13-14 Roster

[Derek Sutton]

Something i think that may have been overlooked, though was mentioned, was McNaughton (during their address to City Council) saying they have "tapped out the coorporate market." What a crock. They may have burned bridges with some local businesses but essesntialy giving up on the coorporate end is a huge mistake. Also, who is he to say or decide where they need to foucs their season ticket sales drive. Theres 1000's of businesses in Southern Alberta. The arrogance of so many who run/ work for this club, and have in the past has gotten them where they are today. It has been a total team effort.

[sid75]

Something i think that may have been overlooked, though was mentioned, was McNaughton (during their address to City Council) saying they have "tapped out the coorporate market." What a crock. They may have burned bridges with some local businesses but essesntialy giving up on the coorporate end is a huge mistake. Also, who is he to say or decide where they need to foucs their season ticket sales drive. Theres 1000's of businesses in Southern Alberta. The arrogance of so many who run/ work for this club, and have in the past has gotten them where they are today. It has been a total team effort.

It is well past that now, especially now that CJOC has bailed, that in itself was a much bigger statement than people realize! The only thing that could turn this around would be exactly what Robison said, better management/leadership and competitive on ice product. There is no money to improve anything, thats a fact, the GM/coach have already been named for next season, thats a fact, the franchise (for intents and purposes here) is broke financially, thats a fact, some players simply cannot afford another year like this past, thats a fact. The only possible way to salvage anything is to SELL THIS FRANCHISE NOW. No business in their right mind would contribute another single cent unless there is immediate upgrades done within management and coaching, so this party is over till then...tick tock, tick tock....

[Derek Sutton]

It is well past that now, especially now that CJOC has bailed, that in itself was a much bigger statement than people realize! The only thing that could turn this around would be exactly what Robison said, better management/leadership and competitive on ice product. There is no money to improve anything, thats a fact, the GM/coach have already been named for next season, thats a fact, the franchise (for intents and purposes here) is broke financially, thats a fact, some players simply cannot afford another year like this past, thats a fact. The only possible way to salvage anything is to SELL THIS FRANCHISE NOW. No business in their right mind would contribute another single cent unless there is immediate upgrades done within management and coaching, so this party is over till then...tick tock, tick tock....

Well changing the radio brodcast is no big issue. I don't know what the ratings were or what they expected, but they (Clear Sky) must be thinking they've made some in roads here in Lethbridge. They were on 95.5 before and I'm sure they will end up back there again. I personally have no other reason to turn on local radio ever, nevermind in the evening. It woulod be good for the club to get the other stations to compete for the rights, it sucks that Pat will not be a part of it though.

Selling the franchise does not appear to be on the horizon. There for sure has to be changes made. Do you have some inside knowledge to back up all your facts? To sat they are essesntially broke is not accurate. I do have a hard time believing anything coming from McNaughton, Robson and the like, but to publicly state that they are hiring an Asst GM and an Asst Coach tells me they have funds available. They may be borrowing money, but the franchise has a ton (millions) of equity, and they'll be able to borrow as much as they could possibly ever need. Selling does NOTHING for the shareholders, then again staying the current course doesn't either.

I have nothing against public ownership and it can work, there doesn't seem to be these problems surrounding the other publicly ownwed teams. And there are underpreforming, poorly attended teams which are owned privately, are they bleeding money to? Yes there is someting broken for the team to be losing money and it needs fixing but say they are flat broke it false. By staying the course (for now anyways) with the current GM/ coach etc... may build some trust in the hockey community and lead to potentially hiring better, more qualified people down the road. Firing your staff, again, after one season wil not entice qualified coaches, GM's to apply in the future. 3 coaches and 3 GM's in three years does not send the right message no mattter what the circumstances are, and given the current roster, any coach will be hard pressed to grind out more the 15- 20 wins this coming year. Again, I know that the current incompetent management and BOD have put themselves in this psosition but if tehy are able to get themselves out of it, that will reflect much better on the organization then firing all involved. Not only that, but what qualified candidate in their right mind would ,today, apply to be either coach or GM in Lethbridge?

[shushu]

we all have the same horror storys from countless years gone by. I remember going to buy season tickets 15 years ago when three of us were waiting on two staff members talking for at least 15 minutes about some thing that happened on their lunch break while we just stood there....there's no mystery that the whole franchise is packed full of retards and that will never change....the thing that can change is NOT buying your tickets this year and forcing the sale of the canes from our side instead of theirs....I sound like a broken record, but it boggles my mind that the amount of people that ***** and then go to every game and support this joke...............toss your renewal and buy the games you want to go to at sobey if you miss it that bad..........

