Does Fox win the Norris in only his second NHL season?

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Here's why it stings. Do build a contender you need to make a lot of smart decisions but you also need some things to break your way. The Lightning had some high picks but two of their most important players were steals: Kucherov and Point. They've had other great picks too.

The Flames had a home run with Jonny. Adam Fox represented another one - as adding a guy with his skill, who is a #1 dman already is a game changer.

The asset was well managed and value extracted from it. And the organization still did very well for what they got out of the 3rd round pick.

But the disadvantage created by these guys not wanting to play in Calgary is a real thing. This team would be in a different state if Adam Fox was patrolling the blueline, with a far bright future.

That's what stings. I think Canadian clubs are at a disadvantage because
- More players don't want to play here
- You have to overpay to get them and keep them
- And I think the Canadian owners for the most part try to contend too fast and blow the re-builds.

Yeah of course it stings. You can believe Treliving did his best to make lemonade out of lemons and you can be happy with the draft result but the fact is what this club needs (what every club needs) is a young superstar. Fox is definitely that and we drafted the guy.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Hopefully Ryan Francis comes back to the Flamea after we released him this year. Fingers crossed.

Did the Flames lose their rights to him?

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Yeah I'm not sure where they came from. They just drafted him.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I know the chart is tongue in cheek but you can make arguments for both skaters. The points thing is neat I guess, but Fox has a grand total of 3 more points, playing 1 more game than Hedman. Not really a big difference. Hedman has 2 GWG to Fox's 1, Hedman plays more minutes, scored more goals.

There's arguments for both. When Lidstrom was winning his Norris trophies year after year he didn't win them because he just had more points, he won because voters thought he was the best all around d-man. Hedman is no Lidstrom, but I believe that's the rational voters will use. Hedman is the best all around d-man this season, will win, and Fox will finish 2nd in voting after a terrific season. IMO of course.

Points is only one factor. All of the other factors show fox is having a better season

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

...

That's what stings. I think Canadian clubs are at a disadvantage because
- More players don't want to play here
- You have to overpay to get them and keep them
- And I think the Canadian owners for the most part try to contend too fast and blow the re-builds.

I would argue this is not just a Canadian problem, but a non-big American market thing.

I also don't agree that players don't necessarily want to play for Canadian clubs. Aside from maybe Winnipeg having to really overpay to convince players to come, and maybe Edmonton, Canadian cities aren't unappealing to players. Especially since a fair number of players are Canadian. So it's not like the NBA or MLB where the Canadian factor is truly a thing to a foreign player.

What Canadian clubs issues are is your third part. Canadian teams have generally been terrible at building teams because they can't be patient enough to acquire and develop assets for several years to build a competing team. Since these teams don't necessarily look like strong contenders, or have the cap space to afford players that can push them into that tier, than alternative locations stand out more.

I guess I would concede that if a player is looking to choose to be at a location purely for money, but not to be on a contending team when they sign, then Canadian teams typically are unattractive then.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

That's a false comment and you know it. Sutter offered him a two way deal and kept his rights as a RFA. After he played in Russia for a year he did get the one way deal he wanted.

At no point in time did the Flames release his rights for 29 other teams to have him for nothing, or refuse to match an official RFA contract offered by another team. If you're going to make 50 posts a day..at least be factual with them.

Actually I didn’t know the details that well. My apologies. It was just a bad joke, not a slam at anyone. But it was still a risk - I think they’d have lost the rights if he stayed another year?

Thanks for the personal stuff though.