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With a new boss in town for the Calgary Flames, many of the same old questions but also new questions have risen from the general public and the mass media.
The Flames were a team last year who went on record to advise to their team and fan base that they are committing to a full rebuild. They are going to do what is necessary to restock their team of youth and promising future talent, but also stay competitive.
And while their GM at the time, Jay Feaster, was behind this direction 100%, the organization decided to let him go and replace him with Brad Treliving. I suppose it’s rather fitting to have your GM grow with your team given that Treliving has no prior GM experience. This way, Brian Burke and the Flames brass can help guide Brad while molding their team together.
But has anything changed since the formal announcement from Jay Feaster that this team is going in full rebuild mode? Treliving was recently interviewed by NHL.com where they hold a weekly Q&A session, and during said interview he echoed the very same sentiments as did Feaster, which is good news, I guess.
The Flames will continue to build for the future by adding young prospects and players, he said. They will remain competitive by doing what it takes to battle night in, night out as coach Bob Hartley ever so diligently proved this past season. So what does the new GM really plan on bringing to this team to make them better? Does he plan on sitting back and waiting for things to fall into place?
“…we're in early stages of a team that's gone through some transition over the last couple of years and we have to introduce some young players into our program, add some young assets, but the idea that we're going to sit here for 10 years and wait for players to get older after we draft them is … we want to move it along. It's hard to put timeframes on these, but we want to be aggressive on all fronts……
It’s quite clear why Burke chose this particular man for the job; they think alike. Perhaps the issue with Feaster at the time was that he was “too… patient? We all understand that a rebuilding team must remain patient if they are going to be successful for the long haul. However, there’s a fine line between being patient, and not doing enough. The latter half of that seemed to fall on Feaster and he was let go because of it.
With that being established, I fully expect that with Brian Burke still part of the organization and the man directly beneath him sharing similar qualities, that things are going to get done in Cowtown.
During Treliving’s interview he stated that he needs to take the necessary time to get to know the players and personnel of this organization before doing anything too hasty, which is wise, however I get the impression that he may pull the trigger on a few moves a little quicker and bolder than we all feel, given how Feaster was handling things.
Our first opportunity will be to see what he does with players who need to be extended, and others whose days are likely numbered with the Flames organization given their age or play of late. Either way, the Flames have a high draft pick this year and some assets available to them if they chose to make any bold moves.
Thanks for reading!