[News] With the 21st overall pick Flames select C Mark Jankowski

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Pretty much every trade. What Feaster did well was listen to his scouting staff and trust them to make some high-risk picks in Gaudreau and Jankowski. I believe this trust in the scouting staff has carried over to Treliving and thus is not negative for him either. But his trade record and contract negotiation has shown to be quite a bit better in the manager-to-manager and management-to-agent relations.

I don't think many other than a vocal minority would classify Feaster as having done a bad job necessarily. In fact, as a manager of a team in transition I think he did well to restock the cupboards with young talent (but much as stated above, his input there was really about him staying out of it). The expiring star trades were not great, but they are also subject to the market and the down-trending play of those individuals. I have pretty good word that the ROR potential fiasco and ironically the Jankowski reach were the main reasons for his dismissal, which I don't think you have to have inside info to figure out.

That said, I am very glad that Treliving is the one running this team during the win-now mode. He seems to be a much more competent team-builder, with a strong understanding of team chemistry and player personal development.

I think saying Feaster just trusted his scouts is incorrect. I think every GM meets with the amateur scouts early in the year and describes the attributes he wants the organization to prioritize.

I recall reading that when Burke fired Feaster (in December I think), shortly after during the scouting meeting he said they weren't going to draft small players anymore. Even though Treliving presided over it, the 2014 draft followed Burke's edict.

Feaster noted CGY lack of skill in the system and wanted to draft skilled players no matter what size, prioritizing hockey IQ, skill and character (Weisbrod's "fans being proud of who wore the sweater" comments).

So Feaster deserves credit for 2011-2013 draft picks because he set the parameters.

Button takes the marching orders and finds those types of players, that's why he's been around for the Chuckos, Pelechs and Gaudreaus, Bennetts and Jankowskis.

Give credit where it's due (and also blame).

[FireGilbert]

Let's not kid ourselves here, it is great Jankowski looks to be the real deal, but Feaster was still horrible. He failed in every aspect of being a GM other than drafting a few great forwards and hiring Hartley.

A negative that really sticks out in hindsight was his inability to acquire defence through the the draft or trade. It's no coincidence Treliving has spent so many high draft picks on trading for or drafting defence.

Also, in hindsight the only player I would rather have over Janko from 2012 would have been not trading down and taking Vasilevskiy. I wonder if there would have been more outrage drafting a Russian goalie.

[indes]

Originally Posted by CampbellsTransgressions

What is the basis of this seemingly common opinion?

Feaster had a ridiculously bad blunder with RoR for which he deserved to be fired, but aside from that didn't do a bad job whatsoever.

RoR, traded Iginla, Bouwmeester and Regehr for peanuts.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I think saying Feaster just trusted his scouts is incorrect. I think every GM meets with the amateur scouts early in the year and describes the attributes he wants the organization to prioritize.

I recall reading that when Burke fired Feaster (in December I think), shortly after during the scouting meeting he said they weren't going to draft small players anymore. Even though Treliving presided over it, the 2014 draft followed Burke's edict.

Feaster noted CGY lack of skill in the system and wanted to draft skilled players no matter what size, prioritizing hockey IQ, skill and character (Weisbrod's "fans being proud of who wore the sweater" comments).

So Feaster deserves credit for 2011-2013 draft picks because he set the parameters.

Button takes the marching orders and finds those types of players, that's why he's been around for the Chuckos, Pelechs and Gaudreaus, Bennetts and Jankowskis.

Give credit where it's due (and also blame).

I never said he didn't deserve credit. It's not an indictment to say he trusted his staff to make the proper decisions at the draft. Good managers allow their employees to do their jobs. I think Feaster deserves a good amount of credit for the turn around of this team. That includes signing Hudler who played a large role in Monahan's and Gaudreau's development.

As I said, he was a good manager for a team in turnaround, but I'm glad we don't have him right now.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by indes

RoR, traded Iginla, Bouwmeester and Regehr for peanuts.

Iginla tied Feaster's hands with his ridiculously small trade list. JBo was coming off an awful stint overall in Calgary and was considered overpaid. Regehr was over the hill and not as effective in the new faster NHL.

