[PGT] Fire Ward and trade Bennett

[tvp2003]

Woke up this morning and the solution to all of this is clear and obvious:

Fire Ward and name Bennett as head coach.

No additional cost to ownership, and Sam gets his change of scenery to behind the bench. Win-win.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Go back to sleep.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

I didn't think the flames were BAD last night. Didn't give up much, no stupid turnovers, and Rittich made some big stops when there were breakdowns.

The flames just applied zero pressure on the oilers offensively. The flames systems, forecheck, etc, are sorta useless. No pressure, means no mistakes, made it just so easy for the oilers d and goaltending.

I am not a huge fan of the forwards of this team, however, there is enough skill and talent there to be FAR MORE effective than the coaching staff has got out of them. That's a definite issue on the coaches. Our Gm frankly isn't smart enough to see that.

I fail to see the team's challenges being fully 'effort' based. I saw a team trying a lot last night and much of the nucks series. I also don't see the talent level of the roster any worse than past years (not that it's better, but it's not worse).

Ward stated that coming into this year, he had the team playing his system at about 90% and that getting the remaining 10% was his goal coming into camp. This coaching has broken thd team.

It's Saturday, frigin pandemic, things remain in complete lockdown still here in Toronto. As such, I am excited about having more flames hockey tonight to watch over some beverages tonight. That being said, my care and hope levels are hitting an extremely low level. I'll be just as happy to see the flames win, or get their teeth kicked in just for the growing pressure it should create on ownership to question the current hockey decision making brain trust throughout the franchise......

This is pretty simple at this point. Ward had them playing a 1 man forecheck last night if they didn’t have the puck. That isn’t going to work, and it led to too much standing still to be able to generate speed and offence if they ever did get the puck.

This team needs a system like Hartley or Peters implemented like the one the Bruins used when Cassidy took over and that’s fast transition, aggressive forecheck and activate defencemen so there’s another outlet.

I also think that by doing that, naturally the effort level will increase because the chances will increase because the emotion will increase and it will be sort of self fulfilling. It’s not just the fans that are bored it’s the players too but the players need to be professional and understand that they just need to lay it out every night no matter what as best they can and sorry Treliving but they truly just aren’t doing that. Obviously.

Like, it’s quite easy to see when someone skates hard full speed and when one doesn’t. It’s quite easy to see when someone will go to the net or pay the price and when they won’t. This team doesn’t want to do the hard things because they are hard, that is being lazy in today’s NHL.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

I didn't think the flames were BAD last night. Didn't give up much, no stupid turnovers, and Rittich made some big stops when there were breakdowns.

The flames just applied zero pressure on the oilers offensively. The flames systems, forecheck, etc, are sorta useless. No pressure, means no mistakes, made it just so easy for the oilers d and goaltending.

Ward was also happy with how they played last night, because this is how he wants them to play. He wants them to play this passive, safe, low event brand of hockey.

If you hammer players for takings a risk and making a mistake too often this is what you get. A team that lacks any sort of offensive jump or creativity, who are afraid to take a risk to make play because the coach has hammered into their head that any mistake is unacceptable. Players that are reacting on the ice instead of dictating play.

So the only way you’re going to generate offense is through some individual moment of brilliance like Gaudreau had in Anderson’s goal.

It’s passive, defensive, reactive, low risk (id call it scared) hockey that you’d expect the coach of a rebuilding team to play to keep games and scores tight. A team with Stanley Cup aspirations (might not look realistic but that’s still the goal the GM has for this team), who also have an elite goalie, should not be playing this passive of a game.

No team in the modern NHL is winning anything with a system this passive.

[Iggy_12]

I’ll just go ahead and say it. It’s embarrassing to be a fan of the calgary flames

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Ward was also happy with how they played last night, because this is how he wants them to play. He wants them to play this passive, safe, low event brand of hockey.

