ALBERTA — In Edmonton, new general manager Peter Chiarelli has made more “bold moves” than former GM Craig MacTavish — the guy who coined that term — and he’s only been on the job for two months.
Three hundred kilometres to the south, with every seemingly brilliant move made by Brad Treliving, the popular refrain that the Flames are due for a step backwards next season takes another step back into the distance.
After stealing Dougie Hamilton out of Boston and getting him signed to a long-term deal in recent days, Treliving landed Michael Frolik on Wednesday, the highly sought after free agent winger who is still just 27.
Meanwhile Edmonton, who snapped up Griffin Reinhart, Eric Gryba and goalie Cam Talbot at the draft, landed perhaps the best available UFA defenceman in Andrej Sekera. Surely, Sekera was the most sought after defenceman at the last Trade Deadline.
What it all means for success in Alberta has yet to play out. But here’s what we know for sure: After years of dormancy, the Battle of Alberta is back.
They are competing in the trade and free agent markets, and soon they’ll be competing in the playoffs again, a prerequisite for the rebirth of The Battle.
“It was impressive what the guys did last year. I think it just can get better,” Frolik said of the Flames, on Sportsnet 960. “The team is heading in the right direction, and I get a great feeling with the coach too. And you look at the city. I have heard great things about it, for your family.”
There was a time, not long ago, when the two Alberta teams were one of two things on July 1: A place for players at the end of their careers to get overpaid; or, a leverage point for agents, who used the Oilers and Flames to jack up the offers in cities where their clients actually wanted to play.
It’s all changed, far more quickly than any of us could have predicted.
“It’s a combination of things,” Mark Letestu, the free agent centre who signed for three years at $1.8 million in Edmonton, told Edmonton radio station 630 CHED. “Personnel-wise, this team is loaded. Now it’s a matter of finding the right pieces that fit, and getting it going in the right direction.”
With Jack Adams winner Bob Hartley behind the bench in Calgary, and Treliving fast gaining respect as one of the game’s sharp young GMs, there aren’t any questions being asked about the Flames front office. In Edmonton, new CEO Bob Nicholson’s house cleaning brought in Chiarelli and head coach Todd McLellan. Those hires have already paid off in spades, and they haven’t played a game yet.
“The coaching staff brings winning (to mind) right away,” Letestu told CHED. “Peter is the GM, and he’s got a Stanley Cup. And ownership is strong.”
What we learn is how important perception is, and how the league-wide perception of a team is borne from its front office personnel. Calgary has had a more stable front office in the past decade, though the team’s handling of Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff at the end of their careers left the hockey world wondering just who was making the calls there — the GM, team President Ken King, or ownership?
Edmonton, meanwhile, simply became the laughing stock of the NHL. As an Edmonton-based columnist I saw it. I couldn’t walk into a press box or hockey gathering anywhere in North America without being asked “What the heck is going on up there?” a question that was quickly followed by some kind of ridicule aimed at what has been going on with the Old Boys Club for the past decade.
Nobody wants to tie their flag to a laughing stock, and even though free agency is largely about the money, players with choice will always side with a team that looks like it can win.
Few players had more choices this July 1 than Frolik and Sekera, and they chose opposite ends of the Battle of Alberta. Though it is fair to say that at six years and $33 million, Sekera may have found the most money in Northern Alberta. Frolik signed a five-year, $21.5 million deal, money he could have found in many other places.
It’s been a long, dry stretch here in Alberta, punctuated by Cup runs in 2004 and 2006 that seem a lifetime ago. Now, the Flames become a two-round team last spring, and the Oilers landed McDavid, rebuilt the front office, and are beginning to do what the old management never did: surround the young core with players who can carry some of the load.
Now, when Calgary gets Hamilton, Edmonton counters with Reinhart and Sekera. The Flames land Frolik? Edmonton brings in Letestu and Lauri Korpikoski for depth, and Connor McDavid for some star power.
Edmonton gets Talbot? No problem: Calgary has Joni Ortio, and re-signs Karri Ramo.
It’s fun again here in Alberta, and it’s been too long since we’ve been able to say that the Battle of Alberta is back.
Someone should write a book about that.
