Should the Flames fire Gulutzan?

[N-E-B]

I really hate to rally against a guy and hope for him to lose his job, and Glen does seem like a pretty good guy. But it's just not working here. I don't think he's head coach material. IMO he would be a great assistant or associate coach to lean on for advice from time to time but for me he's just too nice.

Coach's aren't here to be the players friends. This whole hiring reeked of the inmates running the asylum. That's not a sign of a healthy organization.

[Frank MetaMusil]

I don't really think he'd make a good assistant either. Even Hartley and his crew outcoached Desjardins and GG in the playoffs. With Hiller spotting them a 3-0 lead in game 6.

[EM11]

I woke up thinking "is it going to happen today? Will the Flames pull the trigger and save this season?"

[iamca]

I'm surprised that the poll numbers have continued to have people favor not firing GG. At one point it was at least 78% yes.

Mediocrity and the record over the last 12-15 games heading towards 2018 I would think it would have stayed above 75%. How does anyone sit back and say stay the course?

Puzzling to say the least...

[bubbsy]

There's nothing to be saved. This team isn't going to outperform 3 of the sharks, stars, wild, ducks, hawks to win out a playoff spot.

The flames are likely to just ride this out and make the call on Backlund come trade deadline.

Firing Gulutzan during the season has no real consequence. There's no way he'll be back next season regardless I would imagine.

[tkflames]

Originally Posted by iamca

I'm surprised that the poll numbers have continued to have people favor not firing GG. At one point it was at least 78% yes.

Mediocrity and the record over the last 12-15 games heading towards 2018 I would think it would have stayed above 75%. How does anyone sit back and say stay the course?

Puzzling to say the least...

I am surprised also. There is a small contingent of other fan bases impacting these numbers, but not significant.

[iamca]

What's the contract status for GG?

[ricardodw]

Time for some call ups from Stockton:

Huska to take over from GG.

Magnipane reunited with Jankowski and Hathaway

Backlund put on the RW with Monahan Gaudreau

Tkachuk with Bennett and Ferland


Huska seems to understand defensemen better than most minds in the NHL.

If someone is going to get Brodie, Hamonic and Hamilton playing close to their potential I would put my money on Huska.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by iamca

What's the contract status for GG?

Not looking good.

[Tailgator]

Anxiously awaiting word that this horrible coaching staff gets punted today while knowing I’m sure to be disappointed

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Tailgator

Anxiously awaiting word that this horrible coaching staff gets punted today while knowing I’m sure to be disappointed

Welcome to my world for the last year.

[UKflames]

Whilst I believe that it is easy to blame the coach for a teams failings, when there is equal blame to go around between the players and the coaching staff, and tried to give GG the benefit of the doubt to turn things around, it just doesn't look good at this point.
I am starting to move into the "something needs to be done" column and I really think he will have to be the sacrificial lamb at this point. He may have a good system and the fancy stats may show we are a good team but at the end of the day this is a results business and we are not getting the results that we need, so something, anything, needs to change.
I don't like calling for someone to lose their job, I have lost mine once and it is never a pleasant experience, but this is the easiest change to make that could make a huge difference. I don't want Sutter, I hate retreads, but maybe Tippett might be the change we need.
I just want to be able to watch more wins at 4 in the morning rather than another loss.

[iamca]

Originally Posted by Yoho

Not looking good.

To be more specific, does GG's contract expire at the end of this season?

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Tailgator

Anxiously awaiting word that this horrible coaching staff gets punted today while knowing I’m sure to be disappointed

Even if he was fired today...tell me what difference you believe it would make when he will still have the same collection of soft and never ready to start a game players?

And if people think Darryl Sutter would take this job right now, I would beg to differ. This club is miles away from the type of team he excels with. His first time through the dome he had a big, plodding, tough to play against roster. He got another, even better, set of that type of roster in LA. It's not like the Kings were an offensive dynamo, but they sure could play D and clog up the neutral zone along with word class goaltending...that's what made them successful. Darryl is getting older and isn't going to want to wait 2 years while the team gets transformed into something he can work with. If he comes back it will be to a team ready to get over the top with his style.

IF, and its a big if IMO, their is a mid-season change in Calgary, your new coach will be Dave Tippett. Think about that. A guy who missed the playoffs 5 consecutive seasons before getting the heave ho. Obviously there were extenuating circumstances based on the club he was asked to work with, but all the same, if this is a results business, his are atrocious.

If the club goes in another directon, it will have to be in the off season when there is 15 or 20 candidates to choose from, not now where it is basically one of 4 guys.

[Vinny01]

Firing the coach is easier and less risky than making a trade. Sutter opted to make some deals in 2010 and it cost the team dearly getting garbage assets for a 24 year old Dman and rental top 6 centre. Problem for Darryl at the time is Brent was in his first year.

That year we lacked a first rounder and had sky high expectations after acquiring a top Dman the summer before.

Don’t make a bad trade fire the coach

[AC]

I've changed my mind about not firing Gulutzan. Though I don't think its all his fault as the on-ice execution has been bad, it just doesn't seem to be a fit for whatever reason.

There's no guarantee a new coach can fix the dumb decision making that seems to perpetuate the team lately, but the choices Gulutzan does make for player utilization and key strategies seem to be painfully ineffective.

So while I don't think Gulutzan is the sole person to blame for a lack of expected success, its just not working at this point and I'd be open to something new.

That being said, I don't expect it to happen.

[The Fonz]

I don't believe we'll really know what we have in this group until we see them for an extended period under an entirely new coaching staff.

We can't be making trades right now. I think we'd get fleeced if we went down that road.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by transplant99

If the club goes in another directon, it will have to be in the off season when there is 15 or 20 candidates to choose from, not now where it is basically one of 4 guys.

I would prefer to do a long-term coaching hire in the summer as well, but I'm not sure you need to wait till then to fire.

They should put Huska and his team in the role for the rest of the year. It would be a fresh face that might allow you to salvage the season, but there probably wouldn't be a requirement to keep the guy beyond next year like there would be with a Tippett or Sutter.

Act now, and then evaluate in the summer when there are more options.

[Roof-Daddy]

Treliving is all about "the process" and certainly doesn't seem like the type of guy who would make a hasty mid season coaching change.

Of course, the risk of having Snow strut up to the podium with a top 5 pick courtesy of the Flames might change that mindset in a real hurry I suppose.

What a disaster of a season so far.

They crawled, they walked, but when they went to start running they realized too late some ####### had tied their shoelaces together and ended up falling flat on their goddamn faces.

[MBates]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Even if he was fired today...tell me what difference you believe it would make when he will still have the same collection of soft and never ready to start a game players?

Not taking issue with anything else in your post but only addressing this part...a mid season coach firing (perhaps even especially one that is not entirely deserved) can send a shockwave through a dressing room. Players who don't want to find themselves shipped out or sent to the minors or just benched or given less minutes going forward are suddenly reminded what happens when results are not delivered in the business of NHL hockey.

Unless you believe the players are inherently soft and actually incapable of getting ready to play games then it is a motivational / mental issue. Firing coaches is not a magical sure-fire technique to jolt players out of underperforming complacency...but it CAN work.

There is risk / reward in anything...including just staying the course. I have no idea what has the best chance of making a difference long term, but a mid-season coach firing is not an unreasonable option to have on the table.