The trials and tribulations of Glen Gulutzan

[Royle9]

CP gofundme for a "glue gun has to go" esque billboard gets closer and closer to being a reality, this is 1000% on our smoke and mirrors game plan which is completely opposite of what that clown sold us the day he was hired. Get him outta here.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Over the last two years, the Flames have traded away:

1 x 1st
4 x 2nd
2 x 3rd*

* 1x becomes a 2nd if Flames make the playoffs

...and received:

2x 2nd
3x 4th

Looks like impatience setting in to me. That deficit of picks will unquestionably hurt the future intake of talent. Which is a tradeoff teams make when they think they're ready to shift gears to the next level and exchange long-term pain for short-term gain. The problem is, the team isn't trending up. When the peak of your long-term cycle is 8-10 in the conference, something has gone wrong.

Patience? Look at the roster the Jets have assembled by carefully and patiently turning older players into picks, and then drafting and developing well.

Fair, some of that is the cost of doing business and if they really want to they can recoup some of those I am sure. The Jets are in year 8 (at least) of your cycle and haven't actually won anything yet, in fact after a few years of under performing they are really just meeting expectations this year.

Anyway, not trying to argue....I am in the camp that believes the team is much better than what the coaches are getting out of them. Coach change to me before major changes.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by mikeecho

This whole 50/50 hockey thing is not working for them. They don't put any pressure on a play unless they can get to the puck first by a country mile. If it's going to be a normal hockey battle, they back off and watch the other teams move the puck around like the Harlem Globetrotters.

What it comes down to is that this team needs 100% of everything to go it's way under Gulutzan in order to win games and this is why they have not sustained a playoff caliber level of hockey for more than the odd win streak each season thus far. The fact this group hasn't progressed at all since last season is telling in the sense that this coaching staff is lost. Treliving is signing his own death warrant if he doesn't own this mistake and punt the entire staff.

[Classic_Sniper]

Interesting that the Flames beat Nashville, thread is quiet, then we lose to the 2 best teams in the league in Boston and Vegas where our goaltending really lets us down and then this thread pops up again with everyone freaking out and calling for heads and talking about putting up billboards. The hilarity of hockey forums.

There should be some intellectual honesty here. Did anyone honestly expect us to beat the 2 best teams in the league? Vegas is the best home team in the NHL and are basically unbeatable there. Boston is the best road team in the league, so getting a point out of that wasn't too bad. Florida was on fire and swept Western Canada. Didn't help that that was the 1st game back from the a long road trip and Rittich was less than stellar.

If you take all this into consideration, is there really a need to freak out? We have approximately 13 games of the last 21 games left against opponents not currently in the playoffs and I think we have a real shot at the playoffs. People will disagree with out a doubt, but we've had probably the toughest schedule of any Western Conference bubble playoff team and before we go on a firing spree and a sell everything off rampage, lets see how we do against these teams first.

[nemanja2306]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Interesting that the Flames beat Nashville, thread is quiet, then we lose to the 2 best teams in the league in Boston and Vegas where our goaltending really lets us down and then this thread pops up again with everyone freaking out and calling for heads and talking about putting up billboards. The hilarity of hockey forums.

There should be some intellectual honesty here. Did anyone honestly expect us to beat the 2 best teams in the league? Vegas is the best home team in the NHL and are basically unbeatable there. Boston is the best road team in the league, so getting a point out of that wasn't too bad. Florida was on fire and swept Western Canada. Didn't help that that was the 1st game back from the a long road trip and Rittich was less than stellar.

If you take all this into consideration, is there really a need to freak out? We have approximately 13 games of the last 21 games left against opponents not currently in the playoffs and I think we have a real shot at the playoffs. People will disagree with out a doubt, but we've had probably the toughest schedule of any Western Conference bubble playoff team and before we go on a firing spree and a sell everything off rampage, lets see how we do against these teams first.

Excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses.

