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Calgary4LIfe · 11-18-2014, 10:20 AM

I think Iginla will become an even more polarizing figure in the years to come. In '04, was there a better captain? I don't think so. I think very few players in this league have been able to be that captain that Iginla was that year.

Iginla's first brush with criticism came with Playfair. We all know how well that turned out. Perhaps Playfair just wasn't ready to be a coach. However, there were a few things that happened that year to make you question the character of that team a bit.

Then you kept hearing (from Darryl himself) that this team is 'Hard to coach'. Then you see the country-club atmosphere amongst some of the players. You start hearing a bewildered Brent Sutter in the media, and he started insinuating a few things (but nothing directly against Iginla, IIRC).

However, one thing was undeniable throughout Iginla's tenure as a captain - he would often stand up and do the right thing. If it meant he needed to fight, he would fight. If he needed to face the media after a tough loss, a blowout, or yet another series of "will you waive" questions, he stood up there every time and was both polite and patient. Remember Conroy blasting a couple of Flames (I think it was Giordano and Cammy, actually, though maybe I am wrong) about having Hanowski sitting all alone? Obviously that didn't happen when Iginla was around and captain.

I think it is fair to both criticize Iginla and laud him. I think he probably deserves both in some ways. However, I don't think there is a captain out there who has a team that doesn't meet expectations lauded very much in the NHL. Jump into a GDT on HF for a random team, and you will see even long-time captains - especially long-term captains of franchise that seem to be on the downswing - being highly critical of their captain. Staal in particular is getting criticized for exactly that - Carolina had a rough start, and fans there seemed a bit disgruntled and were hoping that Staal gets traded so that the culture would change.

I have been a huge Hartley supporter and I think he is the impetus behind this change. I also think that Calgary hasn't had a good coach since Darryl stepped down. Playfair wasn't ready. Keenan was semi-retired. Sutter seemed to have one system he was trying to force-feed that didn't fit the Flames. Is that partly on the Flames being "a hard team to coach"? I think it is. I also think it was a long list of poor coaching hires. Hartley has been great.

I do think that this team is easier to coach. There are no expectations with the club last year. There were slightly more expectations this year - not for placement in the standings, but to see if this team would have the same effort most nights like they did last year. You have kids trying to compete for spots, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how things in the NHL work - Rookies always have to prove themselves more than vets do.

With that being said, Edmonton never had this culture with their rebuild - at least not outside of a string of games. Chicago never had it until Toews/Kane came along. I don't think Pittsburgh had it until they canned Therien and brought in Bylsma and some good vets. I think 'culture' is something that is very easy to destroy, but very difficult to build. I think it is difficult to lay the groundwork and keep making sure it is headed in that direction. I think it takes a strong coach and a strong veteran presence to keep it going.

I just think a change was needed. Coaching staff, GM and players. Feaster used to say it was a 'disease' - that is how I felt about it often as well. Just something stunk with the Flames all those years since '04. It wasn't just the let-downs. It was how they happened. I think the culture was ruined from that '04 team with Darryl trying to increase the speed and skill-level of the Flames. He definitely did a great job - nobody is going to argue that this team was less skilled even in his last season than that '04 team. That '04 team had a strong identity - tough, resilient, persistent, angry and altruistic. They would block shots, they would fight, they would grind you up and down the boards and hit you every chance they got. They would all collapse down-low and block pucks. That team worked very, very hard for each other. If ever there was a team that was greater than the sum of their parts, it was the '04 Flames. Who thought that would have been it? That team was a machine out there. An angry, antagonistic scary machine that I don't think any team looked forward to facing in the regular season, much less a 7-game playoff series.

It seemed that every year, with every adjustment Sutter made, that team ended up gaining much more skill, but losing something else along the way that made them a bit less than the sum of their parts. I actually quite liked Darryl - even as a GM (other than those moments of insanity we don't need to cover again). I think we all loved his trades for the most part. The 'I am not going to make a move' and then BAM! Jokinen. Tanguay. Bouwmeester! Guys like Huselius out of nowhere. Without question, he dramatically increased the skill-level of this team, but it lost its' culture. Teams stopped being afraid of Calgary. They also started seeing how Calgary would just stop playing hard. Chicago embarrassed Calgary coming back from a 5-0 deficit and winning the game 6-5. That was one of the last daggers in the heard of the team, and it had been on life-support ever since. Everyone saw the Flames for what they were - some really great pieces to a few different puzzles. "Is it a city? Nope.. I think it is leopard. No, I think it is forming a country scene." Flames became a bunch of puzzle pieces to various different puzzles and not one of them had a picture of what it was supposed to look like after.

I think a young team needs a coach exactly like Hartley. He DOES yell at you on the bench (just ask Backlund when he made a huge error). He will put you in your place. He will also build you up. He will teach you. He will demand hard-work and buy-in, and he will sit you and demote you if you don't do both. You need a guy to come in and lead a team and teach them how to be. You also need a captain like Giordano - an experienced vet who works hard. Someone that is responsible on and off the ice. In-season, and in the off-season. Someone with leadership abilities (obviously of course).

Could it have been Iginla? Could Iginla have taken this rag-tag group of youth with Hartley as a coach and been leading them as well as Giordano has been? I think even most of the Iginla fan-boys (of which I include myself) would probably say "no" quietly and sadly. I don't think he would have been the best choice for where the team is now, and for where he is in his own career. However, I do think that for some years, he was the best damned captain in the game, and he often carried this team kicking and screaming on his back, and that is how I will choose to remember Iginla on the Flames.

