[PGT] Flames lose 4-1 to Winnipeg; lose Ryan to injury

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Ten games down.

4-5-1 is not good.

4-5-1 is also not crisis mode.

This division, this year is all about getting in the dance. There are no powerhouses in this division so any notion like previous years of getting in the final spot only to get smoked by a juggernaut simply shouldn’t exist.

So much time to go, so much time to turn this around. Let’s see if they’re up for the challenge. I believe in the group.

There it is.

I’m almost envious of your blind optimism. What in the last 7-8 years with this core has given you belief in this group? Or the last two decades for that matter.

Not sure how this franchise can be given the benefit of the doubt for any sort of belief from its fan base. We are abysmal.

[Bourque's Twin]

Hollllly smokes I’ve reached the end. I’ve run out of patience. It’s sad because I do like a bunch of our players.

Tre has been completely incapable of making coaching decisions and it has infected the core of this team. In 2015, the core of Johnny, Monny, and Bennett sure looked promising. Why are they all worse now than they were then? Johnny is putting up points, but he’s not the same.

Tre, you’re a smart guy and you’ve made some great decisions on trades and drafting. You’ve made some bad decisions on UFA signings, but no GM is perfect. I It’s the lack of hockey acumen regarding coaching that has brought us here today. I can’t even really blame you for the Neal signing.

Even if the Flames “turn it around” this season, we’re not a cup contender with Ward behind the bench. It’s time to face the facts and either hire a proven coach right now while the season can be salvaged, or blow up this core and move forward with Tkachuk, Dube, Mang, Hanifin and Valimaki.

[memphusk]

Yeah what is with passing it back so much? More risk to #### the bed?

[zamler]

Seattle is a soul sucking heck hole.

[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Ten games down.

4-5-1 is not good.

4-5-1 is also not crisis mode.

This division, this year is all about getting in the dance. There are no powerhouses in this division so any notion like previous years of getting in the final spot only to get smoked by a juggernaut simply shouldn’t exist.

So much time to go, so much time to turn this around. Let’s see if they’re up for the challenge. I believe in the group.

But the flames are becoming the powerbottom?

[zamler]

Saturday could be rock bottom.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by jessnuts

Good news is that all parents and guardians who paid registration fees this year are satisfied with the equal distribution of ice time.

Reminder to players:
-bring in your permission slips for the next road trip.
-Chocolate cover almond sales start next week.

This may be the greatest post in CP history.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I'm so sick of watching teams get fat off the Senators while we get Leafs, Canadiens and Jets all in a row. It's our turn to beat up on some whimps.

New flash.... flames are “some whimps”.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

Even if the Flames “turn it around” this season, we’re not a cup contender with Ward behind the bench. It’s time to face the facts and either hire a proven coach right now while the season can be salvaged, or blow up this core and move forward with Tkachuk, Dube, Mang, Hanifin and Valimaki.

I agree, even if we salvage the season and make the playoff, with Ward behind the bench, we'll get killed in the playoff. However, if we blow it up, with Ward behind the bench, it'll be same old, same old.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Joborule

It's almost like they aren't being utilized properly as a unit to maximize their abilities...

Treliving has to be absolutely petrified that by getting a NHL coach with a strong resume, that he'll be undermined, and wants to avoid any possibility of a power struggle. But if once again Ward proves to be the third hired coach by Tre that has underwhelming results due to being an underwhelming coach, he would've only undermined himself, and should be shown the door.

Brad does some good things, but I don't think he has the right ideas in terms of a coach and the type of players needed to build a solid contender. We likely came out of the rebuild too soon without grabbing a couple more high draft picks. First a foremost we need a proper coach so that we have a better gauge on consistency with the players. Sutter got more with less, This team has more but has too many issues.

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by Joborule

It's almost like they aren't being utilized properly as a unit to maximize their abilities...

Treliving has to be absolutely petrified that by getting a NHL coach with a strong resume, that he'll be undermined, and wants to avoid any possibility of a power struggle. But if once again Ward proves to be the third hired coach by Tre that has underwhelming results due to being an underwhelming coach, he would've only undermined himself, and should be shown the door.

They can’t even pass the puck and turn the puck over with regularity. I’m not saying Ward isn’t over his head here, but the guys up and down the lineup, with a couple exceptions, have been bad. Really bad.

[Infinit47]

This team has never looked good under Ward for any stretch. Even during their "new coach bump" win streak they didn't play that well.

This year Ward has an improved defense and vastly improved goaltending and the results are again mediocre. The system, player deployment and complete lack of any in game adjustments are beyond terrible. Combine this with zero accountability for poor play and you get what this team is now.

Slow, unmotivated, and likely frustrated players.

