[Barn Burner] Boomer: "You were wrong"

[GioforPM]

Rhett's knowledge about what GMs have done and other teams' moves seems a bit off to me. and a lot of these players who comment on this kind of stuff, he doesn't seem to realize limitations like destination, salary cap and movement clauses.

[taxbuster]

This team is a mess from top to bottom.

There is only one way out - absent people leaving the organization. That is absolutely terrifyingly brutal honesty amongst ALL participants in this drama. From the laundry person to the owner.

It's not gonna happen because there are too many myopic, egotistical and egocentric minds in the mix.

Can't say I'm overly hopeful about the near-to-medium term prospects for this hockey team.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't think it was the easy route. It was the route to take for a team trying to still contend. And not just this year but for at least 3 more years.

The Canes are a good team but those are odd examples
- They didn't move Dougie Hamilton. They wanted to keep him and he chose to sign elsewhere. Giving them credit for that one is odd.
- I don't ultimately think offer sheeting Kotkanemi and signing him to his current deal is a good move. It's bold sure. But I don't think he's much of a player. 20 points in 51 games.

Why are the Canes a good team?
Simply put: drafting.

Aho, Jarvis, Necas, Svechnikov, Pesce, Slavin.

Their key core are guys they drafted. And now they are supplementing them with other players.

But the moves you are praising? Meh.

Originally Posted by Torture

Didn't Brad also move on from Dougie Hamilton in a big move for Lindholm and Hanafin that worked out really well but could have blown up in his face? Seems to me we're cherrypicking the meaning of brave moves.

These were Rhett’s examples, from a show a month or so ago, not mine.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I cannot disagree with them in any way. I see things the same way as to the current situation with the coach, players, management, leadership, vision etc. There's nothing overtly awful, but nothing that says to me this team is going the right direction.

It's troubling. I do wonder if there won't be significant organizational shifts starting this year with Treliving being let go and a new GM coming in to set the tone.

[Pipty]

This trade could end of worse than the Gilmore one, losing a superstar and signing a dud for 8 years taking up a big portion of the cap. Having us in limbo just outside the playoffs every year. We would need another miracle 3-5 round pick, flames better get that arena deal done before they start losing season ticket holders and any public appetite to watch a below average team for the next 10 years.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

I cannot disagree with them in any way. I see things the same way as to the current situation with the coach, players, management, leadership, vision etc. There's nothing overtly awful, but nothing that says to me this team is going the right direction.

It's troubling. I do wonder if there won't be significant organizational shifts starting this year with Treliving being let go and a new GM coming in to set the tone.

That's not likely to happen while Murray Edwards is making the decisions. And there is absolutely nothing that we can do about that.

[Elkyiv]

the only way I see the Huberdeau thing correcting itself to a point where the fans and management are happy, is if the team somehow squeezed into the post season and Huberdeau goes OFF in the playoffs. The complete opposite of Tkachuk situation. I'm thinking at least 3rd round with high teens in points.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

Treliving is off to Toronto in April and this will be Darryl’s club to work with after that.

He was damned if he didn’t sign the FLA guys and damned if he did.

Darryl is the one who needed to modify his style to incorporate the new additions and it really seems like he’s refused to. Not saying that Huberdeau and Weegar bare no responsibility, as they both have massively underperformed.

Hindsight is 20/20. Had we just rebuilt we may have been talking Bedard this year instead of a 13/14/15 overall pick.

Classic Flames

How does a coach modify his style just to accommodate one player? The rest of the roster consists of slower, heavy, checking type players. Sure, Huberdeau might have a few more points, but would the rest of the team be more successful?

Ultimately, this team is built to check for their chances and there are plenty of other guys on the roster who are having great years, if Huberdeau can’t, then that’s on him for being so one dimensional and on the GM for acquiring the wrong type of player for the coach he hired.

…and even if Huberdeau can get it going in the regular season, I have no faith in him to get it done in the playoffs especially when the checking is even tighter and there’s even less space to make plays.


Oh also to add, the goaltenders would probably be even worse off playing in an open style with even more high danger chances. Markstrom is already struggling with a responsible team, could you imagine how horrific his numbers would look if we were giving up 10 bell chances every other shift?

[Shazam]

Markstrom seems to be the main problem.

Eh whatever this team will be contending for 16th place again.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Elkyiv

the only way I see the Huberdeau thing correcting itself to a point where the fans and management are happy, is if the team somehow squeezed into the post season and Huberdeau goes OFF in the playoffs. The complete opposite of Tkachuk situation. I'm thinking at least 3rd round with high teens in points.

Then everyone’s going to be miserable in perpetuity.

Like it or not, Jonathan Huberdeau is going to be part of this team for nearly all of the next eight years.

He doesn’t suck - the team doesn’t fit him right yet.

So long as his physical ability remains at or near this level, he will be an effective offensive player in the NHL. He’s too good.

Tailor the roster to Huberdeau, and watch him be better.

It may be about this year with this group, but it shouldn’t be about this year for this player.

That’s not fair.