Can't beat Vegas and Boston? Ok.
Well, at least we can beat Edmonton and Buffalo. Oh, wait....


Can't believe people defend this crappy coaching staff.

Sent from my WAS-LX1A using Tapatalk

[Vinny01]

I feel the way this team has gone since winning 7 straight should have the fate sealed for the coaching staff. In my opinion GG won’t survive to the draft unless this team at minimum wins a round in the playoffs.

This has been a team that fails to show up when it counts and every time they appear to turn a corner they take a half to a full step back

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by nemanja2306

Excuses, excuses, excuses, excuses.

Can't beat Vegas and Boston? Ok.
Well, at least we can beat Edmonton and Buffalo. Oh, wait....


Can't believe people defend this crappy coaching staff.

Sent from my WAS-LX1A using Tapatalk

McDavid that’s why. When he wants to play, he’s the best damn player on the planet and he always comes to play us for whatever reason.

Also, I don’t see why it’s all on the coaching and not on the players. You know, the guys who actually play on the ice. These guys have won 30 games this season. Not sure what coaching has done to keep these guys from getting to 32 or 33. Seems pretty plausible that it could just be the players.

[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

McDavid that’s why. When he wants to play, he’s the best damn player on the planet and he always comes to play us for whatever reason.

Also, I don’t see why it’s all on the coaching and not on the players. You know, the guys who actually play on the ice. These guys have won 30 games this season. Not sure what coaching has done to keep these guys from getting to 32 or 33. Seems pretty plausible that it could just be the players.

You obviously have never read a single post or watched a single game... have you not seen the way gulutzan fails to adapt his gameplay in game? Or how he took 50 games before putting his most skilled defender in a position to contribute on the PP? That's just two reasons and if you scroll back a few posts I'm sure lots of people on here will have pointed out all the things that gully does poorly

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

McDavid that’s why. When he wants to play, he’s the best damn player on the planet and he always comes to play us for whatever reason.

Also, I don’t see why it’s all on the coaching and not on the players. You know, the guys who actually play on the ice. These guys have won 30 games this season. Not sure what coaching has done to keep these guys from getting to 32 or 33. Seems pretty plausible that it could just be the players.

How about the absolute joke of a PP strategy and the lack of change/improvement from day 1 of the season up until last week?

[VladtheImpaler]

I don't really care if we make the playoffs - it's not like this team has a real shot. The participation ribbon won't make much difference. This is just a rehash of the Brent years. A middling team that can beat anyone or lose to anyone on a given day. Poster children of parity and bonus points...

[madmike]

At this point he’s here until the end of the year.

If they make the playoffs I think he stays. If they miss I think he’s done. He’s great at creating a system focused on possession. I’m not sure he really knows how to do anything else.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

You obviously have never read a single post or watched a single game... have you not seen the way gulutzan fails to adapt his gameplay in game? Or how he took 50 games before putting his most skilled defender in a position to contribute on the PP? That's just two reasons and if you scroll back a few posts I'm sure lots of people on here will have pointed out all the things that gully does poorly

What does that even mean? Fails to adapt his gameplay in game? You're just throwing a bunch of words together that means absolutely nothing. Did they not make the playoffs last season and aren't even out of this season yet.

Also, in case you didn't know which you clearly don't. This powerplay with the exact same personnel and coaching was a top 10 powerplay last season with out Hamilton and were a top 10 powerplay before Versteeg went down with an injury. So they clearly they at least had a clue despite whatever it is your trying to say.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

How about the absolute joke of a PP strategy and the lack of change/improvement from day 1 of the season up until last week?

This powerplay with the exact same personnel and coaching was a top 10 powerplay last season with out Hamilton and were also a top 10 powerplay before Versteeg went down with an injury, so you're wrong about day 1. Hamilton has definitely come in and helped now, but it's not like they haven't succeeded before without him. Maybe they're not as completely inept as you might think.

