"... honestly, what has Shanahan done to be considered for such a pivotal role? He’s never scouted, never run a hockey team, never made a trade and never juggled a roster or a salary cap. He has worked on player safety for the NHL, issued suspensions and fines and he has initiated talks and ways to improve the game. Kudos to him for that, but converting that into a director of hockey ops gig is a major leap, one the Flames are in no position to make.

This is a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years, an organization now in a rebuilding mode with three picks in the first round of this month’s NHL entry draft. This isn’t the time to hand the keys over to a novice and say, “Go take it for a test drive. See what you think.”

-Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail. More from Maki on this topic and other NHL notes...