The difference between Kent Wilson’s business and the Flames is that hockey is a zero-sum game. To be a winner, there has to be a loser. It’s not like the Flames can grow the pie and have a shot at multiple Stanley Cups in a year. One team winning the Cup necessarily means that 31 other teams will not win the Cup. 30 of the teams will not make it to the final. 28 teams will not even make it to the semi-final. In the past 20 years, Calgary has won more playoff series than the Leafs. Are the Leafs less serious than the Flames about winning a Cup?
A majority of teams in the NHL are mediocre because that is what a bell curve distribution is. Fully half the league will not make the playoffs this year. Do all those teams waffle on the path forward and not have a 5 year plan to win the Cup?
Wilson faults the Flames for taking a cautious approach (and why shouldn’t he…? it’s not like he will lose any money if the Flames fall flat on their face. Does he throw caution to the wind with his own company and his own money?) but is his approach better? Let’s say the Flames trade away everyone over 26 that doesn’t have a NMC. In 5 years, if the team is not a competitor, just trade away everyone and start over? Is he seriously suggesting this? Based on that logic, Toronto should’ve unloaded all its star players and started over. By his definition, they’re an unserious team to win the Cup. Matthews had 5 years to get a team close to the Cup. He failed. Trade him for a couple draft picks and a prospect another team isn’t totally sold on! Otherwise, Toronto’s not interested in winning the Cup.
I’d look at teams that had sustained success for 10, 15, 20 years. What worked for them? What doesn’t work for us? According to Wilson, what isn’t working for the Flames is the fact that Calgary won’t commit to icing a poor team for 5 years and gaming the draft system in the hopes that it will get lucky with some of its high picks?
Anyways, just tired of years of him saying the team should just start over, like it’s the one simple trick other teams just hate when you do it because it invariably leads to a Cup.
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The difference between Kent Wilson’s business and the Flames is that hockey is a zero-sum game. To be a winner, there has to be a loser. It’s not like the Flames can grow the pie and have a shot at multiple Stanley Cups in a year. One team winning the Cup necessarily means that 31 other teams will not win the Cup. 30 of the teams will not make it to the final. 28 teams will not even make it to the semi-final. In the past 20 years, Calgary has won more playoff series than the Leafs. Are the Leafs less serious than the Flames about winning a Cup?
A majority of teams in the NHL are mediocre because that is what a bell curve distribution is. Fully half the league will not make the playoffs this year. Do all those teams waffle on the path forward and not have a 5 year plan to win the Cup?
Wilson faults the Flames for taking a cautious approach (and why shouldn’t he…? it’s not like he will lose any money if the Flames fall flat on their face. Does he throw caution to the wind with his own company and his own money?) but is his approach better? Let’s say the Flames trade away everyone over 26 that doesn’t have a NMC. In 5 years, if the team is not a competitor, just trade away everyone and start over? Is he seriously suggesting this? Based on that logic, Toronto should’ve unloaded all its star players and started over. By his definition, they’re an unserious team to win the Cup. Matthews had 5 years to get a team close to the Cup. He failed. Trade him for a couple draft picks and a prospect another team isn’t totally sold on! Otherwise, Toronto’s not interested in winning the Cup.
I’d look at teams that had sustained success for 10, 15, 20 years. What worked for them? What doesn’t work for us? According to Wilson, what isn’t working for the Flames is the fact that Calgary won’t commit to icing a poor team for 5 years and gaming the draft system in the hopes that it will get lucky with some of its high picks?
Anyways, just tired of years of him saying the team should just start over, like it’s the one simple trick other teams just hate when you do it because it invariably leads to a Cup.