Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Fire Gulutzan/Give him Coach of the year All Purpose Thread

PugnaciousIntern · 10-27-2016, 03:27 PM

We have been talking about the effects of GG's on-ice systems (short passes, 5-man unit, etc). And I'm sure we'll start to recognize more of his on-ice systems as the team actually starts playing to reflect the coaching wishes.

But what about his decisions with line composition? Not just the game-day rosters (much debated) but the intentional parity among the lines?

Splitting Gio, Brodie, and Hamilton is clearly an intentional move to ensure that a top-3 D is always on the ice at all times. Tough to tell how it's working out so far. I know as a D myself, playing with a weak partner makes me less effective and less likely to jump into offensive plays. But we all remember the Smid - Engelland fire drill shifts in years past.

The forwards are even more interesting though. The stable 'pairs' (Gaudreau+Monahan, Bennett+Brower, Backlund+Frolik) essentially represent the top forwards. But by distributing the skilled forwards, the lesser skilled forwards are also distributed. As competent as Chiasson and Versteeg have been so far, they aren't clear cut top-6 material, and certainly weren't highly valued by the rest of the league (a last-minute Free Agent and traded for Seiloff, respectively).

With Gaudreau and Monahan not at the top of their game, I feel like Hartley (and many other coaches) would immediately put someone like Brouwer with them for a jump-start, and simply deal with the effects on the lineup, putting Bennett with the second best option, and so-on.

I'm excited to see how this will pan out. He has very deliberately distributed talent throughout the lineup. I have already noticed the lack of high's and low's as a fan. I am no longer suddenly on the edge of my seat once every few shifts (like in 2014-15 Gaudreau+Monahan+Hudler) but I am also no longer terrified of a particular line (like with Smid+Engelland+4th line). I'm certain that the players, and particularly the goalies, share that feeling of stability. I also believe that the opponents have taken note. I don't think it's a surprise that the 3rd and 4th lines have stood out this season. They are solid NHL lines with some skill, while meanwhile the 'top 2' lines are getting the tough matchups.

10-27-2016, 03:27 PM	#207
PugnaciousIntern First Line Centre Join Date: Jul 2014 Exp:	We have been talking about the effects of GG's on-ice systems (short passes, 5-man unit, etc). And I'm sure we'll start to recognize more of his on-ice systems as the team actually starts playing to reflect the coaching wishes. But what about his decisions with line composition? Not just the game-day rosters (much debated) but the intentional parity among the lines? Splitting Gio, Brodie, and Hamilton is clearly an intentional move to ensure that a top-3 D is always on the ice at all times. Tough to tell how it's working out so far. I know as a D myself, playing with a weak partner makes me less effective and less likely to jump into offensive plays. But we all remember the Smid - Engelland fire drill shifts in years past. The forwards are even more interesting though. The stable 'pairs' (Gaudreau+Monahan, Bennett+Brower, Backlund+Frolik) essentially represent the top forwards. But by distributing the skilled forwards, the lesser skilled forwards are also distributed. As competent as Chiasson and Versteeg have been so far, they aren't clear cut top-6 material, and certainly weren't highly valued by the rest of the league (a last-minute Free Agent and traded for Seiloff, respectively). With Gaudreau and Monahan not at the top of their game, I feel like Hartley (and many other coaches) would immediately put someone like Brouwer with them for a jump-start, and simply deal with the effects on the lineup, putting Bennett with the second best option, and so-on. I'm excited to see how this will pan out. He has very deliberately distributed talent throughout the lineup. I have already noticed the lack of high's and low's as a fan. I am no longer suddenly on the edge of my seat once every few shifts (like in 2014-15 Gaudreau+Monahan+Hudler) but I am also no longer terrified of a particular line (like with Smid+Engelland+4th line). I'm certain that the players, and particularly the goalies, share that feeling of stability. I also believe that the opponents have taken note. I don't think it's a surprise that the 3rd and 4th lines have stood out this season. They are solid NHL lines with some skill, while meanwhile the 'top 2' lines are getting the tough matchups.