Who do you want to see as next Flames head coach?

[BsFaninCGY]

With all the hate regarding the coaching carousel the last decade, why are some of you wishing for Love to be an assistant ‘in case the other guy doesn’t work out’? If the Flames are thinking like that, the other guy is the wrong choice. They should be hoping whoever they hire is here for at least 5 years. They need some stability at coach and not have backup plan in the wings. Find the right fit and commit.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Ryan Huska and Kirk Muller are a big no for the top job, and I am hoping they are canned. Maybe Huska can stay but Muller ran a terrible PP.

Darryl Sutter is pretty bad a identifying coaches who go on to have a productive coaching career he has had some brutal assistant coaching choices before. HIs coaching hires are as poor as Trelivings.

Terrible:
Paul Baxter
Mumbles Preston
Rob Cookson
Bob Berry

None of those bums have coached after leaving assistant coaching positions with Sutter.

He also dusted off Mike Keenan from the antique store and brought him back, hired Playfair who was not ready and was relegated back to assistant coach. Said he wanted to hire Huska in LA as well. Not a ringing endorsement based on that list above.

Starting to warm up for Brunette a bit he has been under coach Q and now Lindy in New Jersey so hopefully he has learned a bit about defensive structure.

Did he run the powerplay in Florida?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Darryl Sutter is pretty bad a identifying coaches who go on to have a productive coaching career he has had some brutal assistant coaching choices before. HIs coaching hires are as poor as Trelivings.

Terrible:
Paul Baxter
Mumbles Preston
Rob Cookson
Bob Berry

None of those bums have coached after leaving assistant coaching positions with Sutter.

False. Post Flames employment.

Paul Baxter

1992–1995: Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) assistant coach
1995–1997: Saint John Flames (AHL) head coach
1997–2000: San Jose Sharks (NHL) assistant coach
2001–2003: Florida Panthers (NHL) assistant coach
2006-2008: HIFK SM-liiga (Finland) head coach
2008-2010: Wenatchee Wild (NAHL) head coach
2011–2014: Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) head coach

Rich Preston

2009-10 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2010-11 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2011-12 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2012-13 Lethbridge Hurricane (WHL) head coach/GM
2016-17 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant
2017-18 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant
2018-19 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant

Rob Cookson

2016-17 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant
2017-18 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant
2018-19 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant

Bob Berry... not sure why Bob Berry was brought up. Never coached for the Flames and was an assistant for Sutter just before he retired. Berry was a head coach for 11 seasons and being in the NHL coaching ranks for 19 seasons.

Just a terrible post.

[Jiffy Loob]

My vote is for Huska. Conroy <-> Huska seems like a great fit. On the other hand, Brunette might be a great choice, and one would think his price tag might not be too high.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

At some point this narrative has to end.

C'mon, the Flames are paying $8M over the next two years to a guy not to coach.

The owner isn't cheap. The hires have just been poor.

I'm not saying they're cheap, we know they aren't. But there are budgets.

[Savvy27]

I've come around on Brunette. 1,100 games as an NHL player, assistant coach in the Wild, Panthers, and Devils organizations. Understudy to Quenneville and took over as interim head coach to win the President's trophy. Then to New Jersey where he is part of a staff that sees the biggest single season point increase in the 82 game era.

Oh, and he just happens to have coached our best forward and best defenceman to career seasons.

[Vinny01]

In my time as a hardcore flames fan they promoted an assistant twice. First Playfair took over in 06-07 and then Ward in 19-20. Both were guys that didn’t last 100 games with the flames. I don’t think they should do this again with Huska. I think Love is the guy

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

False. Post Flames employment.

Paul Baxter

1992–1995: Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) assistant coach
1995–1997: Saint John Flames (AHL) head coach
1997–2000: San Jose Sharks (NHL) assistant coach
2001–2003: Florida Panthers (NHL) assistant coach
2006-2008: HIFK SM-liiga (Finland) head coach
2008-2010: Wenatchee Wild (NAHL) head coach
2011–2014: Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL) head coach

Rich Preston

2009-10 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2010-11 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2011-12 Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) head coach/GM
2012-13 Lethbridge Hurricane (WHL) head coach/GM
2016-17 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant
2017-18 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant
2018-19 Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Assistant

Rob Cookson

2016-17 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant
2017-18 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant
2018-19 Ottawa Senators (NHL) Assistant

Bob Berry... not sure why Bob Berry was brought up. Never coached for the Flames and was an assistant for Sutter just before he retired. Berry was a head coach for 11 seasons and being in the NHL coaching ranks for 19 seasons.

