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Well I have to say that I was a little surprised to hear that Brian Burke and the Calgary Flames have hired a new GM since the club fired Jay Feaster in December of last year.
Although I did feel that Burke would hire a new GM to take over the everyday activities of running an NHL team, ultimately allowing him to take care of the beyond the scenes work, I didn’t think it would be done this early.
I’m sure a few of you are thinking to yourselves – Well, waiting five months to hire a new GM wasn’t exactly rushing things, Colin.
I get it, and all things considered the Flames did take their time to hire coach Bob Hartley’s new boss. However, where I felt differently was toward a notion that Burke would run the team for nearly a year before bringing in his own guy. Burke expressed he had no issues serving as acting GM and he had the knowledge and experience to take his time and set up the team for Feaster’s successor.
That said, I suppose five months was all he needed, despite not making a ton of changes to the team that Feaster has left behind. There are plenty of transactions to come about this offseason, and I would imagine that Burke took his time to instill a game plan, and find the right guy to carry it through – Brad Treliving.
Before I get into my thoughts and assessment on Brad as the new GM, let’s get one point out of the way – yes, his dad is Boston Pizza owner Jim Treliving and no, I don’t think season ticket holders will benefit from this in any way. I know many of you were wondering…
I digress.
For those who haven’t already done their research on Treliving, he comes for the Phoenix Coyotes organization as an assistant GM, and has earned much experience as GM of the San Antonio Rampage as well as the Portland Pirates. Treliving has gained a ton of credibility around the hockey world and having been the GM of two AHL teams in addition to being the President of the CHL, he brings with him firsthand knowledge of players at many levels of their careers.
Below is a biography of Brad, courtesy of the Phoenix Coyotes website.
Treliving, 44, joined the Coyotes after serving as the President of the Central Hockey League (CHL) for seven years. During his tenure, Treliving guided the CHL to remarkable growth and development. Numerous successful expansion franchises were introduced including the Arizona Sundogs in Prescott Valley who began play in a new arena in 2006-07. That season, the CHL led all North American “AA… professional hockey leagues in attendance for the sixth consecutive campaign.Treliving co-founded the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) in 1996 and served as the league’s Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations for five seasons. The native of Penticton, British Columbia played an integral role in the merger of the WPHL and the CHL in May 2001 upon which he began his tenure as President of the league.
With that established, and while I originally felt that Burke may have wanted to set the team in his own way a little more than he did, I like this decision. There was a lot of talk about possible GM’s such as Joe Nieuwendyk given his reputation with the team, but according to many sources Treliving was the only candidate interviewed for the position. Burke clearly had a certain type of person in mind and went after them.
Given that I don’t personally have a lot of background information or personal reservations toward the Flames new GM, I took my time researching the man before I would post any opinion on the matter. My initial thought was that Burke essentially hired a puppet who would act according to his commands, however this does not appear to be the case. I’ll have to stress the word “appears… at the moment, as we never really know what goes on in Burke’s head and or behind closed doors.
Anyways, from the several reports which I’ve read about Treliving (many of which were written prior to this announcement), in addition to interviews which Brad has taken, it appears that the man knows his stuff. Given that Burke claims that the new GM will have full autonomy, I certainly hope that his choice has a good head on his shoulders and is a smart, calculated, hockey person.
With nothing but good words coming from those who he’s worked alongside, Treliving and Burke will now begin the new era of the Calgary Flames which appears to be, once again, summed up as – truculent. And perhaps Burke is granting this full autonomy because he’s the closest carbon copy of himself?
“Turn on the TV tonight and watch the games,… said Treliving. “It’s hard hockey. It’s heavy hockey. It’s a big boys’ game out there. In order to have success, I fully believe you have to have a team that can play in those games.…
“What excites me [here] is this ownership group and their will to win. They’re prepared to do anything to assist in that.…
“I’m ready for this, I know I’m ready for this,… said Treliving. “I know the challenges we have ahead of us here as a team – and we do have challenges. I know the expectations of this market and fan base. I want you to know I’m prepared and ready for this challenge.…
With the decision coming before the end of the NHL playoffs, Brad and company will have plenty of time to make their own assessments of the team’s assets and prepare for the upcoming NHL draft which the Flames will be selecting 4th overall, provided nothing chances of course.
I expect Treliving to have a busy summer with respect to contract extensions, possible UFA signings, and at least a trade or two during or before the draft. His first few moves as GM will be heavily scrutinized, so I expect that a lot of thought will be behind each transaction.
Thanks for reading!