why is this guy GRINNING ??!

okay, fine. i screencap'd this a few weeks back when everything in flamesville was cruisin' along and victories were being had like handfuls of popcorn at noodles' house. now i bet the three muskateers (l-r: uncle feaster, senior vp/asst gm & self-proclaimed "capologist" michael holditch, and director of hockey administration mike burke) in the pressbox aren't smiling, and i bet at least one of them is wondering if he'll have a job next year. [editor's note: the flames brass are in some serious need of updated photos].

i say: buh-bye to all fuggin' three.


1. FEASTER
well in the verrrry limited time at the helm of the flames, he has given us 3 no-brainer moves (waiving kotalik & conroy, recalling backlund) one "meh" (carson) and one "total waste of time and money" (modin). it's the modin move that scares me the most ----anyone who really thinks that a 35-year old who hasn't dressed a full season in half a decade is the go-to stop-gap/depth guy is an imbecile. it's that kind of thinking (*ahem* staios) that got us into this mess in the first place.

as i've said before; i think feaster could be a useful cog in the wheel of this team so long as someone else is making the hockey decisions. the way ken king was touting michel goulet during the darryl sutter dismissal presser, i allowed myself to believe that a hockey guy would analyze and evaluate potential future flames, and that feaster would deal with the legalities (contract length, value, bonuses, clauses etc). the acquisition of modin ----a former player of feaster's in Tbay---- leads me to believe this is far from the case in reality. i think feaster believes he can do this maverick, and that's incredibly frightening for the future of this club.

2. HOLDITCH
while i hold darryl sutter responsible for allowing the capspace to run out and the subsequent short bench debacle at the end of 08/09 (mostly because of the hubris displayed when it blew up in his face), i believe it was holditch that greenlit the jokinen trade dollars-wise, and therefore he should actually have taken the fall. and i've said it before: that was a fire-able offense by both parties, and the fact that they were allowed to stay on in the aftermath is what led us to the current fiasco. anyone who proclaims themself to be a capologist, and then follows that up by exceeding the cap should be dismissed at the first opportunity.

3. BURKE
okay so i admit i know very little about mike burke, so i won't sit here and cut the guy apart. i will point this out, though: he appears to have been in the same position now for 15 years. hm. seems like a change might be in order....? i will also suggest that a guy who's responsibilities include "contract research, analysis and negotiation, player assignments, preparation of salary arbitrations" has done a bum job on a team with 9 no trade/movement clauses and which narrowly avoided arbitration with ian white by shorting him by five bucks.

although i know it will never happen, i would really like to see the org look at other options for the front office. i HONESTLY think håkan loob would be ideal for the job, but i'd be curious how someone like michel goulet would take the reins as well. ultimately, i just don't want any of these three clowns above running my team any further into the ground than it already is.

can't. wait. til. summer.
;)