The Team That Feaster Built

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

I think Feaster has a good eye for talent and could be an effective scout in the NHL

Lol. Feaster has said scouting is not his strong suit. He left scouting to his scouts. I will give him credit for not getting in the way and letting them do their job. Button should probably get most of the credit. Weisbrod had nothing to do with Wotherspoon , Sven, granlund, and Johnny hockey.

Feasters main contribution in my eyes was bringing in Hartley .

I can see why he was let go when his trading skills were not very good. If he does not add much to drafting then trading would be his main job.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

But at the same time, Button has been at the helm of head scout and drafting for quite a long time, but there is a noticeable difference in drafting quality from a majority of Sutter's tenure to Feaster's tenure. I doubt it's luck that's improved our drafting record.

While Button is in charge of drafting and scouting Feaster is clearly responsible for some sort of change in philosophy, whether it's just the fact that Feaster let Button make the choices without his input (as it's been rumoured that Sutter always had final say) or Feaster provided a new set of criteria, we'll probably never know, but something changed during Feaster's tenure to improve our drafting system.

That's it in a nutshell. The best thing Feaster ever did for the Flames was to let people do their jobs. That's the sign of a good manager but in the case of a NHL GM you really do need to be a good hockey man and it's debateable how great of a hockey man he is. Guys like Feaster are only as good as the talent evaluators they assemble around them. In Feaster's case it appears Button is a very good talent evaluator and Weisbrod maybe not as good hence one being a long time staple of the organization and the other known as a bit of a "know it all" in hockey circles and would be out of work if not for his Bruins connections.

I'm thankful for what he accomplished just as much as some of the things he tried but didn't accomplish (ROR, Brad Richards, etc). Mixed feelings overall but the positives outweigh the negatives overall.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by BurningSteel

ScrewFeaster!!!!! Remember that time he almost lost ROR and two picks??!???

I still think it never had a chance of happening because Colorado set it all up to get him signed. Only reason I can see getting a second for Berra is that it was quid pro quo for the RoR offer sheet!

At least that's what the voices in my head tell me.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by debil

Good point and i believe we will regret Weisbrod is not drafting here anymore.

Weisbrod's impact on effectively organizing the scouting staff and AHL developmental structure enabled the coaching and scouting staff to do their jobs better. He worked shoulder to shoulder with Conroy (who we also should thank Feaster for bringing on board), so his influence will linger as Conroy gains more experience.

Weisbrod did a few simple things that meant huge changes. He preventing scouts from sharing player evaluations/reports to form more honest, accurate, and accountable scouting decisions. He also let all scouts have dissenting yet respectful opinions in player reviews to cultivate critical thought and minimize group think.

The good part is that Treliving is smart enough to realize all of this and only improve upon existing work.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

Weisbrod's impact on effectively organizing the scouting staff and AHL developmental structure enabled the coaching and scouting staff to do their jobs better. He worked shoulder to shoulder with Conroy (who we also should thank Feaster for bringing on board), so his influence will linger as Conroy gains more experience.

Weisbrod did a few simple things that meant huge changes. He preventing scouts from sharing player evaluations/reports to form more honest, accurate, and accountable scouting decisions. He also let all scouts have dissenting yet respectful opinions in player reviews to cultivate critical thought and minimize group think.

The good part is that Treliving is smart enough to realize all of this and only improve upon existing work.

Ha ha ha. You would likely be surprised of Conny's opinion of Weisbrod. Not a popular man even within the organization.

[waner]

Built the team from scratch seems a bit much considering the top two players on this team were here when he got here plus key guys like Backlund, Bouma and Stajan.

He was left with some great trade pieces for a rebuilding team and held on to them too long or made bad deals so he got minimal returns for those guys.

He was fired on merit and there is a reason he isn't involved in hockey related decisions for anyone any more and instead making moronic tweets. He brought in some promising players during his time here like every GM, especially guys who are rebuilding, but the team is much, much better off with him having no say in what goes on with the Flames.

[JohnnyTitan]

For what it's worth, following on the "it's tough to be in charge" comment aimed at Ken King...I always give Feaster credit for the Iginla / JBow trades.

Could the return have been more a season or two earlier? No doubt. But how frick'in hard must it have been to do that Iginla deal? Even though in hind-sight we all know it was the right thing to do:
1) Trading the face of the franchise
2) Being handcuffed by a no movement clause
3) Officially signalling to EVERYONE that we need to hit the reset button
4) Basically being a villain forever due to #1 above

Someone had to be the guy to trade the best Flame of all time. A life-time Flame. Ken King / Flames executive must have been on-side with the move, but no matter what those are tough waters to navigate. Seeing as how less than 20 months later we're LOVING this team and we haven't even started to reap the benefits of Poirier / Klimchuck (and Bennett...partly earned due to spiraling into rebuild mode) I think Feaster's track record will look pretty good in 5 years from now and I admire how tough of a chore trading Iggy must have been!

[terminator]

I guess its Feaster's turn to be on this side considering how he won the cup in Tampa.

