[Calgary4LIfe]

Until this team gets a proven NHL coach, then there is no reason to be so definitive in any assertions that the problems are due to players not being able to execute - or worse, not caring to execute.


I don't expect a 4th line centre to perform as a top line centre just because he ends up being the top line centre.



This team's biggest Achilles heal has been a lack of good coaching.


In the last 25 years, this team has had exactly two coaches who have vastly out-performed expectations. 3 if you want to count Peters last season (regular season, but face-planted in the playoffs).


I don't buy the notion that the owners are too cheap to pay for a good coach. That's a stupid rationale that doesn't make a bit of sense. You don't think that businessmen who have built their empires know the value of hiring competent management?



Darryl Sutter - good coach, vastly exceeded expectations

Jim Playfair - poor coach, never held a head coaching position again
Mike Keenan - experienced (but semi-retired) coach - never held a head coaching position again
Brent Sutter - never held a head coaching position again
Bob Hartley - good coach, exceeded expectations (though got in his own way with his interpersonal skills)
Glen Gulutzan - doubtful he will ever hold a head coaching position again
Bill Peters - mixed results, probably will never hold another head coaching position again
Geoff Ward - I don't want to be so definitive on his early career, but he is not an experienced head coach at this point


This team is just as symptomatic as the late 2000's teams - the sum of their parts is less than they are individually on paper. This team - other than Giordano and Backlund - are completely different than they were in the late 2000's. They were great at times, but seemed incapable of playing with any consistency.


Now, I am ok with Treliving making some moves and adjusting the team. I just think that the logical first step is to secure the best coach you can. The reason I say this is that Treliving seems to have an idea of HOW he wants this team to play. That's fine. He seems to hire coaches that agree with the style of play. That was one of his requisites after dismissing Hartley.



Has he built a team that can play the way he wants? I don't know. Can't answer that question.


Maybe - just maybe - he should go out and try to land a Laviolette or a Gallant, and get his input on what kind of players to acquire, and which players are 'problems'.


I really do think that Darryl Sutter was a great coach AND a great GM - but after stepping down as coach, his GM moves became less impactful. It was like he lost that proverbial finger on the button in regards to his team. I don't know if Geoff Ward is experienced enough to help the GM keep up with the pulse of this team. Maybe he is, but I don't know. I know that Hartley and Feaster used to talk a lot. Burke and Hartley used to talk a lot as well. Does Treliving and Ward? I don't know.


What I do know is that this team has more success when they play a quick transition. Most teams today do, maybe with some exceptions if they are built heavily and are really strong defensively. I still remember Sutter breaking down the Flames a couple of years ago when he briefly worked as an analyst, and I felt he was bang-on with his analysis.


Backlund (and Frolik) are ideally suited as a shut-down third line chipping-in on offence.
Flames have to work on their transition - it was a scary transition before, but it looks slow now (once again, it was during Gulutzan's tenure).


I forgot what else he mentioned, but even this so-called 'dinosaur' who has his teams playing a defence-first, physical style eschewed the virtues of having that quick transition and slotting players properly.


I haven't seen that from Ward.


The "top RW Backlund" was a failure, and kept being a failure for way too long. Backlund has for many seasons been an elite-level defensive centre that chips-in offensively. Why convert an elite player at a certain position to another position is perplexing.


Finally when Backlund is returned to centre, he uses an elite-level 4th line centre as a top-line RW'er, even though he is neither quick enough or strong enough to chase pucks down and battle in the corners.


Hanifin-Hamonic were GREAT for a while together last season, but it fell apart at some time last season. They were our most underperforming pair in the playoffs. They continue to look terrible together. The logical thing to do is to try:


Giordano - Brodie - They are elite together
Hanifin - Andersson - they looked like a rock-solid complimentary pair in a short sample size
Kylington - Hamonic


That isn't tried. Ever. It is almost as if Ward is scared to relegate Hamonic to the third pairing. Not all his games are bad, but he has had more than his fair share of poor outings, and never seems to get relegated. Hanifin is becoming terrible. There is absolutely no noticeable synergy between these two players on the 2nd pairing. I guess with Stone coming into the line-up, it sort of makes sense to play him with Hanifin... but the Brodie - Hamonic pairing is terrible.