[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

What does that even mean? Fails to adapt his gameplay in game? You're just throwing a bunch of words together that means absolutely nothing. Did they not make the playoffs last season and aren't even out of this season yet.

Also, in case you didn't know which you clearly don't. This powerplay with the exact same personnel and coaching was a top 10 powerplay last season with out Hamilton and were a top 10 powerplay before Versteeg went down with an injury. So they clearly they at least had a clue despite whatever it is your trying to say.

Sorry for autocorrecting gameplan to gameplay... my bad.

How can you even try to defend the decision to not have Dougie not being o the PP. what comix and I both pointed out was the frustration at ~35 games with no versteeg and refusing to remove Brouwer and/or try to change anything.

[Pipty]

Hopefully fired after tonight's embarassing loss

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

David Perron is 1 year older than Backlund.

David Perron has 3 x 50 point seasons to Backlund's 1.

Perron has 6 x 40 point seasons to Backlund's 2.

Perron has 4 x 20 goal seasons to Backlund's 2.

It is completely reasonable and downright expected that David Perron is a better offensive player than Mikael Backlund.

Gallant deserves credit for how well that team is playing. But they are a deeper roster. They get scoring from all 4 lines. The Flames struggle to get scoring from 2 lines.

The Flames NEED their defenders to score goals to win games, and even then, struggle.

The point isn't that there is just one team better than Calgary and they are vegas and they are a fluke, it is that there are multiple teams in the west better than Calgary and they can't all possibly be flukes.

I don't think Gallant turns Brouwer into a 40 point player, do you? Is Brouwer's problem the coach?

The Flames have multiple players having career offensive years this year. Is that just happenstance?

You can't have your cake and eat it to. The top end of the roster is performing amazingly. The rest of the roster is full of has beens, bargain basement reclamations and guys that don't belong in the league.

Frolik has played for DeBoer, Quennville, Maurice, Hartley and Gulutzan and has scored more than 20 goals twice, and that was almost 10 years ago. How delusional do you have to be to expect him to score 20-25 goals in a season? He won a cup with Chicago scoring just 10 points in 45 games. How is this possible?

Well, the depth chart for Chicago at the time looked like this:

Kane
Hossa
Shaw
Frolik

Flames Depth Chart:

Ferland
Frolik
Hathaway
Brouwer

Gee, what's the missing element here....

Hold on a sec... you are implying that Vegas has more TALENT than Calgary. That's what we are disagreeing about, no? Is Vegas a better team than Calgary? Undeniably they are, but as to my argument, a lot of that is based on they system being employed and the general 'awesomeness' that is Gallant.

Not sure why you suddenly find the need to compare Chicago to Calgary, but sure, I agree there. The right side could use some propping up - they have one big hole and that is the 3rd line RW. Ferland is fine - look up all the RW'ers in the league right now and you will see that his 1st line status is not some crazy outlier, and given Gaudreau's and Monahan's success this year, is unquestionably not a drag on that line.

Frolik is what he always is - a defensive specialist that is very adept at shutting down other players. Call it 2nd line, call it 3rd line - I call it the checking line that goes head to head against the team's best lines (like Backlund). They get a + at the end of the season, they are doing their job.

It is the third line that needs to upgraded desperately.

However...

That is the ONLY position that Vegas 'owns' Calgary. Want to compare LW? Center? Defence? Goalies are a push - at least with Smith in the lineup. Push at worst with Calgary's depth there in the system.

That is the crux of this argument. It isn't if Vegas is a better team or not. You imply they have more talent than the Flames. I vehemently disagree, and I don't think they are a bunch of shlubs either. They have quality depth, but nothing outstanding. They are an incredibly well-coached squad that have a system that fits perfectly to their strengths and weaknesses, and Gallant is squeezing every little drop out of that lineup.

Can you say that the Flames are performing better than the sum of their parts? Worse than the sum of their parts? About as expected?

