I am not on the bandwagon to get Gulutzan fired, even though I thought Hartley's dismissal was the wrong move. It is still too early. He is still a relatively inexperienced NHL coach (only 1 gig as an NHL head coach). This will take a bit more time than we hoped to get straightened out. He might just need a bit more time than a much more tenured coach would in ironing-out the issues.
However, for those that feel 'we always blame the coach - this is on the players', I offer this:
Since I became a fan of this team in 81, how many good coaches and good GMs has this team had?
GMs:
Fletcher
Sutter (until the last year)
Coates (I thought he did well with what he had)
Maybe Button - some good stuff at least along with a lot of terrible stuff.
That's about it. It is too early to point at Treliving and say he is good or bad - I like what I see so far, but we have to see what happens.
Coaches:
Badger Bob
Terry Crisp (he may have sucked, but he won a cup with us)
Dave King
Brian Sutter?
Darryl Sutter
Bob Hartley
I might have reached, and there will be disagreements on Hartley, Brian Sutter, Dave King and even Terry Crisp - but that just emphasizes my point.
I can't think of any other coaches that were 'good'. Flames have a LONG history of getting washed-up names (Keenan) and the "Brightest star who hasn't coached in the NHL yet" (Hay, Gilbert).
Sometimes it is on the coach, even if the coach has been replaced a number of times. The fallacy is believing that because the coach has already been changed, it is now 'fixed' and the problem lies elsewhere. It is like looking in a drawer full of loose batteries - some have been used and don't have any charge, some are manufactures' defects, and have nothing, but there is a few in there that are working. Just because you switched it out doesn't mean that the flashlight is broken - you may have used a dud.
That is how I see coaching.
Now, I am not saying that Gulutzan is a dud (I think it is too early to figure it out), but don't for an instant think that this team is 'Hard to coach' and are 'coach killers' simply because they haven't been able to find a good coach yet, or the right fit. That might have been a narrative to describe the 2004-2012 teams, but there has been quite a lot of roster turnover. Unless I guess you think that Giordano and Stajan are keeping the Flames like that (which is laughable).
I hope Gulutzan is the right coach. I think what this team really needs (and what this organization as a whole needed since its' inception) is continuity. I think firing Hartley was the wrong move because the continuity in having this team a 'hard working' team - something we haven't seen since Darryl Sutter, and probably not before Brian Sutter, and then Crisp and Badger Bob. I also don't think he 'lost the room' - that is complete rubbish as many players have come out and stated that he didn't, and even Gaudreau and Monahan went to his camp post-firing.
Treliving wanted to get his guy - call it philosophical differences, call it whatever you want - Treliving 'deserved' to get his guy he felt comfortable with. That is his 'right' as a GM. I said when he made the move, that the clock has officially started ticking as it was a big stamp on the team, and this is officially 'his' team now.
The Flames may keep faltering, or they might get their @#$# together. Time will tell. It is too early to say he needs to get fired, but it is also understandable to feel that way in light of all the lousy coaches this team seems to have a penchant for hiring.
The only thing I offer is that Gelinas should be getting involved on the PP. Flames started off terribly last year on the PP, but they finished in the top 10 if you discount the first month (or two? can't remember the stat off-hand now) of the season (which means, the PP was 'fixed' and had been for a long while). I would definitely get Gelinas involved there. Heck, "promote" Cameron to associate coach where he oversees both special teams, but leaves the nuts and bolts to Gelinas and Jerrard.
Let's see what the next 6 games brings us. It is too early for one side to say: "Fire the coach" and too early for the other side to say: "That's stupid, Flames always do that and it never works". By game 20, we will have at least a bit better of an understanding of what this team is doing.
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