[News] Flames not renewing contracts of Troy G. Ward & Robbie Ftorek

[A Shot Wide]

My guess is Brad & Brad have a very specific developmental plan in mind, and this is a step in that direction. Ward was very good for the farm team in my mind, but if this management team feels the need to make a chance, I put more faith in their reasoning over my personal thoughts toward our coaching staff.

[jeffman]

Booooooooooo.
Ward did a fine job with Brodie,Granlundand Bouma

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Who is RFP?

Originally Posted by RFP

There's some Calgary influence, there are a few guys Ward has a very strong disike for....Eddy's one of them. Hopefully he doesn't become a practice player like Breen in Calgary, Eddy has a lot to offer if given the chance.

Originally Posted by RFP

Ward has made a ton of progress with him and needs more time with him to continue to get the best from him.

I disagree if Swen does anything it is because of HIM not Ward. Ward is basically the gate keeper, players a lot of time will only get as good as the Coach lets them. He sets the ice time, play situations and line mates....all of which can make you look like a star or a heal!!!![/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by RFP

Heard a rumour that the Ram is being sent down……PMM maybe you can confirm and explain why TGW is trash talking him???? As an inside team scribe you must know something!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by RFP

Really, I doubt that, he was operated on a while ago, there is something more here ….PMM knows more I'm sure ….or he's not doing his job or not telling us

Originally Posted by RFP

Looks like they've stopped playing for themselves…..certainly have stopped playing for the coach…next steps exit interviews clean out lockers and a long drive home…TGW can fire up the summer hockey schools…and start planing for next year AHL or ECHL???? He can't seem to motivate beyond this point

He also seemed to really have it out for PMM for some inexplicable reason.

[Ashasx]

People hate it, but I've said for a while that Troy Ward is an awful development coach.

Good moves abound by the Flames these last couple months.

[Vulcan]

He had some pretty good teams that would get out to a fast start and then stumble, barely making the playoffs. I think he won one round in his stay in Abbotsford. The rookies that came up seemed to fit in well though, so he seemed to be preparing them. A couple players that were well thought of such as Howse and Wahl regressed but not sure if Ward could be blamed. It looks like the emphasis on development won't include Ward.

[Wastedyouth]

The Heat were horrible. Buoyed by good goaltending.

[SebC]

Maybe they know Ward's already being hired somewhere else for an NHL gig?

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

People hate it, but I've said for a while that Troy Ward is an awful development coach.

Good moves abound by the Flames these last couple months.

Would you like to elaborate on your view of Ward's coaching?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by SebC

Maybe they know Ward's already being hired somewhere else for an NHL gig?

Really, you need to have some success in the minors before getting a NHL gig.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Would you like to elaborate on your view of Ward's coaching?

Ward relies too heavily on his veterans. He played them way too much and in every situation.

Our prospects need to be put in more situations. Ward was afraid to do that.

[Caged Great]

I am neither a fan of this move nor do I hate it. It just depends on who replaces them on the Farm.

[sureLoss]

I like the little press games the Flames play. Waited to announce after they introduce new management staff so they wouldn't get grilled on it yesterday.

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Ward relies too heavily on his veterans. He played them way too much and in every situation.

Our prospects need to be put in more situations. Ward was afraid to do that.

To be fair to Ward this was really the first season during his tenure that he had non-veterans he could depend on.

Relying on Greg Nemisz, Ryan Howse, and Roman Horak to carry a team is going to be bad for the team, the players' development, and for the coach.

[Ring of Fire]

I wonder who Brad and Brad are looking at hiring as the new head coach? I have a couple guesses:

Kevin Dineen
Since being fired by Florida, Pascall had Dineen coach the Women's National Team and the Men's U18 team. Previously to Florida he coached the AHL Portland Pirates from 2005-2011. The current president of the Adirondack Flames, Brian Petrovek, worked with Dineen in Portland the whole time. The Portland Pirates were the farm team to the Anaheim Ducks while Burke was GM. Dineen also played for Burke's Hartford Whalers in the early 1990s.

Newell Brown
Was the assistant coach of the Ducks in 2007 when they won the cup. He coached the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from 1992-1996. He was hired as an assistant coach in Phoenix in 2013.

[kyuss275]

Odd to me. Maybe ppm has more insight. It could also be mutual. If Hartely for some reason does not cut it, then brad probably brings in his own guy. Maybe Ward did not like his chances. Granted I'm just spitballing.

[Funkhouser]

Too bad, I saw Troy as the next Flames coach. He was always well spoken, even keeled and was extremely dedicated. Can't speak much to his system.

Plus I liked the fact he kept his middle initial, made him seem like a boss.

[Ashasx]

One thing, I hope Ward wasn't given the Bylsma treatment here.

Hopefully the Flames didn't lead him on. Regardless of what I thought of Ward as a coach, losing your job plain sucks.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

This move is what it is. I'm neither upset or happy.

Ward was a good person, always great for a quote, loved working with the media and his players admired him. He put countless hours into his trade. He'd arrive at the arena at 4am to begin cutting up video and prepping for the day's lesson. On weekends, he'd stay at the arena after the game until the wee hours of the morning doing video work for the next morning. Sometimes he wouldn't go home. Say what you want about him, but no one worked harder than him. Period.

He was often unjustly criticized for not having developed any NHLers. However, when he finally got quality prospects under his tutorship, look what happened. Ortio, Wotherspoon, Granlund, Reinhart, Knight, Hanowski all with NHL playing time. I think it's fair to say at least four of those kids looked good at the NHL level. He was also responsible for Brodie, Bouma and Byron. Some may argue Brodie was the byproduct of Playfair, but Brodie himself said he didn't understand what Playfair was trying to team him, so Ward would have to explain it.

With that said, I think there was some difference of opinion in the direction of the organization with the new change in management. Therefore, it's best for everyone to be on the same page. Burke is, Treliving and his assistants are, Hartley is, I don't think Ward was - but he complied. So I think it's for the best if the organization is running like a well oiled machine, especially at such an important rebuilding juncture.

I wish Ward nothing but the best. I have no doubt he'll have no problem finding work. I thank him for all he's done with the prospects this season. Because of his body of work, there's finally some glimmer of hope for the future.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Ward relies too heavily on his veterans. He played them way too much and in every situation.

Our prospects need to be put in more situations. Ward was afraid to do that.

To a point, yes. But this past season when he actually had high quality prospects, he utilized them big time. Ortio was starter, Granlund and Reinhart were the first line and got first line minutes, Knight got big minutes, Wotherspoon worked his way up to the first pairing and played top-4 minutes.

In seasons past, there weren't any high quality prospects to play, so veterans are what kept the team afloat and competitive.

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

The Heat were horrible. Buoyed by good goaltending.

I don't know about that. Street and Reinhart were both top-15 in scoring. Granlund was top-20 in goals, and played less games than most of the guys ahead of him. Chad Billins also hit top-10 for defenseman scoring.