[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

I've warmed up to the idea of Peters since we first started looking into him.

Things I like:
-He seems to be a bit gruff and blunt. These were qualities that I liked about Sutter

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- I know people hate the idea of possession because Glen failed with it but IMO Glen failed more due to how he composed his lineup and how long he stuck with mediocre lines. Possession is what almost every modern coach is preaching so to dislike Peters because he wants possession is silly.

Personally I don't think he had anywhere near the depth in CAR that he'll have in CGY. He had very little star power. I think CGY's top trio of Gaudreau, Monahan and Tkachuk trump CAR's equivalent by a large margin. I think CGY's goaltending is quite a bit ahead of CAR's. I think our defences are probably the closest of any of the areas. If Treliving gets another depth scorer I think our team has the depth to contend. If Peters proves to be an upgrade on GG and I don't see how he wouldn't be, I think we're looking pretty good for next season.

GG was horrible for many reasons we've talked about. Peters does not seem to have the same shortcomings. Peters knows that ice time is the way he gets players to play the way he wants. GG just seemed to trot out the same groups over and over regardless of performance. Peters has a history of developing young players and putting them in situations to succeed. GG IMO put Bennett and Jankowski in a tough spot to succeed and we didn't really see any progression from Bennett under his watch.

I see lots of reasons for optimism. Doesn't surprise me the same negative nancies are whining and bitching like they usually do. Only time will tell. It will be interesting to see who the assistants are and if Treliving makes a major move to add another offensive depth piece. My outlook on the team is very different now that GG is gone. Hope has been restored.

These are all good points, but they may also be glossing over a lot of criticisms that Peters has accumulated with his time in Carolina.

-He seems to have put some young players in positions to succeed and had them develop well. Case in point guys like Aho, Teravainen, Slavin, Pesce, etc. It's promising for the future of guys like Jankowski and Bennett

What about Skinner? What rationale is behind him being pushed down to the third line? Also, that's an awesome group of young defencemen, but again, they are not providing offence.

He demands hard work above all else. As fans its easy to cheer for teams who bust their ass off and try hard. What we can't stand is lazy, lackadaisical play.

I agree that we can't stand lazy and lackadaisical, but in reading up on him, he has only held rookies and 4th liners accountable for poor efforts. Is that true? We will see. Now you may argue back that it is just some fans' opinions on the matter and can just be swept under the rug or completely disregarded, but what evidence is there to say that the Canes play hard?

He seems very well prepared and seems to have successful systems in terms of possession.

Again, according to a number of Canes fans, they often came out of the gates flat to start the game often this year. Maybe it is just as simple as a gruff coach running out of tarmac, but that is evidence against the Canes being prepared.

Also, I don't think anyone really hates possession hockey. That's not why people took a dislike of Gulutzan. People disliked his transition (which is neither pro nor is it against possession). People didn't like how the team didn't seem to be ready to start games. They didn't like how there were too many perimeter shots (which even Versteeg talked about). People didn't like how it SEEMED Gulutzan was coaching for CORSI, more than actually trying to score goals.

When looking at the advanced metrics, people are now seeing similarities between the two coaches - both in what worked and what didn't.

I think a number of people on these boards - some of the mods included - are selling some of the 'negative posters' short for having criticisms before the season starts. That's not fair in light of quite a lot of evidence - some direct, some unsubstantiated. It isn't like the Flames hired Darryl Sutter and now people are crying about him being a dinosaur who can't coach a game and is going to bring team morale down. There is quite a lot of evidence that shouldn't just be ignored, with a finger at posters bringing them saying they are just being negative, or that they are flat-out wrong, and so forth. Calling people negative nancies and bitching about them is a terrible response, and I think it drastically brings down the level of conversation on these boards.

With that being said, there are two things that keep me from being upset (disappointed, incredibly... but I won't say I am upset). One is that we don't know if Peters is able to construct a system to fit a team. Maybe that was his best bet for Carolina? Maybe he can come in and figure out that this defence can actually score and generate offence on their own, and design a system where the defencemen are more integral to the attack. Maybe he will realized that this team can skate well for the most part, and design a transition that fits this team better. Maybe he will tweak a lot of what Gulutzan was doing and make things work. That may in itself be enough.

The other thing is that it isn't Gulutzan. Having Peters - though disappointed generally with the hire - means not having Gulutzan. I would not have any sort of optimism at all for this team had Gulutzan been returning. I did not think this season's playstyle was interesting or exciting. I think with another year of Gulutzan, I may actually have started watching other teams play more often, and that is crazy to me as a Flames' fan. With Peters, at least it will be interesting to see how the team responds, what changes he will make, and what happens... there is a reason to watch, and as an entertainment product, it has to give you a reason to watch. I am open-minded even though I am disappointed. None of us know how this team will respond next season. Heck, we may be a lottery team next year (doubtful - some serious stuff has to go off the rails for that to happen) or we may win the cup (much more plausible, but not likely).

I am looking forward to the season, and learning what he brings. I also think that trying to push away the criticism that many posters have is wrong, however. The people who are going overboard (and on both sides, btw) are the issue, but there are a lot of people bringing up reasonable data and they are just being disregarded as just complaining or having the wrong opinion, or not having enough information to form their opinion. Sorry, but 99.9% of this board NEVER has enough information to form an opinion, so what is the point of this forum if that is going to be the rule?

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Hull, I think you might want to rebook at Trotz record in Nashville in his first four seasons (which is what Peters had in Carolina). I wouldn’t really compare Carolina to Toronto or Winnipeg either.

Trotz was widely heralded as a coach that was squeezing blood from stones in Nashville. They were an expansion franchise that had horrible talent (expansion rules as they were in those days). He built a very strong reputation for getting a lot out of his team and his team playing responsibly defensively.