[News] UPD: Geoff Ward officially named the franchise's 20th head coach (2 year deal)

[Toonage]

There are other examples we can pull from in regards to poor line choices. Backlund at the wing for as long as he was, or how his best move came as a total fluke when he put Bennett at C with Dube on his wing only because of Ryan's injury and circumstances leading to those players practicing in a separate group.

[JTech780]

Ward wouldn't be my first, second or third choice, but he does do somethings well that other coaches have failed to do with this team. He has also made some bizarre head scratching moves, that make wonder if he is head coach material.

The good, he communicates extremely well. The players really like him and like to play for him, this is a big one as I haven't got that feeling from this group with other coaches. There are times where I saw the mentality of this team change and they were able to overcome pressure and were able to bounce back when things didn't go according to plan. In the past this team would, to borrow a quote from Gulutzan, "crumple" when things got hard. Now they did revert back to this mentality in game 6, where Ward also buckled under the pressure.

The bad, he is slow in making in game adjustments, when Dallas was shutting down the zone entries and exits, there wasn't any change in the system, they kept trying the samr things over and over. You have to be able to adapt to what your opponent is doing to defend you. Giving the top line mostly defensive zone starts in the playoffs was puzzling and head scratching. Pulling Talbot in game 6 was a terrible move, add in the fact that his plan was to put him right back in but not telling anyone that plan and when he wanted Talbot to go back in he was in locker room not ready to go in, so he had to leave a rusty Rittich in while he was getting shelled. Playing Rinaldo at all in the playoffs is baffling. All this leaves me questioning his decision making as a coach.

For me the bad outweighs the good, I think there are better coaches out there.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by JTech780

Ward wouldn't be my first, second or third choice, but he does do somethings well that other coaches have failed to do with this team. He has also made some bizarre head scratching moves, that make wonder if he is head coach material.

The good, he communicates extremely well. The players really like him and like to play for him, this is a big one as I haven't got that feeling from this group with other coaches. There are times where I saw the mentality of this team change and they were able to overcome pressure and were able to bounce back when things didn't go according to plan. In the past this team would, to borrow a quote from Gulutzan, "crumple" when things got hard. Now they did revert back to this mentality in game 6, where Ward also buckled under the pressure.

The bad, he is slow in making in game adjustments, when Dallas was shutting down the zone entries and exits, there wasn't any change in the system, they kept trying the samr things over and over. You have to be able to adapt to what your opponent is doing to defend you. Giving the top line mostly defensive zone starts in the playoffs was puzzling and head scratching. Pulling Talbot in game 6 was a terrible move, add in the fact that his plan was to put him right back in but not telling anyone that plan and when he wanted Talbot to go back in he was in locker room not ready to go in, so he had to leave a rusty Rittich in while he was getting shelled. Playing Rinaldo at all in the playoffs is baffling. All this leaves me questioning his decision making as a coach.

For me the bad outweighs the good, I think there are better coaches out there.

To play devils advocate, who should have been in the lineup over Rinaldo? Jankowski?....we’re splitting hairs here. If he wanted a physical presence in the lineup, then yes, Rinaldo was the right call.

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by Poe969

I know its not a popular opinion and it'll make some people upset but man, next season looks like a perfect year to start a rebuild. The Flames aren't good enough. They have good players on good contracts (who would be amazing support players on great teams), they need to cut costs, there are a few teams like Buffalo who will be desperate for help and would probably overpay for help, there likely won't be ticket revenue next year anyway, if they build a team properly it should be a contender by the time the new arena opens, they'd be selling hope, they can probably get more picks at this year's draft which is deep....

It just makes so much sense to start a rebuild.

I'm fully expecting the Flames to trade away their first for a guy like Kumpner or whatever then overpay an older average at best UFA who does nothing and the team to be in even worse shape a year from now.

I agrer that this team should be going into a rebuild, and will add that if they do it now they will be starting to turn the corner and generating excitement when the are set to move into the new building.

