Friday, June 29, 2012
The Peter Principle Alive and Well in the NHL
(To the 4 people who might read this: Yes, I decided to do a blog post. I'm not 'unretired' so much as I just had a need to write *something*. It's rusty, and not particularly intelligent, but at least I've gotten it out of my system)
If you haven’t heard the term before, the Peter Principle
is a belief that in an organization where promotion is based on achievement,
success, and merit, that organization's members will eventually be promoted
beyond their level of ability.
If you believe *snicker* that NHL front office jobs are
placed based on merit, then this principle makes a lot of sense.
I realize running a large hockey organization is a lot more
involved than the Sim Leagues I used to be in. That said, the recent behavior of 3 particular NHL GM’s just
proves that random internet bloggers, or Michelle Bachmann, could do a far
better job running a hockey team than some of the idiots that get hired.
The GMs in question? Charles Wang’s puppet (Garth Snow),
Scott Howson, and Jay Feaster.
Wang Dang Doodle
It’s old news now, but the Isles did, in fact, offer their
entire 2012 draft to the Dinner Jackets for the chance to pick 2nd
overall. (Source: CBC)
The Isles had the 4th pick, so they basically
wanted to gut their future farm system to move up two whole spots! Woo!
Now, if this was the chance to pick a Sidney Crosby, this
would make some damn sense. Hell, ending up with a Chris Pronger in exchange
for a bunch of role players and never-made-its would also make sense.
Ryan Murray? He hardly looks like a build-a-franchise-around
me defenseman that you’d trade your farm for. He *might* pan out that way, but
I *might* also have Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis offer to reenact their love
scene from The Black Swan in my living room.
Chances are long, I suspect.
(any excuse to post this picture...)
Besides the obvious fact that gutting your entire future to
move up from #4 to #2 is folly, especially for a club in constant need of
prospects and assets, the optics of this deal are even more of a killer for the
Isles.
Think about it? Haven’t Snow/Wang been doing a pretty solid
job the last couple of years? They locked up Tavares, Moulson, and Nielsen, and
were keeping on a steady path to respectability.
This move, unfortunately, clearly reminds the rest of the
league, especially free agents, that the Isles are run by a couple of
batshit-crazy loons.
“Oh yeah, this is the team that gave Rick DiPietro
15 years to play 30 games! I really wanna sign there!”
(Isles GM Garth Snow, pictured)
Howson Misses His Chance
Scott Howson, only the second GM in the illustrious history of the Columbus Dinner
Jackets, has done a great job of ruining running the club as well
as Doug MacLean did before him. Not many GM’s would trade a mint for the worst
regular defenseman in the NHL (Jack Johnson) and still be employed.
Howson had a golden opportunity to stack his club for many years
to come, and chose to play it safe, as it were. Keeping the #2 pick was
definitely ‘safe’, since being involved with such an insane trade would only
look ‘weird’, for lack of a better term.
How can a team as piss-poor as the Jackets turn down this
many picks? With that many picks, and that many lottery tickets, you are sure
to hit a few gems and get some decent players. Moving down to #4 was hardly
that much of a difference in this draft, and the BJs would have basically
doubled their chance to produce some decent players in a few seasons.
Howson, alas, a fellow who would have trouble graduating from the
University of Phoenix, showed just how in over his head he really is.
Feast(er) Your Eyes on Duh
While the mess in Calgary is not all Jay Feaster’s fault,
the son of the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Susan Boyle is doing his best to ensure
the Flames will wallow just out of the playoffs for the foreseeable future.
Sure, Canucks fans are elated, but it’s sad to see, nonetheless.
"Poop's coming out!"
Even before the July
1st UFA kick-off, the Flames are already home to the 3rd highest projected cap hit for next season!
That’s right, the team that hasn’t made the playoffs in three
seasons has a higher payroll than the Vancouver Canucks! This even takes into account the subtraction of
Olli Jokinen, one of their better offensive forwards (Hard to believe,
but he was fairly good last season), who is going on the UFA market.
What great moves has Feaster made?
1. Signing Dennis Wideman to a 5-year deal giving him $5.25/mil
per season! Not content with one offensive-minded marshmallow (Jay Bouwmeester,
who left his scoring touch in Florida), the Flames vastly overpaid for a guy
who is easier to beat than Rihanna.
Sure, some other team would have likely overpaid for flashy
offensive stats, but that doesn’t mean the Flames should have. Oh, and let’s
not forget the no-trade clause given for the full term of the contract. Way to
handcuff the club, Jay!
2. Re-signing Lee Stempniak for a 2-year deal giving him
$2.5/mil per season.
As any Blues or Coyotes fan can tell you, Lee is great for a
scoring burst for about 2-3 weeks a year, and then goes back into hibernation
for the rest of the winter. Lee doesn’t add much value other than his
goal-scoring touch, and the Flames vastly overpaid for an empty player.
3. Re-signing Cory Sarich for a 2-year deal giving him $2/mil
per season.
Even in his Tampa days, Sarich wasn’t worth $2mil/season,
and now that he’s old enough to remember how to work a VCR, he’s an expensive
pylon.
The Flames already appear to have 5-6 other defensemen on
one-way contracts, so the Flames have basically given a good salary to a 3rd-line
pylon and will have to cut a contract somewhere else. Who the hell else would
have given Sarich $2mil? Ugh.
If you count Wideman vs. Jokinen for wash (being generous),
the Flames have basically spent a hefty fortune for a team that has a very slim
shot at the playoffs.
You know Jay Feaster reminds me of? The idiot who actually pays for porn
on the Internet.
…and I’m spent…
Labels: blue jackets, Charles Wang, Flames, Garth Snow, idiots, Islanders, Jay Feaster, Scott Howson
