Friday, February 11, 2011

håkan loob for flames GM (?)

inarguably the second best #12 to ever suit up in a flaming C, håkan loob has been quietly working his way up the front office ranks in sweden to land himself the job of president of elite league team, färjestads bk. while i'm guessing it'd be a near-impossible feat to yank him from the high ranking and no doubt comfortable position with his home club, based in his home town of karlstad in the värmland country in the south central part of sweden, i think loob would be well-suited for the top job in calgary.... and maybe he'd be up for a new challenge.

many of loob's successes as a player are unparalleled internationally, in the nhl, and over in the eliteserien; he is one of the first of only 24 members of the triple gold club, remains the only swede to ever have scored 50 goals in north america's top league, took home the stanley cup with the flames in 1989, won an elite league title with färjestads in 1981, and still holds goal and points records in the SEL (no surprise that the rocket richard equivalent in the eliteserien is called the "håkan loob trophy"). undeniably, the dude's a legend.

in 1996, loob hung up his skates and took the general manager position with the only european pro team he'd ever played with. in his first two years at the helm, the team won the SEL championships and they've made the post season every year since (winning again in 01/02 and 05/06, and losing in the playoff finals four other times during his tenure). the team took the crown again in 08/09, the year loob took the job of club president.

i'll be honest and suggest i don't know a helluva lot about loob's drafting record or trading history, and i'll be the first to admit skepticism that he'd have any interest in helming an nhl club... but his winning pedigree and irrefutable hockey smarts, coupled with his fabled past in flamesville, make me curious if the current ownership group (and ken king, i suppose) would consider him as a viable fulltime replacement for darryl sutter.

i know it would make me and duncan a couple of really happy folks.
;)

ps: devastating decision upcoming: which jersey to wear to the game tonight ??! the brand new undefeated in regulation one ? or the freshly signed one coming off a resounding win ?! comments appreciated. we've got til about 5pm MST.

15 comments:

awildermode said...

tough decision on jersey. i would say signed one...and try to get on tv. if i get to see the game, i will look for you.

why is Loob not playing in the Heritage Game? and no Roy, either.

but theo is ;)

walkinvisible said...

my guess is that loob isn't playing in the HC cause it'll fuck up the surprise when they announce him as GM. ;) but seriously, prob because of the distance and/or the aforementioned presidency of färjestads bk.

roy is a mystery.

the other post i have in the works is "when is the best time to raise #14" and the answer is obviously post-HC, and if the flames miss the playoffs, opening night 2011/2012.

mikeH said...

Like I told your pops today on the street corner: Captain Gio all the way. It was a Xmas present, you don't have a lot of choice.

rubbertrout said...

Haakan Loob's Jofa <<<<<<< Petr Klima's Jofa

We an Oilers jersey. That will remove all indecision

A Z R said...

Lanny for GM > Loob for GM

mikeH said...

It may be a little childish, but I think I'm going to head up to the 12th floor and leave a flaming bag of dog poo in front of rubbertrout's office.

walkinvisible said...

you probably don't even have to GO. i mean, i bet the UPS guy'd light a package for a little extra cash on the side.

they don't ask "what can brown do for you ?" for nothing.

duncan said...

This is the best idea I've heard, perhaps ever.

walkinvisible said...

i know, right ?!?! :-D

Colin Stuart said...

I approve!

shep said...

loob says he still follows the boxscores and standings for calgary.

also remember his stanley cup final prediction this last spring i posted in the comments of this post

he is good.

walkinvisible said...

holy shit, shep !!
not only did loob get the winners (if not the scores) of all six games in the stanley cup finals, but he quoted STATISTICS to do so !!! the guy clearly has a grasp of some of the players, too, from that quote.

this guy needs a phonecall from the flames NOW.

rubbertrout said...

@mikeh

That made me smile

rubbertrout said...

I am also intrigued that you know I'm on the 12th floor. You in this building too?

Anonymous said...

I like that the Oilers fan (rubbertrout) can't write properly...

"We an Oilers jersey."

Me fail English? That's unpossible!