Quote:
Originally Posted by dino7c
The argument that both the coaches and roster are bad doesn't jive
Both Peters and Ward had this team playing over .600 hockey during their tenure...so if they did make major mistakes and held the team back the team must be pretty damn good. Flames have a top 5 winning percentage since the day Peters was hired.
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Yet Gulutzan, Peters and Ward will all likely never be a HC in the NHL after Calgary. Why do you think that is? Just like Hartley, BSutter, Keenan, Playfair before them. And the litany of subpar coaches before them. It's a Calgary Flame tradition. Darryl Sutter is the only elite coach this team has employed in 30 years. He's probably the only good one period based on how it seems the rest of the NHL viewed the other dozen or so dudes after Calgary. The Flames have chewed through and destroyed the careers of like 12 coaches in 20 years. It's practically a death sentence to coach this team. Roster problem? Coach problem? Probably a bit of both.
Not going to call Peters or Ward .600 coaches though, no way in hell. Last year was a fluke where everything went right for 3 straight months then evened out until the worst playoff showing for this franchise in this century. This year we were propped up to the edges of the playoff race thanks to big save Dave's shootout heroics. I'm not giving Peters or Ward that any kind of credit for either year. The three electric months were great last year but you knew it would never last and sure enough. This year was one of the most frustrating years I've seen, Ward's 8th record or not. It was a small sample and as much smoke and mirrors as Hartley in 14/15.
As far roster goes are you suggesting it's better than average? Based on Oct 2018 to Jan 2019 and Ward's half season? Don't forget Feb 2019 to the Colorado debacle or Peters uneven start to this year. Don't toss the Gulutzan years either, they are relevant. When you take a step back and really look at the cold hard results from the last 4 years, it paints a picture. The results have been incredibly inconsistent and barely above average for a group all entering the swing zone of their prime at the same time sans Gio, our 2nd best player.
Ward's sample is too small to say he's a .600 coach. Too much shootout success not enough in regulation. Luckily Rittich was unreal this year in the SO that they accumulated enough points to stay in the fringes of the playoff race in a sad Pacific division. Really though that ROW number suggests they are pretenders. Hard to win 3v3 or in the shootout in the playoffs.
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