I remember when Bennett was scratched a while back and found out he wasn’t even practicing with the team, and Ward didn’t say a word to him. There were some comments here suggesting it wasn’t a head coach’s job to go around having conversations with players and that Ward was probably “too busy” to deal with stuff like that.
So far, we’re heard a ton about Sutter actually talking to his guys. Not just “a conversation,” but multiple conversations. Setting clear expectations, being active on the bench, discussing things as a group and with individuals. Bennett has talked about this a couple times, and guys like Tkachuk, Lucic.
The Flames played one of their best effort games all season. The score could’ve been better, some players still struggled a bit, but the pace was there. And the guys who struggled or looked like lesser versions of themselves (Bennett, Leivo, Ryan, Backlund, etc) suddenly looked like they knew their role, knew the expectation, and were 100% focused. Who knows, maybe Ward thought talking to bottom six guys was beneath him, or that having conversations wasn’t his job. But Sutter obviously doesn’t. If the bottom six can play this way even 50% of the remaining games, that’s going to be a huge improvement.
I dunno, just looks like Ward wasn’t much of a measure of how a good coach should act. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I prefer having a great coach, especially one that isn’t above talking to his players. So happy Sutter is back.
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