The NHL may have corrected their recipe for success, but their general managers and front office officials are still no better than a 1950s dad in the kitchen. They haven’t learned from their predecessors’ mistakes: bad and long contracts, no confidence in their young and upcoming stars, and foolish trades.

Alexei Yashin and Rick DiPietro have benefited from those front office mistakes. But the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers could be the next teams to crumble under the pressure and make foolish blunders.

In 2001, the New York Islanders signed Yashin to the longest contract in the history of the NHL at that time: 10 years for $87.5 million. In 2006, those same Islanders, but with a new general manager, one-upped themselves. They signed DiPietro to a 15-year $67.5 million contract.

Both contracts have worked out horribly for the Islanders and have not lead to success for the second-rate New York team. There’s a reason why other teams have not bought in to this strategy; it’s as bad an idea as betting your life savings on Heidi Montag’s music career.

Those contracts are only part of the problem though. Foolish moves, like the ones made by the Flyers and Flames on Friday and Saturday, respectively, are the other problem.

The Flyers desperate move

Looking to add intimidation to their defense, the Flyers made a gigantic trade during the 2009 NHL Draft on Friday. They traded Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, a 2009 and 2010 first-round pick, and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011 for aging superstar Chris Pronger and prospect Ryan Dingle.

Trading for the 34-year-old Pronger is not a bad move. The Flyers need toughness and defensive help, and they didn’t have to give up any of their top young offensive stars.

However, how did the Flyers give up so much for one defenseman with one year left on his contract? Lupul is a decent second or third line winger who is becoming a solid two-way player. Sbisa is a first-round draft pick and only 19. Including Lupul (who was a first-round draft pick), the Flyers traded four first-round players for Pronger and a prospect.

Explain to me how that was a smart move? Maybe if the Flyers win the Stanley Cup next year, people can forgive (not forget) this trade. Yes, Pronger has gotten better with age and become more of a scoring threat. The fans in Philadelphia will love Pronger’s physical play and hustle. However, there’s no way to believe he will lead the Flyers to a championship by himself. He’s not that type of player. If the Detroit Red Wings and all their fire power and defensive stars couldn’t stop the Pittsburgh Penguins, then one old defender won’t slow down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, let alone Alex Ovechkin.

This was a great short-term move, but a horrible franchise move. The Flyers will regret this trade.

Trading a draft pick for a soon-to-be free agent

Very rarely do you a read about an interim general manager trading a soon-to-be free agent and a third-round draft pick for another soon-to-be free agent. However, that was the case between the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. The Panthers sent Jay Bouwmeester to the Flames for Jordan Leopold and a third-round pick.

Panthers interim GM Randy Sexton is getting much credit for trading Bouwmeester (who was not even going to consider signing with Florida) for a draft pick. He turned a disappointing situation into a winner – something that doesn’t happen often for the Panthers.

However, this may not be a win-win trade. The Flames could have bumbled away a solid third-round pick if they can’t sign Bouwmeester to a long-term contract at a reasonable price. Let’s not forget that Vezina Trophy finalist Steve Mason and Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara were third-round picks.

Bouwmeester may be a young defenseman, but he has played in the league for the past six years. His potential is limited. He’s an offensive defenseman with decent passing abilities. His biggest knock is the fact he doesn’t play much defense. He has a career +/- of -27. Most of that can be attributed to the terrible teams he has played on over the years, but in 2006-2007, he had a +/- of +23. It makes you wonder if he’s more concentrated on scoring than keeping the puck out of his own net (the first and most important duty of a defenseman – hence the position name).

The other question for the Flames is if he will get time on the powerplay. Bouwmeester has recorded 40 percent of his career points while playing with the man advantage. His skill level could be even more hampered if the Flames keep Dion Phaneuf (a more talented offensive defenseman) on the powerplay.

With that said, the Flames didn’t risk much on trading for Bouwmeester and this trade wasn’t as bad as the Flyers move. If the Flames are able to keep Bouwmeester off the market and not overpay to retain his services, this might not be a bad move. At the very least, it will reduce the stress for the front office of competing with other teams to sign him.

Still, teams have to value their players and moves. I believe the Flames would have been front-runners in signing Bouwmeester in the offseason anyways – especially after their biggest offseason competitors, the Flyers, traded for Pronger.

NHL teams need to find a way to balance the short-term and long-term successfully. They have to take risks but calculated risks that make sense for the franchise. It’s for the betterment of American hockey. The sport cannot afford to have successful teams with a proud history carelessly throwing away their futures. That goes against what the NHL is shooting to accomplish.

Read more about these trades at the link below:

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