11-18-2014, 10:20 AM	#48
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	I think Iginla will become an even more polarizing figure in the years to come. In '04, was there a better captain? I don't think so. I think very few players in this league have been able to be that captain that Iginla was that year. Iginla's first brush with criticism came with Playfair. We all know how well that turned out. Perhaps Playfair just wasn't ready to be a coach. However, there were a few things that happened that year to make you question the character of that team a bit. Then you kept hearing (from Darryl himself) that this team is 'Hard to coach'. Then you see the country-club atmosphere amongst some of the players. You start hearing a bewildered Brent Sutter in the media, and he started insinuating a few things (but nothing directly against Iginla, IIRC). However, one thing was undeniable throughout Iginla's tenure as a captain - he would often stand up and do the right thing. If it meant he needed to fight, he would fight. If he needed to face the media after a tough loss, a blowout, or yet another series of "will you waive" questions, he stood up there every time and was both polite and patient. Remember Conroy blasting a couple of Flames (I think it was Giordano and Cammy, actually, though maybe I am wrong) about having Hanowski sitting all alone? Obviously that didn't happen when Iginla was around and captain. I think it is fair to both criticize Iginla and laud him. I think he probably deserves both in some ways. However, I don't think there is a captain out there who has a team that doesn't meet expectations lauded very much in the NHL. Jump into a GDT on HF for a random team, and you will see even long-time captains - especially long-term captains of franchise that seem to be on the downswing - being highly critical of their captain. Staal in particular is getting criticized for exactly that - Carolina had a rough start, and fans there seemed a bit disgruntled and were hoping that Staal gets traded so that the culture would change. I have been a huge Hartley supporter and I think he is the impetus behind this change. I also think that Calgary hasn't had a good coach since Darryl stepped down. Playfair wasn't ready. Keenan was semi-retired. Sutter seemed to have one system he was trying to force-feed that didn't fit the Flames. Is that partly on the Flames being "a hard team to coach"? I think it is. I also think it was a long list of poor coaching hires. Hartley has been great. I do think that this team is easier to coach. There are no expectations with the club last year. There were slightly more expectations this year - not for placement in the standings, but to see if this team would have the same effort most nights like they did last year. You have kids trying to compete for spots, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how things in the NHL work - Rookies always have to prove themselves more than vets do. With that being said, Edmonton never had this culture with their rebuild - at least not outside of a string of games. Chicago never had it until Toews/Kane came along. I don't think Pittsburgh had it until they canned Therien and brought in Bylsma and some good vets. I think 'culture' is something that is very easy to destroy, but very difficult to build. I think it is difficult to lay the groundwork and keep making sure it is headed in that direction. I think it takes a strong coach and a strong veteran presence to keep it going. I just think a change was needed. Coaching staff, GM and players. Feaster used to say it was a 'disease' - that is how I felt about it often as well. Just something stunk with the Flames all those years since '04. It wasn't just the let-downs. It was how they happened. I think the culture was ruined from that '04 team with Darryl trying to increase the speed and skill-level of the Flames. He definitely did a great job - nobody is going to argue that this team was less skilled even in his last season than that '04 team. That '04 team had a strong identity - tough, resilient, persistent, angry and altruistic. They would block shots, they would fight, they would grind you up and down the boards and hit you every chance they got. They would all collapse down-low and block pucks. That team worked very, very hard for each other. If ever there was a team that was greater than the sum of their parts, it was the '04 Flames. Who thought that would have been it? That team was a machine out there. An angry, antagonistic scary machine that I don't think any team looked forward to facing in the regular season, much less a 7-game playoff series. It seemed that every year, with every adjustment Sutter made, that team ended up gaining much more skill, but losing something else along the way that made them a bit less than the sum of their parts. I actually quite liked Darryl - even as a GM (other than those moments of insanity we don't need to cover again). I think we all loved his trades for the most part. The 'I am not going to make a move' and then BAM! Jokinen. Tanguay. Bouwmeester! Guys like Huselius out of nowhere. Without question, he dramatically increased the skill-level of this team, but it lost its' culture. Teams stopped being afraid of Calgary. They also started seeing how Calgary would just stop playing hard. Chicago embarrassed Calgary coming back from a 5-0 deficit and winning the game 6-5. That was one of the last daggers in the heard of the team, and it had been on life-support ever since. Everyone saw the Flames for what they were - some really great pieces to a few different puzzles. "Is it a city? Nope.. I think it is leopard. No, I think it is forming a country scene." Flames became a bunch of puzzle pieces to various different puzzles and not one of them had a picture of what it was supposed to look like after. I think a young team needs a coach exactly like Hartley. He DOES yell at you on the bench (just ask Backlund when he made a huge error). He will put you in your place. He will also build you up. He will teach you. He will demand hard-work and buy-in, and he will sit you and demote you if you don't do both. You need a guy to come in and lead a team and teach them how to be. You also need a captain like Giordano - an experienced vet who works hard. Someone that is responsible on and off the ice. In-season, and in the off-season. Someone with leadership abilities (obviously of course). Could it have been Iginla? Could Iginla have taken this rag-tag group of youth with Hartley as a coach and been leading them as well as Giordano has been? I think even most of the Iginla fan-boys (of which I include myself) would probably say "no" quietly and sadly. I don't think he would have been the best choice for where the team is now, and for where he is in his own career. However, I do think that for some years, he was the best damned captain in the game, and he often carried this team kicking and screaming on his back, and that is how I will choose to remember Iginla on the Flames.