[News] Friedman's 30 Thoughts - Updated Feb 5

[MissTeeks]

I'm not sure if this is something that people want around here, but I thought maybe we could have a thread to put Friedman's 30 Thoughts articles every week. He always has lots of good bits of information that can go in about ten different threads so I thought it might be good to keep them in one? I'll do it for this week anways and if it falls off after that, that's okay by me!

http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hoc...ne-in-nhl.html

Lots of Flames stuff this week:

3. I don't see the Flames a ton, so their morning skate was really interesting to me. In 2003, when I covered baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays said they never saw a team work harder in batting practice than the Detroit Tigers when Alan Trammell managed them. Detroit was rebuilding and I asked Trammell about it. He said no opportunity was too small to teach a young team to play properly. That's Calgary right now. Hartley runs the most detailed morning skates I've seen. Saturday, there were 3-on-3 down-low drills and pretty specific zone coverage work.

6. Giordano said Saturday morning that the Flames were guilty of "cheating" defensively because they were so pre-occupied by the lack of scoring. "Guys start to leave too soon because they want to create offence," he said. They were better against Vancouver and San Jose, allowing a respectable 55 shots in regulation in those two games, but grabbed just one point. Frustrating.

7. Here's where it looks like it stands with reluctant Flames general managerial candidate Joe Nieuwendyk. He's coaching his kids in hockey this year and apparently enjoying it (who wouldn't?). People who know him far better than I do believe his competitive nature will make him want to try running a team again because his last run ended in an unsatisfying manner. Burke really respects him and so do the Flames.
8. Two questions that seem to be out there are "Does his family want to go to Calgary?" and "How much control will he have?" The latter is important because the Dallas Stars went through several changes of direction while he led them, which will drive any GM crazy. If Nieuwendyk does step back into the business, he'll want a better set-up. Money is not the issue in southern Alberta, but how will the organizational flow chart look?

11. Finally on Calgary, I'm beginning to think one rule of TWwitter is for every fan to hate everything the GM does. Matt Stajan takes a slight cut to his average annual value to stay in Calgary. He's their best faceoff man. Only Mikael Backlund takes more and his future in Calgary is uncertain. You need guys like Stajan to shield the young centremen, like Sean Monahan and whoever else is coming, from being thrown entirely to the Western Conference wolves while you rebuild.

[Ashasx]

These Nieuwendyk rumours make me sick to my stomach.

And he says Backlund's future with the team is "uncertain".

[Erick Estrada]

Item 3 puts Hartley in a pretty good light. He's kind of in no man's land here with his future uncertain as a new GM may want to bring his own coach in rather than be tied to the last GM's guy. That said I commend him for working hard with this group of misfits.

As for the Nieuwendyk stuff I'm not going to get too excited about any rumours as the summer is a long time away yet.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

These Nieuwendyk rumours make me sick to my stomach.

Agree 100%

Can't think of a move that Joe made that actually made me think "That was a great trade."

Also made the worst trade since the lockout IMO by moving Neal and Niskanen for Goligoski.

[GreenLantern]

He makes a good point about Stajan... but:

I don't see the Flames a ton

Makes me understand why he feels that way.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Every single time Nieuwendyk's name is brought up, I immediately think about Adam Pardy and James Neal...

[nik-]

I just really don't want Nieuwendyk as our GM. I will be so disappointed if it's him

[devo22]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Can't think of a move that Joe made that actually made me think "That was a great trade."

Feb 9, 2010: Dallas Stars acquire Kari Lehtonen from the Atlanta Thrashers for Ivan Vishnevsky and a 4th round pick
Jun 22, 2012: Dallas Stars acquire Cody Eakin and a 2nd round pick from the Washington Capitals for Mike Ribeiro

I liked those two. But in general, Nieuwendyk was pretty bad in Dallas. Maybe having Burke beside him would help, but there are several other candidates out there that I'd prefer over Joe.

[Locke]

I will never endorse Joe after he thought it'd be a brilliant move to fire Dave Tippett and replace him with Marc Crawford.

That right there is the sign that the guy is either batcrap crazy or has no idea what hes doing.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Locke

I will never endorse Joe after he thought it'd be a brilliant move to fire Dave Tippett and replace him with Marc Crawford.

That right there is the sign that the guy is either batcrap crazy or has no idea what hes doing.

Good comment. I often think about how little we know about the stuff running in the background of the professional hockey business. Little friendships, going-back-together, returned favours, unrelated bad memories and grievances, promises etc. It is likely even more significant for the former NHL hockey players stepping into the GM roles. To me, it seems a lot more logical to select GM's from successful scouts with good track record than from formerly successful players.

[Drury18]

Joe has already done the best thing possible for the Flames by leaving and getting us Iggy in return. It can only go downhill from there if he returns.

[FlamesAddiction]

I would prefer that Burke stay of himself if Nieuwendyk is the other choice.

We need a GM with proven rebuilding experience. We don't need a newer GM learning on the fly.

I get the feeling that Burke will maintain veto power on big signings and trades no matter who gets hired.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Agree 100%

Can't think of a move that Joe made that actually made me think "That was a great trade."

Also made the worst trade since the lockout IMO by moving Neal and Niskanen for Goligoski.

There's more to being an NHL GM than trades. A lot more. I'd regard trades as maybe the 3rd most important job of a GM. His draft record is very good, with Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jack Campbell all looking like solid picks at this point. And keep in mind that in Dallas Niewendyk operated under severe financial handicaps.

