[Calgary4LIfe]

A lot of exaggeration both ways in the last couple of pages I think.

Hartley was in charge of a rebuilding team. He didn't get fired for finishing near the bottom for most of the time he was here. That's just silly reasoning - the Flames were 'expected' to finish low, and even though they did, Hartley was still lauded league-wide for instilling their hard-working culture. This was the year before the Jack Adams playoff season.

With that being said, it wasn't a huge mistake for Treliving to make a change either. We aren't privy to what goes on in the room. Treliving I am sure also wants to put his stamp on the team as well - his job will be on the line in the coming years, and I would assume he at least wants his choice of coach to go along with it. There were definitely areas of concern with Hartley's coaching anyways. I don't think it was a mistake keeping him, and I don't think it was necessarily a mistake firing him either.

What I am concerned about is the names being bandied around right now with respect to former coaches supposedly getting interest and interviews - namely Yeo and Carlyle. I don't think very much of either of them. I assumed Treliving had a guy or two in mind who he was targeting (and I don't think it was Boudreau either, or he would have met with Boudreau quickly before going back to Russia).

I am hoping this is just how Brad "Hard Worker Who Never Leaves a Stone Unturned" Treliving operates. Hopefully we as fans will hear some news about a 'refreshing' coaching candidate, or a legitimate experienced 'winner' that we can have confidence in. However, I really didn't want Hartley hired in the first place - I thought it was a huge mistake. I actually think he is the third or fourth best coach in Flames' history now, behind Badger Bob, Darryl Sutter and depending on how you see it, Terry Crisp (he won...).

We just need to keep an open mind and see how this unfolds before we start panicking. Maybe he is interviewing Yeo and Carlyle simply because he intends to hire a new 'up and comer', and wants to gauge the possibility of these other coaches working with the guy he has in mind. We have no idea what the plans are. Even if he hires Yeo, or Carlyle, or whomever else we are afraid of, they may end up better. Lots of coaches completely bombed in certain locations, and then went on to have a lot of success.

Edit: Let me throw my wild suggestion while I am at it: I would actually wouldn't mind if the Flames went out and hired Dave King as an assistant. Guy has been around a long time, and has long been thought of as one of the greatest minds in hockey. With his NHL experience and his KHL experience, he may be a good 'thinking outside the box' type. I wouldn't want him as a head coach, but perhaps as an assistant. Not sure he would come back to be an assistant, but I bet he would become a pretty good assistant.