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Calgary4LIfe · 03-04-2021, 12:05 PM

I don't put much stock into a team 'not getting along'. When you lose, people get frustrated and angry, and it can rub people the wrong way. If they were still a tight-knit bunch laughing and joking and having fun through this season so far, that's when I would start questioning the room. Losing sucks. It isn't fun. Players get paid to perform and help put up wins. There are few players on this team that are performing, especially with any consistency to speak of. I sure hope that the room is angry right now.

I really do believe that the biggest hurdle right now is the coaching. I think coaching is what sets the culture IMO. If there are bad apples, the coach has to deal with it effectively, even if it means going to the GM and telling him that player X has to go as it is a disruption to the team.

A well-coached team is a well functioning team, IMO. When it is not, everything else just seems to fall apart. I just don't think this team has had a proper coach for years now, so it is years of a team unravelling that is coming to a head.

There is nothing that the Flames do with any consistency any longer, at all, other than just 'be inconsistent'. I can't name one facet of their game as a team that I can point to and say: "They are good at this." Take goaltending out of the equation, and there are no positives to look at. Replace the goaltending on this team with league average, and this team is suddenly a bottom 5 team. Sounds awful... but they sit in 21st overall (11th worst team), and there are teams under them with games in hand and better P%.

Something needs to be changed. Whether it is just righting the existing ship somehow, a couple of trades, a coaching change, or even a GM change - something needs to change as the only thing that I see them doing well is just continuing playing inconsistently.

I don't think it is a matter of heart, or effort (though I imagine those are both waning). I think the players are lost. This chance to crawl back into relevance is evaporating rather quickly too. Time really is running out to figure out why and how they got themselves into this mess.

03-04-2021, 12:05 PM	#44
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	I don't put much stock into a team 'not getting along'. When you lose, people get frustrated and angry, and it can rub people the wrong way. If they were still a tight-knit bunch laughing and joking and having fun through this season so far, that's when I would start questioning the room. Losing sucks. It isn't fun. Players get paid to perform and help put up wins. There are few players on this team that are performing, especially with any consistency to speak of. I sure hope that the room is angry right now. I really do believe that the biggest hurdle right now is the coaching. I think coaching is what sets the culture IMO. If there are bad apples, the coach has to deal with it effectively, even if it means going to the GM and telling him that player X has to go as it is a disruption to the team. A well-coached team is a well functioning team, IMO. When it is not, everything else just seems to fall apart. I just don't think this team has had a proper coach for years now, so it is years of a team unravelling that is coming to a head. There is nothing that the Flames do with any consistency any longer, at all, other than just 'be inconsistent'. I can't name one facet of their game as a team that I can point to and say: "They are good at this." Take goaltending out of the equation, and there are no positives to look at. Replace the goaltending on this team with league average, and this team is suddenly a bottom 5 team. Sounds awful... but they sit in 21st overall (11th worst team), and there are teams under them with games in hand and better P%. Something needs to be changed. Whether it is just righting the existing ship somehow, a couple of trades, a coaching change, or even a GM change - something needs to change as the only thing that I see them doing well is just continuing playing inconsistently. I don't think it is a matter of heart, or effort (though I imagine those are both waning). I think the players are lost. This chance to crawl back into relevance is evaporating rather quickly too. Time really is running out to figure out why and how they got themselves into this mess.