Cervenka signs 3-year deal with SKA (KHL)

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by Cwolf

Well... another link with russian news (video) clearly saying 5 per http://tvrain.ru/articles/samyj_bezu...lchuka-343528/

It is 4 days old. Already denied by SKA.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by FAN

But did Feaster really oversold Cervenka or was he genuinely excited? Hey look what my hired workers found at a flea market in Europe. Something like this would have sold for a lot more here in North America!

Feaster probably thought he signed a top 2 center and everybody was going to praise him for thinking outside of the box.

that is even more frightening to be honest.

It means that Feaster and/or his scouts do not see obvious flaws in his game even after scouting him.

And even if he was genuinely excited, he needs to temper expectations...he's become king of the unfulfilled hyperbole:

guaranteeing the flames would make the playoffs
Cervenka being the best player outside the NHL.
Ramo and Berra being the top two goalies not in the NHL
Jankowski turning out to the best player in the draft in the next five years
How he'd never steer a rebuild

sometimes saying less is a good thing.

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

that is even more frightening to be honest.

It means that Feaster and/or his scouts do not see obvious flaws in his game even after scouting him.

And even if he was genuinely excited, he needs to temper expectations...he's become king of the unfulfilled hyperbole:

guaranteeing the flames would make the playoffs
Cervenka being the best player outside the NHL.
Ramo and Berra being the top two goalies not in the NHL
Jankowski turning out to the best player in the draft in the next five years
How he'd never steer a rebuild

sometimes saying less is a good thing.

This can also be a sign of Feaster being insecure and pressed. I don't think he's "excited", nobody will be in his situation. More like he feels pressed to sell something, anything to the owners and media. Things are dire and he either feels the desperate need or is ordered from above to hype little positives up as much, as possible.

[Vulcan]

Yeah, it sounds like it was during the young gun days where some B class players were sold as stars. Sad reality and with our budget we don't have any excuse.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

that is even more frightening to be honest.

It means that Feaster and/or his scouts do not see obvious flaws in his game even after scouting him.

Well I won't be so quick to pass along that judgment. Fact is scouting players from outside the NHL involves projecting players and predicting how well their game can and will translate to the NHL.

Originally Posted by Pointman

This can also be a sign of Feaster being insecure and pressed. I don't think he's "excited", nobody will be in his situation. More like he feels pressed to sell something, anything to the owners and media. Things are dire and he either feels the desperate need or is ordered from above to hype little positives up as much, as possible.

Why wouldn't Feaster be excited if he genuinely thought he signed a coveted 26 year old skilled center to an ELC who can come in and center one of the team's top two lines? Cervenka was on a two-way contract and could easily be convinced to go back to Europe if he was sent down (i.e. you don't even have to pay him). Feaster could have easily treated Cervenka as a prospect whom they hope would make the team instead of betting on Cervenka to be Jokinen's replacement.

[mogwai]

Cervenka's comments (from www.sports.ru interview) about his NHL stint:
It was difficult. I wanted to have more ice time and there wasn't much understanding with the coach. But I don't regret trying as it was always my dream"

Basically just proves what was said multiple times in this thread - failed to be an impact player and decided that it's not worth an effort to make it work, now uses same old excuses every as any other soft player from Europe. The guy fails to admit that his ice time was limited because he was not ready to play in NHL - at least could've thanked Calgary for paying for his dream come true. Good riddance.

[calgaryboy]

Today ´s article in CR:
http://isport.blesk.cz/clanek/hokej-...-kdo-jsem.html

small recap......
Maybe management wanted him to play, not coaches, was not happy at all, frustrated. Took hockey as a work, not good for him, enjoyment 0%.

For me sad part /management of Flames is not in top shape maybe..../Hartley called him to Europe after Roman was signed, told him, he knows he is great player, knows he is really good and impact player, then in Calgary, Hartley invited Roman to his coach office and told him he doesn´t know who he is......very strange for me.........All Cervenka thing was huge fail, Flames management and coaching staff did not make it easy for Roman...anyway, time to move on........

[tvp2003]

According to Feaster the deal was for 3 years for 12 million? http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=128092

[FlamesAddiction]

I actually like Hartley so far, but this was one of the things that I think he handled wrong. I really think that Cervenka should have been used more and Hartley should have loosened the reins. What's the worst that could have happened? Drafting top 5? On the other hand, Cervenka could have emerged as a useful player and at the very least, could have had some trade value.

It was a good try by Feaster though. I still see it as a low-risk, high-reward move that just didn't pan out. Who knows, but without the shortened season, things could have gone much differently.