[sid75]

Well changing the radio brodcast is no big issue. I don't know what the ratings were or what they expected, but they (Clear Sky) must be thinking they've made some in roads here in Lethbridge. They were on 95.5 before and I'm sure they will end up back there again. I personally have no other reason to turn on local radio ever, nevermind in the evening. It woulod be good for the club to get the other stations to compete for the rights, it sucks that Pat will not be a part of it though.

Selling the franchise does not appear to be on the horizon. There for sure has to be changes made. Do you have some inside knowledge to back up all your facts? To sat they are essesntially broke is not accurate. I do have a hard time believing anything coming from McNaughton, Robson and the like, but to publicly state that they are hiring an Asst GM and an Asst Coach tells me they have funds available. They may be borrowing money, but the franchise has a ton (millions) of equity, and they'll be able to borrow as much as they could possibly ever need. Selling does NOTHING for the shareholders, then again staying the current course doesn't either.

I have nothing against public ownership and it can work, there doesn't seem to be these problems surrounding the other publicly ownwed teams. And there are underpreforming, poorly attended teams which are owned privately, are they bleeding money to? Yes there is someting broken for the team to be losing money and it needs fixing but say they are flat broke it false. By staying the course (for now anyways) with the current GM/ coach etc... may build some trust in the hockey community and lead to potentially hiring better, more qualified people down the road. Firing your staff, again, after one season wil not entice qualified coaches, GM's to apply in the future. 3 coaches and 3 GM's in three years does not send the right message no mattter what the circumstances are, and given the current roster, any coach will be hard pressed to grind out more the 15- 20 wins this coming year. Again, I know that the current incompetent management and BOD have put themselves in this psosition but if tehy are able to get themselves out of it, that will reflect much better on the organization then firing all involved. Not only that, but what qualified candidate in their right mind would ,today, apply to be either coach or GM in Lethbridge?

Well Derek, you can always borrow against equity I guess? When I use the word "broke" that is in terms of and within a fiscally responsible budget. There were decisions made last season to cut corners, cut back on players expenses, travel expenses etc, that came from McNaughton's own mouth. So, if the budgeted amount is used up before the end of the season, then the conclusion has to be that the team is "broke" within that fiscal budget period and yearly business plan. No lender that I know of is going to lend money against a business plan that produces a RED bottom line, and that, I believe, is where Robison is coming from when he said that the management/leadership needs to improve to put a better product on the ice? Everybody knows about this franchise, so I do not believe that any high end manager or coach would ever come here under the present decision making structure with the possible exception of being paid stupid money, even then, you have to have a BOD that understands hockey operations and is willing to make hard, pro-active decisions that will support the franchise next year and the year after and the year after...instead of the shoot from the hip, reactionary decisions these guys make. I do not think that you need to worry about any false messages being sent to anyone because everyone already knows! Short of a sale and an entirely new management philosophy, I cannot imagine how this BOD is capable of changing any perception to anyone within a time frame that will produce the result required, I believe last year was the year that had to get done or at least some small type of positive step forward and that clearly did not take place...likely you are right, status quo, have another go at it, maybe this is the year something will change, doubt it though? Where I come from, you have to show a GREEN bottom line if you want your budget increased for some new things...

[shushu]

Selling the franchise does not appear to be on the horizon. I know that the current incompetent management and BOD have put themselves in this psosition but if tehy are able to get themselves out of it, that will reflect much better on the organization then firing all involved.?

this towns relationship with the folks that run this team will ever improve, or that they will ever be able to hire decent people with the rep this team has..do you honestly believe this crew will be able to make this franchise a successful long term business with a winning team on a regular basis year after year with the track record of the last 20 years..wow....moon is right, we have become so comfortable with
mediocrity that we look a thing in a much different light than most of the league......this team doesn't have fans they have sheep..aka..easily led person.

[Derek Sutton]

Well Derek, you can always borrow against equity I guess? When I use the word "broke" that is in terms of and within a fiscally responsible budget. There were decisions made last season to cut corners, cut back on players expenses, travel expenses etc, that came from McNaughton's own mouth. So, if the budgeted amount is used up before the end of the season, then the conclusion has to be that the team is "broke" within that fiscal budget period and yearly business plan. No lender that I know of is going to lend money against a business plan that produces a RED bottom line, and that, I believe, is where Robison is coming from when he said that the management/leadership needs to improve to put a better product on the ice? Everybody knows about this franchise, so I do not believe that any high end manager or coach would ever come here under the present decision making structure with the possible exception of being paid stupid money, even then, you have to have a BOD that understands hockey operations and is willing to make hard, pro-active decisions that will support the franchise next year and the year after and the year after...instead of the shoot from the hip, reactionary decisions these guys make. I do not think that you need to worry about any false messages being sent to anyone because everyone already knows! Short of a sale and an entirely new management philosophy, I cannot imagine how this BOD is capable of changing any perception to anyone within a time frame that will produce the result required, I believe last year was the year that had to get done or at least some small type of positive step forward and that clearly did not take place...likely you are right, status quo, have another go at it, maybe this is the year something will change, doubt it though? Where I come from, you have to show a GREEN bottom line if you want your budget increased for some new things...

