I can't really remember at which point I developed an interest in contracts, salary cap and all the rules and regulations that go along with this kind of stuff. It was probably a few years ago when I slowly turned into a "hardcore fan", I would say - before that, I only cared about which team had which players on their NHL team. I knew there was a draft, I knew that most of the players were put on of those "junior teams" before they hit the big show, but I had no idea about the difference between WHL/OHL/QMJHL kids, European prospects and college-bound players. Sure enough, the 2005 lockout helped me realize just how tricky all that stuff behind the scenes can actually be.
Once you get a grasp of the system, it's quite easy to understand. Players from the three major junior leagues have to get signed within two years, as well as European players (this rule has since been changed to four years in the new CBA). College-bound players can only be signed if they turn pro immediately, they stay in college for a max of four years and if they do so, NHL teams can sign them until August 15 in the fourth year after the draft, the length of the ELC is determined by the player's age. So far, so good.
But of course, as in most situations in life that are regulated by contracts and handled by lawyers, there are loopholes that shake up the system from time to time. In terms of college prospects, this shake up came twice during the previous CBA that ran from 2005 to 2012, at the hands of Blake Wheeler (drafted by Phoenix in 2004) and Justin Schultz (drafted by Anaheim in 2008). Both players did not immediately go to college after being drafted, but instead played another season in the USHL (Wheeler) and the BCHL (Schultz) before enrolling to the University of Minnesota (Wheeler) and Wisconsin (Schultz), respectively. This meant that both players were four years away from their draft year when they eventually finished their third year at college, meaning that they were able to become unrestricted free agents almost immediately if they decided to leave school a year early, whereas the NHL teams that drafted them would have kept their rights for another year if they stayed at school. Wheeler and Schultz opted for the first choice and left their original teams empty-handed, signing with the Boston Bruins (Wheeler) and Edmonton Oilers (Schultz), respectively. Whether or not this possibility was removed in the new CBA is unclear.
The other nightmare for a franchise is when a player decides to not sign an ELC with that team. CHL prospects and European players barely opt to do that, since they would have to re-enter the draft and again would have no control over their destiny. However, the Calgary Flames have suffered such a setback two years ago when rearguard Tim Erixon, selected in the first round two years prior, refused to sign a contract with the Flames. Officially, Erixon and his agent were worried about playing time, but that already sounded like a lame excuse back then und has since been disproved, as Derek Smith made the team out of camp a couple months later. A more realistic scenario is that Erixon wanted to play for the New York Rangers, the former team of his father. Flames GM Jay Feaster was subsequently forced to trade Erixon to New York - a deal that has since been met with excitement by the fans because the Flames came away with three solid young prospects in Roman Horak, Tyler Wotherspoon and Markus Granlund.
Just a few weeks ago, the Flames were at the other end of the drama, with Hobey Baker finalist Corban Knight refusing to sign a contract with the Florida Panthers. The Flames ended up trading a 4th round pick for him and signing him to a two-year ELC, what seems like a very good move at this point.
Only time will tell if the Flames got the better end of the Erixon and Knight trades, but it's moments like the Knight situation that make Flames fans cringe. Right now, the Flames possess several prospects in the college ranks, including 2012 first rounder Mark Jankowski and goaltender Jon Gillies. But it's the smallish 4th round pick from the 2011 draft that has fans concerned, as it seems. Given that Johnny Gaudreau is attending Boston College and John Weisbrod stated that the Bruins were eager to draft him, one has no difficulties envisioning an unpleasant scenario somewhere down the road. Trade rumours like the recent Tyler Seguin talks will only fuel speculation among fans who, after the draft and the free agent frenzy, are stuck in a summer slump as it seems.
