[News] Darren Dreger: "I’m confused by the direction of the Calgary Flames."

[T@T]

After all these years Darren Dreger continues to be a complete tool, Oilers fanboy kicked out of Red Deer, then Winnipeg and only has a job because of his cousin.

He is without doubt the black eye of TSN. and the biggest beauty is Sportsnet would never in a million years take the arsehole back so he better pray hard TSN survives.

[BloodFetish]

Darren Dreger is easily confused.

[nik-]

Things that confuse Darren Dreger.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

If anyone wants to know if drafting 1st overall helps you be a better team, I want to present the game I watched last night in which Aaron Ekblad was marginally the best skater for the Florida Panthers, the other good player was Jonathan Huberdeau, but the best player was Roberto Luongo, and was the only reason the score was 2-0 (with an empty netter) instead of 7-0.

I watched the Florida Panthers put on a woeful display of effort and sub par NHL skills. They were easily pushed around, had no cohesive system whatsoever, couldn't make a pass, and had almost no chemistry between teammates. This is a team with talented players who have never gotten better in the NHL because there is no system to support their development. There's no accountability for losing…all of that gets placed on the coach. Even when they try hard, there's no organization to it. Just some haphazard play from guys trying hard, but not knowing what to do.

There's a reason they brought in battle tested veterans to this team: There is such a significant lack of NHL know-how throughout their young lineup that they need those guys to help show the kids how it's done. They were all proven winners that have experience to pass on and become coaches on the ice. When a player messes up, it's important to have internal accountability between teammates to bring it back to what the standard is for the team, not the individual. That's why you get the right type of guys to show them the way and keep them honest.

The turnaround doesn't have to be as long as people think. You have to assess your situation where you are now and as long as you have key cogs in place (a #1 defenseman, a #1 goalie, a top line, a high end checking line, depth throughout the organization ) then you have to go for it. Trading for good players that other good teams can no longer afford is why the cap was added in the first place. The league has parity, and the gap between the good and bad teams is as small as a few players. It really matters who you have in those key positions to build around, but once you have that you can add the rest of the pieces through shrewd movements and picking up players that don't quite fit elsewhere. BUT, chemistry is important. Team cohesion is important. Having a common goal and a sense of brotherhood is important. Hartley gets this, and that's why he's such a damn good coach. We saw this in '04, you can do amazing things when you get all 20 guys moving in the same direction with the same sense of purpose. Who did we have back then? Iginla, Kiprusoff, and Regehr and a bunch of guys who nobody thought were very good on other teams. All of a sudden we're in a cup final. Feaster wasn't wrong to keep trying with the veterans we had, the problem was he was the wrong guy to build a team and just wasn't very good at it, plus the situation he was in was a no-win situation.

We are no longer in that situation. We have a cupboard fairly well stocked with good prospects (could use a couple more, but when couldn't you use more prospects?). We have a ton of cap room. We have a team work ethic that rivals some of the best teams in the league. If you are smart by adding high character NHL level talent under 25 moving forward, without spending too much of that cap space, then you can build a playoff team in the near future, and possibly a great team sooner than anyone would have imagined.

And, dare I say it, getting better is the goal for any team. Any step you take to do that should be applauded no matter what stage you are in.

/end rant

[FBI]

I thought you were excited about Florida this year ?

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

If anyone wants to know if drafting 1st overall helps you be a better team, I want to present the game I watched last night in which Aaron Ekblad was marginally the best skater for the Florida Panthers, the other good player was Jonathan Huberdeau, but the best player was Roberto Luongo, and was the only reason the score was 2-0 (with an empty netter) instead of 7-0.

I watched the Florida Panthers put on a woeful display of effort and sub par NHL skills. They were easily pushed around, had no cohesive system whatsoever, couldn't make a pass, and had almost no chemistry between teammates. This is a team with talented players who have never gotten better in the NHL because there is no system to support their development. There's no accountability for losing…all of that gets placed on the coach. Even when they try hard, there's no organization to it. Just some haphazard play from guys trying hard, but not knowing what to do.

There's a reason they brought in battle tested veterans to this team: There is such a significant lack of NHL know-how throughout their young lineup that they need those guys to help show the kids how it's done. They were all proven winners that have experience to pass on and become coaches on the ice. When a player messes up, it's important to have internal accountability between teammates to bring it back to what the standard is for the team, not the individual. That's why you get the right type of guys to show them the way and keep them honest.

The turnaround doesn't have to be as long as people think. You have to assess your situation where you are now and as long as you have key cogs in place (a #1 defenseman, a #1 goalie, a top line, a high end checking line, depth throughout the organization ) then you have to go for it. Trading for good players that other good teams can no longer afford is why the cap was added in the first place. The league has parity, and the gap between the good and bad teams is as small as a few players. It really matters who you have in those key positions to build around, but once you have that you can add the rest of the pieces through shrewd movements and picking up players that don't quite fit elsewhere. BUT, chemistry is important. Team cohesion is important. Having a common goal and a sense of brotherhood is important. Hartley gets this, and that's why he's such a damn good coach. We saw this in '04, you can do amazing things when you get all 20 guys moving in the same direction with the same sense of purpose. Who did we have back then? Iginla, Kiprusoff, and Regehr and a bunch of guys who nobody thought were very good on other teams. All of a sudden we're in a cup final. Feaster wasn't wrong to keep trying with the veterans we had, the problem was he was the wrong guy to build a team and just wasn't very good at it, plus the situation he was in was a no-win situation.

