Who should the Flames hire as the new head coach?

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Honestly, if I'm the Flames, I offer BB a contract that makes him the second highest paid coach after Babcock. His results speak for themselves.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Sounds like a bidding war to me

Boudreau will probably choose a team he feels is a good fit for him as opposed to the best offer. Does he want to work with another team with established star players or a team that is rebuilding? He might choose the later for the challenges the Flames would offer.

[JohnnyT]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Well first of all Dater is hardly an insider pretty much a Colorado Francis.

Dater has had some questionable Colorado rumors in his day but for the most part he has fairly solid sources. Biggest issue with Dater is that hes a dbag, allegedly..

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by JohnnyT

Dater has had some questionable Colorado rumors in his day but for the most part he has fairly solid sources. Biggest issue with Dater is that hes a dbag, allegedly..

Not really allegedly of there was proof and he apologized

[ComixZone]

If we end up with Randy Carlyle...I can't say I'd be overwhelmed with joy.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Before anyone gets carried away with the "Burke loves Eakins" talk let's not forget two things. Brad Treliving will be hiring the new head coach and when Eakins was coaching the Marlies, Burke passed him over to hire Carlyle so maybe he only loves him as a friend.

You really believe this is treliving's choice without input? Come on.

[driveway]

I wouldn't at all hand him the head coaching job right now, but a guy I would love to get in the organization with an eye to him being the coach in 4-5 years is Rand Pecknold, the head coach at Quinnipiac.

That dude has built a really excellent hockey program out of pretty much nothing. Lots of experience working with young players; I would be really interested to see what he could do as our AHL coach.

[Vinny01]

I hope it is Boudreau but do have interest in Green if we go for a first time NHL coach

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

You really believe this is treliving's choice without input? Come on.

I'm sure Treliving has input from his boss, but in the end this will be his hire; his decision. Just because Burke likes a guy does not mean that Treliving will share exactly the same opinion. In fact, I got the impression when Hartley was fired that this was entirely Hartley's decision, and that Burke was less invested.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Flamescuprun2018

Boudreau firing is a total coincidence.

From Treliving's comments the search will be far and wide but not quick. Boudreau may lack that level of patience to wait out Treliving's process.

I think there is a very good chance we will end up with a HC that is new to head coaching at NHL level. Time to scour the various leagues for highly successful AHL HCs; CHL HCs or NCAA HCs. I wonder who has the best winning percentage in the three leagues over the past 3 seasons who also have great possession numbers.

Agreed. This wasn't a knee-jerk reaction. The people who are trying to create a narrative around Boudreau are going to be disappointed. This won't be a quick search, and I doubt Boudreau ends up with the job. Treliving is going to beat the bushes, including a lot of guys with no NHL head coaching experience, to find his guy.

[devo22]

of the names mentioned so far, my ranking would be Boudreau >>> Dineen > Green >>>>> Carlyle.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Agreed. This wasn't a knee-jerk reaction. The people who are trying to create a narrative around Boudreau are going to be disappointed. This won't be a quick search, and I doubt Boudreau ends up with the job. Treliving is going to beat the bushes, including a lot of guys with no NHL head coaching experience, to find his guy.

GM's that seek out "their guy" to coach the team which he runs typically don't have a long shelf life. It's all about finding the best coach not "his guy". Take a look at the coaches in the playoffs this year and the common theme is that the majority of the teams have proven winners as head coach as you have Sutter, AV, Boudreau, Trotz, Hitchcock, Quenneville, Laviolette, Ruff, Yeo (kind of a stretch here but they do make the playoffs). A GM can try to find the next great young coach but the landscape is littered with failures and maybe going out on a limb to hire a guy like Travis Green that is getting rave reviews is one thing but the GM better know what he's doing as letting a proven winner like Boudreau slip through his fingers to hire some obscure guy like Huska for example is a surefire way to stall a rebuild and put a GM on the firing line.