Just a terrible post.

Not a lot of nhl jobs? Especially Paul Baxter.

Mumbles and Cookson took a long time ti get another job. Baxter never even made it back. Just crappy coaches sorry.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Not a lot of nhl jobs? Especially Paul Baxter.

Three years of continuous employment after he left the Flames. Blows your point out of the water. Move along. Or better yet, head back to HF. Baxter brings some great perspective with him, which you don’t. I may not always agree with him, but he’s a guy that you can always have an interesting debate over hockey with.

[mile]

Paul Baxter reading this thread:

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Three years of continuous employment after he left the Flames. Blows your point out of the water. Move along. Or better yet, head back to HF. Baxter brings some great perspective with him, which you don’t. I may not always agree with him, but he’s a guy that you can always have an interesting debate over hockey with.

Yet no success and got a job with the old boys clubs with another out of touch bum Mike keenan what a great coach Baxter is. Never considered for a head coaching shot and left the league to coach the beer leagues.

Cookson another one who is old boys club

Wonder why Sutter coaches never get a shot???

You should move along to HF and change your name you are embarrassing a Flames legend.

[Angelino]

Brunette will be a great head coach in the NHL whether it’s with Calgary or not. Calgary will probably hire Love though as most of their choices recently are incorrect.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Yet no success and got a job with the old boys clubs with another out of touch bum Mike keenan what a great coach Baxter is. Never considered for a head coaching shot and left the league to coach the beer leagues.

Cookson another one who is old boys club

Wonder why Sutter coaches never get a shot???

You should move along to HF and change your name you are embarrassing a Flames legend.

That was not the point of your original attack on the coaches in question. You said none of them ever got a another coaching gig, which was demonstrably false. These guys did not deserve the inaccurate attack you made upon them. I still can’t fathom why you would even bring them up? Your attacks on Baxter are really interesting and I don’t know why you would single out a guy that last coached in the NHL 20 years ago and has shown no interest in getting back into the game at that level? What did he do that so greatly offended or wronged you? This seems like something very personal.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

That was not the point of your original attack on the coaches in question. You said none of them ever got a another coaching gig, which was demonstrably false. These guys did not deserve the inaccurate attack you made upon them. I still can’t fathom why you would even bring them up? Your attacks on Baxter are really interesting and I don’t know why you would single out a guy that last coached in the NHL 20 years ago and has shown no interest in getting back into the game at that level? What did he do that so greatly offended or wronged you? This seems like something very personal.

Well none of them ever got a head coaching consideration unless they just want to be a career coach assistant coach with no aspirations of doing the big job?

Baxter if he was so in demand would be talked about? No? Never heard of him as a top assistant or head coach candidate?

Playfair? Cookson? Mumbles?

[BoLevi]

Originally Posted by Angelino

Brunette will be a great head coach in the NHL whether it’s with Calgary or not. Calgary will probably hire Love though as most of their choices recently are incorrect.

Are you saying love would be bad or just that brunette would be better?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Well none of them ever got a head coaching consideration unless they just want to be a career coach assistant coach with no aspirations of doing the big job?

Baxter if he was so in demand would be talked about? No? Never heard of him as a top assistant or head coach candidate?

Playfair? Cookson? Mumbles?

That is not what you said. Here's what you said.

"Darryl Sutter is pretty bad a identifying coaches who go on to have a productive coaching career he has had some brutal assistant coaching choices before.

Terrible:
Paul Baxter
Mumbles Preston
Rob Cookson
Bob Berry

None of those bums have coached after leaving assistant coaching positions with Sutter."

I showed that this was wrong. Becoming a head coach is irrelevant. Some guys just don't want the responsibility or the pressure or believe they are better off in a more specialized role as an assistant. Baxter went the path he did for reasons only he can disclose. If he wishes to share that information I'm sure he will chime in, but I suspect he likes to keep his private life just that, private. Some guys are just destined to be assistant coaches because that is what they like and Preston and Cookson likely fall into that category. There is zero shame in being an assistant coach.

