Quote:
Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin
This is literally the Jim Playfair situation all over again. D. Sutter implemented a certain brand of hockey, got the most out of his players, and took an underdog team to game 7 of the SCF. Then, Playfair was hired and was in way over his head. He was supposed to be the player-friendly coach but he lost control of the roster and they under performed until the core was traded away.
The current Flames are 1 season removed from "hard-ass" Hartley who got them to round 2 of the playoffs when they were supposed to be a bottom-5 team. They chose the player friendly coach and he has lost control of the roster.
What really gets me as a season ticket holder is that they are uninspired. I have no interest in attending games until the players show interest in winning. It's hard to spend hard earned dollars on supporting uninsipired players.
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The Playfair situation was somewhat different in that he wasn't a new face like Gulutzan as he was the former assistant head coach and Darryl's right hand man on the bench. We will never know how good of a coach he could have been as Iginla and some of the other veteran players undermined him and simply didn't buy into him. I think there's better character and leadership in this Flame's team's dressing room and it's simply a young team struggling to adjust to a system that may or may not be a fit for the talent.