Is Bob Hartley the right coach for this team?

[Daradon]

Happy most are back on the Hartley bandwagon. Couldn't believe that one losing streak into a season we knew would be horrible had people questioning the coach.

As I said then, even just for consistentcy you gotta give Hartley another year.

But he's shown what I thought. He's great for a young team. Even Toronto media was saying today he should (though won't) get Adams finalist consideration.

Don't mind EE. He's just doing his backslide right now. Much like the national media and the Oilers the past few years.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Don't mind EE. He's just doing his backslide right now. Much like the national media and the Oilers the past few years.

LOL backslide? Unlike a lot of posters that make up their minds about a player or coach and ever give them any credit I am perfectly fine giving out credit when it is deserved. Hartley has done a pretty good job this season for the most part and deserves credit for getting the team to buy in to being a hard working team. Since when was being humble ever looked at as some sort of weakness?

He did do a terrible job last season which can be attributed to a few things such as taking a season to get acclimated back to the NHL after being out of the league for several years and having to deal with the same veterans that tuned out the past coaches and played their own way. He's had the benefit of a clean slate roster with a new captain that is a better fit for this team but he's also done a very good job installing the hard work mentality that's been missing since Darryl Sutter was the head coach. That said it's easier to perform under low expectations as nobody including the organization and fans expected a playoff team and a lot of us (myself included) expected to be picking top 2 in the draft. There will be slightly higher expectations next season and it will be interesting to see how he handles things if the work ethic slips and the team regresses which is very possible given that teams in the Flames situation are never a lock to improve year after year. Throw in the fact he's in the last year of his deal next season and the inherited head coach of a new GM I'm not going to hitch my hopes that things are all good going forward and that he's set as the long term coach of this team. Professional sports is a year to year thing and you are only as good as your last season.

Season's been better than expected and I'm perfectly fine "backsliding" as I'm all about the team being better than feeding my ego and hoping for things to be worse just to say I was right. As for the title of this thread I think Bob Hartley has is the right coach for this team today and has earned the right to finish out his contract next season. After that all bets are off and not because I don't like him or anything but a lot can change from season to season with a rebuilding team and there are circumstances outside of his control that may play against him.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

LOL backslide? Unlike a lot of posters that make up their minds about a player or coach and ever give them any credit I am perfectly fine giving out credit when it is deserved. Hartley has done a pretty good job this season for the most part and deserves credit for getting the team to buy in to being a hard working team. Since when was being humble ever looked at as some sort of weakness?

He did do a terrible job last season which can be attributed to a few things such as taking a season to get acclimated back to the NHL after being out of the league for several years and having to deal with the same veterans that tuned out the past coaches and played their own way. He's had the benefit of a clean slate roster with a new captain that is a better fit for this team but he's also done a very good job installing the hard work mentality that's been missing since Darryl Sutter was the head coach. That said it's easier to perform under low expectations as nobody including the organization and fans expected a playoff team and a lot of us (myself included) expected to be picking top 2 in the draft. There will be slightly higher expectations next season and it will be interesting to see how he handles things if the work ethic slips and the team regresses which is very possible given that teams in the Flames situation are never a lock to improve year after year. Throw in the fact he's in the last year of his deal next season and the inherited head coach of a new GM I'm not going to hitch my hopes that things are all good going forward and that he's set as the long term coach of this team. Professional sports is a year to year thing and you are only as good as your last season.

Season's been better than expected and I'm perfectly fine "backsliding" as I'm all about the team being better than feeding my ego and hoping for things to be worse just to say I was right. As for the title of this thread I think Bob Hartley has is the right coach for this team today and has earned the right to finish out his contract next season. After that all bets are off and not because I don't like him or anything but a lot can change from season to season with a rebuilding team and there are circumstances outside of his control that may play against him.

There is never anything wrong with posters that can go back and admit their opinions were wrong. If anything, posters that do this gain credibility, rather than just keep arguing regardless of the evidence to the contrary.

I also agree with your post - I do think that the Flames and the new GM at least gives him the first half of next season before extending his contract. Not sure about the whole season - tough to keep a coach in limbo for that long, as well as the team who may start thinking that the coach may be on his way out.

Also, would like to add another point as to why Hartley struggled a bit earlier - it was a shortened season and not a regular camp. I don't think Hartley had time to put his 'stamp', and the organization did a complete 180 in the middle of the shortened season - from competing to rebuilding.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Also, would like to add another point as to why Hartley struggled a bit earlier - it was a shortened season and not a regular camp. I don't think Hartley had time to put his 'stamp', and the organization did a complete 180 in the middle of the shortened season - from competing to rebuilding.

Yep that also worked against him especially given the infusion of a few new players like Hudler, Wideman, Cervenka, etc. Didn't help being out of the league for a long time and coming back into the fire without a proper training camp for sure. They just played so terrible defensively that season that I wondered if he had a defensive system or understood you needed one in today's NHL. I think he's answered that this year as the team has played a tighter, more disciplined game.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

There is never anything wrong with posters that can go back and admit their opinions were wrong. If anything, posters that do this gain credibility, rather than just keep arguing regardless of the evidence to the contrary.