Huberdeau had no say getting traded here. But he stepped up almost immediately and accepted the challenge.

It’s easy to say “he took the money, who says no to $84M?” - well, two guys just did.

Huberdeau could have walked to UFA. That would’ve been the easy thing to do. Any underwhelming performance would be blamed on the #### situation he was thrown into against his will.

It would be blamed on the team who has spent the better part of a month playing Jonathan frigging Huberdeau with Milan Lucic.

A contending team would leap at the chance to add 29 year old Jonathan Huberdeau, he of the $5.9M cap hit.

The Flames get to add more 1st round picks and prospects, and they’re in a better position to have at least a snowballs chance at Bedard.

All Huberdeau would’ve needed to do to secure himself a tidy retirement contract (Maybe not $84M, but certainly healthy, and in a situation of his choosing) is good production with a few big moments in the playoffs on a true elite team that was better set up to use him.

He chose the much harder path.

He’s our guy. Be patient - it’s a virtue. It’s not his fault.

[Max Cow Disease]

I'm...oddly not that pessimistic about the current state of affairs. As is so often the case in sports things always seem completely bleak until they don't, and the situation we're in right now could end up being somewhat of an inversion of last year where we were riding high all season, but were fed a mouthful of disappointment in the playoffs (against our biggest rival no less).

I don't disagree that there are some potential challenges looming on the horizon for us if things don't start to trend upward, but talk of smashing the reset button and moving in an entirely different direction right now strikes me as academic navel gazing. In my mind the team's fate is inextricably linked with those of Huberdeau, Kadri, Markstrom et al. for the foreseeable future, which to me means we either assume that the higher ceilings that we know many of these players have are somehow inaccessible to us and we're stuck like this in perpetuity, or that the team will gradually start to come around (granted, perhaps not by the end of this season) on the back of some of these guys finally pulling their heads out of their asses.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Toonage

The opinions shared this morning are pretty prevalent. The opinions that this isn't as bad as it looks are in the minority.

It's worth a listen even if you form part of the latter.

I mean, you can't really say they are completely wrong or completely right. I don't agree with them that things are as bad as they seem, but at the same time the window is going to close in a hurry on this group and you can't be donating a season like this when you should be much better.

Either way, I respect the opinion that is clearly not at all doctored or filtered. Something is going to have to give on all fronts if this season doesn't turn around. Huberdeau should not be immune to the same critique that people are laying on Markstrom - these two players are a huge reason why the season has not gone according to plan, and I would argue Huberdeau being nearly irrelevant has been the most damning.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Shazam

If Tre is gone, I think Sutter will step down.

I assume by "down" you meant "up".

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Huberdeau had no say getting traded here. But he stepped up almost immediately and accepted the challenge.

It’s easy to say “he took the money, who says no to $84M?” - well, two guys just did.

Huberdeau could have walked to UFA. That would’ve been the easy thing to do. Any underwhelming performance would be blamed on the #### situation he was thrown into against his will.

The two guys who said "no" were in a position to say "no" as they had options.

Hubby could have said "no", but he was just offered more money than he would ever see in UFA, and had a huge risk in waiting a year. That is the complete opposite of 'easy".

It was no challenge. It was setting up his family's financial security over his lifetime.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

The two guys who said "no" were in a position to say "no" as they had options.

Hubby could have said "no", but he was just offered more money than he would ever see in UFA, and had a huge risk in waiting a year. That is the complete opposite of 'easy".

It was no challenge. It was setting up his family's financial security over his lifetime.

If he was traded to a place he wanted to go before the season, I’m guessing he would have got a similar deal. Maybe in the 9.5 range

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I assume by "down" you meant "up".

I don't think Sutter wants to GM anymore. He sucks at it, and it seems he realizes it.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Rhett's knowledge about what GMs have done and other teams' moves seems a bit off to me. and a lot of these players who comment on this kind of stuff, he doesn't seem to realize limitations like destination, salary cap and movement clauses.

exactly

his prime example of brave was a GM trading a 38 year old that demanded a trade lol

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I don't think Sutter wants to GM anymore. He sucks at it, and it seems he realizes it.

What makes you think that he seems to realize it?

[Elkyiv]

Originally Posted by Max Cow Disease

and the situation we're in right now could end up being somewhat of an inversion of last year where we were riding high all season, but were fed a mouthful of disappointment in the playoffs (against our biggest rival no less).

Spot on, this outcome would do a 180 for how this season is remembered. Last season was great until it was awful. Or the 2018-2019 season where we top the conference only to be destroyed by the Avs who barely got in. At this point, this is all the Flames have to hope for.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

The two guys who said "no" were in a position to say "no" as they had options.

Hubby could have said "no", but he was just offered more money than he would ever see in UFA, and had a huge risk in waiting a year. That is the complete opposite of 'easy".

It was no challenge. It was setting up his family's financial security over his lifetime.

Huberdeau would have gotten someting similar. No team would hold one sub par season against him. Especially looking at the rest of the team's performance. Or he could have pushed Treliving to move him pre season and gotten a similar deal elsewhere, maybe in a lower tax state.