The trials and tribulations of Glen Gulutzan

[stone hands]

I feel like cp would call for gullys head no matter how well they do

I think he's great because the team looks unstoppable when firing on all cylinders, and we got to see a very long stretch of that last season

I question sometimes why he puts certain units on the ice at key times, but he's an NHL coach who is with the guys every day and knows what is going on better than any of us, so I will let it slide. Appeal to authority fallacy? Sure, but I have trust in what I have seen so far

[kukkudo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm not so sure. The team has gone all-in with this three year window so expectations are certainly higher than last season. However I feel Treliving will stick with Gulutzan even if disaster happens and the team misses the playoffs this season. He hasn't fired any coach that he's brought in to date and the fact that Sigalet survived back to back seasons of arguably the worst goaltending in the history of the organization it appears he's willing to give his guys a lot of rope. I get the feeling he would probably make a big trade (Bennett, etc) before firing the coach if things get really bad.

Gulutzan is done if the Flames miss the playoffs or get bounced out quick in the 1st round.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by kukkudo

Gulutzan is done if the Flames miss the playoffs or get bounced out quick in the 1st round.

Maybe but until he fires one of his guys I'm going to lean with him sticking with his guy as long as possible.

[kukkudo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Maybe but until he fires one of his guys I'm going to lean with him sticking with his guy as long as possible.

I don't see Treliving risking his own job next season if this season turned out to be a failure under GG and he brought him back again.

[stone hands]

Ya I'm fairly certain treliving is safe for a few years as long as the team makes the playoffs

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by kukkudo

Gulutzan is done if the Flames miss the playoffs or get bounced out quick in the 1st round.

No, I don't think that's all it would take. If they ended up bottom 5 like they did under Hartley's last year, then yeah, I think he's gone. But simply missing the playoffs or losing in the 1st round wouldn't be enough of a justification to get rid of him. Making the playoffs alone is hard. The parity in this league makes a team susceptible to missing the playoffs with a key injury or two, or one poor stretch of play. While Gulutzan has some responsibility there, he does have to rely on the players to get the job done. The context of how something happens matters more than just the results.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

No, I don't think that's all it would take. If they ended up bottom 5 like they did under Hartley's last year, then yeah, I think he's gone. But simply missing the playoffs or losing in the 1st round wouldn't be enough of a justification to get rid of him. Making the playoffs alone is hard. The parity in this league makes a team susceptible to missing the playoffs with a key injury or two, or one poor stretch of play. While Gulutzan has some responsibility there, he does have to rely on the players to get the job done. The context of how something happens matters more than just the results.

Disagree entirely. A team that's gone all-in as hard as the Flames have and traded just about every meaningful pick for the next two years has no excuse to miss the playoffs by any margin. The time for excuses and "finding their way" is over for this club, this is the team that is either going to make it or not.

I'm just going to throw some quick stats out to highlight where the team is at.

Flames are currently:

28th in GF/G
14th in GA/G
20th in PP%
20th in PK%
20th in SF/G
25th in SA/G

I'm sorry, but if this trend continues then the coaching staff needs to be seriously looked at. If the problem really is the players as you suggest, then we'd better be ready for rebuild 2.0 because those numbers are pathetic for a team that fancies themselves contenders. Bottom third of the league in just about every metric.

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

I'm just going to throw some quick stats out to highlight where the team is at.

Flames are currently:

28th in GF/G
14th in GA/G
20th in PP%
20th in PK%
20th in SF/G
25th in SA/G

.

Well that's just like, your opinion, man.

[robaur]

GG pretty much said this morning that he shouldn't have to line match, and this is why he got rotated by Carlyle in the playoffs with our 4th line and 3rd pairing constantly getting burned.

That continues to this day from the 1st game until now. Other teams top lines running around in our zone while our 4th line / 3rd pairing are playing like beached whales.

This guy is delusional. I thought the young coaches were supposed to adapt quicker to changing times. The game these days is all about line matching and match-ups.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Disagree entirely. A team that's gone all-in as hard as the Flames have and traded just about every meaningful pick for the next two years has no excuse to miss the playoffs by any margin. The time for excuses and "finding their way" is over for this club, this is the team that is either going to make it or not.

I'm just going to throw some quick stats out to highlight where the team is at.

Flames are currently:

28th in GF/G
14th in GA/G
20th in PP%
20th in PK%
20th in SF/G
25th in SA/G

I'm sorry, but if this trend continues then the coaching staff needs to be seriously looked at. If the problem really is the players as you suggest, then we'd better be ready for rebuild 2.0 because those numbers are pathetic for a team that fancies themselves contenders. Bottom third of the league in just about every metric.

All of this requires the contextual understanding of "10 games in". IF this were indeed the numbers over a full season, I'm sure they would also likely be in the bottom 3rd of the league, which would instantly put his job in question.

If it stays like this all year, I'd be genuinely surprised.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by robaur

GG pretty much said this morning that he shouldn't have to line match, and this is why he got rotated by Carlyle in the playoffs with our 4th line and 3rd pairing constantly getting burned.

That continues to this day from the 1st game until now. Other teams top lines running around in our zone while our 4th line / 3rd pairing are playing like beached whales.

This guy is delusional. I thought the young coaches were supposed to adapt quicker to changing times. The game these days is all about line matching and match-ups.

They played the interview on the fan a little while back. He basically was saying that if this team is to take the next step, there's no protecting guys. They have to be able to get the job done regardless of the matchup.

