https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/defiant-flames-president-don-maloney-not-giving-up-on-season/
Continues regurgitation about the "Dallas model", how buffalo never worked when they rebuilt, and even shades mckenna a little bit and seems like he doesnt want any part of being able to pick him.
Some notable quotes
DM: There's examples out there right now where you're talking potentially decades it can take to rebuild. The draft is such an inexact thing. If you could be guaranteed that you could get a superstar or franchise-level player every year I'm sure ownership of any team would say, ‘okay, yeah, we'll suffer for two or three years.’ But we just don't think that's the way for us. We prefer a Dallas model, where they got Miro Heiskanen at three, but also got good players in the 20s, in the 30s.
SN: With a top-heavy draft that includes Gavin McKenna, is it not enticing to simply lean into the hand you’ve been dealt early this year?
DM: In a fantasy world, yeah. Unfortunately, this isn't fantasy hockey. There’s not even agreement anymore McKenna is going first. There’s very few franchise players in every draft. Regardless of where we pick — one, five, 10, our hope is that we get a top-level player, and that's not our focus at all.
SN: Is there not a lesson to be learned by the fact that the top four leading scorers in the league now are all No. 1 picks overall, and teams like San Jose, Chicago, Anaheim and the Islanders have all turned around with their star draft picks leading the way?
DM: Again, in a fantasy world, it's very enticing. You have to deal with the real world, too. First of all, we're very early in this season. Let's see how it plays out the rest of the year for those teams. No disrespect, those teams are really good, but on that side, look at some of the other teams that have been in this
37 comments
“So when presented with evidence, what do you say?”
“I say your evidence doesn’t fit with my paradigm so I’m going to die on this hill.”
Calgary forever finishing 17th.
“The only time you enjoy the first pick of the draft is at the draft — there’s a lot of suffering to get there, and that’s the farthest from our mind,” said Maloney.
“No one has an appetite to just burn it to the studs, take it all down.”
He seems to live in a fantasy world
If they fuck this season up, I may be done with this team. I can’t do it anymore man.
I hate the Dallas model because it depends on them hitting a miracle. I know there’s stats out there but how often do 20/30’s become time line superstars? 10%? 20%?
Early? We are at essentially the quarter mark…there’s zero chance this squad makes the playoffs from where they are now with the personnel they have. They’d have to have a miracle comeback playing better than 0.75 win percentage and even then it’s not guaranteed given the hole they are in.
I get there’s no guarantee but why wouldn’t you want at least a better chance to draft higher in the order?
1-2-3-4 Everyone do the dinosaur…
I am gonna be sad when Conroy eventually leaves because he is being repeatedly shot in the foot by ownership
It was a disaster 2 daya ago, ao lets send him out to double down on the disaster today
Heiskenen at 3 is still a higher pick than the flames have ever had in their history. Gotta tank at some point if we want a pick that high to follow the ‘Dallas model’
It’s so simple people, do not support this inept organization in any way. Do not go to games, do not buy merch, cancel your season tickets. The only way these assholes will listen is if October 2027 rolls around and they have a grand total of people show up to the new arena (that we fucking payed for btw) This is how you get their attention.
Dead last and he’s not giving up on the season lol. Couple trades and we’ll be second last. Let’s do it!! /s
Fortunately Don, the team will naturally tank despite your useless attempts at self-preservation
Dallas successfully playing the long odds may very well have doomed this franchise.
Fuck
Murray Edward’s mouthpiece
I wonder what he’ll say when we naturally end up with the first pick anyways
If the “Dallas Model” worked so well, why doesn’t it work for every team? The reality is that Dallas got incredibly lucky with their drafting, and also had a top 3 pick to boot.
All this interview does is double down on what the fanbase is worried about. This team still believes you can build a team like its 2004. Unserious and quite frankly embarrassing
Holy fuck what a dumb interview.
“Tkachuk was a difference maker and he was drafted at 6th”. Yeah, then he wanted out, and immediately went and won cups with another team because we failed to build anything competent around him.
“Winning culture”. Im sorry I must have missed something. We have a “winning culture” in Calgary? You know the team that was basically blown up by players leaving and wanting out, that hasnt made the playoffs in like 4 years? The same one that is currently dead last in the NHL and aging out of relevance completely?
This is getting really fucking old. He talks about not wanting to lose fans. Well I cheer for more than 1 team, and the only thing keeping me interested in the flames is the prospect of drafting first overall. If the flames org cannot commit to putting an elite team on the ice, then I am not interested in watching.