In an attempt to "estimate the risk" of a college player refusing to sign, I decided to take a look at college-bound players taken in the NHL drafts between 2005 and 2009. This seemed like a good time frame - 2005 marks the beginning of the previous CBA and drafts later than 2009 are irrelevant for this exercise due to the four years of NCAA eligibility. I also decided to limit this exercise to the first three rounds of the drafts - mainly for time reasons, but also due to the fact that the number of busts is a lot higher in the later rounds and high-end players with enough options to forfeit a contract are pretty rare once you hit triple-digits. Excluded from the exercise is Scott Winkler, a Stars 3rd rounder from 2009 who sadly passed away last month. Here are the results:
2005
1st round # 3 overall - CAR - D Jack Johnson - traded to Kings, signed there in 2007
1st round # 7 overall - CHI - F Jack Skille - signed with Blackhawks in 2007
1st round # 9 overall - OTT - D Brian Lee - signed with Senators in 2007
1st round #14 overall - WSH - D Sasha Pokulok - signed with Capitals in 2006
1st round #24 overall - STL - F T.J. Oshie - signed with Blues in 2008
1st round #25 overall - EDM - F Andrew Cogliano - signed with Oilers in 2007
1st round #27 overall - WSH - D Joe Finley - signed with Capitals in 2009
1st round #28 overall - MIN - D Matt Niskanen - signed with Stars in 2007
2nd round #34 overall - COL - F Ryan Stoa - signed with Avalanche in 2009
2nd round #36 overall - EDM - D Taylor Chorney - signed with Oilers in 2008
2nd round #38 overall - NJD - G Jeff Frazee - signed with Devils in 2008
2nd round #42 overall - DET - F Justin Abdelkader - signed with Red Wings in 2008
2nd round #44 overall - COL - F Paul Stastny - signed with Avalanche in 2006
2nd round #47 overall - COL - F Tom Fritsche - signed with Avalanche in 2008
2nd round #51 overall - VAN - F Mason Raymond - signed with Canucks in 2007
2nd round #53 overall - ATL - F Andrew Kozek - signed with Thrashers in 2009
2nd round #54 overall - CHI - F Dan Bertram - signed with Blackhawks in 2008
2nd round #58 overall - CAR - D Nate Hagemo - bust, never even played in AHL
2nd round #60 overall - LAK - D T.J. Fast - left college, traded to Blues and signed in 2008
2nd round #61 overall - PIT - D Michael Gergen - bust, never even played in AHL
3rd round #63 overall - ANA - F Jason Bailey - left college, signed with Ducks in 2008
3rd round #72 overall - LAK - G Jonathan Quick - signed with Kings in 2007
3rd round #76 overall - NYI - F Shea Guthrie - bust, never even played in AHL
3rd round #85 overall - STL - G Ben Bishop - signed with Blues in 2008
3rd round #86 overall - EDM - F Robby Dee - bust, only 3 AHL games
3rd round #88 overall - COL - F T.J. Hensick - signed with Avalanche in 2007
2006
1st round # 1 overall - STL - D Erik Johnson - signed with Blues in 2007
1st round # 3 overall - CHI - F Jonathan Toews - signed with Blackhawks in 2007
1st round # 5 overall - BOS - F Phil Kessel - signed with Bruins in 2006
1st round # 7 overall - NYI - F Kyle Okposo - signed with Islanders in 2008
1st round #19 overall - ANA - D Mark Mitera - signed with Ducks in 2009
1st round #20 overall - MTL - D David Fischer - bust, only 2 AHL games
1st round #29 overall - PHX - D Chris Summers - signed with Coyotes in 2010
2nd round #32 overall - PIT - D Carl Sneep - signed with Penguins in 2010
2nd round #39 overall - PHI - F Andreas Nodl - signed with Flyers in 2008
2nd round #42 overall - PHI - D Mike Ratchuk - signed with Flyers in 2008
2nd round #45 overall - EDM - D Jeff Petry - signed with Oilers in 2009