If you hammer players for takings a risk and making a mistake too often this is what you get. A team that lacks any sort of offensive jump or creativity, who are afraid to take a risk to make play because the coach has hammered into their head that any mistake is unacceptable. Players that are reacting on the ice instead of dictating play.

So the only way you’re going to generate offense is through some individual moment of brilliance like Gaudreau had in Anderson’s goal.

It’s passive, defensive, reactive, low risk (id call it scared) hockey that you’d expect the coach of a rebuilding team to play to keep games and scores tight. A team with Stanley Cup aspirations (might not look realistic but that’s still the goal the GM has for this team), who also have an elite goalie, should not be playing this passive of a game.

No team in the modern NHL is winning anything with a system this passive.

I agree with your thoughts on system and style and I do think coaching is to blame.

But I disagree with your point that it isn’t effort. (I think it was you in previous posts?). It is effort too. In fact it’s so painfully obvious an effort problem too. Too easy to give them a pass here. Fly by’s won’t hit won’t go to net don’t look like they’re skating sloppy passing trying to be too cute won’t get open for teammates on breakout like Jesus. All of it.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

^ for me, Bennett is a decent NHler. Good in certain situations. More so steady ones where he can get in a groove with linemates

Geoff Ward by contrast is a frigging moron whose game plan sends his team in to too many futile situations, and then whose only tool is a blender

Bennett’s not the main issue

But when people focus on it, it becomes the focus of the conversation

Ward is a lousy coach. Not smart. Prove me wrong

Ward reminds me of Guido the Gimlet of Ghent who “rode off madly in all directions”.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Agreed, and understood. You are probably right. Given his treatment here, and what’s at stake in his future, if the team doesn’t want to reward his playoff results and their own word, and put him in a position to succeed, big surprise, deep down he might want to either get a chance here or be open to elsewhere.

The shame is that the decision by the agent in how to deal with Bennett’s feelings created a big #### storm and is why everyone is talking about it

But there is the fallout of how it was dealt with, and a lot of things being projected on the player, that really actually differ based on what happened. And nobody knows, but so many have opinions.

Then the bush league coach is exacerbating the situation

We agree, Bennett will have to be gone next year barring any unforeseen circumstances. Disappointing any way you look at it for sure


On this night, my beef is with Ward. If he thinks they were going to win 1-0 he is even more disappointing than I thought

I blame Friedman as much as the agent.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I agree with your thoughts on system and style and I do think coaching is to blame.

But I disagree with your point that it isn’t effort. (I think it was you in previous posts?). It is effort too. In fact it’s so painfully obvious an effort problem too. Too easy to give them a pass here. Fly by’s won’t hit won’t go to net don’t look like they’re skating sloppy passing trying to be too cute won’t get open for teammates on breakout like Jesus. All of it.

I honestly think it’s probably a lack of confidence and reacting instead of anticipating.

The second you are playing reactive in this league and if there is any slight hesitation to make a play you’re done and that’s what I see with this team right now.

It manifests itself as looking like a “lack of effort” because the team starts to look slow and it looks like they are late to every play, but it’s not because the players are choosing to just not play hard.

It’s because they are lacking confidence, which means they are not trusting their instincts and thinking the game a step slower than the other team. Leads to them reacting to plays instead of dictating plays and hesitating when an option is open to them.

Honestly with the system they are playing this is always the outcome. Was the exact same thing under Gulutzan. If you coach a team to play passive and scared to make a mistake this is the type of hockey you end up with.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Iggy_12

I’ll just go ahead and say it. It’s embarrassing to be a fan of the calgary flames

The team that each of us have arbitrarily chosen to cheer for in the sportings has no reflection on us at all. If you are feeling embarrassed you are taking it too seriously
It’s also easily solved if you truly do feel that way
The only time I’ve felt embarrassed to be a fan of a team is when they acted in objectionable ways away from the game.

[bzoo02]

They did give a ****.... A **** effort.