We are no longer in that situation. We have a cupboard fairly well stocked with good prospects (could use a couple more, but when couldn't you use more prospects?). We have a ton of cap room. We have a team work ethic that rivals some of the best teams in the league. If you are smart by adding high character NHL level talent under 25 moving forward, without spending too much of that cap space, then you can build a playoff team in the near future, and possibly a great team sooner than anyone would have imagined.

And, dare I say it, getting better is the goal for any team. Any step you take to do that should be applauded no matter what stage you are in.

/end rant

[FBI]

Don't worry about drooling for mcdavid guys, this year we get to drool about gaudreau (we already are) and next year we get to drool about Bennett.

[driveway]

Who did we have back then? Iginla, Kiprusoff, and Regehr and a bunch of guys who nobody thought were very good on other teams.

Having the best player in the league, and the best goalie in the league will go a looooong way to helping you in the playoffs.


I don't understand why everyone is jumping on Dreger. He's right, this year, this specific year, is not the one to make short-term improvements.

We're rebuilding, play in the deepest conference hockey's seen in ... God, decades? And are looking at two or three of the best draft picks in the last five years being available.

The idea of building a culture is important, but culture doesn't win. Players win, and the best players win more.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by FBI

I thought you were excited about Florida this year ?

Oh I am, but so far the injection of veteran blood hasn't changed much yet. Also, new coach trying to learn how to be a head coach in the NHL. I'm mostly excited to watch the progress and change likely to happen this year, but right now they look about as bad as last year. Hopefully it's different by the quarter pole of the season.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by driveway

Having the best player in the league, and the best goalie in the league will go a looooong way to helping you in the playoffs.


I don't understand why everyone is jumping on Dreger. He's right, this year, this specific year, is not the one to make short-term improvements.

We're rebuilding, play in the deepest conference hockey's seen in ... God, decades? And are looking at two or three of the best draft picks in the last five years being available.

The idea of building a culture is important, but culture doesn't win. Players win, and the best players win more.

I would argue that the L.A. Kings don't have the best player in the league at any position except arguably goaltender. They do have very good players at many positions, and have one of the toughest team dynamics of any team. That's why they win over the Blackhawks, the Sharks, the Blues etc.

You need good players, not the best players.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by driveway

I don't understand why everyone is jumping on Dreger. He's right, this year, this specific year, is not the one to make short-term improvements.

We could keep our cool, but manufacturing outrage is way more fun!

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

I would argue that the L.A. Kings don't have the best player in the league at any position except arguably goaltender. They do have very good players at many positions, and have one of the toughest team dynamics of any team. That's why they win over the Blackhawks, the Sharks, the Blues etc.

You need good players, not the best players.

LA has one the best dmen, one of the best goalies, one of the best centers and one of the best coaches. They have depth but don't kid yourself, there top talent is some of the best.

[Hackey]

Aaron Ekblad is 18 years old and hasn't even played an NHL game yet. You somehow expected him to completely change around an entire franchise on his own?

[calumniate]

Just ask this guy about the leafs! It's always win now mode and David clarkson has trade value for teams that are interested

[Vinny01]

I still think we are in the McDavid mix. The Flames added goaltending which is key when a team is rebuilding. They added toughness in Bollig and Engellend. Cammalleri was replaced by Raymond who is a downgrade. We have kids pushing for spots but nothing is given. What the Flames are doing is the definition of a rebuild. Dregers comments confuse me. We are definitely in position to draft McDavid but are not going to deliberately tank. Ask Edmonton about the losing culture

[ben voyonsdonc]

As soon as a player thinks that it is ok to lose, I believe that it is really difficult to get that winning mentality back...especially when they are collecting massive paychecks regardless of the win loss record. I want our players to run through walls to win. Why? Because as soon as we have built the talent base to a more competitive level, the Flames will already have the mentality win the Cup. If there is one player on the Flames that doesn't want to win every single game, then I want them off the roster.

[mhsyyc]

Dreger earns his money, not by being insightful or right, but by being controversial. In that way he's no different than Eric Francis or Steve Simmons. Don't confuse his "analysis" with that given by guys with real knowledge of the game.

[RyZ]

Im not a Dreger fan at all, but we are going to look pretty stupid if we finish 26th and maybe 4-6 pts ahead of 29th. I would rather play all the young guys all year and finish 29th than play some reclaimation projects and get the 6th overall pick while a Winnipeg or Edmonton gets a "generational" talent.

Neither way insures success but I would rather have a rough year this year and McDavid/Eichel for the next 15 years than a marginally better year and Pavel Zacha.

Clearly Im in the minority here and thats fine, but thats how I see it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

I'm hoping for an entertaining season where we lose a lot of one goal games. If we finish better than 28th I'll be both shocked and disappointed. One of McDavid, Eichel or Hanifin is a must. Score one of the big two centers and you can make a move of one of our existing guys from help on defense. Boom! The Flames look pretty damn scarey moving forward.

[FlamesAddiction]

Maybe he will understand point form:

• We are dead last in play roll,
• One of the youngest teams in the NHL,
• We did not make any big free agent signings or trades.

What more can we do to bottom out this thing? It is really hard to out suck the Oilers.

[tvp2003]

There is only one honourable way to tank and it involves chin-ups.