2nd round #52 overall - WSH - D Keith Seabrook - left college, traded to Flames and signed in 2009
2nd round #56 overall - NSH - F Blake Geoffrion - signed with Predators in 2010
2nd round #61 overall - CHI - D Simon Danis-Pepin - signed with Blackhawks in 2009
2nd round #63 overall - CAR - D Jamie McBain - signed with Hurricanes in 2009
3rd round #65 overall - PIT - D Brian Strait - signed with Penguins in 2009
3rd round #68 overall - OTT - D Eric Gryba - signed with Senators in 2010
3rd round #74 overall - LAK - G Jeff Zatkoff - signed with Kings in 2008
3rd round #78 overall - TBL - D Kevin Quick - signed with Lightning in 2008
3rd round #79 overall - PHI - F Jonathan Matsumoto - signed with Flyers in 2007
3rd round #80 overall - ATL - F Michael Forney - signed with Thrashers in 2009
3rd round #81 overall - COL - F Mike Carman - signed with Avalanche in 2010
3rd round #89 overall - CGY - F Aaron Marvin - bust, only 5 AHL games
2007
1st round # 2 overall - PHI - F James van Riemsdyk - signed with Flyers in 2009
1st round # 3 overall - PHX - F Kyle Turris - signed with Coyotes in 2008
1st round #12 overall - MTL - D Ryan McDonagh - traded to Rangers and signed in 2010
1st round #14 overall - COL - D Kevin Shattenkirk - signed with Avalanche in 2010
1st round #18 overall - STL - D Ian Cole - signed with Blues in 2010
1st round #21 overall - EDM - F Riley Nash - traded to Hurricanes and signed in 2010
1st round #22 overall - MTL - F Max Pacioretty - signed with Canadiens in 2008
1st round #25 overall - VAN - F Patrick White - bust, never played a pro game in NA
1st round #27 overall - DET - D Brendan Smith - signed with Red Wings in 2010
1st round #28 overall - SJS - D Nick Petrecki - signed with Sharks in 2009
1st round #29 overall - OTT - F Jim O'Brien - left college, signed with Senators in 2009
2nd round #35 overall - BOS - D Tommy Cross - signed with Bruins in 2012
2nd round #38 overall - CHI - F Bill Sweatt - didn't sign with Chicago, later signed with Canucks in 2010
2nd round #44 overall - STL - F Aaron Palushaj - signed with Blues in 2009
2nd round #45 overall - COL - D Colby Cohen - signed with Avalanche in 2010
2nd round #46 overall - WSH - D Theo Ruth - traded to Blue Jackets and signed in 2010
2nd round #50 overall - DAL - F Nico Sacchetti - bust, never played a pro game in NA
2nd round #53 overall - CBJ - D Will Weber - signed with Blue Jackets in 2012
2nd round #55 overall - COL - F T.J. Galiardi - left college, signed with Avalanche in 2008
2nd round #57 overall - NJD - F Mike Hoeffel - signed with Devils in 2011
3rd round #68 overall - CBJ - F Jake Hansen - signed with Blue Jackets in 2012
3rd round #76 overall - NYI - F Jason Gregoire - used "Schultz loophole", signed with Jets in 2011
3rd round #77 overall - TBL - F Alexander Killorn - signed with Lightning in 2012
3rd round #81 overall - NSH - F Ryan Thang - signed with Predators in 2010
3rd round #84 overall - WSH - F Philip DeSimone - was not signed, is on AHL deals since then
3rd round #87 overall - NJD - D Corbin McPherson - signed with Devils in 2012
3rd round #89 overall - BUF - F Corey Tropp - signed with Sabres in 2010
3rd round #90 overall - OTT - F Louie Caporusso - signed with Senators in 2011
2008
1st round # 7 overall - NSH - F Colin Wilson - signed with Predators in 2009
1st round #16 overall - BOS - F Joe Colborne - signed with Bruins in 2010
1st round #17 overall - ANA - D Jake Gardiner - traded to Maple Leafs and signed in 2011
1st round #29 overall - ATL - F Daultan Leveille - was not signed, is on an AHL deal since then
2nd round #36 overall - NYI - F Corey Trivino - was not signed, is in ECHL since then