If you answer anything other than "Performing worse than the sum of their parts", then I guess we will just have to agree to disagree until a new coach arrives. Whether you like Gulutzan or not, want a coaching change or not, or even attribute anything negative to Gulutzan or not, this is still a results based business, and especially in a cap world, it is a heck of a lot easier switching out a coach and making a few minor moves than it is to completely dismantle and rebuild an organization on the fly.

If the Flames fail to make the playoffs, I really don't see a scenario that Gulutzan survives in Calgary. Make the playoffs, it gets into the grey area - get bounced? sure, he is gone too, have a 7 game competitive series and lose it on an unlucky bounce, he probably swings back to being retained. Make it to the 2nd round and onwards, he sticks around.

I hope we don't get to see who is right and wrong here, as I would rather see the Flames in round two and beyond, but if there ends up being a coaching change (and an actual respected and proven coach), it would not surprise me to see the Flames have a much more successful season.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

McDavid that’s why. When he wants to play, he’s the best damn player on the planet and he always comes to play us for whatever reason.

Huh. I thought Gulutzan had one of the best defensive centers in the league to use against him? Rumor has it is that this one defensive center is elite - the elite of the elite according to some - and he is a true shutdown center. You would think that with a player of that caliber at his disposal that he would be able to come up with some plan to slow the one man team down? Nope.

Also, I don’t see why it’s all on the coaching and not on the players. You know, the guys who actually play on the ice. These guys have won 30 games this season. Not sure what coaching has done to keep these guys from getting to 32 or 33. Seems pretty plausible that it could just be the players.

If Gulutzan is such a great coach, maybe you can explain how this team has such a horrible home record? This is where the coach has the ability to have the greatest influence in matching lines as he last change. Yet, in the environment where he has the most control, the team sucks the hardest.

If you can't see what is wrong with this team, that is on you. But there are plenty of others that do see the very glaring problems. Gulutzan doesn't know how to use his personnel. Period. This is a team with some of the best offensive defensemen in the league and he doesn't allow them to engage in the rush. This is a team that has pretty good speed, but he doesn't let them exploit it with a quick transition game - again not using his defensemen worth a damn. Gulutzan prefers to have his team circle back and attack a five man unit, long after the opposition has been allowed to get back into position and establish their defensive line. Gulutzan proves, time-and-time-again, that flexibility is not in his vocabulary. When the opposition shuts down the exit down one side of the ice does he have the team adapt? Nope. Continues to have them force the play. He is so rigid in what he views the lines that when they are struggling he won't consider shaking up the mix and seeing if they can get a line going. The guy is just a brutal coach. To make matters worse, he is a ####ty motivator and even worse at prepping the team for games. How many times have we seen this team get completely run over in the first period because they were not prepared for the opposition's game plan, or didn't look ready/motivated to play? Too many times.

I stated, emphatically, before Christmas that Gulutzan needed to be sacked then to save the season, that his systems were holding the team back. It is amazing that the team has been able to hang in the mix this long with the systems they employ and the lack of response they have to the opposition. Just like how well the Canadian military performs when they are short on equipment and bereft of leadership, what the Flames are doing is a testament to the players. Gulutzan has to go.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

Sorry for autocorrecting gameplan to gameplay... my bad.

How can you even try to defend the decision to not have Dougie not being o the PP. what comix and I both pointed out was the frustration at ~35 games with no versteeg and refusing to remove Brouwer and/or try to change anything.

They did try to change a bunch of things. The first PP had Brodie on it. They changed to Gio. They also had Brouwer on it because he was one of the few right handed shots we have, but it didn’t work so they switched to Ferland. Then they had Backlund on it and that didn’t work so they switched to Tkachuk. Then they decided to bring in a second defenseman in Dougie instead of 4 forwards and that’s worked well since. But they gave each new situation time to see if it developed chemistry. Obviously it took too long, but it’s not like the answers are always right in front of you, you try things out to see if they work or don’t work.

