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

[1stLand]

The first Thing Burkie would do is have a good long chat with Roger Millions about the use of certain profanity.

You know what I mean.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

good points browna.

What I am saying is that KK's job has gotten too big and complicated. Time to split it into two. LEt him run the business and bring in a hockey ops guy.

win/win

Sure.

But before all the sh*t lands at King's feet with the latest round of half assed allegations and implications that he's making the big decisions and basically running the team day to day, and marginalizing what he's done, and what he's still doing, some perspective and background is in order before people get to carried away in labelling him redundant, or, the big reason the on ice roster is what it is.

[bucksmasher]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Intellectual honesty..........
-jay feaster

MOD EDIT: Grow up

[1stLand]

Originally Posted by bucksmasher

Being a overweight bible thumping lawyer and "intellectually honest" are mutually exclusive.

I dont think personal attacks about someone's weight is warranted.

But I will say that the his parody twitter account is hilarious. lol

[North East Goon]

The first shot of reality that we all have to digest is Jarome has first say of movement. He has earned this right and shouldn't be questioned. Yes we are terrible but again this is not Jarome's fault. We are terrible because this has been a garbage run organization off the ice for decades. Blame ownership, point fingers at the presidency and attack the hockey operations. This is where change begins.

[Stay Golden]

I really wish KKing would be fired. He has fingerprints on every horrible backwards bad decision on the roster in the past decade or more.
I seriously hate the smiling shaking hands phony.

[North East Goon]

Originally Posted by browna

Severely underestimating King's abilities and skills. Most CEO's and executives in the city know how to run a business and make money in their field. King has basically to oversee things progressing on the ice, something he had no inside knowledge of, deal with an organization in shambles from top to bottom, and bring it back to respectibility in all areas...in the offices, on the ice, and in the community. Those take a lot of different skill sets, but he's done all that, and the Flames are successful, and are intertwined with the community, setup community partnerships, all for the good of the City.

With the Flames Foundation, and all the charitable initiatives, let alone a strong corporate following, that wasn't always there. Save our Flames spawned the Flames Ambassadors were setup in the late 90's as a last resort to get corporate Calgary recruited in the sale drive, and it was still a losing battle. But, he helped things stay positive, and waited for the person to turn around the team on the ice.

He's the go between for the owners and the GM's, day to day around the team, to give the high level details to a very interested ownership group who can't keep up with the day to day or week to week goings on...he's the guy, always has been.

Having that role and around the team day to day that daily pulse on the team, possibly the only one still around since he was hired in 2001, its hard not to be involved.

He's been in hockey operations, like it or not, intentional or not, since the beginning...first incident that I recall is Gilbert getting upset after a game at Vernon, and sending Vernon down to the minors while on an eastern swing. There were a couple of highly prominent members of the Flames organization ready to quit over that. King flew from Calgary to go out and mediate. So in addition to all the marketing and trying to fill seats with corporate and casual fans, build the TV side of things, new media side of things, etc, in a new job, he has to get involved in things.

Sutter was the hire that got him over the top...but, he also let Sutter do what he needed to do on the ice, and in the GM chair.

Also, I think as soon as Sutter, who he was close with, became a rookie GM, the two worked together pretty closely.

Darryl needing some of the help to navigate the business side mixing with a cap, and being a "have" team all of a sudden...and in that relationship, King likely was even more exposed to the day to day operations that Sutter was dealing with, working hand in hand with Darryl and learned a lot from him about hockey players and the dynamics of a hockey club day to day.

When Darryl was let go, I am sure King kept some of theat knowledge he acquired. I am sure the owners and maybe even Feaster, appreciated that experience. Feaster may also known that King, being around the club as long as he has, is a valuable person to have to bounce ideas off. Are bouncing ideas off the guy "meddling" in hockey operations? Don't know.

After all that, and even with experience he may have gleaned off of working with Darryl and being as close to the hockey operations for a half decade, should he be making decisions at a detailed level? Probably not. But he's also been given the trust of the Flames owners for almost 12 years, who are as passionate about hockey as most here, and have millions of dollars invested.

If they thought he was a hindrance or overstepping his bounds, that would be an issue brought up and addressed.

I'm not doubting that he's got opinions in hockey operations, but I'd like to know the form and depth that he's involved....certainly before he gets thrown out under the bus as the blame gets shifted around as the Flames start to fail.

Anyways, its easy to start pointing fingers, and maybe or maybe not he has worn out his welcome in that role, if for optics if nothing else. Being part of the sports conglomerate he's help build in this city with the Stamps, Roughnecks and Hitmen, and be the lead point for the next thing the Flames organization will provide the city, that being a new arena, is not a bad idea.

But, I would be quite surprised if he's overstepped the bounds of decision making that the owner, or Sutter or Feaster, have allowed him to have, in making any sort of critical hockey operations, including those that have lead to the situation the Flames are in right now. There are a lot of fingers to point probably, and singling one out as him is unfair and shortsighted without any of us knowing that dynamic within the Flames organization.