2nd round #37 overall - CBJ - D Cody Goloubef - signed with Blue Jackets in 2010
2nd round #40 overall - NYI - D Aaron Ness - signed with Islanders in 2011
2nd round #42 overall - OTT - D Patrick Wiercioch - signed with Senators in 2010
2nd round #43 overall - ANA - D Justin Schultz - used "Schultz loophole", signed with Oilers in 2012
2nd round #45 overall - CAR - F Zac Dalpe - signed with Hurricanes in 2010
2nd round #51 overall - NYR - F Derek Stepan - signed with Rangers in 2010
2nd round #52 overall - NJD - D Brandon Burlon - signed with Devils in 2011
2nd round #56 overall - MTL - F Danny Kristo - signed with Canadiens in 2013
2nd round #60 overall - CHI - F Jimmy Hayes - signed with Blackhawks in 2011
3rd round #62 overall - SJS - F Justin Daniels - bust, never even played in the AHL
3rd round #63 overall - LAK - F Robbie Czarnik - left college, signed with Kings in 2011
3rd round #66 overall - NYI - F David Toews - left college, never signed, only 2 AHL games
3rd round #81 overall - BUF - D Corey Fienhage - left college, signed with Sabres in 2011
3rd round #86 overall - MTL - F Steve Quailer - signed with Canadiens in 2012
3rd round #91 overall - DET - D Max Nicastro - signed with Red Wings in 2012
2009
1st round #16 overall - MIN - D Nick Leddy - traded to Blackhawks and signed in 2010
1st round #18 overall - MTL - F Louis Leblanc - left college, signed with Canadiens in 2011
1st round #19 overall - NYR - F Chris Kreider - signed with Rangers in 2012
1st round #22 overall - VAN - F Jordan Schroeder - signed with Canucks in 2010
1st round #26 overall - ANA - F Kyle Palmieri - signed with Ducks in 2010
1st round #28 overall - CHI - D Dylan Olsen - signed with Blackhawks in 2010
2nd round #36 overall - PHX - F Chris Brown - signed with Coyotes in 2012
2nd round #38 overall - DAL - F Alex Chiasson - signed with Stars in 2012
2nd round #41 overall - NSH - F Zach Budish - signed with Predators in 2013
2nd round #43 overall - SJS - D William Wrenn - left college, never signed
2nd round #44 overall - FLA - F Drew Shore - signed with Panthers in 2012
2nd round #51 overall - CAR - D Brian Dumoulin - signed with Hurricanes in 2012
2nd round #56 overall - CBJ - F Kevin Lynch - not signed yet, deadline August 15
2nd round #61 overall - PIT - D Philip Samuelsson - signed with Penguins in 2011
3rd round #63 overall - PIT - F Ben Hanowski - traded to Calgary and signed in 2013
3rd round #67 overall - FLA - F Josh Birkholz - only signed to AHL deal
3rd round #69 overall - DAL - F Reilly Smith - signed with Stars in 2012
3rd round #79 overall - MTL - D Mac Bennett - goes back to college for his senior year
3rd round #83 overall - VAN - D Kevin Connauton - left college, signed with Canucks in 2010
3rd round #89 overall - CHI - F Daniel Delisle - not signed yet, deadline August 15
3rd round #91 overall - PHX - G Mike Lee - signed with Coyotes in 2012
-------------------------------------------------------
118 players total
88 players signed an ELC with the team they were drafted by = 74,6 %
9 players were traded and signed an ELC with another NHL team = 7,6 %
3 players are still NCAA eligible/rights until August 15 = 2,5 %
2 players used the "Schultz loophole" = 1,7 %
16 players didn't sign with their original team/"busts" = 13,6 %
As for these 118 players, we can see that 3 out of 4 college prospects signed with the team that drafted them. Please note that except for Bill Sweatt, none of the 16 players that didn't sign or weren't offered an ELC has since signed with an NHL team - most of them have retired, defected to Europe or settled for a journeyman career in the AHL and ECHL.
