Cammalleri to Calgary

[coco_canuck]

As for Feasters draft record - he has built a stanley cup winner - enough said.

Feaster had literally no background in hockey when he entered the business. As assistant GM in Tampa, he was in charge of legal and contractual issues. He became GM in Feb. 2002.
The 2004 team only had 5 Tampa draft picks on the roster. They only had one Feaster pick, and that was Paul Ranger as 6th d. Only 3 Feaster picks have played over 100 NHL, and the only one that will surpass 250 games is Stamkos.

So lousy draft record, good pro scouting led to Tampa's Cup. If I'm not mistaken, Tampa has the record for fewest draftees on a championship team. I remember hearing a stat a few years ago that the only team to win the Cup without a significant portion of the roster (can't remember the number now, 50% maybe) being draftees was Dallas Stars.

Thanks for the details, I was too busy to look them up yesterday.

Feaster clearly did something right since he was the GM of a cup winner. But, when you have a team short on young, high-end talent, it's more than fair to size up the GM's draft record. History doesn't necessarily repeat itself, but Feaster does not have a good history of developing draft picks. If I were a Flames fan I'd want to see some results in the player development department before being overly confident in Feaster as the long-term GM.

[ESQ]

Regarding the Oilers strategy, I thought this was interesting - Oilers poised to become 2nd team in NHL history to get three-straight first overall picks http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2012/01/making-dubious-history.html

I want to say such a long string of futility is the wrong way to go, But Pitt went 1st (fleury), 2nd (Malkin), 1st (Crosby), 2nd (Staal), which is unbelievably terrible. Of course, in the process they picked up 2 generational talents, which I don't think the Oilers are doing.

[BCExpat]

Feaster drafted Bartschi last year. Although junior success doesn't always translate to NHL success, it looks like a pretty good pick. If he manages to pick up a player or 2 like that again this year, he's heading in the right direction. As mentioned above, Feaster is a lawyer - not a hockey man. His success will depend entirely on the hockey people he surrounds himself with. Feaster's talent lies in contract negotiations.

[dhabums]

I want to say such a long string of futility is the wrong way to go, But Pitt went 1st (fleury), 2nd (Malkin), 1st (Crosby), 2nd (Staal), which is unbelievably terrible. Of course, in the process they picked up 2 generational talents, which I don't think the Oilers are doing.

You are not watching HNIC properly if you haven't been convinced that RNH should be wearing 99.

[dhabums]

Feaster's talent lies in contract negotiations.

And lucky for him, he is following a total moron when it comes to contracts so he'll look brilliant no matter what.

[ESQ]

Feaster drafted Bartschi last year.

You've mentioned him a few times, tbh I don't know anything about him. Did he get hurt at the WJCs?

[Blob Mckenzie]

Feaster's tenure at the draft table which was 02 - 07 if I am correct looks like dog shit. The big dogs were already drafted and developed before he got his fat fingers into the mix. He did make a couple of key side deals and signings that panned out like Khabibulin and Boyle for instance.

[Potatoe1]

I dont see how a GM has time to so very much scouting so they are basically reliant on their scouts to stear them in the right direction.

I know the GM hires the scouts and is thus ultimately responsible, but given the number of variables involved I think it's a bit presumptive to say anything definitive about Feasters ability to draft well in Calgary.

[BCExpat]

Feaster drafted Bartschi last year.

You've mentioned him a few times, tbh I don't know anything about him. Did he get hurt at the WJCs?

Yeah - his was the Swiss team's best player. I haven't followed his status lately, but he has been lighting up the WHL. He's exactly what Calgary needs - a high end talented forward.

[Potatoe1]

Had a good look at the western standing......

I think the top7 are basically set. Van, Det, Chi, LA, Sharks, STL, Nash.

That basically means 1 spot for the rest of the conference.

Of that Group the Ducks are IMO the best team but their early season bed crapping has them too far back. The Stars are the next best team but they have just been hammered by injuries. Mini is terrible and falling like a rock. Phoenix has finally realized that they are terrible (despite convincing themselves otherwise for a couple years) and I dont expect them to be fooled again.

Basically we have Calgary and Colorado left and I have a feeling the more veteran Flames team might just be able to leg this one out, especially with management giving them a push with the Cammy trade.

They still suck, but I think they have a good shot at 8th and hopefully the Canucks push hard to first so we can absolutely bitch slap them in the first round.

Wouldn't that be fun?

Detroit seems to get a cupcake every year round one. Somehow we have ended up with LA, STL, and CHI the past 3 years, how is that fair?

It's our turn IMO, and would there be a better team to kick the hell out of them the Flames?

That first seed is going to be the money spot this season IMO, the second and 3rd spots are going to get a team that's probably only a few points behind them.

I know people seem to not care about finishing first this year but the difference between a short series against a cupcake like the Flames or Av's vs. a long and hard series against a team like LA could be huge.

[mathonwy]

I like cupcakes. They're tasty.

[dhabums]

I know people seem to not care about finishing first this year...

I think we all care and we all know it. We just don't want to say it. Ever find yourself checking the top of the Eastern standings?

[Fred]

I just realized the other day like you Pot that many spots are already apparently spoken for. If you look at the winning percentage of the teams outside the top 8, multiply by the number of games they have left...add in the make up games they have to win...it's a steep curve

[jwmann2]

Going from the Habs to the Flames just wouldn't be cool as a player. Montreal has better fans and is a better city. 3 million dollars though, I'll play anywhere.