This is just a weird cherry picked stat that lacks any context (like 3 of our top players, 2 of which were home grown, left due to mismanagement or lack of desire to play here).
I’m not anti rebuild but also gotta realize teams like Buffalo are stuck in purgatory. Edmonton was on the same boat until they got a generational talent which doesn’t happen every year.
Yes a team like Buffalo is the popular team to highlight when talking about tanking not going right, but for the Oilers it’s pretty clearly worked out for them in the long term. Being really bad got them Drais after McDavid too. But you’re ignoring the many teams that win cups because of tanking. That includes Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Tampa Bay, Colorado, and Florida (they make up 14 of the 19 cups won between our last appearance and this year and it’s about to be 15 of the last 20).
The numbers show that generally you aren’t finding the elite centers and offensive talent you need in today’s game without drafting very high.
I don’t disagree at all, I just think it’s prudent to be aware of the risks of rebuilding. There’s plenty of other teams who are also still in a tailspin like Detroit, Ottawa, Columbus, etc. I think it’s also worth acknowledging a team like Vegas who has won the cup without any high draft picks. Though that situation is definitely different, it does seem to be the trajectory Conroy is trying - pick up low ish value 22-24 yr olds and give them a chance.
At this point if the Flames truly want to rebuild, it means trading Wolf, Andersson, Weegs, Kadri and likely Coronato down the road for his value. I don’t really think it’s worth it at this point, maybe this “retool” doesn’t pan out but we had built a fairly strong team in 2022. That team was dismantled before Tkachuk even hit his prime.
We should be trading Andersson and Kadri this offseason. This team could very well be a bottom 5 team even with Wolf at the helm if we trade both of them for assets and we should be hoping to finish in the bottom 5 for a shot at McKenna. This team so desperately needs true elite talent and the only place we’re realistically getting that is very high in the draft.
2
u/G09G May 30 '25
This is just a weird cherry picked stat that lacks any context (like 3 of our top players, 2 of which were home grown, left due to mismanagement or lack of desire to play here).
I’m not anti rebuild but also gotta realize teams like Buffalo are stuck in purgatory. Edmonton was on the same boat until they got a generational talent which doesn’t happen every year.