As a Raiders fan I still recall rookie GM Reggie McKenzie hiring his first head coach and he hired a first time head coach Dennis Allen kind of out of the blue and all through his press conferences referred to him as "his guy". Guess what his guy wasn't ready to be an NFL head coach and after 2.5 losing seasons Reggie had to can him to hire a proven head coach that in his first season took the team back to respectability. I really, really, really hate the "my guy" or "his guy" talk as that reeks of a GM that is intimidated by coaches that have more experience then he does and is seeking more of a malleable coach that's not going to question him.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by devo22

will be interesting to see Boudreaus decision. Obviously there's Flames bias here, but I have to think a roster with Gaudreau, Monahan, Bennett, Brodie, Hamilton and the 6th overall as the core players has to be enticing to an NHL coach. Minnesota is obviously a bit further ahead in their development and has a bit of an older roster, but might be an interesting option too if you think they're close. Ottawa ... no idea. They have some nice pieces but for some reason I don't picture them as contenders any time soon.

My guess is that if the Flames really want Boudreau, there's a good chance that he'll come.

I think Minnesota is basically hopeless - they've already shot their bolt. They are a good team, but a team that has no chance to win. The best players have already peaked. In boxing/MMA terms - they are a gatekeeper. They are good enough to beat the pretenders, but can never beat the true contenders themselves. I would not want to coach that team.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Agreed. This wasn't a knee-jerk reaction. The people who are trying to create a narrative around Boudreau are going to be disappointed. This won't be a quick search, and I doubt Boudreau ends up with the job. Treliving is going to beat the bushes, including a lot of guys with no NHL head coaching experience, to find his guy.

I would say yes and no to your post. I don't think they fired Hartely for the sole purpose of hiring Boudreau. I do think the timing of firing Hartely was to add Boudreau to the list of coaches he would like to go after. I don't believe for a second that Trieveling is just starting his list now. He had to go to ownership and tell them to pay Hartely not to be with the flames after just signing him last summer to an extension. You can bet that ownership asked him who he had in mind and if there was a plan in place. I don't think an answer of "yes" is all they would have like to have heard. Trieveling has probably been gathering intel on coaches since the day he arrived. My guess Trieveling probably already has a comfortable list of 3-4 coaches he would like. Sure it might take time if he dives a little deeper into those coaches, but if one or 2 come in and have an outstanding interview and check off every thing on his list then he is not going to wait.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I think Minnesota is basically hopeless - they've already shot their bolt. They are a good team, but a team that has no chance to win. The best players have already peaked. In boxing/MMA terms - they are a gatekeeper. They are good enough to beat the pretenders, but can never beat the true contenders themselves. I would not want to coach that team.

Yeah that team is going nowhere. They are just good enough to be in the hunt for the 6-8 playoff spot annually but no threat to win a cup and they are saddled with some massive contracts that have become prohibitive to making the team better. The current GM is likely down to his last coach hire so one or two more seasons of playoff failure and you are probably going to see a house cleaning from the top down which isn't exactly enticing for a coach that can pick and choose where he is employed.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah that team is going nowhere. They are just good enough to be in the hunt for the 6-8 playoff spot annually but no threat to win a cup and they are saddled with some massive contracts that have become prohibitive to making the team better. The current GM is likely down to his last coach hire so one or two more seasons of playoff failure and you are probably going to see a house cleaning from the top down which isn't exactly enticing for a coach that can pick and choose where he is employed.

That's the kind of team that Mike Keenan or John Tortorella try to resurrect their careers with because nobody else would hire them. That's a career killing job for the reasons you said. I mean there is always a chace (see LFC), but...

[killer_carlson]

I would not be opposed to Carlyle

[Tron_fdc]

Duha on the Fan just threw out Playfair's name.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Duha on the Fan just threw out Playfair's name.

He was actually the first one that came to my mind given the Coyotes connection.

I would be willing to give him another chance. I think he got a bit of a raw deal the first time around.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Duha on the Fan just threw out Playfair's name.

He's throwing darts though. He's no longer really connected to the Flames as he spends a lot of his time in California.