Feaster was let go because he was always a stop gap. In order for him to stay on, he would have needed to do the impossible. The Flames prospect pool was horrendous. The star players were all old and had little value. The organisation should have traded them 2 years prior to gain any actual value. Feaster had no hope of success. His appointment was for part of holding pattern, until the organisation could start being respectable again.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I never said he didn't deserve credit. It's not an indictment to say he trusted his staff to make the proper decisions at the draft. Good managers allow their employees to do their jobs. I think Feaster deserves a good amount of credit for the turn around of this team. That includes signing Hudler who played a large role in Monahan's and Gaudreau's development.

As I said, he was a good manager for a team in turnaround, but I'm glad we don't have him right now.

I'm saying fans discount Feaster's role in CGY selecting 2011-2013 draft picks. They give credit to the scouts instead, thinking scouts just identity whoever they want.

This is not true. The GM, be it Feaster, Treliving, Sutter etc set the type of player they want. The scouts then find those types of players.

Button has stayed consistent with the different GMs but if Sutter was still in charge during 2011 Gaudreau would not have been picked IMO.

It was Feaster selecting that type of player hence the Baertschi, Gaudreau and Grandlund picks. They wanted high IQ. If you go back to post draft interviews you hear Button talking about how they liked player' brains during the Feaster years (Even for a Kanzig pick).

If you listen to Button after Burke's 2014 draft the comments are about being a leader, big, strong and competitive and also character ( which carried over from past GMs).

[Fire]

Originally Posted by indes

RoR, traded Iginla, Bouwmeester and Regehr for peanuts.

Don't forget almost signing Brad Richards to a disastrous contract.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by CampbellsTransgressions

What is the basis of this seemingly common opinion?

Feaster had a ridiculously bad blunder with RoR for which he deserved to be fired, but aside from that didn't do a bad job whatsoever.

There is a reason why Feaster won't get another sniff at being a GM. If Treliving was fired today, he would be the #1 favourite to replace the next fired GM.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I prefer a more positive approach of finding out who was prophetic. Caged Great looking good right anout now

He was also as excited for the Janko pick...as much as he was for the Baertschi pick.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by saXon

He was also as excited for the Janko pick...as much as he was for the Baertschi pick.

Baertschi isn't looking too bad these days..

[Reggie Dunlop]

I was mostly agnostic on Jankowski in the early years, primarily because he was such a long-term project. While a lot of keyboards got worn out vigorously debating the pick, I just sat back. The last few seasons, I've become more excited about the pick. Not flashy, but just a solid, well-rounded hockey player. I wonder if a guy like Sutter would have chosen him.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by FBI

Baertschi isn't looking too bad these days..

Without derailing the thread, he's looking about the same as what Burke called him out for. A one dimensional offensive cherry picker who hovers around 30-35 points.

I wouldn't say that's spectacular for a 2nd liner.

[FireGilbert]

Why is the 2013 draft considered so great and is regularly grouped in with the excellent 2011 and 2012 drafts?

Sure Monahan turned into possibly the best player in the draft which was a steal at 6 however the pick was pretty much a no brainer. The other first rounders are still works in progress, finishing 13th and 15th in the prospect rankings, and Kanzig was a complete waste of a 3rd round pick. If Poirier and Klimchuk do one day stick in the NHL then it will have been a good draft but at the moment it looks like a very average one.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I'm saying fans discount Feaster's role in CGY selecting 2011-2013 draft picks. They give credit to the scouts instead, thinking scouts just identity whoever they want.

This is not true. The GM, be it Feaster, Treliving, Sutter etc set the type of player they want. The scouts then find those types of players.

Button has stayed consistent with the different GMs but if Sutter was still in charge during 2011 Gaudreau would not have been picked IMO.

It was Feaster selecting that type of player hence the Baertschi, Gaudreau and Grandlund picks. They wanted high IQ. If you go back to post draft interviews you hear Button talking about how they liked player' brains during the Feaster years (Even for a Kanzig pick).

If you listen to Button after Burke's 2014 draft the comments are about being a leader, big, strong and competitive and also character ( which carried over from past GMs).

I agree but I think that was from over involvement from Sutter which Feaster then pulled back on.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by saXon

Without derailing the thread, he's looking about the same as what Burke called him out for. A one dimensional offensive cherry picker who hovers around 30-35 points.

I wouldn't say that's spectacular for a 2nd liner.

That was actually a very small part of it. Burke called him out essentially for his compete level, especially outside of the offensive zone, but also in the offensive zone.

