Is Bob Hartley the right coach for this team?

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I haven't changed my tune as at the time the Flames roster didn't look good but some players have had turnaround years and Smid was added to the defense later. Remember I said it probably will be the worst team and didn't say it was certainty but it doesn't take away the fact that this year's team isn't very good.

This team may get more points than 1997/98 (have you looked at that roster yikes?) but let's not forget that teams have more points available to them now with the shootout than the young guns era and the salary cap has brought on less of a gap between good and bad teams. They still have a very good chance at finishing lower in the league standings than the 1997/98 team as they are drafting 5th as of today so this still can be the worst Flames team ever relative to the rest of the league.

Bob's probably going to be shown the door at the end of the season so why bother making excuses for a coach on borrowed time?

Ok EE.

You previously said there was a bigger disparity, now you say there is less. I don't agree and neither do the numbers.

In 1997-1998, The Flames crappiest roster and point total was within 6 points above or below the following teams.

-Florida
-NYR
-NYI
-Carolina
-Chicago
-Toronto
-Anaheim
-Vancouver

That's 8 of the 26 teams at the time, or just over 30%. 14 teams finished with less than 85 points. This season, the Blackhawks and Ducks already have close to double the points Calgary does. Buffalo has 35 points less than Chicago after only 34 games. C'mon man, you know a team can still only earn 2 points max for a win, there aren't more points available.

[Ashasx]

wrong thread

[EVERLAST]

Anybody else want Bob back. ....next year???

http://pinterest.com/pin/105271710013682005/

[bluck]

I guess I'll admit my opinion of Bob has changed dramatically over the course of the season and I could not be happier. Is he the right coach for this team moving forward? It certainly seems like it. (well from what we have seen so far) Love the identity he has created and the fact that everyone plays for one another. I would not be against having him back next season. Way to prove me wrong!

[PeteLFan]

Like you know I think he's the right coach for this team going forward like you know.

[btimbit]

Well you know like I think that 'artley is the man, uh, he's the man for the job.

Seriously though, Flames struck Gold with this guy imo

[Gaskal]

I don't think we could've pictured a better coaching result if we outlined what the team and lines would be like at the beginning of the season. 10/10 satisfied.

[mrdonkey]

He should get an extension if only because he's orchestrated a couple of monumental embarrassments for the Oilers and Canucks. More of those, please.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Some thoughts about Hartley and the job done this year. As with anything, it's always hard to assign praise or blame to just one element or person. Any success or failures a team has can clearly be shared across multiple people, but it has to be fair to say that Hartley clearly has a fairly strong influence over the goings on with this club this year.

What has gone well?
1. The compete and effort level of this team - clearly there is a pride and an attempt to create the right culture in the room, despite being a team that has lost more than they've won.

2. They play an entertaining style (partially due to #1)

3. Despite this being the worst season in Flames history (more on that below), I'd say they exceded the mind you very low expectations of where they'd finish.

4. Most Importantly IMO, most of our "pre prime" players have gotten better this year:
- Monahan
- Colborne
- Backlund
- Byron
- Brodie
- Russel
- Bouma

What hasn't gone well:

1. Sven seemingly did not take a step forward this year.

But when you look at the list, a lot more positives than negatives, which makes this a successful year for the coach IMO, and he should be praised.

It's very interesting to me that I feel so positively about this season, when it is truly going to be the worst in franchise history, but when I read what I've wrote above, I feel justified in feeling it's been a good year. Never will we have finished as low in the standings in comparison to the other teams as we will this year (which is all that matters, you can't compare point totals across decades, doesn't work), and we are doing so in an era where we have cap certainty and dollars to spend (unlike the young guns era), which makes it even worse that we are this bad.

Yet somehow, I'm more satisfied with this season that I have been with any in the past 4 years, and I think a lot of that credit needs to go to the coach.

[Hockey_Ninja]

I was so, so wrong. Love you Bob. Please stay.