Hartley had a rule that I didn't know about that Sarich shared on-air (which he couldn't stand): Defencemen are NOT allowed to reverse the puck around the boards. Defencemen are to move the puck to a forward as quickly as possible over passing it to the other defence partner. Move the puck forward.


Now, I am sure there are instances where this doesn't work well, but for the most part, it just forces the D to move the puck faster, and makes it more difficult for the other team to set on defence. It is almost like the rule under Ward is that defencemen must pass back and forth a couple of times to make sure that both teams are set, and we will play them fairly.


With the exception of Hamonic, the Flames D all move the puck well, and they all skate with the puck well. Even Hamonic isn't atrocious at it or anything, but just the weakest link. Make use of them. Play them like racehorses instead of draft horses.


Making a trade and getting a Tyler Toffoli or someone of that calibre isn't going to completely change the Flames' fortunes - especially if they are still playing slow. What it does do is help players slot better. The first line will hopefully be a bit more impactful. The second line as well. Onto the third and fourth lines. Just having players better slotted helps quite a lot, even if you are not bringing in superstar.


Does this team need to be blown up? I don't think so.
Does this team have a rotten core? Maybe, but I doubt it.


I think the first step is to hire an experienced coach with a track record of turning teams around. A coach that has a few seasons' and a few different teams' worth of exceeding expectations.



I don't think it is a good idea to wait until the off-season unless you can't hire an experienced coach now (perhaps they are waiting for the off-season as well to see what their options may be). The reason I want this down now is because I want this coach to come in, get his finger on the pulse of this team, figure out what players are able to play the system he thinks is best for the make-up of the team, and give Treliving time for the deadline (unfortunately coming up too quickly now) and the off-season to try and make the right personnel adjustments. I would rather this happen now rather than hiring the coach in the off-season, not getting enough intimate knowledge with the players and their individual strengths/weaknesses. I want a coach to come in and really spend the rest of this season assessing the players and trying to get them playing well. Use the off-season to unload the poor fits and try to bring in better fits.


Progressively having less of a pulse on the team made Darryl acquire more wrong fits than right fits. He was simply magic at first on his trades. Hiring the wrong coaches was his biggest mistakes, however.


Feaster I think hit it out of the ballpark with Hartley, and there are few things that I can honestly praise Feaster about (the other being his mandate that this team play well even while rebuilding, and that there shouldn't be any excuses for poor play and poor games). Hartley had a short shelf life (that came to a screeching halt with how poor goaltending was that year).


Just once, hire an experienced coach with a track record of having his teams exceed expectations. This team has had a LONG track record of hiring inexperienced coaches hoping that they are the 'next big thing' (hitting on two - Bob Johnson, and arguably Terry Crisp), while missing on a bunch (Don Hay, Greg Gilbert, Jim Playfair) or hiring past their prime coaches.


One thing I remember from the young guns era (sorry for stirring up terrible memories there), was Brian Sutter. I always felt it was a mistake to hire him as the Flames then weren't a 'Sutter team' IMO. I thought it was a mistake to dismiss him as it was finally becoming a Sutter team. This is important as well - you want to hire a coach who can come in and implement a system that works well for the make-up of the team, minus some personnel adjustments.



Some inexperienced head coaches can come in with some great minds and seem to just know what to do. I am not against an inexperienced coach, but this team has a history of hiring inexperienced coaches who bombed more often than they succeeded.


Until I see a coach on this team that has a proven record of elevating the teams under him, I fail to see the argument that this is all the players fault and that this team needs to be blown the hell up. I think systems need an overhaul, I think that there should be some player movement, but I also do think that this team is playing below their capability.


Maybe I am wrong - if the Flames bring in a really good coach and they continue playing this inconsistent mediocre hockey after 20 games, I will also be joining the crowd that is hoping for a major shake-up, and I will question the core. I just would feel a lot more confident in my opinion if I knew the Flames had a good coach to begin with. Just changing a poor coach for another poor coach isn't answering any questions that I have when it comes to this team.