Quote:
Originally Posted by Infinit47
Very sanctimonious. Exactly what data should I be looking at to confirm Ward is a good or bad coach? Wins/losses, CF%, goal differential? Are we statistical darlings under Ward?
You seem to be honing in on one of many things I and other people have said. Stawman much?
Supporters of Ward (and detractors of the core) like to say the core is heartless and/or not doing what they are told. I merely pointed out that the players who are mostly likely to bust their butt on every shift and do exactly what they are told are also struggling. At least argue Lucic is the exception.
The frustrating part of this discussion is that Ward detractors point out, time after time, what they believe to be things that show Ward is not effective as a head coach. Instead of a single counterpart the response is "the core is rotten/heartless/not skilled enough.
If you want to talk about confirmation bias let's talk about the complete and utter discounting of the fact the Flames finished second in the NHL two years ago. People ignoring that are guilty of confirmation bias. Not people who point out that Ward has done exactly squat as a head coach.
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One huge issue is that half of the things people “point out” are not actually happening on the ice, or happen very rarely. They talk about D to D passes when, on viewing, these happen only on a line change or when there’s no up ice pass. They go up ice with the first pass far more. Or saying the Flames are coached to dump and chase when they, again, only do that when there’s no available entry lane or pass. It silly things like complaining every single time the 4th line comes out. People complain if the 4th line plays after a goal against, a goal for, a power play, a PK, if the Flames are behind, or ahead, if they are struggling, if they are playing well... I’ve literally heard all those complaints. People put a blown coverage on the coach. They put a lazy back check on the coach. A missed pass. I guarantee I can find someone who said Lucic-Bennett’s missed pass was because of coaching. I might even be able to find someone blaming Rittich’s gaffe on Ward.
ETA: there are plenty of legit complaints. They aren’t disciplined with their passing, they are a collapsing passive D, and their powerplay is static.