[mrdonkey]

Ward is building himself quite a case for being the most inept coach in this organization's history. And that's really saying something for a franchise that has a long and proud tradition of going to the clearance aisle for their coaches. The team itself isn't that great but it's really almost impressive how little he is able to do with what he has.

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I did but those things aren’t even comparable, these are the top .1% hockey players in the world, not some guy that played Junior A or was a third liner in the WHL before washing out.

For the most part unless you have the work ethic you aren’t making the NHL, and anybody who doesn’t put in that effort washes out way before that level. And those guys certainly don’t become top line players in the league.

Sure it happens with the odd guy like Alex Semin or Alexei Yashin but those guys are the exception and are usually so ultra talented that even with low effort they were able to produce - I don’t see any of those guys on this roster.

IMO effort is the most overused cliche by coaches pro sports, and usually it’s system, confidence in playing that system, and confidence in your own ability that is what we are really looking at.

Sorry dude, but you’re straight up wrong. There’s a reason so many professional coaches say “lack of effort”. You’re not in a position to brush it off as a cliche, unless you think you know more than they do? These guys have been in the game for decades, and most of those years being spent with the elite of the elite.

Do you think Monahan plays the game as hard as Buddy Robinson? Ritchie? Tanev? Ronaldo? JG as hard as those guys? No, they play differently. Monny and JG have a different skill set that got them to the show. Those other guys got there on hard work. Rene Borque...another great example.

Guaranteed you ask any professional athlete if there are guys they’ve played with that lack effort, 100% of them would answer with a “yes”. 100%.

I’m sure I’ll get roasted as being “one of those guys”, but I’ve played another sport at a high level, including a (very) short professional stint, and I can say in certainty there were guys on my team that had all the talent in the world, but lacked work ethic and had a low GAF metre.

[Inferno099]

Originally Posted by Nsd1

The thumbnail of the video makes it look worse but all five Flames were right there. Gio left the front of the next to try and block the pass. He could have just stayed with Puljujarvi.

And the captain should have stayed with pool party....
Leaving him open was the cause of that goal.

[Owen15]

1) I couldn’t believe how few hits there were last night. Even when an opportunity presented itself guys slow up, turn their backs and glide into a hit. Like a bump. Wtf, last night was about as close to a regular season must win, just to shut people up. I’m more annoyed Bennett didn’t go beast mode, that deserves a benching more than the Haas goal.

2) Ward sucks as a coach, just allowing this Bennett situation. F me. Never mind the lack of in game adjustments and common sense decisions.

3) Tkachuk... as fans we have no real facts. So there’s that. But Matthew seems to be on auto pilot. Even his pest routine is weak right now. There is something going on here. Injury, locker room, off season? Who knows. But this is not him. So that sucks.

4) Backlund, Gaudreau, Valimaki and Rittich were pretty ok last night. Maybe time to play some guys like Pelletier?

[BagoPucks]

I am actually surprised at little conversation is being had about how bad Gio has been. We should probably keep it that way so Tre can find a taker but objectively he has been horrible.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Owen15

1) I couldn’t believe how few hits there were last night. Even when an opportunity presented itself guys slow up, turn their backs and glide into a hit. Like a bump. Wtf, last night was about as close to a regular season must win, just to shut people up. I’m more annoyed Bennett didn’t go beast mode, that deserves a benching more than the Haas goal.

This is all you need to see that this team has tuned out Ward. They may have liked him last year but they don’t now. Tkachuk probably isn’t happy cause his teammates don’t have his back, so he isn’t out there busting his ass. While the guys might not like Bennett’s trade request, he is still a friend and fellow player and they probably don’t like how Ward is playing games with him. And why would Bennett bust his ass out there and make this coach look good?

Ward has badly mishandled this Bennett thing. It’s not Ward’s job to punish Bennett and he shouldn’t have taken this personal, but he has and the players can see it. There’s a difference between being a tough coach and motivating and doing what Ward is doing. What Ward is doing is being tough out of pettiness. Players can see right through that stuff.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Owen15

1) I couldn’t believe how few hits there were last night. Even when an opportunity presented itself guys slow up, turn their backs and glide into a hit. Like a bump. Wtf, last night was about as close to a regular season must win, just to shut people up. I’m more annoyed Bennett didn’t go beast mode, that deserves a benching more than the Haas goal.