For a $7 million franchise (+/-) to lose to lose 100k is not flat broke, (fwiw PG lost $685,000 last year) Not ideal, no one wants to operate at a loss, but far from broke. A new owner would generate initial excitment and a cash influx and likley clean house as far as the staff is concerned. A great way too start, but then what? If you were the owner what would your first 5 steps be? 10 steps?

Do you remember all the hype and optimism surrounding the Canes back in Sept? A new owner could generate all the same hype and optimism this Sept and with similar results, the outcome would be the same. Team losing money, players leaving, fans unhappy. It is going to take a lot more then an owner to turn things around.

[Derek Sutton]

this towns relationship with the folks that run this team will ever improve, or that they will ever be able to hire decent people with the rep this team has..do you honestly believe this crew will be able to make this franchise a successful long term business with a winning team on a regular basis year after year with the track record of the last 20 years..wow....moon is right, we have become so comfortable with
mediocrity that we look a thing in a much different light than most of the league......this team doesn't have fans they have sheep..aka..easily led person.

Not with the current BOD, not how things are currently run, not with the current BOD.

I'm the first to agree that things need to change, but they sale of the team is not an option, when it becomes one, lets hope the right people are put in place. Hiring just one person can give the franchise a whole new direction. Brian Burke has given a whole sense of optimism to the Flames. Do you remember when Bryan Maxwell was hired? He turned the whole Canes organization around. That is what the team needs now (again since a sale is not an option), a hockey guy who is free to run the team the way he sees fit, not having to answer to the BOD on day to day operations, not having to clear trades with them, not getting any outside interference. Don Hay has been hired in Kamloops to turn the franchise around and will operate not having to answer to the owners as he is a well respected coach, GM, has won and has produced pro players. The Canes need to hire a "President of Operations" or position of the same ilk and let them have total control.

[lethbridgefan83]

The difference between a private owner and a public owner at this point is track record.
Public ownership in this town with regards to the Hurricanes has almost zero respect or trust within the community. A private owner who came in, made some reasonable promises (IE, maybe we wont make the playoffs this year, but we wont look like a team straight out of Junior B, but the expectation is that after a year of retooling we are expecting to make the playoffs, then a year after that maybe contend etc etc). That ownership if they even came close to whatever expectations they made (nobody expects the garbage team we have to win the Mem Cup next year, but we shouldn't be the leagues punch line year in and out either), would start to mend a few bridges in this town.

The current BOD no matter what they say, no matter what they do people are going to think that its BS, and it probably is, even if they happen to mistake onto that result or not.

I think the bigger issue here isn't the team's roster status, it isnt the teams financial status, its the fact that the current BOD (and the BOD we have had for the past several years) could not tie their shoes without tying one to the other and falling flat on their face. And even if they start to make ANY kind of improvement everyone will still be thinking about the past 2 or 3 years just the same.

The reality is we can talk until we are blue in the face about how nice it would be to have a private owner, but we do not, and we wont have for at least a few years. So everyone has to make their decisions based on what they enjoy out of hockey, if they enjoy an evening away from home, no matter what the result on the ice, then by all means buy your tickets and go enjoy. If your a hockey person that hates the fact we have lost year in and year out for years, then dont send in the renewal form. No matter what they will still put 2000-2500 people in the stands, good team or not..

[blacksheep]

Not with the current BOD, not how things are currently run, not with the current BOD.

I'm the first to agree that things need to change, but they sale of the team is not an option, when it becomes one, lets hope the right people are put in place. Hiring just one person can give the franchise a whole new direction. Brian Burke has given a whole sense of optimism to the Flames. Do you remember when Bryan Maxwell was hired? He turned the whole Canes organization around. That is what the team needs now (again since a sale is not an option), a hockey guy who is free to run the team the way he sees fit, not having to answer to the BOD on day to day operations, not having to clear trades with them, not getting any outside interference. Don Hay has been hired in Kamloops to turn the franchise around and will operate not having to answer to the owners as he is a well respected coach, GM, has won and has produced pro players. The Canes need to hire a "President of Operations" or position of the same ilk and let them have total control.

Well first the "president of operations" is not in the governance model. Second the GM is the employee of the club and is free to make all the decisions you have mentioned above and is required to do so by the governance model. However what the model says and what really takes place behind the scenes is what it seems you are addressing. What is needed is a hire (GM) who basically tells the the golden few on the BOD to pack sand and run the operation as they see fit. I think this is where Maxwell had some success in that he told the board to bugger off when it was required. We have had puppets lately and it shows. A younger version of Maxie with a set of gonads is what is needed.