Even if there will always be a spark of uncertainty until our high-end college prospects actually sign, the numbers would suggest that there is not much to worry about. After slowly forgetting about Erixon, the Corban Knight situation, although beneficial for the Flames, was another reminder to the fans that those things are never certain until the are actually done, but at this point, it also seems premature to worry about such nightmares that are in either case at least a year away. Right now, with a rebuild in its early stages and an arena affected by the horrible floods, the Flames and their fans to have more pressing concerns.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Rebuild. Or: The new chapter in the history of the Calgary Flames.
I couldn't
sleep. There I was, at 3 in the morning, constantly hitting F5 on my computer,
waiting for a confirmation of the rumors. Alex Khokhlachev, Matt Bartkowski and
a 1st round pick were rumored to be the return. It made sense - the Bruins had
scratched both players from their lineup that night. I wasn't too thrilled with
the return, mainly because I didn't think that Bartkowski would turn out to be
a very good NHL player. I could live with it though, Khokhlachev is a fine
prospect and the 1st must have been the main piece for the Flames from the start.
Some fans probably had unrealistic expectations ... but hey, it's Jarome Iginla,
after all. I finally went to bed, believing that the era of Jarome in Calgary
was over and that he would be a member of the Boston Bruins by the time I would
wake up.
He wasn't,
of course. I nearly spit out my coffee when I read the headline on NHL.com -
"Flames trade Iginla to Pittsburgh". I anxiously scrolled down to see the
return, only to read the names of two players that I had never heard before.
At least the 1st round pick was there, too. Checking Ben Hanowski and Kenny
Agostino on HockeyDB, Eliteprospects and HockeyFuture painted a better picture,
but in the end, I didn't really care too much about the return. What really
stood out to me was: they are really doing this. They have really traded HIM.
They are finally embarking on the painful, but necessary new chapter in the
franchise's history. They hate the word in Cowtown and Mr. Feaster and his
entourage avoid it whenever they can, but there is no denying anymore: the
Flames are rebuilding.
Finally. If
you ask me if it is the right decision to do this now, my answer is a loud and
clear 'NO'. The right time would have been two years ago, when the whole team
caught fire in the second half of the season and Iginla was a 43-goal-scorer. The
organization held on to their guys back then, and a year later, despite Feaster's
famous rant a few days earlier, they stood pat once again ... unsurprisingly, trying
the same thing over and over didn't result in different outcomes. The Flames
have delayed the rebuild for as long as possible, have waited until their hands
were tied ... that didn't help the return they'd get for our franchise players,
of course. But I for one am just happy that it is happening now - trading
Jarome is still a better option than allowing him to leave for free after the
season.
The Flames
have also shipped out Jay Bouwmeester for Mark Cundari, Reto Berra and a
conditional 1st round pick from St Louis (it's a 2013 1st if the Blues make the
playoffs, otherwise it's a 2014 1st and an additional 2013 4th) before sending
Blake Comeau to Columbus for a 5th round pick. I would have expected more
trades, but at the end of the day, it seems like a guy like Anton Babchuk wasn't
enticing enough to other clubs and guys like Mike Cammalleri and Matt Stajan
will probably have even bigger value next year. They tried to send out Miikka Kiprusoff,
but eventually granted his wish to stay in Calgary and retire as a Flame.
It is
hardly surprising that the Flames have lost every single game since the
deadline. The first games without Iggy and J-Bo have, at times, been
underwhelming for me ... mainly because the veterans of the team haven't taken
the chance to step up and lead by example. With the face of the franchise and
the top defenseman gone, I would have expected the Tanguays, Cammalleris and
Glencrosses on this team to audition for the vacant captaincy, but I haven't
seen anything of that over the last few games.