It's funny, but when I lived in Tampa I became good acquaintances with the coaching staff from the Lightning, especially Jeff Reese and Craig Ramsey. Both were really good coaches and we talked about aspirations. Ramsey thought he could be a head coach someday after getting a taste in Philadelphia, and would do just that several years later for a season in Atlanta. We lost touch after that. It was cool to see him achieve his crowing glory as a head coach in the "European beer leagues" (as you put it) where he led the Slovak national team to a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics. Reese, on the other hand, was very content where he was and suggested then that he would prefer to just work with the goaltenders and try to be more anchored in one spot rather than travel so much. He would go on to become a full-time goaltender coach for Philadelphia and then Dallas, where he remains today. Two very different takes on coaching and two guys with very different goals in their careers. Being a coach doesn't always lead you to the head coach gig. Some guys are just happy teaching players in their area of expertise.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

That is not what you said. Here's what you said.

"Darryl Sutter is pretty bad a identifying coaches who go on to have a productive coaching career he has had some brutal assistant coaching choices before.

Terrible:
Paul Baxter
Mumbles Preston
Rob Cookson
Bob Berry

None of those bums have coached after leaving assistant coaching positions with Sutter."

I showed that this was wrong. Becoming a head coach is irrelevant. Some guys just don't want the responsibility or the pressure or believe they are better off in a more specialized role as an assistant. Baxter went the path he did for reasons only he can disclose. If he wishes to share that information I'm sure he will chime in, but I suspect he likes to keep his private life just that, private. Some guys are just destined to be assistant coaches because that is what they like and Preston and Cookson likely fall into that category. There is zero shame in being an assistant coach.

It's funny, but when I lived in Tampa I became good acquaintances with the coaching staff from the Lightning, especially Jeff Reese and Craig Ramsey. Both were really good coaches and we talked about aspirations. Ramsey thought he could be a head coach someday after getting a taste in Philadelphia, and would do just that several years later for a season in Atlanta. We lost touch after that. It was cool to see him achieve his crowing glory as a head coach in the "European beer leagues" (as you put it) where he led the Slovak national team to a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics. Reese, on the other hand, was very content where he was and suggested then that he would prefer to just work with the goaltenders and try to be more anchored in one spot rather than travel so much. He would go on to become a full-time goaltender coach for Philadelphia and then Dallas, where he remains today. Two very different takes on coaching and two guys with very different goals in their careers. Being a coach doesn't always lead you to the head coach gig. Some guys are just happy teaching players in their area of expertise.

So why haven't we heard of them as hot coaching candidates? Even if you don't want the job. Maybe because they suck.

You love to blame sutter but somehow his out of touch assistants are amazing?

Nome of those mentioned assistants are are anything they suck. Sutter got thr best out of teams because of his tactics not from the old boys club he hired.

[KenHouston]

JQ - put pressure on Bettman to let the guy have his career back. I mean Cheveldaoff is employeed. I dont know enough of the situation in Chicago but looking at past situations ....Tocchett and Wayne G are still in or involved with the league. Evander Kane etc.

Would be an amazing coach for the Flames

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

With all the hate regarding the coaching carousel the last decade, why are some of you wishing for Love to be an assistant ‘in case the other guy doesn’t work out’? If the Flames are thinking like that, the other guy is the wrong choice. They should be hoping whoever they hire is here for at least 5 years. They need some stability at coach and not have backup plan in the wings. Find the right fit and commit.

I personally wasn't suggesting Love being an assistant as back-up in case the new head coach doesn't work out. I just think some career progression for him is probably warranted given his success to date, and being an assistant in the NHL might be a better way to get his feet wet than being thrown right into the messy situation of being a head coach on a team with some struggles right now. I also think there are probably benefits for having some continuity for the young players making the jump from the AHL to the NHL in the next couple of years. He could probably offer valuable perspectives to the head coach who doesn't know them as well.

Hopefully whoever gets hired has longevity and I wouldn't hire assistants based on who might be able to takeover if things go wrong.

[Moneyhands23]

I'd like to know what love has done as a pro coach without Wolf. ��

But I'm very ok with him getting his shot