The Calgary Flames’ President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney joined Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie in the first intermission of today’s Flames game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. He answered some basic questions about Jacob Markstrom, injecting more youth into the lineup, as well as Matthew Coronato. The conflicting part of this conversation for many Flames fans came after Leslie asked about the direction the Flames are trying to go. Here was Maloney’s response:
Maloney talks Flames
“Well every day since the start of the season, Craig, Dave, Brad, myself have talked about how to improve the club every day, short-term or long-term. Flames fans know we have some contracts that are up. We’d like to keep all our players. The reality is in a cap world you probably can’t. It’s a real balancing act. Ultimately the players sort of dictate who stays and who goes, quite frankly.
We’ve liked some things about our team. Probably not where we want to be in the standings. We all know what a great people person he (Craig Conroy) is, his communication skills within the league, around the league. I think part of the job is just getting to know the other managers and have relationships. That’s a real strength for Craig.
We’re continuing to look at our team. We thought, okay we’ll get through the All-Star break, see where we sit, see where we stand. Continue to talk to our own players and agents and yet, realistically be in the marketplace and try and figure out how we can better this club. And that’s a daily act on our part.”
Calgary Flames President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney when asked about the Flames direction
What we’ve learned from this quote
I will preface by saying it’s a hard situation for a General Manager or POHO to answer questions like this. You are never going to get a clear answer as these executives never want to tip their hand. Maybe the Flames are planning to sell their entire roster. But they can’t go out and say that as it would affect the locker room and likely trade packages from other teams as well. But I think it’s fair to say this quote from Maloney is concerning given Flames management history and their decision making.
The most concerning parts come in that first paragraph. “We’d like to keep all our players” is the obvious scary quote. Given where the Flames finished last year and so far this year, that is unacceptable. Many fans have asked for a rebuild/re-tool since Gaudreau and Tkachuk left. There is no way you can discuss keeping guys like Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev when the team is treading in mediocrity.
The second scary quote is “Ultimately the players sort of dictate who stays and who goes, quite frankly.” Mr. Maloney, the players shouldn’t dictate who stays and who goes. Management is supposed to make these decisions. Are you telling me that all of Lindholm, Hanifin, and more would be signed right now if they wanted to be? Begging and pleading with your players to stay is no way to run a franchise. In fact, that runs it straight into the ground. You could also look at this quote another way in that the players dictate whether they stay by their play on the ice, which makes a lot more sense. Although I think we’ve seen enough from the players on the ice to know exactly what this team is.
It’s interesting that the team wants to wait until the All-Star break to see where they are at. That is generally the time when most front offices meet and discuss where the direction should be for the remainder of the season. I’ve seen enough of this Flames team to know they need change. But it makes sense the team wants to wait and get as much of a sample size as they can before making crucial decisions. Hopefully, management makes the right decision given this mediocre team we’ve seen for years.
Confidence is already low with the current front office and if they could effectively complete a re-tool or rebuild. After this quote from Maloney, I don’t think confidence within the Flames front office will increase at all.
