Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
Gulutzan's team seemed to just play for the metrics, rather than constructing a sound system that focused on the team make-up. That is why I think the advanced metrics for the Flames - which were awesome - was skewed and difficult to explain. I think a system like Hartley's can perform better than the underlying analytics - watch a Read Madrid game at times when they play a really good team, and they do the same type of collapsing and counter-attacking with speed, even though their possession numbers can stink at times.
It wasn't bad luck. It was a system that relied on the most talented scorers to beat goalies who were too often set in position with a clear line of sight. Few "Royal Road" chances, too few garbage goals from jamming the net, way too few tips. This is going to be corrected (as per Geoff Ward), and I expect a damn exciting season.
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Sorry I snipped your post down to the two sections that deal with the style. I don't think Gulutzan necessarily played for advanced statistics, but he did talk about 50/50 hockey a lot which in a sense is saying he played to a draw in most instances and hoped talent would get them over the top ... at least in my mind.
I think his system was designed to carry the play and then let the good players do the good things to make it happen.
It didn't.
Did he coach not to move the goalie in the offensive zone? Possible but I doubt any coach would coach that way so I have my doubts. Did he coach to not risk certain plays though? If that's the case then maybe that's the culprit as you can't go across the seam or zone if you're not allowed to turn the puck over in certain situations.
Did they lack the personnel to play the royal road style? To a certain extent I think they must have given the changes to the roster this year. I know the Neal signing came with a lot of mention about across the zone, and in transistion for his goal scoring. The Haynes article last night mentioned a Calgary scout talking about how Ryan pushes the puck across the seam, which is essentially the same thing. Lindholm's metrics show he's a pass to shot player as well.
I think last year was a host of things from maybe playing not to lose, maybe not having the right mix of offensive forwards, and a pretty good heaping of bizarro luck too (led the league in missing the net).
The good news is they haven't assumed luck will correct (~cough Edmonton ~cough) and have made structural and roster changes to bring a more modern balance to things.