Aside from that point, i really really loved everything he had to say. Key things that stuck out to me:
when asked about the PK and how it was so good just last week, then stumbled recently, he gave a solid answer. Said the PK didn't look great even when successful. Losing too many draws, and giving the opposing PP the blue line and time andd space to set up. as a fan i couldn't agree more.

when asked about the PP, said guys need to stop being cute and trying to score pretty ones every time, get pucks to the net and get a few ugly ones here and there.

I feel like he says a lot of the right things as far as what he sees on the ice and wants from the group. The question mark is why the team fails to actually execute....

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

They played the interview on the fan a little while back. He basically was saying that if this team is to take the next step, there's no protecting guys. They have to be able to get the job done regardless of the matchup.

Aside from that point, i really really loved everything he had to say. Key things that stuck out to me:
when asked about the PK and how it was so good just last week, then stumbled recently, he gave a solid answer. Said the PK didn't look great even when successful. Losing too many draws, and giving the opposing PP the blue line and time andd space to set up. as a fan i couldn't agree more.

when asked about the PP, said guys need to stop being cute and trying to score pretty ones every time, get pucks to the net and get a few ugly ones here and there.

I feel like he says a lot of the right things as far as what he sees on the ice and wants from the group. The question mark is why the team fails to actually execute....

Gulutzan is the master of saying all the right things and pointing out problems without actually doing anything about them.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by robaur

GG pretty much said this morning that he shouldn't have to line match, and this is why he got rotated by Carlyle in the playoffs with our 4th line and 3rd pairing constantly getting burned.

That continues to this day from the 1st game until now. Other teams top lines running around in our zone while our 4th line / 3rd pairing are playing like beached whales.

This guy is delusional. I thought the young coaches were supposed to adapt quicker to changing times. The game these days is all about line matching and match-ups.

I didn't hear it that way. IMO what he's saying is it's impossible to avoid having a bad matchup from time to time, especially on the road, and every line needs to be able to handle it if that happens.

And FWIW he was doing a lot of hard line matching against the Preds.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Gulutzan is the master of saying all the right things and pointing out problems without actually doing anything about them.

How do you know this? By attending practice and video sessions?

[Toonage]

If there is one thing Gulutzan does, its mixing & matching lines.

This isn't Dejardins in Vancouver last year, rolling the same 4 lines regardless of who is on the ice for the opposition.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

How do you know this? By attending practice and video sessions?

By watching the games. It's his job to get the team to do all of these things he's preaching, and the simple fact of the matter is that many of these habits have been lingering since day 1 and have not gotten any better. Thing like team discipline, transition, simplifying the breakout, etc. And outside of a few short spurts, special teams have looked disastrous. All things that go back to last year and we've heard over and over how "the players need to fix these things."

I'm losing my patience with hearing what needs to be done, while waiting for it to actually happen. Do I need to attend practice sessions to see that the issues from last year (apart from goaltending) are the same issues this year and we're getting the same rhetoric about needing to be better? If he is actually trying to fix things, it isn't working so far.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

By watching the games. It's his job to get the team to do all of these things he's preaching, and the simple fact of the matter is that many of these habits have been lingering since day 1 and have not gotten any better. Thing like team discipline, transition, simplifying the breakout, etc. And outside of a few short spurts, special teams have looked disastrous. All things that go back to last year and we've heard over and over how "the players need to fix these things."

I'm losing my patience with hearing what needs to be done, while waiting for it to actually happen.

So if a player doesn't follow orders, it's the coach's fault? I suppose to an extent, but not ten games in. And he actually does adjust, bench players, change the PP makeup from time to time. He's not knee jerk which a lot of people seem to want.

Issues? Team discipline has been just fine at points, and not at others. The breakout has been excellent at times throughout his tenure, when they play his 5 man system. But every team has lapses in consistency. Look at Washington - a top team last year, coached by one of the best. They are out of the POs at the moment. Look at the Hawks - tied with Calgary on PP%. Their coach must suck at PP, right?

The last three games, the Flames could just as easily be 2-1 or 3-0. They were the better team in 2.5 of those games (I will give St.L the second half of last game). They would up 1-2 instead. Those kind of things even out.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

So if a player doesn't follow orders, it's the coach's fault? I suppose to an extent, but not ten games in. And he actually does adjust, bench players, change the PP makeup from time to time. He's not knee jerk which a lot of people seem to want.

Issues? Team discipline has been just fine at points, and not at others. The breakout has been excellent at times throughout his tenure, when they play his 5 man system. But every team has lapses in consistency. Look at Washington - a top team last year, coached by one of the best. They are out of the POs at the moment. Look at the Hawks - tied with Calgary on PP%. Their coach must suck at PP, right?

The last three games, the Flames could just as easily be 2-1 or 3-0. They were the better team in 2.5 of those games (I will give St.L the second half of last game). They would up 1-2 instead. Those kind of things even out.

The question is not why don't they do it all the time, its are they capable of doing it all the time. I think what makes a great coach is one who adapts to the strengths of the roster they have, and minimizes their weaknesses. This is where I think GG fails. If the team is not playing his system I doubt its that they don't want to, it might be they are just not built in such a way as to be capable of doing it.

Also consider that he insisted on playing Stajan 13 minutes in the last loss. I fail to see how that is maximizing the assets you have available. This is my gripe with GG. He may be a great X's and O's coach, but I think he fails when it comes to adaptation. Look at how much better Bennett plays on the wing. Why did that change take GG so long to make? Why did Elliot start game 4 last playoffs only to be pulled after 1 goal? These are bad coaching decisions with tangible negative effects on the team.

[Zoller]

Darryl Sutter

[MisterJoji]

Carlyle back in Anaheim. Hitchcock back in Dallas. Julien back in Montreal. Sutter back in Calgary.