"There are three zones in the ice surfaces in this league. I don't see that he's learned to play and compete in two of them. He's got to learn there's a clock in this league and there's so many minutes in the game and that you've got to compete through all of it. I see this is a guy who's focusing on one area [scoring] and even then, sporadically," Burke said. "So I don't know what we have.
"I'm not ready to quit on a young kid. I'm not ready to throw him under the bus here today and rip him, but I think you can tell from my comments that I see big holes and I see a lack of commitment that's not going to get him anywhere in my books."

I thought he was bang-on with his comments at the time.

As for the Janowski pick, the backburner thread on him was glorious over the years. Lots of consternation about that pick, and his 'lack of progression'.

Still, it is too early for anyone to pat themselves on the back for seemingly being right about him. I do expect him to be a really good player, but he still needs to come out and do it. I think his first third or so of the season might make some on here 'disappointed', but I really do expect this kid to ramp up.

BTW, my favorite ever comment was from a poster who didn't like the pick, and then stated that he knows another player on the Flames and that said player stated that Jankowski would never make it. It read to me as something so made up.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Fire

There is a reason why Feaster won't get another sniff at being a GM. If Treliving was fired today, he would be the #1 favourite to replace the next fired GM.

There was a reason he wasn’t in the front office running for anyone in the 5+ years after he finally got punted in Tampa either and was writing junk articles for the Hockey News, including a terrible Olli Jokinen “is a dressing room cancer”article.

He somehow sweet talked his way into the assistant Gm role, knowing probably that Edwards didn’t like Sutters control without getting results, and then sweet talked King and Edwards into thinking he could do better than Sutter, who Edwards grew weary of, as well as promising to be giving some of the decision making to Edwards and King, which fed their egos and obviously differed from Sutter’s approach. His comments, when he started in a fan forum, were simply the opposite of what Sutter said or did, such as being faster and more skilled and smaller, and, he’d have the infamous music in the dressing room turned up, not down, as Sutter did, and he knew that blatant and baseless pandering to the masses would get lapped up.

Let’s not forget the dismal way he discarded Conroy as a player very abruptly and without warning or dignity, his promises of players being the best players not in the league (Ortio), his pimping of Cervenka as the potential answer at center all summer, only to have Cervenka tell the press the opening practice that he much prefers wing. Or his fiery TV interview after bad period or two one game, where he spewed like a volcano, vowed changes in the next few days...the Flames lost, but crickets after that.

The peanuts for Iginla, mainly because he didn’t have the contacts or respect amongst other NHL execs to properly negotiate,and, not properly understanding what Iginla’s leeway was, and then dragging him and his agent through the mud, Getting peanuts for Bouwmeester too but happy because Bouwmeesters agent made it easier then Iginla’s and he mad a point of gloating about it. Earlier, of course, Regher getting punted against his will at the draft, so that he could clear room for Richards a few days later into a contract that the owners would’ve bought out just like the Rags did a few years later, and offered more $ then the Rags, but while still pursuing Ryan Smyth the same night. Slap in the face to Regher. The desperation to bring in Hartley since he worked with him before.

The ROR thing was his last straw. The disaster that would’ve caused this franchise would’ve been devastating without having ROR or Monahan. You didn’t hear a peep from him for weeks after that, which is rare as he didn’t meet a mic or a chance for a press leak he didn’t like. He was muzzled, and was only kept in along with Wisebrod to do the basic mechanics of the Iginla fire sale because King and Edwards, now fully aware of his incompetence, simply couldn’t do the mechanics of that and needed a GM, but probably could’ve gotten the same return if they handled the negotiations.

Edwards especially as a BoG, saw the toxic reputation that the GMs lack of ability and terrible dealings were having on the Flames reputation, and Calgary was suddenly a joke in the league for player, agents and other execs. It was his fault for getting fooled by Feaster, so he tried to fix it the year before with Shanahan, but his wife wouldn’t move here. The next offseason they basically gave Burke a blank cheque to fill in, both money wise and time wise, and gave him full ability to do whatever it takes to bring the franchise reputation back to the standard that was set under Fletcher and Sutter.

Thankfully, Burke was able to do that.

Fine, he along with Button picked a long shot in Janko, years ago that has come through, hopefully. JG was a pick but that was a full court sell by Conroy and the Flames brass to get him here because if he went back to college he was not going to sign with the Flames. For those moves, there more than any more false promises and hyperbole from Feaster, like wasting draft picks in trades for PLLL and Ivanins, all the goalies including Berra and Ramo and the out of shape Freddy Modin experiment which lasted a fortnight.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by browna

There was a reason he wasn’t in the front office running for anyone in the 5+ years after he finally got punted in Tampa either and was writing junk articles for the Hockey News, including a terrible Olli Jokinen “is a dressing room cancer”article.