The most
positive thing is that the Flames have had an influx of young talent coming in,
as they have called up Brett Carson, Roman Horak, Max Reinhart and Sven
Baertschi to fill the voids and audition for next year. It is a positive sign
that the Flames have gone that route and that Bob Hartley, a man with a
reputation to be hard on youngsters, is willing to give a rookie like Max
Reinhart a total of 16 minutes of ice time in his very first NHL game. The
Flames need that youthful energy, and hopefully a part of this jump will
eventually carry over to the veterans. Otherwise, I surely hope that the
"C" will stay vacant next year.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Endurance. Or: Time is running out.
Being an
NHL fan in Europe comes with obvious downfalls. It took years before I was
finally able to end my not nearly sufficient routine of reading the
play-by-play on NHL.com and actually start to watch games. Products like
Gamecenter Live have done wonders for us Euro hockey nuts, but there is still
an obvious obstacle in the way, especially for a fan of a team based in the
Western Conference: time.
Oh, the
numerous nights that I have spent in front of the computer. I have been called
crazy by a list of people, including friends, family and girlfriends over all
the years. I do not care - if the on-ice product is exciting, it is worth the
effort. Depending on the day, the opponent, the time of the puck drop and my
start of work on the next day (as a teacher, it varies), I have always been
left with two choices: either stay up and watch the game (or portions of it),
or go to bed and simply watch the highlights and read the recap in the morning.
Watching a period or two and then calling it a night has produced some unexpected
results, including one particular game against the Hawks that every Flames fan
will painfully remember. Luckily, going to bed with the Flames having a 5-0
lead and waking up to the impossible final score of 5-6 is rare. I absolutely
love matinees, but of course, the Flames will only play a very limited number
of those every year.
Gamecenter
Live has given me a third option though: go to bed and watch the game re-live
the next day. And while it is a great feature to have, this exercise requires a
lot more endurance than I thought. To me, it only makes sense if I do not know
the score, and that means no message boards, no social media and no casual
visits to NHL.com before I actually see the game. As a guy that loves to use
his smartphone on the bus, this really presents a challenge every now and then.
Over the
last couple weeks, the time factor has been eased a bit, as the North Americans
turned their clocks on March 10. Here in Europe, we change them on March 31, so
essentially, the games start an hour earlier. But here's the catch: what would
normally be a pleasant opportunity to catch more games (or longer parts of
games before I hit the sack) does not excite me at all right now. The Calgary
Flames have managed to virtually take away all the pleasure of watching them.
Since I
gained that extra hour, the Flames have managed to win two home games, while
losing all four games on the road. After an expected, but not as terrible loss as
expected in Los Angeles, they went on to lose against three "neighbors"
in the standings - Dallas, Nashville and Columbus scored a total of 14 times on
Joey MacDonald (Dallas) and Miikka Kiprusoff (Nashville and Columbus), extending
the Flames' losing streak away from the Saddledome to nine games. It even seems
to finally dawn on an always-positive guy like Bob Hartley that this team will (again)
get nowhere this year.
The current
situation of the Flames makes me think of a video that the Flames put on their
website ahead of the season. Jay Feaster gave a speech to the Flames players in
the locker room, introduced them to Bob Hartley and spoke about "a fresh
start, a clean slate of ice". That's exactly what this franchise needs at
this point. I am not going to rehash trade rumors, there are
dozens of them out there anyway - realistic and unrealistic ones. All I can say
is that the Flames have to maximize their assets and cash in on the opportunity
of being one of the few sellers this year. Finally do what you should have done two or three years ago: get younger, stockpile draft picks and
turn this franchise around. Hold on to your draft picks and select the best player available. Otherwise, you're accepting your fate of being a bottom-dweller for years to come.
Time is
running out for this organization. If the Flames don't make the necessary
changes over the next two weeks, I doubt I'll be there to watch them when we
finally turn our clocks too.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Patience. Or: the Importance of the Entry Draft in Today's NHL.