I also agree with your post - I do think that the Flames and the new GM at least gives him the first half of next season before extending his contract. Not sure about the whole season - tough to keep a coach in limbo for that long, as well as the team who may start thinking that the coach may be on his way out.

Also, would like to add another point as to why Hartley struggled a bit earlier - it was a shortened season and not a regular camp. I don't think Hartley had time to put his 'stamp', and the organization did a complete 180 in the middle of the shortened season - from competing to rebuilding.

I think the shortened season and the lack of a training camp were both major factors last season. Personally, I think the 1st season of a new coach in even the best circumstances is influenced by the hangover from previous coaches. You don't really get to see what they are made of until the 2nd or 3rd seasons in most cases. There are always exceptions of course, but as a general rule, I try to avoid judging until there is one full season to break things in.

[Falcon 55]

No other coach plays only 3 lines the entire 3rd period? Maybe explains why our top end guys are getting gased.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Falcon 55

No other coach plays only 3 lines the entire 3rd period? Maybe explains why our top end guys are getting gased.

Only Cammy (21:13) and Backlund (20:12) broke the 20 minutes mark as forwards last night.

Gio (27:23) and Brodie (25:30) understandably are shouldering a huge amount of minutes.

[zuluking]

Originally Posted by Falcon 55

No other coach plays only 3 lines the entire 3rd period? Maybe explains why our top end guys are getting gased.

Thanks for signing up. Now prove your point.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Falcon 55

No other coach plays only 3 lines the entire 3rd period? Maybe explains why our top end guys are getting gased.

That's false. Lot's of coaches go down to 3 lines in the 3rd.

[Falcon 55]

Look at the ice time of players on opposing teams the last ten games and prove me wrong.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Falcon 55

Look at the ice time of players on opposing teams the last ten games and prove me wrong.

That's not what you claimed and that's not how this works. You make some bold claim then the onus is on you to prove it. It's pretty clear that Hartley is not the only coach in the league to play 3 lines in the 3rd. Prove it otherwise if you believe it.

[moon]

We just played the Leafs and Carlyle routinely never played his 4th line this year.

Only recently have they sat down Orr and Mclaren and started playing guys more regularly in that 4th line.

There is plenty to not like about Hartley that seems like a pretty silly/untrue thing to focus on.

[Kev]

Hartley IS the right coach for this team, and Gaudrea and Arnold will be playing for him Sunday, and hopefully for many years to come.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Falcon 55

No other coach plays only 3 lines the entire 3rd period? Maybe explains why our top end guys are getting gased.

Seriously, did you watch the final 2 mins of the 1-0 win v the devils.


I would love to see some stats to support you statement. My off the cuff memory is the Flames, for the most part, rolll 4 lines.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Hartley is worth keeping. Makes these Flames' players work their butt off every game. If any other coach (with the roster(s) that we've had), we could have easily been in the top 3 picks this year.

No McDavid or Eichel next year, we're better than that.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by moon

There is plenty to not like about Hartley

Like what?

[snipetype]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Like what?

Only the stuff to love about him

[moon]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Like what?

It has been talked about plenty on this site and in this thread the issues I have with Hartley. Not sure it needs to be brought up again.

Coles notes: His 'systems" if he has any particularly defensively seem very poor, his record outside of the stacked Crawford Avs is horrible.

He seems like a decent guy so i will give him that but other than that he doesn't seem to do anything to indicate that he is anything other than what his terrible coaching record indicates.

[Coach]

Except for getting one of the worse teams in the league on paper to work their tails off and be competitive with every team they face. Whether they be the Bruins or the Oilers. You seemed to gloss over that part.

NHL record for 1 goal games tells me the team is missing game-breaking talent to finish those, but if you thought the Flames would finish this season with anything but a losing record you were set up to be disappointed from the beginning.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by moon

It has been talked about plenty on this site and in this thread the issues I have with Hartley. Not sure it needs to be brought up again.

Coles notes: His 'systems" if he has any particularly defensively seem very poor, his record outside of the stacked Crawford Avs is horrible.

He seems like a decent guy so i will give him that but other than that he doesn't seem to do anything to indicate that he is anything other than what his terrible coaching record indicates.

3 trips to the conference finals in Colorado, and 1 Stanley Cup in Colorado

1 playoff trip in Atlanta (only one in franchise history) and finished above .500 in 3 of his 4 seasons in Atlanta.

Has only been below .500 3 times in his career (2003/2004 Atlanta, Two seasons in Calgary)

.560 career winning percentage in his NHL, and is even above .500 if you only look at his stints in Calgary/Atlanta (two bad teams you could argue would have been worse without him).

He has won a championship in every league he has coached in (QMJHL, AHL, NHL, Swiss).

His coaching record is not nearly as terrible as you'd like everybody to believe.