves he did not make that were really bad, and announcing them was even worse.

[username]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

Worst GM in Flames history. By quite a wide margin.

Not even close, Dougie was.

[Wolfman]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

As bad as the body of work is, that wasn't even the worst part for me.

The ROR fiasco and the not even knowing that Cervenka wasn't a centre was embarrassing. And being embarrassed to be a Flames fan sucks.

Also I hated the way he conducted himself in interviews and at the STH meetings. He is infallible in his own mind.

Worst GM in Flames history. By quite a wide margin.

Not even close to the worst GM...Darryl Sutter was hands down the worst GM in Flames history.

At least Feaster was able to get the team out of the red in regards to the salary cap and bad contracts situation. Feaster lost out on a lot of trades but also made some good ones. Cammalleri for Bourque, Russell for a 5th, Erixon for Horak, Granlund and Wotherspoon.

He cleaned up the organization and stocked the shelves for the future. His returns for most trades weren't good enough in my opinion which is why he's out of work right now. The ROR ordeal and drafting Jankowski sealed his fate.

He did lots of good things and a lot of bad things, but set up the new GM to have more flexibility and hopefully make some real hockey moves. We all know that Feaster relied on others for hockey sense as he was not a hockey guy. Weisbrod failed Feaster and I am glad he was given his walking papers along with Feaster.

[Lanny_McDonald]

You look at that list of moves in the OP and you realize just how bad Feaster was.

[flambers]

Ryan O'Reilly Offer sheet / Waiver mix up is probably his biggest error.

Really lucky it was matched.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

That's exactly why you should give him credit.

Not really.

One of the defining characteristics of the Jay Feaster regime is that he really had a difficult time understanding the value of assets. Frequently assets were held on for too long, signed to questionable extensions or they were misused.

This was an example of an asset he was forced to deal, but would not have made the deal under optimal circumstances.