That being said, I think the owners will want this team to stay competitive, as they will want to sell as many tickets as possible when fans are allowed back in the stadium. They are most likely losing money right now and will want to recoup that money through ticket sales. Trading away their mareketable stars would have the opposite effect on ticket sales.

As much as I think a rebuild is the right way to go to get this team to be a Cup contender, going into a rebuild right now doesn't make financial sense for this team right now.

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by TOfan

To play devils advocate, who should have been in the lineup over Rinaldo? Jankowski?....we’re splitting hairs here. If he wanted a physical presence in the lineup, then yes, Rinaldo was the right call.

Just about any other player they had in the bubble. Jankowski was much better than Rinaldo. I probably would have went with 7 defensemen, played Kylington to take some minutes away from Forbort 5v5, that also would have allowed you to double shift Gaudreau to see if he could find some offense away from the top defensive players.

I do agree that this is a small gripe, it just adds to the bigger picture of questionable decisions.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

When Hartley was going to be let go, there were a lot more “no retread” voices on CP than those pushing for Boudreau or Carlyle, who were the vets available. Then Boudreau went to Minnie and got booted in round one every year. And Carlyle went to Anaheim, which was already a successful team, which became less successful.

Right now - who is out there? Gallant, who outside of a phenomenal year with Vegas, has had a bad record? Boudreau, Laviolette - maybe, but they may also be looking at Seattle and Washington.

Gallant also coached the Florida Panthers, yes those same perennially terrible Panthers, to a 107 point season.

He's definitely a good coach, but has had some inconsistency which makes him less than the ideal choice.

[bax]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Gallant also coached the Florida Panthers, yes those same perennially terrible Panthers, to a 107 point season.

He's definitely a good coach, but has had some inconsistency which makes him less than the ideal choice.

It's been twice now that GM's have soured on him very quickly. I won't pretend to know why, but it makes you wonder. Especially that dumping by Florida.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by JTech780

Just about any other player they had in the bubble. Jankowski was much better than Rinaldo. I probably would have went with 7 defensemen, played Kylington to take some minutes away from Forbort 5v5, that also would have allowed you to double shift Gaudreau to see if he could find some offense away from the top defensive players.

I do agree that this is a small gripe, it just adds to the bigger picture of questionable decisions.

Agreed, Jankowski s definitely the better player.

Double shifting Gaudreau could have very well backfired. Rightly or wrongly, Kylington has yet to earn the trust of this organization. Throwing him into a playoff situation was likely never on the table. It’s more likely the would have added Valamaki if they were that desperate.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Gallant also coached the Florida Panthers, yes those same perennially terrible Panthers, to a 107 point season.

He's definitely a good coach, but has had some inconsistency which makes him less than the ideal choice.

And then choked in the first round

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Gallant also coached the Florida Panthers, yes those same perennially terrible Panthers, to a 107 point season.

He's definitely a good coach, but has had some inconsistency which makes him less than the ideal choice.

103 points . And a first round exit that season, which is an issue around here.

ETA: 107 was what Peters got in 2019

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by JTech780

I agrer that this team should be going into a rebuild, and will add that if they do it now they will be starting to turn the corner and generating excitement when the are set to move into the new building.

That being said, I think the owners will want this team to stay competitive, as they will want to sell as many tickets as possible when fans are allowed back in the stadium. They are most likely losing money right now and will want to recoup that money through ticket sales. Trading away their mareketable stars would have the opposite effect on ticket sales.

As much as I think a rebuild is the right way to go to get this team to be a Cup contender, going into a rebuild right now doesn't make financial sense for this team right now.

Odds are there won't be many fans in the stands next season because of what's going on in the world. If they have to play with no or even very little fans, its the perfect time to make a change. Shedding a couple big contracts would save money too.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Odds are there won't be many fans in the stands next season because of what's going on in the world. If they have to play with no or even very little fans, its the perfect time to make a change. Shedding a couple big contracts would save money too.

