Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

strombad · 11-02-2013, 08:37 AM

The only problem I have with people jumping on Hartley is this:

We have a bad team. Everyone here expected us to do VERY poorly. However, instead of that we are doing just below average, and what is the ONE thing everyone has been saying? That we are playing EXCITING hockey. Why do we think that is? Magic? That's Hartley. You may not like him sitting a guy here or there, you may not like his system of meritocracy because you don't understand it, but I don't see anyone complaining about the exciting, up-tempo, entertaining brand of Flames hockey we are being presented with.

Let's face it, we're going to lose games. We're going to get shelled a few times. We currently have 2 top 4 guys in our D-corps, and the rest are bottom pairing guys AT BEST. Goaltending? We have a third string guy who couldn't outplay JONAS GUSTAVSSON, and a KHL goalie who while being admirable, flops all over the ice and is taking extra time to get used to the game.

Point is, we're going to lose. We're going to lose a lot. People just need to step back and quit calling for the head of the coach every time there is something they don't like. Nitpicking things like "well Colborne deserves more than 6 minutes but less than 20" and "Backlund is starting in the defensive zone too much" is a little silly. Colborne earned his minutes. On a team of extremely average centers, he's been playing the best. Backlund? Average. I could MAYBE see moving him to the third line and Stajan to the 4th, but he hasn't played any better than that.

People just need to relax on the whole coach thing. The problems on this team run far deeper than Hartley's line combinations. We should be a little bit thankful that this is the most entertaining hockey we've seen in half a decade.

11-02-2013, 08:37 AM	#220
strombad Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Aug 2013 Exp:	The only problem I have with people jumping on Hartley is this: We have a bad team. Everyone here expected us to do VERY poorly. However, instead of that we are doing just below average, and what is the ONE thing everyone has been saying? That we are playing EXCITING hockey. Why do we think that is? Magic? That's Hartley. You may not like him sitting a guy here or there, you may not like his system of meritocracy because you don't understand it, but I don't see anyone complaining about the exciting, up-tempo, entertaining brand of Flames hockey we are being presented with. Let's face it, we're going to lose games. We're going to get shelled a few times. We currently have 2 top 4 guys in our D-corps, and the rest are bottom pairing guys AT BEST. Goaltending? We have a third string guy who couldn't outplay JONAS GUSTAVSSON, and a KHL goalie who while being admirable, flops all over the ice and is taking extra time to get used to the game. Point is, we're going to lose. We're going to lose a lot. People just need to step back and quit calling for the head of the coach every time there is something they don't like. Nitpicking things like "well Colborne deserves more than 6 minutes but less than 20" and "Backlund is starting in the defensive zone too much" is a little silly. Colborne earned his minutes. On a team of extremely average centers, he's been playing the best. Backlund? Average. I could MAYBE see moving him to the third line and Stajan to the 4th, but he hasn't played any better than that. People just need to relax on the whole coach thing. The problems on this team run far deeper than Hartley's line combinations. We should be a little bit thankful that this is the most entertaining hockey we've seen in half a decade.