And there's probably a reason Burke likes him. Niewendyk is a smart guy, and as fans we don't know much about what goes on behind the scenes.

[saillias]

Nieuwendyk is consistently the only rumor that appears about the Flames GM choice. This perplexes me for several reasons:

1. He was fired from a GM job he held for a short time in Dallas where he made a series of poor moves.
2. The circumstances around him leaving the team have sullied his reputation with Flames fans. We don't forget. I don't think he's particularly enamored with the Flames ownership himself.
3. The guy doesn't even want to come here and Burke is apparently deadset, for whatever reason, on Joe Nieuwendyk.

So in conclusion could these rumors **** off and could Burke stop chasing a GM that is comparable to Sherman and Feaster with his body of work.

[Flash Walken]

Jeez, it's like you guys have never had a boss before.

I believe when Nieuwendyk started in Dallas they had a spendy spendy pants owner, who then became insolvent, who then sold the team.

Those are tough conditions to run a hockey club. At one point Dallas had to sign Pardy to his crazy deal in order to clear the cap floor. Other notable moves during that time are trading for Eric Nystrom instead of claiming him for free, simply to take on the full value of his cap hit to keep the team above the cap floor.

It's not like the guy was given a free hand to build a winner from the ground up and squandered it all.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

There's more to being an NHL GM than trades. A lot more. I'd regard trades as maybe the 3rd most important job of a GM. His draft record is very good, with Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jack Campbell all looking like solid picks at this point. And keep in mind that in Dallas Niewendyk operated under severe financial handicaps.

And there's probably a reason Burke likes him. Niewendyk is a smart guy, and as fans we don't know much about what goes on behind the scenes.

Agreed.

Also, Niewendyk on his own, in his first crack at it, may not have been a great GM. But I would assume:

1) that he has learned from the experience.
2) that he brings other things to the table besides his trade record
3) that 2 heads are better than one and that he could provide some balance with Burke

(not my first choice either, by the way, just trying to look at both sides)

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I would prefer that Burke stay of himself if Nieuwendyk is the other choice.

We need a GM with proven rebuilding experience. We don't need a newer GM learning on the fly.

I get the feeling that Burke will maintain veto power on big signings and trades no matter who gets hired.

Why would a GM with proven rebuilding experience take a job as second fiddle on a rebuilding team?

Burke himself pointed out that the 'beauty' of the Flames' new managerial structure is it can support a young GM who is learning on the job. A Niewendyk hiring would fit that model to a tee - Niewendyk as the bright but inexperienced executive learning on the job, Burke as the experienced hand at the tiller making sure nothing goes off course.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Jeez, it's like you guys have never had a boss before.

I believe when Nieuwendyk started in Dallas they had a spendy spendy pants owner, who then became insolvent, who then sold the team.

Those are tough conditions to run a hockey club. At one point Dallas had to sign Pardy to his crazy deal in order to clear the cap floor. Other notable moves during that time are trading for Eric Nystrom instead of claiming him for free, simply to take on the full value of his cap hit to keep the team above the cap floor.

It's not like the guy was given a free hand to build a winner from the ground up and squandered it all.

Tough conditions don't force a GM to replace a good coach with a terrible coach, to trade two good players for one mediocre player. It doesn't force you to sign Adam Pardy to a $4M contract.

There are so many options open to managers that there can be no excuse here. We liked to make excuses for Feaster given his moves in Tampa, but the fact is bad managers make bad moves.

He's proven to be a poor evaluator of talent and I don't want him responsible for the draft.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

There's more to being an NHL GM than trades. A lot more. I'd regard trades as maybe the 3rd most important job of a GM. His draft record is very good, with Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jack Campbell all looking like solid picks at this point. And keep in mind that in Dallas Niewendyk operated under severe financial handicaps.

And there's probably a reason Burke likes him. Niewendyk is a smart guy, and as fans we don't know much about what goes on behind the scenes.

I agree with some of those, but Jack Campbell? Seriously? That was a bad pick, as most goalie picks in the top 20 are. Cam Fowler, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Nick Bjugstad, Beau Bennett ... all good players taken shortly after Campbell, and that list doesn't even include Brandon Gormley and Derek Forbort yet, who both seem ready to step into the NHL soon.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

There's more to being an NHL GM than trades. A lot more. I'd regard trades as maybe the 3rd most important job of a GM. His draft record is very good, with Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith, Brett Ritchie, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jack Campbell all looking like solid picks at this point. And keep in mind that in Dallas Niewendyk operated under severe financial handicaps.

And there's probably a reason Burke likes him. Niewendyk is a smart guy, and as fans we don't know much about what goes on behind the scenes.

Chiasson and Smith were taken in the 2009 draft and Niewendyk had been on the job for 26 days, doubt he had much input into who they took in that draft.

If a Flames GM took Campbell the pick before Cam Fowler, and two picks before Schwartz we would be blasting him right now.

Oleksiak and Ritchie look good from the 2011 draft.

Too early to tell from the 2012 draft but Faksa hasn't taken the next step and isn't even a PPG in the OHL. If he was a Flames pick at 14 many would be calling him a bust and lamenting about why we didn't pick Ceci, Matta, or Teravainen.

Looks alright on the surface but still more question marks than sure things with his draft record.