The Flames ended the week by winning their third of the last five games, earning a shootout victory against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. However, the win was far from the talking point of the week as Flames President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney enraged the fan base in a first intermission interview during Wednesday’s 6-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres. In summary, Maloney told Brendan Parker of Flames TV that the idea of a rebuild, or a “re-biggle,” was a pipe dream and that the front office has no plans to throw in the towel this season.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Maloney continued his PR tour this week, sit down with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis for a 45-minute interview. The two-part article not only reinforced the philosophy discussed Wednesday, but also described drafting superstars as “fantasy hockey” and emphasized to Francis the need to “fill a building for 82 games.” Maloney added fuel to the fire on Wednesday, turning off the water in his 1-on-1 later in the week.
With Maloney’s week in the news, we wanted to know what fans thought about the direction of the Flames’ leadership. We asked, you answered.
Want to participate in the Sunday Census polls? We send them to our Twitter every week @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or submit ideas for the next poll!
What got our readers excited
We have presented the survey below to our readers.
The vision makes sense
This week it became very clear to the fans that the plan for this team is for the long term, and the long term means fighting for the playoffs as the 32nd overall team in the first quarter of the season. About 4% of respondents are still willing to accept the view.
Much of Maloney’s talk this past week has been about the “long term” and maintaining the team culture they value so deeply that Craig Conroy (who has been MIA) has established. I am convinced that a positive team culture and long-term success go hand in hand. What I don’t understand from Maloney’s word salad is how the long-term plan includes players who will be approaching 40 at the time Scotia Place opens.
Skeptical but patient
About 13% of respondents are skeptical about the direction front office leadership is taking after this week’s media blunder. Obviously there’s no desire to tank, but Maloney took it a step further and pretended that NHL superstars only exist in fantasy hockey. In his 1-on-1, Francis asks about the impact a first overall pick in this year’s draft could have on the franchise. Maloney replies:
“In a fantasy world, yes. Unfortunately, this isn’t fantasy hockey. There’s not even a consensus that McKenna goes first anymore. There are very few franchise players in any 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.”
How can you not be skeptical after hearing something like that? The top five scorers in the league are all former top picks. Connor Bedard has given you a leg up and personally made your team his practice squad this season. Still, Don Maloney thinks the Blackhawks’ investment in him is a waste of time, and that the value only exists in a fantasy league. The only ‘patience’ some fans had left would surround the team’s inevitable demise this season. The glimmering hope that, if it isn’t bad enough, it will get worse, and the only option will be to sell at the deadline and reevaluate the immediate future.
Giving up the vision
20% of fans have given up on the vision after this week. It was hard not to interpret Maloney’s comments as ignorant. This team sucks, we all know that. Don Maloney knows. That also applies to Murray Edwards. That includes Ryan Huska, the players and the fans. The disconnect on possible routes to resolution surrounds what is perceived as success. We in the Calgary market know all too well what it feels like to be 4-8 points out of a playoff spot at the trade deadline.
Years and years of mediocre rosters invested in veterans to maintain playoff hopes. There has always been discussion about keeping the Flames “competitive,” and I think it became clear this week that this could have different meanings for ownership and fans. Before Maloney and Francis discussed the fantasy realm of the first overall picks, Eric delved deeper into the topic by asking Don if there was any truth to the accusations that ownership is in conflict with a rebuild in Calgary. Maloney spoke earlier this week about what he described as the ‘re-biggle’, saying:
“No, I don’t think that’s right. Yet there is a dynamic in Canada: you have 82 games, you want to sell tickets and attract people to your games. It all works together. No one wants to just burn it to the studs, tear everything down. There are examples right now where you’re talking about decades that it could take to rebuild. The design is so inaccurate. If you could be sure that you could get a superstar or a franchise level player every year, I’m sure the owner of any team would say, ‘Okay, yeah, we’ll suffer for two or three years.’ But we don’t think this is the path for us.”
As if it couldn’t get any worse. The guy came right out and said their priority is winning enough games to fill seats, not cups. Tradibly competitive and cup competitive are two distinctly different things.
Ready to boycott
The landslide winner in this week’s poll, more than 60% of Flames fans, are willing to boycott. Murray Edwards sent a carrier pigeon to address the fanbase on a mini PR tour, and all he accomplished was further angering an already disgruntled fanbase.
Edwards and the Flames would have had more success taking the heat if they had hired a magician to perform actual smoke and mirror tricks during the break with Brendan Parker. This time, however, it appears fans aren’t falling for Murray’s ploy to shift the blame to his front office. If Flames fans wanted fairness, we got it.
There was no hiding the fact that Flames ownership is in fact fearful of a rebuild due to the possibility of ticket sales could decrease. For some reason, there’s a perception that people don’t like watching teams like Anaheim, San Jose or Chicago. Because last time I checked, they’ve all made the playoffs as many times as the Flames since 2022.
It’s hard to cheer for the Calgary Flames right now
I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to cheer for a franchise that measures success by the number of tickets sold in the regular season. The Flames are managed as a passive income stream for Murray Edwards, and if he isn’t willing to invest some money in the short term by keeping some contracts, taking some losses on ticket sales, and looking at the opportunities he has right in front of him, Flames fans really need to boycott this team.
Most importantly, if these decisions are made this season, Flames fans will support this team through a committed rebuild around an exciting young core.
This is the most pivotal season for this franchise in the last twenty years, and the opportunity before them could define the next fifteen years of the franchise’s future. Can we please, for the love of all that is good, stop being so empathetic to the billionaire owner whose new arena is more than 60% funded by the taxpayers of Alberta and Calgary?
We never leave the middle because there is no willingness to suffer short-term losses. We care, Flames fans. I don’t know if the ownership group cares as much as they want everyone to believe.
The future is marketable competitive
It’s been quite a week for Flames fans, and I can’t imagine it getting any better. With a win against Dallas, I’m sure the front office is convinced that a playoff spot is just a certainty at this point. Not to mention Craig Conroy’s absence from all of this and Don Maloney’s unwillingness to comment on his GM’s current contract, which expires at the end of this season. Perhaps Craig has resisted the re-biggle plans and been grounded by Maloney for taking too many trade calls.
Wherever Craig is, I’m almost certain Murray Edwards is sweating, eating a Toblerone, and counting his money.
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