When Ward says "get back to our identity", what he is saying is that he has no clue what is wrong, why it has gone wrong, or how to fix it.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

So I just finished reading 7 pages of this thread. I don't recall a handful of posts calling out the core/best players on this team. Timbit said the top players were awful. Is that the only post? But page after page after page of how Ward sucks.

Is there a slight chance that this team just isn't very good? That when the Flames best players have a bad game that maybe the team will look bad?

I'm not saying Ward is a great coach, but I really feel like the top players on this team are really getting a massive free pass (yet again) here tonight. Your best players have to be your best players and also have to be some of the best players on the ice. Far too often, under multiple coaches, this core has not consistently been the best players on their team, or on the ice.

Blaming the coach is easy. Realizing the core of this team just may not be that good is a tougher pill to swallow. We all wish this core was elite. They're not. Should have made big changes last season. Expect more of the same for the rest of the season unless big changes are made ASAP.

[Manhattanboy]

nm

[Ashasx]

Well, this team is predictably inconsistent.

You just know how this season is going to go down. They'll waver around .500. There will be games like tonight, and there will be games where it looks like they've finally turned a new leaf and look dominant. It may even happen on Saturday against Edmonton (probably not lol we're gonna be embarrassed). They might string even a few games together of it. Or it could be just one game. But they'll look good. Really good.

And then, as quickly as it started, one game they'll forget how to play hockey again.

I don't get how Treliving can watch this and not act on a coach. This is your last chance, and I wouldn't trust Ward with my job.

[D as in David]

This was a very boring series to watch against the Jets (does it go back further?). The Jets were much more interested in moving their feet and winning battles. Overall, I think the Flames may be a bit more talented but they are currently not a very entertaining team to watch.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Burning Beard

Our identity with Ward so far.

Dump and chase hockey with small forwards and passing back to our blue line while the opposition sets up.

It is very puzzling to me that ever since the first half of the 2019-20 season, that this team completely flipped the switch on the tempo it plays, considering the construct of the team.

Whenever the Flames play quick north-south, fast breakout hockey, that's when they are firing on cylinders and looking lethal. A really good example of that was Game 6 against the Stars before the wheels fell off in the bubble playoffs last year.

But the coaching over the past two years seem to encourage the players to play more at a much more conservative pace, which only helps out the opposition in setting up to contain the breakout. Thus you get all these dump and chases that don't amount to anything, because that's not how the roster is built play.

This should be a fast, get the opposition chasing team, rather than slow entry, try to physically overpower the opposition team. And the NHL is all about being fast now. But the Flames coaching has consistently seem to go against that trend despite it appearing promising.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

The players need to be better too but this coaching staff isn’t good enough.

Terrible bench management, the system is slow with too much dump and chase for a team that doesn’t have that skill set, and you can tell there is just no answer.

You could just tell that by the third game tonight the Jets had the Flames figured out. They knew exactly what the Flames were going to try offensively, and the Flames just didn’t have an answer.

And I’ve thought that going back to the offseason and didn’t want Ward extended then. He proved to me in the series against Dallas that he wasn’t the answer when he was dramatically out coached in that series and made some glaring mistakes.

He really confirmed it tonight though in the third. Doesn’t shorten the bench. Saddles Gaudreau with Nordstrom. And kept mixing up the lines in just the stupidest ways.

I, for one, am very surprised that Ward is coaching this season the exact same way he coached last season and the playoffs.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

They can’t even pass the puck and turn the puck over with regularity. I’m not saying Ward isn’t over his head here, but the guys up and down the lineup, with a couple exceptions, have been bad. Really bad.

Team looks a bit disoriented and confused.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

So I just finished reading 7 pages of this thread. I don't recall a handful of posts calling out the core/best players on this team. Timbit said the top players were awful. Is that the only post? But page after page after page of how Ward sucks.

Is there a slight chance that this team just isn't very good? That when the Flames best players have a bad game that maybe the team will look bad?

I'm not saying Ward is a great coach, but I really feel like the top players on this team are really getting a massive free pass (yet again) here tonight. Your best players have to be your best players and also have to be some of the best players on the ice. Far too often, under multiple coaches, this core has not consistently been the best players on their team, or on the ice.

Blaming the coach is easy. Realizing the core of this team just may not be that good is a tougher pill to swallow. We all wish this core was elite. They're not. Should have made big changes last season. Expect more of the same for the rest of the season unless big changes are made ASAP.

Blaming the coach is easy because we almost never have a legit coach. Why does it even begin to surprise you that people bemoan the coaching choices. The ONE TIME since the big day we get a real coach he almost wins it all with a team that had no business getting anywhere near the finals. Doesn't this tell you something?

Have you noticed what happens to former Flames coaches? Maybe this team is not very good but even the best teams fail with a poor coach see Pittsburgh as one example. Get a legit coach and build out from there, not a shot in the dark hail mary choice.