Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The trials and tribulations of Glen Gulutzan

mile · 12-04-2017, 10:14 PM

I've stayed pretty silent on GG ever since he took over, have read all the opinions from both his supporters and detractors, and had generally taken an optimistic approach when it comes to him because I do think he has done some good things. But like how Treliving said that Hartley took the team as far as he could 2 years ago, I want to say the same about GG now.

I don't have a problem with Gulutzan's system - He has the right idea, it's similar to how the Penguins play, to how the Blue Jackets play and when the team is confident and executes it, they look great as seen in the winning streaks they had last season. Problem is while I think he has the right idea about style of play, he's not getting them to execute consistently enough. When adversity happens he just doesn't have that feel for the pulse of the game or the players that is needed to recognize when to call a timeout or to make the necessary in-game adjustments. It shows in his unwillingness to change up the power play personnel or the defense pairings when both are badly struggling right now. He's also not that leader who is going to be that voice who will push them and really get them to believe that they can still win a game when they get behind. A timeout was sorely needed in that second period tonight - they stopped playing for the rest of the period after falling behind.

I would look at calling Darryl Sutter and seeing if he were interested in returning now, before another team potentially gets him. The biggest concern would be style of play and fit for how this team is built, but I remember when he took over the Kings around the same time 6 years ago, I believe he said something about how he wasn't going to change the Kings' style of play, but that they were going to execute it better. I like to think if he took over the Flames now, it would be the same - same system, but motivate them in a way to get them to execute more consistently. He's a smart man who isn't going to have Johnny play like a grinder. He's also always had a good feel for his players and what roles they should be playing, and I think he would get this defense to play to its potential. I see some parallels in this team and that underachieving Kings team in 2011-12 before their coaching change and if I were BT, would definitely make a change in the next week or so.

12-04-2017, 10:14 PM	#1866
mile Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2014 Exp:	I've stayed pretty silent on GG ever since he took over, have read all the opinions from both his supporters and detractors, and had generally taken an optimistic approach when it comes to him because I do think he has done some good things. But like how Treliving said that Hartley took the team as far as he could 2 years ago, I want to say the same about GG now. I don't have a problem with Gulutzan's system - He has the right idea, it's similar to how the Penguins play, to how the Blue Jackets play and when the team is confident and executes it, they look great as seen in the winning streaks they had last season. Problem is while I think he has the right idea about style of play, he's not getting them to execute consistently enough. When adversity happens he just doesn't have that feel for the pulse of the game or the players that is needed to recognize when to call a timeout or to make the necessary in-game adjustments. It shows in his unwillingness to change up the power play personnel or the defense pairings when both are badly struggling right now. He's also not that leader who is going to be that voice who will push them and really get them to believe that they can still win a game when they get behind. A timeout was sorely needed in that second period tonight - they stopped playing for the rest of the period after falling behind. I would look at calling Darryl Sutter and seeing if he were interested in returning now, before another team potentially gets him. The biggest concern would be style of play and fit for how this team is built, but I remember when he took over the Kings around the same time 6 years ago, I believe he said something about how he wasn't going to change the Kings' style of play, but that they were going to execute it better. I like to think if he took over the Flames now, it would be the same - same system, but motivate them in a way to get them to execute more consistently. He's a smart man who isn't going to have Johnny play like a grinder. He's also always had a good feel for his players and what roles they should be playing, and I think he would get this defense to play to its potential. I see some parallels in this team and that underachieving Kings team in 2011-12 before their coaching change and if I were BT, would definitely make a change in the next week or so.