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

[Lanny_McDonald]

Don't like this decision except for it means the end to Treliving very soon. Don't see Ward as a very good coach and Treliving will have to make significant change in the make up of the team for a Ward coached team to be competitive. That's going to mean Treliving is pushing in all his chips and burning any goodwill he had accrued. The next firing will be Treliving.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I know you keep trying to make it so, but Brent was not a legit top-tier coach with a proven track record. He had two years of NHL experience.

Besides, if he was a legit top tier coach, someone would've given him another chance after the Flames.

That's the result, but not the feel at the time.

He was certainly considered a raid of coaching talent when the Flames wooed him out of Jersey.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Keenan and Hartley brought us so many Stanley Cups, didn't they?

Hartley had two 1B calibre goaltenders, a roster featuring Rafael Diaz, Tyler Wotherspoon, Kris Russell, Josh Jooris, Joe Colborne, David Jones, and a handful of other replacement level players and rookies, a sophomore number one centre, injuries galore... and still won a playoff round. You have to set expectations relative to roster and I would say the only year Hartley's team underperformed in his four years here was 2015-16, and that was only at the defensive end, as they were still a top offensive team with league-worst goaltending.

I'd argue Gulutzan, Peters, and Ward all saw their teams underperform throughout their tenures here.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Feels like people just want a name because it feels good. What makes anyone believe that a big name/consistent name would strategically be any better than Ward?

I dunno Pepsi, I've just watched this team flame out for three decades with their coaching strategy...so maybe I just want to see them try something different for a change? I'll take feeling good, even if its fake or temporary. It's better than what we usually get.

I would've even taken them pretending to interview a few candidates to show us that they are perhaps trying something new. A 5 minute zoom call with someone else? A thumbs up on their social profile? Give us something that offers a modicum of hope that they are trying?

[bax]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Hartley had two 1B calibre goaltenders, a roster featuring Rafael Diaz, Tyler Wotherspoon, Kris Russell, Josh Jooris, Joe Colborne, David Jones, and a handful of other replacement level players and rookies, a sophomore number one centre, injuries galore... and still won a playoff round. You have to set expectations relative to roster and I would say the only year Hartley's team underperformed in his four years here was 2015-16, and that was only at the defensive end, as they were still a top offensive team with league-worst goaltending.

I'd argue Gulutzan, Peters, and Ward all saw their teams underperform throughout their tenures here.

Peter's one season? Where the team finished with 107 points? They didn't underperform at all in my opinion. Over achieved all season long and then ran into a terrible matchup in the playoffs.

[djsFlames]

Yeah, looks like Ward is the coach Treliving is going down with.

Tre's future is pretty well tied to him now.

Not sure if its the horse I would bet my career chips on. Maybe if I still had some rope left and this core was still young.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Brent had just come off 46 and 51-win seasons. I don't think he was perceived that much different than how Gallant is seen now.

How many playoff rounds did Brent win?

You have very low standards for a top-tier proven coach.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by bax

Peter's one season? Where the team finished with 107 points? They didn't underperform at all in my opinion. Over achieved all season long and then ran into a terrible matchup in the playoffs.

Peters' roster underperformed. yes, they had a hot start, but after the all star break they were essentially playing like a bubble team, and you can't blame matchups in the playoffs for how easy they made it for the Avs. Their systems collapsed and gave the Avs players (not just Mackinnon, but literally all their forwards) an easy entry into the zone, and Peters got outcoached significantly by Bednar. They were a #1 seed that lost in five games to a #8 seed, that's the definition of underperforming. This carried on into this season, where Peters spun his wheels and would have had to have been fired for team performance even without the personal stuff.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Bingo

That's the result, but not the feel at the time.

He was certainly considered a raid of coaching talent when the Flames wooed him out of Jersey.

He was looked at someone with future promise, but no someone who actually had achieved anything at the NHL level. Is it really that high of a bar to once in a while want someone who has achieved something of significance at the NHL?

At least Hartley won a Cup. He's the only other coach who's done something with this team other than Sutter.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Guessing this isn't really a two year deal.

It's a two year extension on his existing deal that was probably reworked.

Lands as a standard three year deal.

Ok...

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Brent was absolutely viewed as a top tier coach. "Stolen" from NJ to lead the Flames to the promised land. Not very different from where Gallant is now, in my view.

