Maloney’s intermission interview

[Body Checker]

Don Maloney’s intermission interview was brutal. Basically said the team has no direction and no plans. What a nightmare the organization is. At least other bottom teams like Columbus, Ottawa, Anaheim have strong prospect pools or a young promising core. The Flames organization just seems clueless. Maybe this loss to the AHL Hawks will spur them into sell mode.

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[deleted user]

Don't bet on it. They'll probably be buyers.

 

[MakeCgyGreatAgain]

Don Maloney’s intermission interview was brutal. Basically said the team has no direction and no plans. What a nightmare the organization is. At least other bottom teams like Columbus, Ottawa, Anaheim have strong prospect pools or a young promising core. The Flames organization just seems clueless. Maybe this loss to the AHL Hawks will spur them into sell mode.

You just figured this out now? I’ve been watching this team since 1998 and they have been the forever average team. Maloney has not said anything new. The Flames are so frustrating because they will do whatever just to try and make the playoffs rather than plan for the future and try and get an elite star player to build around. The bubble team. Not good enough to make the playoffs and not bad enough to get a high pick. My philosophy has always been if your not going to compete in the playoffs you should lose And get a high a pick as possible. Thats why I’m cheering today for the Raiders to beat my Broncos.

 

[Backlund]

Anyone got the video?

 

[Kranix]

Didn't see it, but Maloney, unfortunately, has a history being really bad in interviews and pressers. I think he gets nervous and just can't speak properly. Maybe he didn't mean to say what came across.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Flames only direction should be towards the bottom of the NHL standings.

I'm not sure how any sane semi-hockey familiar individual can look at this team and think they are capable to make even a conference final. And if you can't do that then what really are you doing? Time to stop spinning the wheels and dig this thing out.

 

[Mike Jones]

Flames only direction should be towards the bottom of the NHL standings.

I'm not sure how any sane semi-hockey familiar individual can look at this team and think they are capable to make even a conference final. And if you can't do that what really are you doing? Time to stop spinning the wheels and dig this thing out.

It's the owners who make the decisions and steer the ship. All they care about is playoff revenue and getting free arenas from brutally incompetent mayors and councils.

 

[JPeeper]

Tanev and Lindy getting shipped off will shape up the direction they'll have going forward. Hanifin is undecided, I'm fine with keeping him or selling him off if the price is right, getting rid of him for a late 1st and some mid prospects isn't worth it. If they can get anything for Dube, do it, he's RFA and has regressed to the point of uselessness.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Maybe it's the optimist in me but it seems like a lot of boilerplate stuff with some honestly not subtle hints at what they're gonna do:

“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.”

Don Maloney does not instill confidence in the Calgary Flames front office during intermission interview with Sportsnet - The Win Column

Notes from Don Maloney's interview with Ryan Leslie during the intermission of the Calgary Flames versus Chicago Blackhawks game.

thewincolumn.ca

As nice as it would be to get some real Intellectual Honesty (TM) from the Flames, this is probably as clear as you're going to get from the organization that they're very likely going to sell. I mean, he literally says "we can't keep everyone" and gives a post all star break timeline as to when things will start moving.

It'd be incompetence of the most unfathomable kind for them not to sell. So most likely they'll sell but get immensely disappointing returns. That's the Flames way

 

[Volica]

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about his interview on social media. But like, he’s not wrong. In a perfect world you keep all your UFA’s you like for the cap hit you want; but that's not realistic. This team is going to sell. I think a lot of fans, especially sport fans, get lost in the weeds of real life. This isn't a video game, or an online forum that has no consequences or repercussions.

For those of you working, imagine your CEO/Owner was like: 'we are going to have a miserable year, and everyone here is a problem that we're going to change.'

That's the equivalent of what people were expecting out of Maloney. Know what that does for morale? You have a roster choked full of young players and high priced vets.

For people who've had to have these types of conversations that's not how you lead; look at the difference in this: 'We know where we're at, we know we have an excellent team, we want to keep everyone but it's not realistic. The way we perform over the next quarter will dictate what we do.'