This team is about 10 pieces away from being a cup contender. I have watched them achieve nothing since I was a 6 year old who hardly understood what was going on. Both the other teams I cheer for have won cups in the last 15 years.
They’re not focused on drafting a top level player? Are our scouts on vacation?
For the “guys were clearly tanking are you crazy crowd”, here you fucking go as to why plenty of us are still confident they aren’t committed to it.
This is so infuriating to read, I hope the flames lose every remaining game this season so there’s no misconception of what’s needed.
Respect to Brendan Parker for actually asking questions we want answers to, even though the answers aren’t what we want. Maloney is such a chump, I think we need to start some fire Maloney chants in the dome.
If anyone is going to the game tomorrow please start a “sell the team” or “fire Don” chant.
Holy fucking shit this is an actual nightmare
Notice how he names Miro, Dallas’ first round pick at number three but then says and focuses on good players in the 20’s and 30’s without being able to recall any of their names. I’ve been a Flames fan since playing peewees in ‘02. If they fuck this up this season I will follow a different team. Whose jersey are you going to buy when the new building opens? Backlund? Hanley? Huby? Yeah right. I don’t even care to spend my money on a Wolf jersey. I’ll take my cues from Donny Bologna. I won’t be the one holding the bag on five expired players with one star in net standing on his head counting the days until he’s a free agent because this front office is archaic. Fuck you maloney.
This guy watched Bedard torch his team twice and doesn’t believe the Blackhawks are on the rise with him leading the way?
Don Maloney should not be allowed to speak in front of a camera…
Everyone above Conny is an Edwards shill
“If you were guaranteed a star we would do it. Instead we’re going to rely on picks later on in the draft that **have even less likelihood of being good and which all statistical models and evidence show aren’t as valuable** to power our rebuild of the team in the hopes that we continue to make a profit that we like when the new arena is opened with less seats than now”
I love this this team but I fucking hate these guys man
At least he’s not living in a fantasy world, I guess. That much was very clear.
Yay, reality!
Maloney needs to be canned asap
“Look at some of the other teams that have been in this. I don’t want to say the teams, but they’ve been down and missed playoffs for years and years and years. And then you lose your fans, you lose your interest and nobody wants that.”
Does he not realize the Flames are on track to miss the playoffs for the 5th time in 6 seasons? They’re already one of those teams! They’re losing fans by the day because they’re icing a product no one wants to see. Our management is living in rose-coloured glasses.
I mean, last place only guarantees that we draft 3rd OA, and only gives us a 25% chance of 1st. So sure, we can’t bet on winning the draft lottery. Doesnt change the fact that we should sell what we can and try to pick up as many early draft picks as we can.
Either this is advanced lip service to try to save ticket sales (which is what I’m leaning towards) or we are so much more fucked than ever before, and we were already fucked to begin with
Shows him a real world example: “Well in a fantasy world that would be true”
Fucking hell. We’ll be mediocre forever
I hate Eric Francis, but when even he is fully on board with a rebuild…
This was a great article and holy fuck it’s very clear Maloney and his boss, Murray Edwards does not want to rebuild. I do not understand. Like the fans will keep coming to watch young fun a players. I’ve never seen a more united fan base on this issue. And the quicker we do this the faster it goes. If they could pick top 5 two years in a row. We’ve got our franchise goalie, we’ve got a ton of really good young middle 6 players. We have a potential top end elite offensive D man. We have a bunch of pieces, but no elite forward talent. (Maybe that’s Gridin, but I don’t think he’s a game breaker). Anyway… Fuck Don Maloney.
Even if this is how they think though…. There’s no world where a 32nd place Flames team doesn’t sell at the deadline. Maybe Kadri loves it here – but I think he wants to win. He’ll force their hand and ask for a trade. It just seems inevitable, even with how this article comes across.
This guy must love Adam Savage’s, “I reject your reality and substitute my own!”
Stop buying tickets
The disturbing part of the reference to the Buffalo model is that Maloney and the other Flames who spout this actually believe that Buffalo’s woes are due to the young superstar players and not total and complete failure by the owners and management. Are the Flames brass so untrusting of their General Manager that he can’t navigate any form of a rebuild?
That he will screw up every single level of a rebuild that they become a perennially pathetic team?
Right now I totally trust Conroy has this planned out and it will be executed correctly.
It’s too bad ownership doesn’t trust him.