In the Calgary Flames management, everyone is saying the same thing, fumbling over themselves, trying not to say “rebuild,” the dirty word. Owners can’t afford to admit they are rebuilding. They worry it will be perceived negatively. Bottom line: owners don’t want their teams to be seen as Mickey Mouse organizations. It is a marketing intrusion; new words signal a new direction.
In Calgary, a new arena is being built, so the Flames want to be perceived as a new team, not as a refurbished relic. I am using Calgary as an example, but pretty much every owner wants their team to be known as a force to be reckoned with. In Hollywood parlance, no one wants their record to read like a Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The “in” thing nowadays is puck control and how vital it is to winning the game. They are all monitoring Corsi (Shots At Goal or Shot Attempt Share/SAT) and Fenwick (which excludes blocked shots). Every team now has a Corsi specialist, because no one wants to be left behind the eight ball. Right now the Flames haven’t even racked the balls. Simply put, the Flames are the kid with all the hand-me-downs, while everyone else has the latest toys. Hence the owners’ position: with the new arena, the team has to start moving in a new direction.
When a team stops moving, it stagnates and regresses, which is the last thing the Flames want as they transition to the new arena. Conroy has to show the owners he is on top of that. This is why he is acquiring young players who are ready to play now. Draft picks aren’t proven, and owners want solutions, something they can see working now.
Last word
Conroy is under the gun. Every General Manager gets a mulligan with the coach, but his life expectancy drops with a second coach—the owners will decide the problem lies elsewhere. Craig is ready to take action and may already be looking around. In the meantime, he has Huska’s career by the [use your imagination].
Randy
