I actually think the 7 game win streak saved his job - before that there were some sounds in the media starting up that he was going to get let go.
Then the team looked pretty good for that stretch and he stayed. They were 8th in the NHL at that point, and looked like they had figured things out with both the PP and PK being on a good run. Looked like they were finally getting the results the advanced stats said they should be getting.
Then after that they went 12-19-6 and were the 5th worst team in the league (only Canadien, Rangers, Blackhawks, & Senators were worse).
So in retrospect it would have been the right call but think there were some other circumstances that made it less likely at the time. Also think the fact that no coaches were fired mid-season this year shows that management philosophy on that may have changed.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 04-17-2018 at 03:29 PM.
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And in April we're firing the coach anyways and theres nothing left to save.
Oooh....see how the exact same logic can be applied right back to you?
Anyways, nothing happens if you dont try.
Why would they have fired GG in November? Made the playoffs the season he was hired after we drafted 6OA. We were doing alright in November if I'm remembering correct... don't see how that would've made sense at the time.
Dont most existing coaching contracts end when they sign with a new team? it's not like a player whos bought out and can "double dip" is it?
guess it depends on the wording in each contract.
Yes his 8M from NYR goes away if he signs with someone, which is why IMO his contract has to be more than 4M a year.
Kerr on the Fan saying that the reactions on the text line are mixed, which I thought was bizarre, considering probably 99% of fans on CP are beyond happy with this decision.
The more casual fans I think tend to vilify the players first I think, because they don't look deeper into the game with systems, special teams and the roles they play in it all. That's why conversely it's so lopsided here with more avid followers.
They probably hear GG and hear a well spoken guy that seems to know exactly what he's doing, and it's natural to then think it's cause the players aren't following the assignments.
My casual fan friends that are sort of into the games and hype when they're winning but not so much otherwise definitely pin it fully on the players when they do crap the bed. When I try to talk about the systems and Gulutzan they just sort of tune out.
I won't miss his post game pressers though. I can't count how many times I heard " Just wasn't prepared tonight" "Soild 20 but sat back for the last 40" "Unlucky bounces, just didn't go our way tonight" "Slow starts was our downfall again"
I think most NHL coaches in the same position would've said about the same thing.
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Bringnon AV, really hope ownership opens the wallet to bring in the best coach on the market
Move had to be made. Expectations were not met, falls on the coach among others.
For context (as I keep seeing Hartley's name being used as a positive):
Hartley coaching record with Calgary:
Season Team GP W L T OTL Pct Result
2012-13 Calgary Flames 48 19 25 0 4 0.438 Out of Playoffs
2013-14 Calgary Flames 82 35 40 0 7 0.470 Out of Playoffs
2014-15 Calgary Flames 82 45 30 0 7 0.591 Lost in round 2
2015-16 Calgary Flames 82 35 40 0 7 0.470 Out of Playoffs
Gully's coaching record with Calgary
Season Team GP W L T OTL Pct Result
2016-17 Calgary Flames 82 45 33 0 4 0.573 Lost in round 1
2017-18 Calgary Flames 82 37 35 0 10 0.512 Out of Playoffs
Why would they have fired GG in November? Made the playoffs the season he was hired after we drafted 6OA. We were doing alright in November if I'm remembering correct... don't see how that would've made sense at the time.
You're looking at the record and not the results.
This team was straddling .500 with winning streaks and losing streaks but the underlying foundation of it all seems pretty obvious.
I'm not going to get into more than that because its too easy for people to simply point at me and say "revisionist history!"
At their absolute best this team was 'middle of the road' and yet 16 of 31 teams made the playoffs.
Is this a 'middle of the road' team? After rebuilding? If it is then blow it up again,
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Wasn't overly specific but there were some inklings that the management team wasn't overly happy with how the season and special teams were going, thinking that Smith was making them look better than they were.
Was actually more focused on the Powerplay at the time now that I think about it.
