Well pencil me in as one of the "surprised" ones.
I did think Troy was the man for the job in Adirondak. He did very well with what he was given last season and coached the team out of a few holes when they were dealing with a bunch of injuries and callups. The Heat had their best season point wise as well as a number of players with career years and franchise years. Anyone called up was ready to play and make an impact with the Flames. He seemed to have developed good relationships with the players as well and they were more then willing to give it all for him. I'm not really sure what more you can ask from a coach. Or why a new GM/AGM would think they need to tinker with what was an all around successful year for the Heat.
Perhaps it is that Ward has offers from NHL teams. That really is the only explanation that would make sense to me.
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