Dear Conroy and Murray, we'll stand behind a rebuild

[Ferarri]

A large majority of fans on this board support a rebuild and I bet would continue to buy season tickets. The problem, as already mentioned, is the support from more casual STH. Would they continue to buy if the product wasn't competitive? I get the end goal of a rebuild will cause some pain in the beginning but you have to wonder how patient people will be.

[NewFan]

I think not affording tickets/ our empty building is mostly of people's financial situation and income.
If you sure the new arena coming in 3 years most STH will hold their tickets.
And other people still will go and watch the game is the tickets available and have a fun, specially the team plays exciting hockey.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

A large majority of fans on this board support a rebuild and I bet would continue to buy season tickets. The problem, as already mentioned, is the support from more casual STH. Would they continue to buy if the product wasn't competitive? I get the end goal of a rebuild will cause some pain in the beginning but you have to wonder how patient people will be.

Lots won't be patient.

But a rebuild will come, whether the owners like it or not.

The sooner they start, the faster it will be, as we'll get to start with more current young assets.

[Flamescuprun2018]

I am all in for the rebuild.

I found myself completely disinterested in purchasing a named jersey last year because I could not get excited about any of our remaining core players!

My favourite game all year in the stands was the last home game with Wolf, Pelletier and Coronato dressed.

Embrace the reset/reshape/retool/rebuild (whatever word you can accept)!

My Season Tickets are renewed and would look much more forward to cheering on hope for the future rather than what we have now...

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Will we though?

[shortminute]

Rebuild, please.

[Wood]

I think we're going to see way more youth in the lineup and I'd expect any deals to involve some futures coming back, but I wouldn't get too excited about a full-blown tear it down rebuild

Don't be surprised if we see names like Konecny, Duclair, Chabot and Parayko brought up

[getbak]

Originally Posted by camm13

Avs have 8 UFAs and 3 RFA's this off season.

The Avs were a playoff team who made some deadline deals, so that skews their number a bit. The majority of their UFAs are players who were acquired during the season because they were on expiring contracts or they were only signed to one-year contracts last summer.

J.T. Compher and Erik Johnson are the only UFAs on Colorado who are at the end of a multi-year contract signed with the Avs.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Wood

I think we're going to see way more youth in the lineup and I'd expect any deals to involve some futures coming back, but I wouldn't get too excited about a full-blown tear it down rebuild

Don't be surprised if we see names like Konecny, Duclair, Chabot and Parayko brought up

Well I'll take Konecny here any day of the week.

He'll be a top flight player for 5-6 years yet.

[dissentowner]

It is easy to say we will stand behind a rebuild now because occasionally it works and it works fairly quickly, in a 3 -4 year window. Many times it doesn't though and if picks don't pan out or young players fail to reach their potential and you hit year 8 of still sucking ass I wonder how many of these fans calling for a total rebuild would still be happy about that direction? I mean Team Negative would love every minute of it but blowing it up and rebuilding many times leads to hitting a peak of where you started from, not where you are trying to get to. I am not saying I am against anything btw, I have no clue which way this team should go. I am just along for the ride regardless.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It is easy to say we will stand behind a rebuild now because occasionally it works and it works fairly quickly, in a 3 -4 year window. Many times it doesn't though and if picks don't pan out or young players fail to reach their potential and you hit year 8 of still sucking ass I wonder how many of these fans calling for a total rebuild would still be happy about that direction? I mean Team Negative would love every minute of it but blowing it up and rebuilding many times leads to hitting a peak of where you started from, not where you are trying to get to. I am not saying I am against anything btw, I have no clue which way this team should go. I am just along for the ride regardless.

This team is going to suck near term regardless. The core is looking for the exits. There is only one way to go.

The reality is that a small market team like this isn't going to be able to rebuild in 3-4 seasons. The franchise needs to rethink how it operates from the ground up.

Instead of 3-4 seasons, they need to think in 8 year pipelines. They need to focus on developing a talent pipeline taking a player from draft day to UFA eligibility. Instead of graduating 1-2 players a season, they need to graduate at least 3-4. They also need to be trading away 3-4 expiring contracts every season. The situation the Flames are in right now, where the aging core is on the way out should be a perennial norm. Ideally there are 3-4 guys ready to take their spots. Right now, due to disastrous management from Treliving that is not the case. But this is the shift Conroy needs to make to have any lasting success.

If Conroy doesn't fundamentally rethink how this franchise is managed and instead tries to compete next season we're looking at 3-4 lost seasons where no progress is made. Conroy likely won't last until the end of that aimless march.

[the-rasta-masta]

The Flames are in such a unique situation here, one that I can't remember having seen before in the NHL. Has there been another team that finished 1st in the West and one year afterwards was poised to enter a rebuild? The key difference being that we have 5-6 high quality players to trade away for futures. I feel most rebuilds have started with trading 2-3 strong players for futures (i.e. Iginla & Bouwmeester 10 years ago), rather than the aforementioned amount of players the Flames have available to deal with value.

Additionally, the Flames should be willing to retain the max 50% on each of these contracts heading into their final year. That would be so valuable to many of the contending teams in the league and their cap structure.

