I agree with your point there I have become much more critical of Treliving since the start of this year. The fact he lost the 2 franchise players and convinced the fans, management, and players they could make a trade and sign a free agent and remain competitive was a huge fail. He bailed because he knew he screwed this team.
I don’t know how many GM’s get to build a team, tear it down, and build again especially when all they can hang their hat on in 9 years is 2 division banners and 2 series wins.
I wonder if that’s actually why he left. Could be a number of reasons. But I think you’re right. He got out before the train wreck became a tire fire.
If there was a time machine, the asset management of the Tkachuk trade would've been next level. Montreal would've paid a king's ransom for Huberdeau; Weegar would've fetched a decent haul; Kadri signing would've never happened thus fast tracking a rebuild with lots and lots of cap space. Salivating just thinking about the possibilities!
Yeah, I think the Tkachuk trade was a good trade of someone who didn't want to be here. The problem was the desperate signings. If they had flipped both players received either immediately or at the deadline they get a total of 3-4 firsts for Tkachuk, and maybe some lower picks if they retain. That plus the ability to take on expiring bad contracts for assets with the cap space could have super-charged a rebuild. Pick 3x in the first round for a couple years and you'll have a deep prospect pool.
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If there was a time machine, the asset management of the Tkachuk trade would've been next level. Montreal would've paid a king's ransom for Huberdeau; Weegar would've fetched a decent haul; Kadri signing would've never happened thus fast tracking a rebuild with lots and lots of cap space. Salivating just thinking about the possibilities!
I would have probably rather taken the Hurricanes deal that we know includes Necas. He had 71pts last year and 9pts in 10 games this year and not yet 25. I believe there were some other significant futures in that deal and by all accounts if the team was looking to do a bit of a reset the Hurricanes deal was the one they were eying up.
Yeah, I think the Tkachuk trade was a good trade of someone who didn't want to be here. The problem was the desperate signings. If they had flipped both players received either immediately or at the deadline they get a total of 3-4 firsts for Tkachuk, and maybe some lower picks if they retain. That plus the ability to take on expiring bad contracts for assets with the cap space could have super-charged a rebuild. Pick 3x in the first round for a couple years and you'll have a deep prospect pool.
Imagine they had lost Gaudreau, flipped Tkachuk, kept the two Panthers on one year deals, and traded all of Huberdeau, Weegar, Lindholm and Hanifin at the deadline last year.
They’d have ended up with one of Bedard/Fantilli/Carlsson.
__________________ ”All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
Imagine they had lost Gaudreau, flipped Tkachuk, kept the two Panthers on one year deals, and traded all of Huberdeau, Weegar, Lindholm and Hanifin at the deadline last year.
They’d have ended up with one of Bedard/Fantilli/Carlsson.
I see no way they finish bottom 3 last year after the deadline when they were in the bubble. Not with Sutter here
Some really good input here, and really puts into perspective the many varieties of concerns and great reasoning on why we as fans should be concerned. Who is manning the ship of this disaster? How is Conroy going to be able to fix the mess Treliving made? Is ownership going to start kickstarting the arena build with the shovels to the ground? How are they going to promise the fans that things are going to get better within this decade? Is our scouting good enough to continuously draft players and give them opportunity to flourish in the NHL? Even though it's been a short stint, is Huska even fit for this job, or will the coaching carousel continue? Here is my order, from most concerning to least concerning:
Spoiler!
1) Core - We just simply don't have it. Have some really good players but not elite players. After Gaudreau and Tkachuk left, that was the PERFECT time to rebuild/retool. Sure, we got Huberdeau and Weegar out of the Tkachuk trade, but those assets could have been flipped. I still think Huberdeau is an elite players, just needs the right players to be that kind of player.
2) GM - #2 not because of Conroy, but because of Treliving. His mess is equivalent to what Chayka did to the Arizona Coyotes, and then left. We don't have the same luxury as Arizona as being a dumping ground, given Canada likes to ice teams that are trying to be competitive, but Conroy has his work cut out for him, I hope he knows that. I didn't expect him to be handed such a mess but the Kadri trade really hand-cuffed the Flames not only present but also future. It was a lose-lose trade, and we're getting penalized for it. I have faith that if Conroy remains patient and doesn't go the band-aid route to fix major holes like Treliving did, we will eventually get out of this with a better team and a better future. It starts with selling when the time ie to sell (this year), and NOT extendning Hanifin and Lindholm is a must. Those future assets are far more beneficial for this organization, especially the additional cap space that comes along with it.
3) Ownership - It would have been #1 or #2 if it weren't for the arena plans made. Edwards needs to figure out now that there will be upcoming losses with this team. May as well go for a legitimate retool/rebuild while the arena is in the process of being built. You need a direction for this team, I see none. Don't even have an identity either. Far too long has this organization been going back and forth on making the playoffs. Inconsistency is the only concistent word that can describe the Calgary Flames at this very moment. Fix that.
4) Coaching - Another one I wish I could rate higher, but I can't, because the other three are far more concerning. The coaching carousel continues. Since our first initiation of the rebuild in 2013, we've had Hartley, GG, Peters, Ward, Sutter, and now Huska. I think we can find where some of the inconsistency lies. Every coach has different philosophies, ideas, ways to coach, blending the lines, etc. It would sure be nice to find a coach that could coach this team for longer than 2 seasons.