He sucked in his tenure with the Flames. Maybe the most unwatchable play in the last 30 years. Obviously different styles, but the point is that the "name" coach does not guarantee success. Fact is that there are very few coaches that seem to bring success to every team they coach. I think Trotz is on that list, probably Gallant, but he does seem to bring some baggage.

[Dajazz]

Dallas was clearly the better team, but they also showed that Ward had no antidote to their forecheck. This is a fairly small and skilled team with good, if not great, first pass and well skating defensemen. However the break out never changed, slow triangle passing pattern along the wall to try and break out. Same result every time.

He showed some imagination with line tinkering, but reverted back what was not working in the end.

Seems like a good guy, the team apparently likes him and so on.

Very difficult to say what will come out of this, but how much better is this team with Laviolette or Boudreau behind the bench? Hard to say.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by nik-

The problem is "what he feels best" has ended up in consistently poor coaching choices. He no longer gets the benefit of the doubt here.

Right, but so what?

I dunno, I just feel like it's a pointless exercise. Ward is not the guy I would have chosen, but I have no idea whether the guy I would have chosen was even interested in an interview. Nobody does. So I find it strange that people make up a scenario they believe could be true, and then get mad at that scenario. You're literally just making yourself mad over nothing at that point.

Would people be equally upset if Treliving called Boudreau, Gallant, and Laviolette and was told by all three that they weren't interested? Or maybe one of them was, but the salary was too high for our budget?

That's all. It just seems like people need to imagine a version of events so they can be mad at the result, which feels crazy. Same goes for the opposite, if anyone has decided the scenarios above are true to make them feel good about this.

[JohnnyB]

I'm not surprised, and I'm okay with this.

I liked the way Ward seemed to build a strong sense of team commitment to each other.

I would have been more excited about having someone like Gallant or Boudreau coming in, but I'm okay with Ward too.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Right, but so what?

I dunno, I just feel like it's a pointless exercise. Ward is not the guy I would have chosen, but I have no idea whether the guy I would have chosen was even interested in an interview. Nobody does. So I find it strange that people make up a scenario they believe could be true, and then get mad at that scenario. You're literally just making yourself mad over nothing at that point.

Would people be equally upset if Treliving called Boudreau, Gallant, and Laviolette and was told by all three that they weren't interested? Or maybe one of them was, but the salary was too high for our budget?

That's all. It just seems like people need to imagine a version of events so they can be mad at the result, which feels crazy. Same goes for the opposite, if anyone has decided the scenarios above are true to make them feel good about this.

But so what? I dunno, I'd prefer we be good. Is that not the point here? Or is the point just pretending we should trust the decision making process of an organization with basically no track record of success in three decades? Is there any other segment of someone's life where they would exhibit the same behaviour? Just implicitly believing that because someone made the decision, even though that person has consistently made that decision poorly previously, that it's the right choice?

It's just so odd.

[GreenLantern2814]

A market like this only gets so many looks at top shelf coaches.

The group as it’s currently constructed is not worth wasting one of those looks on. Laviolette or Gallant ain’t fixing this.

I don’t like it in the abstract, but I don’t mind it if we’re signalling a retool/rebuild.

[ResAlien]

I liked the way Ward had zero ability to adapt to coaching changes in what was another of a long line of first round exits. I like a coach who will let this group do as they please. Wonder if he gets the same leeway from the untouchables now that he’s no longer the substitute teacher?

[Flash Walken]

This is the ward thread obviously but lots of Brent Sutter talk:

Brent was a good coach and if the organization had listened to him at any point they would have had a lot more success.

He trapped it up in year one when the team was stinky, then opened it up the next year when they added offense then trapped it up again when they were stinky.

He wanted to sign on for a rebuild because it was obviously the way to go and then the organization said no thanks and then ended up rebuilding a year later anyway but did it with a hardass task master to bring along the youngsters instead of a Junior coach willing to teach.

IMO I think of anyone in the Flames organization, Brent got the rawest deal of anyone in the last 15 years.

Why go back to the NHL after that when you own your own junior team in the area your entire family lives in?

[dammage79]

They did something.

I thought they'd go after a coach in the market but uhhh, I guess to carousel has gone too fast lately.


Guess the next step is the draft. Let's see how that shakes out.

[indes]

Classic Flames;

If it's broke, keep using it, it'll fix itself.