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Possible Major Screw Up By Feaster and Co. With O'Reilly...

March 1, 2013, 2:07 PM ET [138 Comments]
Colin Dambrauskas
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me on Twitter: @ColinDJD


The Calgary Flames were defeated not just once last night by the Colorado Avalanche, but twice. Not only did they manage to lose 5-4 to the Avs after a comfortable three goal lead, they also were ousted in terms of their offer sheet to Ryan O’Reilly, which Colorado matched within hours of it being submitted.

But did they actually lose out?...

It turns out that Flames management dodge a very large bullet after the Avalanche matched their offer sheet. Somehow, Feaster and Co. missed the fact that had Colorado not matched their offer, O’Reilly would have needed to clear waivers before joining the Flames. That’s right…there was an opportunity that the Flames would have sacrificed two 2013 draft selections and acquired nothing for them in return.

Mind boggling how professionals of the sport missed this one entirely. Talk about setting the team back…this would have cost a few jobs and been a never-ending joke around the league, I’m sure.

As per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet:

The unsigned forward spent part of the NHL lockout playing with his brother, Cal, for Magnitogorsk in Russia. According to Metallurg coach Paul Maurice and KHL spokesman Shawn McBride, he appeared in games on Jan. 21 and Jan. 23 – both after the shortened NHL schedule was back underway – which meant that waivers were required before O’Reilly could return to the NHL as a free agent midway through the season.

…. That would have created a potentially disastrous situation where the Flames had to send two decent draft picks to Colorado before losing the rights to O’Reilly immediately afterwards. Hypothetically, it could even have been the Avalanche that ended up putting in a waiver claim on the player, assuming that they dropped back below Calgary in the standings by the time he hit the wire at the end of next week.



In any case, O’Reilly is enroute back to Denver to join his team and should be playing with the roster right away. The framework of the deal initiated by Feaster leaves the Avalanche with some troubles carrying forward, as Ryan has not really established himself as a top line centerman and he also has to compete with other young stars on the team for contract dollars. The Avalanche are now required to pay the young center $6.5M next year. Good luck re-signing Duchene for anything less than that…

With respect to last night’s game, I don’t have a whole lot to discuss. The game was nothing short of disappointing, especially after having an early three goal lead against a struggling team like Colorado. The team as a whole broke down and lost yet another opportunity at two points. It’s really starting to get to the time of this shortened season where if a team continues to display such inconsistencies, their GM will either begin to panic and make uncalculated moves(as shown last night) or they ride it out and hope for better next year.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Feaster is working on improving his team as best as he can, as the current results cannot be sitting well with him…or anyone for that matter. Whether the Flames (after dodging such a bullet recently) change pace and start moving a few bodies in order to retool their team, or continue to make immediate impact moves is still left to be seen. Last night’s attempt at acquiring O’Reilly was "strategic effort" to claim a young (much needed) center for their organization which ultimately failed. Had the Flames acquired Ryan, they would have not only strengthened their immediate roster, but also made it that much younger.

Now that we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Calgary didn’t make such a big mistake, we can look forward. Feaster is certainly looking to improve his team and he has plenty of time left to make adjustments in order to find success this year; whether that means making the playoffs, or acquiring youthful assets for the future.

The Flames sit but 6 points back of third place in the Western Conference, and there is still more than half a season left. Because I have no direct relation with the Flames management team, I cannot express which mindset they currently hold with respect to their existing roster. However, it’s safe to say they are not unmindful of their lack of consistency and strength as a team and should act accordingly.

The Flames will have two days off to prepare for their next match up against their divisional rivals in Vancouver. They have reassigned Akim Aliu to the Abbotsford Heat to make room for recently acquired Brian McGrattan.

Thanks for reading!


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