Just look at the Oiler’s home penalty kill right now, can anyone explain why it’s so historically bad and why it’s taking so long to rectify. Some deal with the team’s 1st line, how long did it take to find a fit until Ferland was tried, before that they tried so many players. Answers aren’t found after just a few games all the time. I’ll tell you what though, it’s not gonna be a 30 game stretch on the PP that gets Gulutzan the pink slip because it looked good last season, it looked good in the playoffs and it look good for the 1st third of the season, so that’s a strong enough body of work there.

[Moneyhands23]

The best coaches look at their players and develop a system that best suites their strengths.

I feel GG has a system (and it may even be a good one) but it doesnt suit the personal or play to our strengths. Seems like constantly trying to fit a square plug in to a round hole and stubbornly thinking the square will adapt and "get it"

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by New Era

Huh. I thought Gulutzan had one of the best defensive centers in the league to use against him? Rumor has it is that this one defensive center is elite - the elite of the elite according to some - and he is a true shutdown center. You would think that with a player of that caliber at his disposal that he would be able to come up with some plan to slow the one man team down? Nope.



If Gulutzan is such a great coach, maybe you can explain how this team has such a horrible home record? This is where the coach has the ability to have the greatest influence in matching lines as he last change. Yet, in the environment where he has the most control, the team sucks the hardest.

If you can't see what is wrong with this team, that is on you. But there are plenty of others that do see the very glaring problems. Gulutzan doesn't know how to use his personnel. Period. This is a team with some of the best offensive defensemen in the league and he doesn't allow them to engage in the rush. This is a team that has pretty good speed, but he doesn't let them exploit it with a quick transition game - again not using his defensemen worth a damn. Gulutzan prefers to have his team circle back and attack a five man unit, long after the opposition has been allowed to get back into position and establish their defensive line. Gulutzan proves, time-and-time-again, that flexibility is not in his vocabulary. When the opposition shuts down the exit down one side of the ice does he have the team adapt? Nope. Continues to have them force the play. He is so rigid in what he views the lines that when they are struggling he won't consider shaking up the mix and seeing if they can get a line going. The guy is just a brutal coach. To make matters worse, he is a ####ty motivator and even worse at prepping the team for games. How many times have we seen this team get completely run over in the first period because they were not prepared for the opposition's game plan, or didn't look ready/motivated to play? Too many times.

I stated, emphatically, before Christmas that Gulutzan needed to be sacked then to save the season, that his systems were holding the team back. It is amazing that the team has been able to hang in the mix this long with the systems they employ and the lack of response they have to the opposition. Just like how well the Canadian military performs when they are short on equipment and bereft of leadership, what the Flames are doing is a testament to the players. Gulutzan has to go.

Why would you put it all on Backlund to defend McDavid? Is he one of the defenseman who’s getting burned on a 1 to 1 foot race because he can’t out skate McDavid? No because he’s not going to always be on the ice against him nor does he play the defense position. How many times has McDavid torched us on a breakaway because no one and I mean absolutely no one in the league can keep up with him in a foot race.

As for all the stff about not allowing the defense to jump into the play. That’s garbage. We legitimately just saw TJ Brodie and Hamonic jump into the play yesterday to score our 1st goal of the game, Hamilton also jumps into the play all the time which is where he’s picked up a lot of his goals and chances, Gio jumps into the play from time to time and Kulak’s first goal was also a result from jumping into the play. If he didn’t allow these guys to do so, why are there so many examples of our defensemen jumping into the play?

This team also doesn’t always go up the ice as a 5 man unit. Just watch Johnny Gaudreau every game blowing the zone early for a breakaway stretch pass. He doesn’t force guys to do anything. Our team is also not fast, it’s obvious because teams like Boston, Tampa, Vegas and etc are actually fast and they skate circles around us. Not because of coaching, but because these teams have built their rosters around speed and skill rather than the edge and truculence that we’ve focused on. You can choose what you want to believe, but man do I disagree with you completely.