He somehow sweet talked his way into the assistant Gm role, knowing probably that Edwards didn’t like Sutters control without getting results, and then sweet talked King and Edwards into thinking he could do better than Sutter, who Edwards grew weary of, as well as promising to be giving some of the decision making to Edwards and King, which fed their egos and obviously differed from Sutter’s approach. His comments, when he started in a fan forum, were simply the opposite of what Sutter said or did, such as being faster and more skilled and smaller, and, he’d have the infamous music in the dressing room turned up, not down, as Sutter did, and he knew that blatant and baseless pandering to the masses would get lapped up.

Let’s not forget the dismal way he discarded Conroy as a player very abruptly and without warning or dignity, his promises of players being the best players not in the league (Ortio), his pimping of Cervenka as the potential answer at center all summer, only to have Cervenka tell the press the opening practice that he much prefers wing. Or his fiery TV interview after bad period or two one game, where he spewed like a volcano, vowed changes in the next few days...the Flames lost, but crickets after that.

The peanuts for Iginla, mainly because he didn’t have the contacts or respect amongst other NHL execs to properly negotiate,and, not properly understanding what Iginla’s leeway was, and then dragging him and his agent through the mud, Getting peanuts for Bouwmeester too but happy because Bouwmeesters agent made it easier then Iginla’s and he mad a point of gloating about it. Earlier, of course, Regher getting punted against his will at the draft, so that he could clear room for Richards a few days later into a contract that the owners would’ve bought out just like the Rags did a few years later, and offered more $ then the Rags, but while still pursuing Ryan Smyth the same night. Slap in the face to Regher. The desperation to bring in Hartley since he worked with him before.

The ROR thing was his last straw. The disaster that would’ve caused this franchise would’ve been devastating without having ROR or Monahan. You didn’t hear a peep from him for weeks after that, which is rare as he didn’t meet a mic or a chance for a press leak he didn’t like. He was muzzled, and was only kept in along with Wisebrod to do the basic mechanics of the Iginla fire sale because King and Edwards, now fully aware of his incompetence, simply couldn’t do the mechanics of that and needed a GM, but probably could’ve gotten the same return if they handled the negotiations.

Edwards especially as a BoG, saw the toxic reputation that the GMs lack of ability and terrible dealings were having on the Flames reputation, and Calgary was suddenly a joke in the league for player, agents and other execs. It was his fault for getting fooled by Feaster, so he tried to fix it the year before with Shanahan, but his wife wouldn’t move here. The next offseason they basically gave Burke a blank cheque to fill in, both money wise and time wise, and gave him full ability to do whatever it takes to bring the franchise reputation back to the standard that was set under Fletcher and Sutter.

Thankfully, Burke was able to do that.

Fine, he along with Button picked a long shot in Janko, years ago that has come through, hopefully. JG was a pick but that was a full court sell by Conroy and the Flames brass to get him here because if he went back to college he was not going to sign with the Flames. For those moves, there more than any more false promises and hyperbole from Feaster, like wasting draft picks in trades for PLLL and Ivanins, all the goalies including Berra and Ramo and the out of shape Freddy Modin experiment which lasted a fortnight.

Not to get into this again but a lot of this is baseless opinion. Does the league changing the rules shortly after that affair not point to maybe feaster was more one the ball with the ror thing than most give him credit for?
Also don't like Jarome once again getting a free ride, far as I'm concerned the whole trade debacle was almost entirely on him. Deal was don e he kaiboshed it at the last second.

All that aside though who was going to come in and clean house and get everything we wanted for more than value and everyone was going to walk away feeling wonderful.

Feasted had his warts and most of them involved his mouth but at the end of the day the philosophical difference that has led to better drafting and scouting that we are now enjoying was implemented under feaster.

[heep223]

Feaster has been relegated to community relations for the Lightning since his GM role in Calgary. That really says it all.

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by blankall

Regehr was over the hill and not as effective in the new faster NHL.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

For the record, in no way do I think Feaster was a good GM. I think he was unprofessional, I think he was weak, I think he was a clown.

But he did draft Sean, Johnny and Janko. Thanks are in order.

No, Tod Button drafted those guys. And he still works for the team.

Although it would be fair to say Weisbrod had a lot of influence on the Janko pick it sounds like.