Also never forget the fact that, however great he built the team, he still messed up on what should've been the teams biggest tickets: Iginla and Bouwmeister.

[PeteMoss]

Without Giordano and Brodie this is a bad team. So I hesitate to give a ton of credit to Feaster.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Ha ha ha. You would likely be surprised of Conny's opinion of Weisbrod. Not a popular man even within the organization.

I might just be surprised, but the point being is that Conroy, Treliving, and Burke are intelligent enough people to absorb and reflect on positive results/strategies/ideas etc. no matter how much they dislike how another person carries themself personally or professionally.

[FlamesAddiction]

Feaster did some good things, no doubt. I am happy with his drafting and signings for the most part,

I really wonder about his reputation with other GMs around the league though. Don't get wrong as Feaster seems like a genuinely good person, but other GMs are sharks and it seems like he was pushed around a little on the trade front and the ROR attempt also gave him a bit of a black eye IMO.

Still, if by some miracle the Flames were to win the Cup this year, I would hope that they would ask that his name be included or at the very least, buy him a ring. So far, he has been a piece of the puzzle to the rebuild we are experiencing.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by JohnnyTitan

For what it's worth, following on the "it's tough to be in charge" comment aimed at Ken King...I always give Feaster credit for the Iginla / JBow trades.

Could the return have been more a season or two earlier? No doubt. But how frick'in hard must it have been to do that Iginla deal? Even though in hind-sight we all know it was the right thing to do:
1) Trading the face of the franchise
2) Being handcuffed by a no movement clause
3) Officially signalling to EVERYONE that we need to hit the reset button
4) Basically being a villain forever due to #1 above

Someone had to be the guy to trade the best Flame of all time. A life-time Flame. Ken King / Flames executive must have been on-side with the move, but no matter what those are tough waters to navigate. Seeing as how less than 20 months later we're LOVING this team and we haven't even started to reap the benefits of Poirier / Klimchuck (and Bennett...partly earned due to spiraling into rebuild mode) I think Feaster's track record will look pretty good in 5 years from now and I admire how tough of a chore trading Iggy must have been!

Who in Calgary thinks of Feaster in any way as a villain for having to trade Iginla? I would go and argue that the majority of fans were pushing for a rebuild, and knew that as part of that rebuild Iginla should have returned a hefty package to kickstart it. Remember the booing? Remember a few jerseys on the ice?

In no way was Feaster looked upon as a villain in trading Iginla away. The return? You can argue that Feaster didn't get enough. How the trade got a bit bungled at the end? You can argue that Feaster bungled it a bit with the NTC. What you can not do is label Feaster a villain for trading Iginla.

[Enoch Root]

I think Feaster definitely deserves some credit, don't get me wrong. And I am glad to see this thread.

But to the claim that he built this team, I would have to counter:

1) Giordano, Brodie, Backlund, Glencross and Stajan were already here

2) Ferland and Bouma were already drafted, and he had nothing to do with the 2011 draft of Baertschi, Gaudreau, Granlund and Wotherspoon (just promoted to GM a month prior)

3) Iginla and Bouwmeester were already here. I would argue that the returns for them were no better than average - but for the sake of discussion, let's call them average. So Poirier, Klimchuk, Hanowski, Agostino and Cundari are essentially an average swap for players he had. And it would be hard to argue that these swaps have improved the team to this point (they could going forward of course).

So I don't think you can really give him any credit (or at least any significant credit) for:

Giordano, Brodie, Backlund, Glencross, Stajan, Ferland, Bouma, Baertschi, Gaudreau, Galnlund, Wotherspoon, Poirier, or the others mentioned.

You can give him credit for:

Sieloff, Gillies, Monahan, Byron, Ramo, Knight, Russell, Colborne, Wideman, Smid, Hudler, Jooris and of course, Hartley.

And if Poirier and Klimchuk turn out to be better than average picks, you can give him credit for that too.

[edn88]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

You can give him credit for:

Sieloff, Gillies, Monahan, Byron, Ramo, Knight, Russell, Colborne, Wideman, Smid, Hudler, Jooris and of course, Hartley.

You can only give him credit for Monahan because we finished poorly - I think it was a no brainer pick.

Colborne I feel was influenced by Burke.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by edn88

You can only give him credit for Monahan because we finished poorly - I think it was a no brainer pick.

Colborne I feel was influenced by Burke.

We can't know one way or the other. And he pulled the trigger, so pretty hard not to give him credit.

As for Monahan, it's only a no brainer because he actually made the pick. He could have done something different.

[Huntingwhale]

As Burke said when Feaster was let go: Someone had to come in and do the dirty work before you can start building a contending team. And someone has to be the scapegoat when it's time to take the next step. Feaster got us out of cap hell. He got the rebuilt started. Drafting was excellent. Not the best at the blockbuster trades he had to make, but I honestly think a couple years from now we'll look back see those parts as big contributors to the team. Feaster was stuck being the guy in charge when the owners still wanted to make the playoffs off an aging core. Then suddenly their minds changed and he was then in charge of leading the team to a rebuild. I think he did well as a result.