Bang. Done. It means that Kim from accounting is now going 'okay, well, we were bad, but if I hold up my end of the bargain and perform I can stay'. That means Nazem Kadri who is a big part of your club and wants nothing to do with a long term rebuild is like 'Hey, we're professionals, the management team is giving us runway, we need to do prove what we can do and it's on us if we don't live up to it.'

So my recommendation: if what Maloney said makes your tummy hurt, or your head spin... remove the hockey fantasy from it, and think of it in real life terms.

 

[Nanuuk]

I don't think Maloney's interview was off the mark at all. He can't show up and say 'whelp we're trading Lindy on Tuesday', 'Tanev on Thursday of next week', and 'we're getting nibbles on Markstrom that may pan out by Feb. 29'.

This team has strengths and weaknesses. It will hopefully address the weaknesses and if the pending UFA's won't sign for a reasonable cap hit, the team will convert them into future assets or players that can help out right now.

 

[Backlund]

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about his interview on social media. But like, he’s not wrong. In a perfect world you keep all your UFA’s you like for the cap hit you want; but that's not realistic. This team is going to sell. I think a lot of fans, especially sport fans, get lost in the weeds of real life. This isn't a video game, or an online forum that has no consequences or repercussions.

For those of you working, imagine your CEO/Owner was like: 'we are going to have a miserable year, and everyone here is a problem that we're going to change.'

That's the equivalent of what people were expecting out of Maloney. Know what that does for morale? You have a roster choked full of young players and high priced vets.

For people who've had to have these types of conversations that's not how you lead; look at the difference in this: 'We know where we're at, we know we have an excellent team, we want to keep everyone but it's not realistic. The way we perform over the next quarter will dictate what we do.'

Bang. Done. It means that Kim from accounting is now going 'okay, well, we were bad, but if I hold up my end of the bargain and perform I can stay'. That means Nazem Kadri who is a big part of your club and wants nothing to do with a long term rebuild is like 'Hey, we're professionals, the management team is giving us runway, we need to do prove what we can do and it's on us if we don't live up to it.'

So my recommendation: if what Maloney said makes your tummy hurt, or your head spin... remove the hockey fantasy from it, and think of it in real life terms.

I don't think people have a problem being realistic. I think they have a problem with a management team that doesn't seem to know what they're doing and aren't even able to pretend that they do. Even when things were bad, Treliving at least looked like he knew what he was doing. Maloney seems lost. He said what any idiot already knows and provided no answers as to what they plan to do moving forward. It's like they're waiting to see if the guys they want to overpay to stay will and then they will form one after. This team just spent an entire season waiting for Gaudreau to make a decision only to get f***ed in the end and they think waiting on players again is a good idea.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Don Maloney is a former executive of the year in the NHL and hasn't had any teams relocate to another city under his watch. Please do not besmirch his noble name.



Still, he isn't about to openly advertise what their plans are in the middle of a season. Why would he say the quiet parts out loud - let others speculate and make an offer accordingly.

 

[Mobiandi]

What would you say you do here?

 

[Boomstick]

Flames only direction should be towards the bottom of the NHL standings.

I'm not sure how any sane semi-hockey familiar individual can look at this team and think they are capable to make even a conference final. And if you can't do that then what really are you doing? Time to stop spinning the wheels and dig this thing out.

After the back to back in Philly and Chicago, I'm fully on board.
I've been cheering for these guys all year, they seem to have the effort on most nights. The first 10 games of the season were abysmal. The looked like that again in Chicago. I get it, back to back road games, backup goalie in net, but any type of effort would result in a win.
I like Hanifin, I like Lindholm, I like Tanev.....................but the timing is perfect to make some good trades and get something for the future. We're obviously not tearing it all down, but get some draft picks, get some prospects, if you have to help a team by eating some salary for the rest of the season, so be it. Just get something that'll make our future look a little brighter.

 

[Mobiandi]

Conroy acknowledges this isn’t a playoff team but confirms we also will not be officially rebuilding for very long

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Conroy acknowledges this isn’t a playoff team but confirms we also will not be officially rebuilding for very long

Ownership has been very clear about not wanting a so-called "Oilers style" (lengthy) rebuild, so I mean I guess that's kind of Conroy's job to do that. At least it signals that change is coming, but some luck may be necessary too.