2) Ward sucks as a coach, just allowing this Bennett situation. F me. Never mind the lack of in game adjustments and common sense decisions.

3) Tkachuk... as fans we have no real facts. So there’s that. But Matthew seems to be on auto pilot. Even his pest routine is weak right now. There is something going on here. Injury, locker room, off season? Who knows. But this is not him. So that sucks.

4) Backlund, Gaudreau, Valimaki and Rittich were pretty ok last night. Maybe time to play some guys like Pelletier?

I'm becoming more and more accustomed to point 1. Outside of the North div, I haven't watched an iota of hockey around the league. It just seems that there is little to no body checking anymore, or physicality (scrums, fights, etc).

Is the lack of hitting isolated to the flames or a general trend in the NHL now?

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Sorry dude, but you’re straight up wrong. There’s a reason so many professional coaches say “lack of effort”. You’re not in a position to brush it off as a cliche, unless you think you know more than they do? These guys have been in the game for decades, and most of those years being spent with the elite of the elite.

Do you think Monahan plays the game as hard as Buddy Robinson? Ritchie? Tanev? Ronaldo? JG as hard as those guys? No, they play differently. Monny and JG have a different skill set that got them to the show. Those other guys got there on hard work. Rene Borque...another great example.

Guaranteed you ask any professional athlete if there are guys they’ve played with that lack effort, 100% of them would answer with a “yes”. 100%.

I’m sure I’ll get roasted as being “one of those guys”, but I’ve played another sport at a high level, including a (very) short professional stint, and I can say in certainty there were guys on my team that had all the talent in the world, but lacked work ethic and had a low GAF metre.

Perhaps there could be a little from column a and a little from column b but I don't know how you can fail to see how slow and tenntative this team is playing. They are not following their instincts. They're overthinking and doing what they think they're supposed to be doing. And it's players that play with speed, aggression and emotion that have been benched or demoted - Duke, Bennett, and Andersson.

At least Mangiapane is getting an extended role. I agree that he is a guy that exudes effort all the time.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Sorry dude, but you’re straight up wrong. There’s a reason so many professional coaches say “lack of effort”. You’re not in a position to brush it off as a cliche, unless you think you know more than they do? These guys have been in the game for decades, and most of those years being spent with the elite of the elite.

Do you think Monahan plays the game as hard as Buddy Robinson? Ritchie? Tanev? Ronaldo? JG as hard as those guys? No, they play differently. Monny and JG have a different skill set that got them to the show. Those other guys got there on hard work. Rene Borque...another great example.

Guaranteed you ask any professional athlete if there are guys they’ve played with that lack effort, 100% of them would answer with a “yes”. 100%.

I’m sure I’ll get roasted as being “one of those guys”, but I’ve played another sport at a high level, including a (very) short professional stint, and I can say in certainty there were guys on my team that had all the talent in the world, but lacked work ethic and had a low GAF metre.

Did any of those guys make the NHL? No because you don’t get there by not giving effort.

Sure every player has a game or two here or there where they aren’t giving it there all or giving 100% but there is no way that they have looked this lifeless for 17 games now because of a lack of effort.

And it’s crazy how this lack of effort seems to have infected all 23 players on this roster plus any call ups all at once for 6 weeks now. Maybe there could be something else going on that’s causing them to all look lazy...maybe a way they are being told to play.

It is a huge cliche because it’s the easiest to say “We aren’t working hard enough” . It’s tough to explain a system or to talk about how your lacking confidence, or to say that your reacting instead of anticipating.

Much easier to say “We just need to keep working harder, and get the pucks in deep, and the bounces will come”. Total BS Cliche that means absolutely nothing.