IMO.

Thanks Ken. Time to step down.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by bucksmasher

Being a overweight bible thumping lawyer and "intellectually honest" are mutually exclusive.

Grow up.

[liamenator]

Originally Posted by browna

Sure.

But before all the sh*t lands at King's feet with the latest round of half assed allegations and implications that he's making the big decisions and basically running the team day to day, and marginalizing what he's done, and what he's still doing, some perspective and background is in order before people get to carried away in labelling him redundant, or, the big reason the on ice roster is what it is.

I'm certainly not trying to diminish King's considerable accomplishments in improving the state of this franchise and its community relations with the city. Nobody can deny he has been a brilliant success on those fronts.

The problem is not that he's designed the team on the ice, nor that he's "making the big decisions and running the team day-to-day"--I don't believe either of those to be true. It's that the hockey operations staff he has assembled and the dynamic they have tried to implement in the group doesn't seem to be functioning as they might have anticipated.

The group he hired to build the on-ice team is failing. Worse than this, it is showing no signs of having any kind of coherent long-term plan whatsoever. In normal situations, this calls for the person at the top to take steps to rectify or correct a dysfunctional and unsuccessful management team. The worry a lot of us feel here is that King has worked too closely to that team, and has too much invested in its success--namely, it vindicates his decision to fire a close personal friend and one-time saviour of the franchise, which he described as the worst day of his career--to be able to soberly reflect on and implement the changes required. Or even to acknowledge that they are required.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

He has fingerprints on every horrible backwards bad decision on the roster in the past decade or more.

Like?

[browna]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

Thanks Ken. Time to step down.

Funny.

Didn't get my pitchfork and torch in the mail today, or the directions to which Flames executive/player/coach it was to bash today, so I had to resort to actually providing some perspective for those who weren't around as long as 12 years ago.

Simply, the Flames ownership, given how involved they are with the team, and the businesses they run outside of the Flames, would not have a guy in a position with the day to day power King has if he was repeatedly and grossly overstepping his role, as is being implied by some.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by browna

Funny.

Didn't get my pitchfork and torch in the mail today, or the directions to which Flames executive/player/coach it was to bash today, so I had to resort to actually providing some perspective for those who weren't around as long as 12 years ago.

Simply, the Flames ownership, given how involved they are with the team, and the businesses they run outside of the Flames, would not have a guy in a position with the day to day power King has if he was repeatedly and grossly overstepping his role, as is being implied by some.

I think the point being made is the ownership are a part of the equation that is grossly overstepping, if King is involved in hockey operations it is because he is being instructed by the owners to make sure Feaster doesn't do anything stupid with the team like rebuild.

I doubt anyone here thinks it is just King sticking his oar in for ****S and giggles

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by browna

Funny.

Didn't get my pitchfork and torch in the mail today, or the directions to which Flames executive/player/coach it was to bash today, so I had to resort to actually providing some perspective for those who weren't around as long as 12 years ago.

Simply, the Flames ownership, given how involved they are with the team, and the businesses they run outside of the Flames, would not have a guy in a position with the day to day power King has if he was repeatedly and grossly overstepping his role, as is being implied by some.

Yeah well you can argue the owners are a bit too involved as well. The team is a mess from ownership down quite frankly as things really started to fall apart when Harley Hotchkiss health caused him to relinquish his role with the team. Edwards, King, Sutter, Feaster have all had their hands in this mess so you are correct that it all doesn't fall on King but he is an accomplice.

[bucksmasher]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Grow up.

no disrespect for you god fearing types

[vektor]

Nothing but commiseration

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by zamler

McDonalds is a very well run business, I guess that means their food is really good!

That's not really the point I was making at all. I was speaking about the business side of his job.

[Flickered Flame]

Maybe I've missed something along the way but if Burke was in Calgary to interview, who is interviewing him? And I ask because is Murray Edwards and a couple others from ownership not in California with the team right now?

[killer_carlson]

I think too many people on here think that Murray Edwards isnt very busy at his regular job.

[PlayfulGenius]

King? ... It is he down there too?

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah well you can argue the owners are a bit too involved as well. The team is a mess from ownership down quite frankly as things really started to fall apart when Harley Hotchkiss health caused him to relinquish his role with the team. Edwards, King, Sutter, Feaster have all had their hands in this mess so you are correct that it all doesn't fall on King but he is an accomplice.

How can you argue the owners are a bit too involved as well? How do you know or not know?

What I'm missing in this whole argument is how some fans seem to have an inside scoop on what exactly goes on at the Saddledome every day.

I follow the Flames pretty closely and I don't have a clue what they do at work. I don't know who calls the shots. I don't know if certain owners have nothing to do with hockey decisions, or if they are calling the coach and telling him who to put on the powerplay.

Do you guys have secret sources? Crystal balls? Brass balls? I don't get it. This stuff isn't in the paper, and if it was, we probably wouldn't trust the reporters anyway.