Yeah, this is a good idea in theory, but I think there is a negative flip-side: because of all the same economic circumstances, I suspect that it may also prove to be the worst time to undergo a rebuild, given that every team will be doing their best to nickel-and-dime every deal. In other words, the return on shedding big contracts may also prove to be at an all time low.

[Flash Walken]

Sounds like a perfect time to trade good contracts for bad ones to eat the picks that will be attached from these highly motivated teams.

Almost like one of the best times to rebuild.

Oh well.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by dino7c

And then choked in the first round

Didn't choke in Vegas in his first year there...

My recollection of that series is that the Panthers ran into a very hot goalie and John Tavares who went into god mode. They had no answers for him. Also, it's the series where I fell in love with Hamonic a little because he almost single-handedly shut down Barkov's line. Also, the Islanders had a game winner from Alan Quine!

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

103 points . And a first round exit that season, which is an issue around here.

ETA: 107 was what Peters got in 2019

Thanks, I knew I mixed up something. I wasn't bothering to look it up.

The first round exit thing is understandable for a team where almost nobody had previous playoff experience, not as understandable for the Flames at this point. I mentioned a few other factors in my other post.

[tkflames]

The further that Dallas goes...the more like a "follow Boston/Washington" strategy...ie a "do nothing" strategy.

It is easy as decision makers to look at the Lindholm (otherwise mr automatic) slap shot into the end boards as opposed to a ring around or hailmary flip to center and justify that the flames could likewise be a game away from the finals.

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Odds are there won't be many fans in the stands next season because of what's going on in the world. If they have to play with no or even very little fans, its the perfect time to make a change. Shedding a couple big contracts would save money too.

They won't play with no fans. They would be more likely to postpone or cancel a season than play with no fans. I could see a situation where they start with 25-50% capacity. I just don't think they want to risk losing any season ticket sales or luxury box sales, even if there are limited seats to sell.

If they do decide to do a rebuild, Ward would be the right choice for coach. He is a good communicator and the players like playing for him. I think he would be good for younger players. I just don't think he is the right choice to get this team over the hump.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I think Johnny should be used further down the line up this way he is paired against players who can't defend him as easily. If the Flames are serious about using talent throughout the line up this would be a good move. Top line needs to be structured for playoff hockey; Guys with stamina who can play a physically dominating game including dump and chade. Johnny and Monahan have the offensive ability during the season, but can hardly challenge, wear down other top lines during a playoff series.

Yes. And Gaudreau should be with linemates that keep the opponent honest. Lucic isn't a bad option here, actually. I've also said Bennett should be centering a Gaudreau line. If the opponent wants to hack at Gaudreau, they will need to drop the gloves. Bennett won't be able to finish like Monahan, but he'll create a lot more space in the offensive zone.

Monahan and Lindholm simply aren't the guys for that job. Don't mind them being together, though.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Odds are there won't be many fans in the stands next season because of what's going on in the world. If they have to play with no or even very little fans, its the perfect time to make a change. Shedding a couple big contracts would save money too.

Pro sports is on the cusp of a major economic crash. A lot of contracts will just be worthless if current times continue well into 2021. The CFL was the first to crumble but it won’t be the only league to falter. Some nhl clubs likely close up shop and other owners ain’t gonna prop them up

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by tkflames

The further that Dallas goes...the more like a "follow Boston/Washington" strategy...ie a "do nothing" strategy.

It is easy as decision makers to look at the Lindholm (otherwise mr automatic) slap shot into the end boards as opposed to a ring around or hailmary flip to center and justify that the flames could likewise be a game away from the finals.

I get what you are saying, but Calgary was soundly outplayed in all but one of the games against Dallas and if wasn't for Talbot standing on his head for most of that series it wouldn't have even been close.

Dallas was outplayed by Colorado and the only reason they beat them is because Colorado was down to their 3rd string goalie.

So yes they were 11 seconds from going up 3 games to 1 in the series, in actuality it really wasn't that close of a series.