Follow Colin on Twitter! Follow @ColinDJD So the Calgary Flames have nine wins and 20 points in just 17 games played. Who woulda thunk!
With their current 10 game record of 5-3-2 which allowed 12 out of a possible 20 points, the team doesn’t necessarily seem to be slowing down, either. And with all that being said, I caution the organization and the fanbase; don’t get too excited and make stupid decisions.
As you are all aware by now, or at least so I hope, I follow both the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs. As such, I have witnessed this very situation come about with respect to the Maple Leafs where the management and fans thought their team was perhaps a little better, or more ready for playoffs, than they actually were.
Now, this isn’t to say that this team couldn’t actually compete for a playoff push if they continued to play the way that they are, rather I offer that they should not necessarily “try… to make moves within the organization to succeed beyond what they currently have to offer.
And let me clarify, again…of course this team should always try and improve through addition and subtraction, but they should not and must not make any moves where they sell off young prospects or players for more experienced NHLers in the hopes that it pushes them into a stronger playoff contending position.
I have seen it happen too many times. Teams play better than expected, fans and management get a little too excited and make a move or two which they soon regret. This team is playing some exciting hockey, they are still top ten in the league and their play (outside of last) doesn’t appear to be slowing down at any rate.
While I don’t really expect them to maintain their current position for too long, I do expect them to maintain their play and level of effort. Do I believe that the team should try and move a few “bums… and continue to tweak the roster to avoid falling down in the standings? Of course I do and any GM should feel the same.
This team isn’t expected to make the playoffs but I wholeheartedly do not expect them to be bottom feeders which much of the league seem to think. This group, this coach, and those around them do not have it in them to simply accept defeat and I do not think that they will be pushed around much, if at all, as the season progresses.
And the above is exactly what Bob Hartley intends on doing – proving the masses wrong and competing night in, night out.
One of my (junior) owners once told me, ‘I’m going to give you a Ferrari. Wreck it. Scratch it. Roll it over. Do anything to finish first. Don’t bring me back a Ferrari (that’s) spotless after the season,’ … Hartley explained. ‘If you wreck it, we’ll get a new one. But don’t tell me that (you) saved the Ferrari so that it looked shiny. I really learned from this.… “That has basically been my coaching motto since then.…
“You know what?… he said. “I’m going to run the table. I’m going to be all in every game. I’ve never coached with the fear of making a decision. I’d rather make a bad decision than (be) sitting in my office after, (thinking), ‘Maybe I should’ve made that decision.’ Me, I’m a guy that coaches on my toes. I don’t coach on my heels.
“I want (my) teams to have the same pattern — go, and if we break something, we’ll pick up the pieces after.…
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