5) Leadership - This group has always had good leadership with Iginla, Giordano, but then for whatever reason we didn't name a captain for a few seasons. I don't mind Backlund as captain, but after the remarks from the offseason I didn't really want him to become captain. Yes, he was the right option, but in my opinion it was probably time for him to part ways with us. Maybe there wasn't a deal in place, but aside from that I just see no fight, no drive to strive to be better with the current leadership we have right now. It's not the least concerning point, but it's also not the worst. It's something to keep an eye out for as the season progresses, especially with this club that is bound to have 40+ losses if they don't change the course of this season pronto.
6) Core's Supporting Cast - I don't think we have a problem signing free agents or acquiring players that fit really well on this team, as COMPLEMENTARY players. I could go on a whole list of acquisitions and signings, but the majority of them save a select few (Neal, Brouwer, possibly Kadri) we've been alright. I feel the signings we've done far outweigh the bad ones. Hudler, Tanev, Markstrom, Toffoli, Hamilton, Weegar, Huberdeau, etc. are solid additions. We just lack the franchise players to really boost these players.
7) Scouting - I've never had an issue with scouting post-Feaster era. When we've had picks and haven't had them traded like candy from Treliving for stupid depth players (Bollig, Fantenberg?, Gustafsson, etc) we've done quite well with drafting players. What the Flames need to do with our current scouting staff is provide them way more picks to choose from. I am going to use the Coyotes again as an example, acquire as much picks as possible. We may not get as much since we're not a cap dumpster, but we can at least trade players on expiring deals and take on players with 1-2 years of bad cap and get a good pick out of it. Utilize the cap room we can make and try to help contending teams spend their picks and top prospects to us for a couple of years. Our scouting department can take care of the rest.
TLDR spoiler: Flames have a lot of concerns, cannot pinpoint one. Best course of action: Ride out this season, DON'T sign Hanifin or Lindholm, trade those two and Tanev, maybe Zadorov, Vladar, etc. This team should be on a fire sale. We need to get a top pick from a draft that is top 5 heavy again. Could even explore a trade with Mangiapane if there is a team that has the franchise player(s) to really make him explode.
They could’ve, if the team had had the courage to punt BT and use Conroy to set a new direction.
Had they moved on from Sutter yes for sure but if big D was here they likely would still have drafted outside the top 10.
They should have taken the rebuild route after Gaudreau left and Tkachuk said he wasn’t signing. Sutter could have stepped away on top, Brad could have dismantled the team and starting this offseason Craig would have had a clean slate to build with cap flexibility and plenty of assets. Easy choice in hindsight but I get why they did what they did but they let emotion dictate their plan and not common sense.
I do wonder though if Brad gets the leafs job without “the summer of Brad”? The eastern media anointed him an elite GM for his pivot moves that now look to have sunk this franchise for 7-8 years.
I failed to mention this, but I think it's also important to look ahead at the other clubs within our division and how they rate in terms of forward, defense, goaltending, coaching, GM, etc. Mainly franchise players (primarily in center and defense) because those are generally the guys that help you win the extra game or two and eventually a cup if you've got everything else in place:
Anaheim: McTavish, Zegras, Leo, Terry --> They're playing better, and have Mintyukov, Lacombe, and Drysdale on defense. Might still be worse than us, but they are in the right direction of the rebuild and can be back in a top 3 spot in a 2-3 seasons.
Los Angeles: Kopitar, Doughty, Dubois, Clarke, Byfield, etc --> Insane depth down the middle, good, solid defensive group, just lack goaltending. They are going to be a playoff team for a while
Edmonton: McDavid and Draisaitl --> An interesting one to look after. Will they be able to fit both players? Personally, I don't think they can. And if they do, they won't have space to round out the roster. Their downfall begins when Draisaitl either signs a 15/16m deal in Edmonton or elsewhere.
San Jose: They are all sorts of bad. The only team I can see worse than us for right now. Have Smith, Musty, and a bunch of other youngsters in the pipeline. At least they realized the need to rebuild after a LONG time of contending.
Seattle: Beniers, Wright on the way, good defensive core, decent goaltending. I think Wright could help their offensive group be rounded out more.
Vancouver: I think they're a team in the playoff mix when Pettersson and Hughes are on that team. Just need a better supporting cast, which is the easiest thing to fix. Cap management needs to improve.
Vegas: The best of the whole group. Always an attractive location for UFAs, have elite players (Eichel, Stone, Pietrangelo, Theodore), great depth everywhere, and good goaltending that shows up when needed.
There isn't a better time to retool than right now as we await when lies ahead up north with the wonder twins and Pettersson and Vancouver. Everyone aside from Vegas has holes, but most actually have a core of young players to build around. We don't. We remain exposed until the "core" is fixed.
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If there was a time machine, the asset management of the Tkachuk trade would've been next level. Montreal would've paid a king's ransom for Huberdeau; Weegar would've fetched a decent haul; Kadri signing would've never happened thus fast tracking a rebuild with lots and lots of cap space. Salivating just thinking about the possibilities!
I remember thinking this after the acquisition. I wasn’t a fan of the trade as everyone knows, but I thought to myself, well at least the Flames could walk away with tons of assets at the trade deadline if they were to trade Huberdeau and/or Weegar.
But then the re-signing happened and I was pissed for a month. Couldn’t even watch the preseason for the first time in forever because I couldn’t help but feel this franchise was completely screwed.