When the Calgary Flames filed an offer sheet for Colorado's restricted free agent Ryan O'Reilly, the reactions seemed to vary among the fanbase. Skimming various forums and message boards on the internet was interesting because it was a move that garnered a lot of different opinions. I have read posts by fans who applauded our GM Jay Feaster for making such a bold move to address an area where the Flames have had a glaring need for many years. I have read posts by fans who liked the move, but were concerned because of the high cap hit and the high salary in the second year of the contract. And I have read posts by fans who debated whether a somewhat proven NHL forward like O'Reilly would be worth giving up a first and a third round pick.
In the end, it does not really matter, since the Avalanche matched the
offer sheet within a few hours, and the disappointment of the fans turned into
a feeling of gratitude towards the Avalanche very quickly when we learned that
O'Reilly would have required waivers to be eligible to wear the Flaming C this
year. Giving up a first and a third round selection for O'Reilly, only to lose
him on waivers, is a scary notion that should have consequences behind the
curtains. But let's ignore the troubling image for such a franchise-crippling scenario
and look at the facts: the Flames, desperate as always to acquire a true top
center, were willing to give up a first and a third round pick to acquire
O'Reilly. Already missing their second and their fifth round selection, the
Flames were willing to limp into the draft with a fourth round selection as
their highest pick - something that not even Darryl Sutter, the master of
pick-trading, dared to do.
It seems like it took the Flames some time to understand that trading
away draft pick after draft pick was a bad idea. It finally dawned on Darryl
Sutter that the organization had mortgaged their future when it was already too
late: the cupboards were bare. It was only then when Sutter made substantial
changes behind the curtains, installing a better scouting department and adding
more scouts. It was a needed adjustment, but still, the mentality did not seem
to change drastically when Jay Feaster took over. Since the "acting
GM" tag was lifted, Feaster has traded away two second round
selections. He and John Weisbrod were willing to part with their 2012 first
round pick until Weisbrod saw Mark Jankowski play. They were willing to give up on
nearly the whole 2013 draft class. Yes, Feaster has also acquired some picks,
but in my honest opinion, he should add to the picks the Flames have, not
recoup them because he traded them before.
The Flames are always desperate to make the playoffs - it seems that matters
most to the organization, even if they only manage to crawl in on the final day
of the regular season. They tend to think that shuffling the cards will do the
trick and often look at trades and free agents to make it happen. The draft has
obviously never looked that important to the Flames when it comes to building
their hockey club. One look at the sixteen organizations that made the playoffs
last year shows that this is a huge mistake: most of those teams have been
built through the draft.
You do not have to be Einstein to understand the point I want to make.
The number of players that were drafted by the Calgary Flames and donned the
Flaming C in more than 30 regular season games last year is a sad and
underwhelming three. Blueliner T.J. Brodie leads this "pack" with 54
games after being recalled from the AHL early in the season and deservedly sticking
with the team for the remainder of the season. Due to injuries, Mikael Backlund
only had 41 games to his name, and the third player in this group is forward
David Moss - a seventh round pick from 2001 who left the club through free
agency in July. In the lockout-shortened 2013 season, this number could be
slightly higher for the Flames, thanks to the addition of Steve Begin, a Flames
draft pick from 1996. Brodie, Backlund and Sven Baertschi are also on pace for
more than 30 games on a 82 game basis.
The Flames have to develop a similar understanding of the Entry Draft's value if they want to build a successful hockey club. Trading your draft picks for immediate help or trading down for quantity over quality have not done the trick for this organization and it is time to change the overall mentality. The Flames have to have patience with their prospects - and the selection of a long-term project like Mark Jankowski in the 2012 draft gives me hope that the Flames have started to understand. However, the Flames have to stop giving out draft picks like candy, and while a player like Ryan O'Reilly might be worth a first and a third round pick, drafting your first player at around pick number 100 in a deep draft class like the upcoming one is simply nothing but a bad idea. Especially when you are a team in need of fresh blood and long-term help like the Calgary Flames.
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