Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
Huh. I thought Gulutzan had one of the best defensive centers in the league to use against him? Rumor has it is that this one defensive center is elite - the elite of the elite according to some - and he is a true shutdown center. You would think that with a player of that caliber at his disposal that he would be able to come up with some plan to slow the one man team down? Nope.
If Gulutzan is such a great coach, maybe you can explain how this team has such a horrible home record? This is where the coach has the ability to have the greatest influence in matching lines as he last change. Yet, in the environment where he has the most control, the team sucks the hardest.
If you can't see what is wrong with this team, that is on you. But there are plenty of others that do see the very glaring problems. Gulutzan doesn't know how to use his personnel. Period. This is a team with some of the best offensive defensemen in the league and he doesn't allow them to engage in the rush. This is a team that has pretty good speed, but he doesn't let them exploit it with a quick transition game - again not using his defensemen worth a damn. Gulutzan prefers to have his team circle back and attack a five man unit, long after the opposition has been allowed to get back into position and establish their defensive line. Gulutzan proves, time-and-time-again, that flexibility is not in his vocabulary. When the opposition shuts down the exit down one side of the ice does he have the team adapt? Nope. Continues to have them force the play. He is so rigid in what he views the lines that when they are struggling he won't consider shaking up the mix and seeing if they can get a line going. The guy is just a brutal coach. To make matters worse, he is a ####ty motivator and even worse at prepping the team for games. How many times have we seen this team get completely run over in the first period because they were not prepared for the opposition's game plan, or didn't look ready/motivated to play? Too many times.
I stated, emphatically, before Christmas that Gulutzan needed to be sacked then to save the season, that his systems were holding the team back. It is amazing that the team has been able to hang in the mix this long with the systems they employ and the lack of response they have to the opposition. Just like how well the Canadian military performs when they are short on equipment and bereft of leadership, what the Flames are doing is a testament to the players. Gulutzan has to go.
|
Why would you put it all on Backlund to defend McDavid? Is he one of the defenseman who’s getting burned on a 1 to 1 foot race because he can’t out skate McDavid? No because he’s not going to always be on the ice against him nor does he play the defense position. How many times has McDavid torched us on a breakaway because no one and I mean absolutely no one in the league can keep up with him in a foot race.
As for all the stff about not allowing the defense to jump into the play. That’s garbage. We legitimately just saw TJ Brodie and Hamonic jump into the play yesterday to score our 1st goal of the game, Hamilton also jumps into the play all the time which is where he’s picked up a lot of his goals and chances, Gio jumps into the play from time to time and Kulak’s first goal was also a result from jumping into the play. If he didn’t allow these guys to do so, why are there so many examples of our defensemen jumping into the play?
This team also doesn’t always go up the ice as a 5 man unit. Just watch Johnny Gaudreau every game blowing the zone early for a breakaway stretch pass. He doesn’t force guys to do anything. Our team is also not fast, it’s obvious because teams like Boston, Tampa, Vegas and etc are actually fast and they skate circles around us. Not because of coaching, but because these teams have built their rosters around speed and skill rather than the edge and truculence that we’ve focused on. You can choose what you want to believe, but man do I disagree with you completely.