Feels like the Flames have a bit of an embarrassment of riches here if they are truly wanting to go down this path. Plus, with these players dealt we have Mangiapane who will play higher up the lineup next year, and we can deal him next summer one year in advance of his UFA status as well. The cap space we will have can certainly be weaponized to take on some unwanted contracts this year.

To try to keep the team competitive into next year seems ill advised. Sure, Markstrom could bounce back, Huberdeau could improve significantly, Dube could take another step forward, etc.... but these are all big question marks and I still don't see the team being strong enough to make a run. Why squander this rebuild opportunity that seems to be on a silver platter?

[Reign of Fire]

Some people don't understand that rebuilding doesn't necessarily mean waiting for draft picks to mature; maybe through a trade, we land the next Igilna. But that won't happen if they continue holding on to players because they fear replacing them.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It is easy to say we will stand behind a rebuild now because occasionally it works and it works fairly quickly, in a 3 -4 year window. Many times it doesn't though and if picks don't pan out or young players fail to reach their potential and you hit year 8 of still sucking ass I wonder how many of these fans calling for a total rebuild would still be happy about that direction? I mean Team Negative would love every minute of it but blowing it up and rebuilding many times leads to hitting a peak of where you started from, not where you are trying to get to. I am not saying I am against anything btw, I have no clue which way this team should go. I am just along for the ride regardless.

It's better than whatever this is.

1000/1000 times.

You want to watch guys that threatened to walk playing into their late 30s here for more than their market value all the while knowing they'd rather be somewhere else and because of that aren't giving it 100% here?

Blows my mind anybody would even suggest that rebuilding isn't the massively better alternative to that. Even one that takes longer than the ones we romanticize.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Reign of Fire

Some people don't understand that rebuilding doesn't necessarily mean waiting for draft picks to mature; maybe through a trade, we land the next Igilna. But that won't happen if they continue holding on to players because they fear replacing them.

This is my big thing.

What is this organization afraid of? Their current team doesn’t really have a single marketable name. They don’t have a jersey-selling dynamo like they did with Iginla or Gaudreau. They don’t make the playoffs consistently, so it’s not like they’re killing it on that front.

Are they afraid that they’re as incompetent as Edmonton was a decade ago? Or Buffalo? Let’s not forget that their current approach saw them miss the playoffs for 5 straight years, and then since then they’ve flip-flopped every year in making it/not making it - all while having no success in those actual playoffs.

…toss in an embarrassing trouncing at the hands of their provincial rival, and it’s hard to imagine things actually getting worse.

“Lindholm is the best centre we’ve had since Niuewendyk” why act like that’s some big thing we should then overpay for? Why not actually fix why you haven’t been able to draft and develop a good centre - the solution to that of course being to draft in the top-3.

Fear of being worse than what they’ve already been is a hell of a bad way to manage a team.

If the new arena actually does come online in 4-5 years, good luck marketing a team built in on bunch of 15-20th overall players, a 35 year old Huberdeau, and a 37 year old Kadri.

[cannon7]

The Tampa Bay Rays have been Major League Baseball’s best team through the first month of the 2023 season.

Even after a small two game losing streak, the Rays entered play on Thursday at 20-5, far and away the best record in the league.

Their run differential, arguably a greater measure of team strength than wins and losses, also leads baseball. And not just by a little; it’s best in MLB by over 30 runs.

...

The Rays have built a contender through smart, small scale acquisitions, a farm system that churns out talent, and the ability to get the most of their pitching staff. And their international success, with Wander Franco turning into the star most expected him to become.

Will The Tampa Bay Rays Success Change MLB Free Agency?

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

It's better than whatever this is.

1000/1000 times.

You want to watch guys that threatened to walk playing into their late 30s here for more than their market value all the while knowing they'd rather be somewhere else and because of that aren't giving it 100% here?

Blows my mind anybody would even suggest that rebuilding isn't the massively better alternative to that. Even one that takes longer than the ones we romanticize.

As I said, I am just along for the ride. I have no idea which direction the team should or will go. Regardless I am entertained.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

As I said, I am just along for the ride. I have no idea which direction the team should or will go. Regardless I am entertained.

You're lucky that you're that easy to please.

The national stations were laughing at Calgary today. On the Toronto station the guy could not contain his laughter discussing it.

Calgary needs to be redeemed in a huge way, and it starts with building up from the ground with an influx of young talent, then getting a state of the art barn. Then making Calgary the envy of the west for destinations.

[mile]

I wish this team would rebuild but fans like us only make up a very small portion of the fanbase

Most fans don't know and/or care about the draft, salary cap, prospect pool, front office, etc.

As long as the team is somewhat competitive and in the playoff race, there will always be at least 18000+ fans at every home game. I think Ownership is perfectly fine with that.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

You're lucky that you're that easy to please.

The national stations were laughing at Calgary today. On the Toronto station the guy could not contain his laughter discussing it.

Calgary needs to be redeemed in a huge way, and it starts with building up from the ground with an influx of young talent, then getting a state of the art barn. Then making Calgary the envy of the west for destinations.

Who cares what Toronto media thinks lol. We can laugh at them when Tre walks Matthews to free agency and then overpays mid UFAs