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Originally Posted by JiriHrdina
These players certainly didn't deliver last season. Is being out of the race early and then getting some meaningless wins late in the year the bar for delivering?
We don't know a lot about GG but early returns aren't great, but it isn't surprising that Hartley was dismissed given last season, and underlying metrics.
Again, for me, its on the players.
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No, but it could be a sign they were figuring it out. As I stated above, rebuilding is not a simple linear progression. I think the young Flames were learning a lot in the Hartley era. The fact that players individually continued to get better and better proved that IMO. The team success just took a dip last season.
The other thing that is missing now is culture. Hartley brought some presence and motivational ability with him. Established things like always earned never given. Was never shy about being vocal behind the bench.
The new staff has none of that. I see a team that has lost its identity.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
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