Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I'm very interested and hopeful that Sutter will have an impact, but lets not assume that the team was playing as Geoff Ward was directing.
Don't think a modern NHL coach would ask his team to play slow, to turn pucks over in low percentage risk situations, or to pinch without support for example.
They may not have been scared enough of the guy to be on their toes, which makes the group weak, and a stronger hand needed, but Ward wasn't necessarily the whole problem.
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I think this misses one aspect of coaching - maybe the most important one: getting the players to play the right way, and to the best of their abilities, both individually, and as a team.
Of course Ward didn't ask them to play slow or to turn pucks over, but it IS the coach's job to get his team playing well.
The Flames have been playing slow, they have been mistake-riddled, they have been soft, they look out of shape, and they have been mentally weak. And it is the coach's job to ensure that none of those things are happening.
They are not the most talented team in the league, nor are they the toughest - mentally or otherwise. But I think it is pretty safe to say that they should be a lot better on all of these fronts than they have been.