This is an excellent signing by the Flames. Happy they brought him back.
He was the special teams specialist under Ward. That was his bread and butter. He had those guys working like a machine on home ice (PK was ranked 8th in the league, PP was ranked 6th in league). The biggest problem was the guys just couldn't keep it up in the visiting barn where they were ranked 27th and 23rd, respectively.
But when MacLean had them going, they were really going.
On top of that, he's a very personable guy. He's all business without being serious all the time. Calm, cool, collected. He's got an unbelievable mind for the game. The players all seemed to have nothing but respect for him when he was here. He was the polar opposite of Luke Strand (Ward's other assistant, the defensive guru) who had high energy, he was loud, he controlled the pace of the practices through emotion, etc.
In short, good hire for the Flames. As much as I admired Ward for what he did for the development of this organization, MacLean might be the best salvage from that previous coaching staff.
|