[Poe969]

making a no brainer pick is something you say after it pans out. The oilers thought all of their picks were no brainers but where we were sitting, a few players could have been chosen. The second overall pick this year will be a no brainer because you take who's left from McDavid and Eichle but 3-5 aren't really no brainers as they could all be great or not as good as the next guy picked.

I still credit him for making the right pick.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I think Feaster definitely deserves some credit, don't get me wrong. And I am glad to see this thread.

But to the claim that he built this team, I would have to counter:

1) Giordano, Brodie, Backlund, Glencross and Stajan were already here

2) Ferland and Bouma were already drafted, and he had nothing to do with the 2011 draft of Baertschi, Gaudreau, Granlund and Wotherspoon (just promoted to GM a month prior)

3) Iginla and Bouwmeester were already here. I would argue that the returns for them were no better than average - but for the sake of discussion, let's call them average. So Poirier, Klimchuk, Hanowski, Agostino and Cundari are essentially an average swap for players he had. And it would be hard to argue that these swaps have improved the team to this point (they could going forward of course).

So I don't think you can really give him any credit (or at least any significant credit) for:

Giordano, Brodie, Backlund, Glencross, Stajan, Ferland, Bouma, Baertschi, Gaudreau, Galnlund, Wotherspoon, Poirier, or the others mentioned.

You can give him credit for:

Sieloff, Gillies, Monahan, Byron, Ramo, Knight, Russell, Colborne, Wideman, Smid, Hudler, Jooris and of course, Hartley.

And if Poirier and Klimchuk turn out to be better than average picks, you can give him credit for that too.

Why doesn't he get credit for Granlund and Wotherspoon? Didn't those picks come from him dumping Tom Erixon (another junk Sutter draft pick) on the Rangers?

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by bluck

drafted: (I'm probably missing a few)

Baertschi, Granlund, Wotherspoon, Gaudreau, Sieloff, Gillies, Monahan, Poirier, Klimchuk

Players brought in from trades:

Byron, Ramo, Knight, Russell, Colborne, Smid

Signings - Hudler, Jooris, Brodie (2 year), Hartley

Feaster had a neutral impact on this franchise. His successes were well balanced with his failures.

You can give him credit for guys like Hudler, Wideman, Hartley, Ramo, and Russell, but I'm not sure how you really give him praise for anything else.

It's nice that we have Byron, Poirier, and Klimchuck, but he gave up Iginla, Bouwmeester, and Regher to get them, and that's pretty much all he got. A bottom six player and two guys who have an unknown upside.

Monahan was a great pick. But as he's always said, he's hands off at the draft and in the scouting department. So if we're giving him credit for choosing to have no involvement, then that's fine.

On that note: the 2011 draft. Looking good from a prospect base, but again, how do we credit Feaster for a draft he claims to have had little involvement in (and had only been with the org. for a few months)? Credit for not being involved? Johnny H and Granlund look great, Sven looks questionable, and the other guys are currently non-factors in a "time to give credit!" sense.

Colborne may have had as much to do with Burke, Smid is an average bottom pairing guy, and Knight is pretty average himself.

Feaster's greatest successes came in the areas he chose not to involve himself. So thanks Feaster. Thanks for not making things worse.

[Vinny01]

Feaster deserves credit for a few solid moves he made. The top of the list is hiring his good buddy Bob Hartley. Feaster made this move but I remember the sorry of Bob having to win the approval of Conroy and Weisbroad. Also not sure if it was King or Feaster but getting Conroy to move up to the front office was very smart.

Letting his scouts draft the BPA. He didn't scout Gaudreau but he did give Button permission to draft him. The 2011 draft looks like we might have 4 NHLers on our hands. 2013 he took the obvious pick in Monahan but the sportier pick over perhaps the more natural pick in Shinkaurak was wise. Again letting the scouts do their work and staying hands off was very smart.

He had some hits and misses with free agents. The Hudler signing is likely his best and even though the Wideman contract is brutal he is filling a very nice role on the team. Jooris looks like a great pickup as well.

He also cleared the books and got this team out of cap hell and left a nice canvass for Butke and Treliving to build this team with. Brad inherited a great situation with prospects, and cap space at his disposal. The table was cleared for him.

There is plenty of bad in there though which we have all harped on in the past. The handling of the Igy trade, and the RoR offer sheet looked brutal from an optics perspective and the offer sheet could have set the team back a few years. The Jankowski pick and moreso the hype he built up was a bad move. Jay was pretty bad for hyping prospects and it is part of the reason Sven is where he is right now. the trades of Bouwmeester, Regehr, and Tangauy were all pretty awful as well.

Jay deserves credit for much of the teams success but I really didn't like the perception of the team from the outside when he was here. With Burke and Treliving in place it seems like the team is gaining more respect amongst the spectators and pundits alike. So thanks to Jay for his contributions but I am very happy he no longer runs this team