[cannon7]

Hartley is doing a great job considering the roster he's been provided. My only major criticism of him is letting the Reto Berra experiment go on too long. The Flames might be contending if they'd made up their mind about him early. Otherwise he's getting the most out of what he has to work with -- Giordano, Backlund, Brodie, Monahan, Bouma, even Colborne are playing the best hockey of their careers. Just to name a few, can't forget Hudler or Russell or well, you get the idea. I'd give him a two year extension and hope we get more help next season with the likes of Gaudreau, Arnold, Poirier, etc.

[FakenHaken]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

I was so, so wrong. Love you Bob. Please stay.

Whilst I don't share the bromance that Hockey Ninja has for Bob. I think he deserves another year. Let's see with another year of Monahan with experience, and maybe another significant impact rookie(Baertchi, Gaudreau, Arnold, Wotherspoon, Klimchuk, or insert Calgary prospect name here) comes in. Assess and reward if necessary, simply isn't a bridge we need to cross in March 2014 I don't think.

[TjRhythmic]

The thing I like about Hartley this year is that he stuck to his plan. Even though he was getting so much flak for how he treated the kids at the start of the season, being perceived by fans and media that he didn't like young players, you see now that he was more or less teaching them that you need to earn it... work hard. Your not going to be given a spot, you need to earn it.

Love how positive he is all the time, and he doesn't air the teams dirty laundry in the media regardless of how much the try and push him. And even if he does admit a player has a tough night, he always ends it with what that player does right.

A story a friend of mine told me back when Hartley was caoching junior hockey in Quebec: My friend was in Quebec checking up on one of his team's prospects and he meets Bob in the office they sit down and start to talk. Then there was a knock on the back door of the office, and it's a kid no more then 8 or 9 years old, and he hands Hartley a piece of paper. Hartley smiles takes the paper, and thanks the young man. My friend asked what was on the paper, and Hartley smiled at him and told him that he had the kid go and measure the curve on the sticks of the opposing team. During the game, with about 5 mins left, tie game, Hartley calls over the ref and has him measure the stick of a certain player... Hartley's team got a powerplay, ended up scoring on that powerplay, and won the game.

I love Bob Hartley

[LouCypher]

Hartley is a fantastic fit, I think he is well respected and also very professional. I'm not sure there would be a better fit out there and I wouldn't even consider looking at this point as it would appear the ship is getting pretty steady under his guidance. Results will come by staying the current course IMHO.

[Kickazzflames]

45ish one goal games..

We add one or two game changing players we could have seen a much different season.

Hartley made this possible.

[Iceman90]

Originally Posted by bluck

Is Bob Hartley the right coach for this team?

Yes.

[sun]

Bob has me singing a bit different tune as well. Helps that he trolled the canucks that game.

His team doesn't make it easy for the other team on most nights, and that's about all you can ask for at this stage. I've liked the progression we've seen out of the young guys over this year and he deserves some props there.

I didn't think I'd be watching as much Flames hockey this year as in the past, and yet somehow I've watched the majority of games this season. Pretty entertaining product out there right now for the most part.

[shogged]

This is a great thread to read start to finish

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Kickazzflames

45ish one goal games..

We add one or two game changing players we could have seen a much different season.

Hartley made this possible.

You can't think this way.

One or two "game changing players", may completely have thrown off the balance of the team and the younger players may not have worked as hard as they have because they know there's no roster spots for them to make an impact on.

One or two "game changing players", and Backlund doesn't get the same amount of ice time. Byron, Colborne don't get the opportunities they did this season. Maybe Monahan is back in the OHL.

It's not as cut and dry as that.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

GlenX injured, some poor starts by Berra, it's impossible to say what could have been.

I prefer baptism by fire, except in cases like Sven when you can see they are clearly not ready for this level.

Bob's done a great job with this team, eventually as we turn the corner we may need more of a tactician, but hopefully we just become overly talented and can win games regardless.