Fire Gulutzan/Give him Coach of the year All Purpose Thread

[LanceUppercut]

Originally Posted by Dion

Gulutzun reminds me of the Dallas Eakins era in Edmonton.

The defensive play fits too. This is why he needs to be canned sooner than later.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

If one chooses to cherry pick than this is probably an easy conclusion to reach

Pfft. Did you know who Schleprock was?

[Ashasx]

Gulutzan inspires less confidence in his players than Eakins

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Dion

Gulutzun reminds me of the Dallas Eakins era in Edmonton.

Eakins was in demand though, not our guy.

Really a shame they went in this direction. Some coaches command respect simply by virtue of their accomplishments so GG might really be struggling to get them to listen now.

[1qqaaz]

The Flames next 6 opponents are:

Minnesota Wild, pretty good team
Arizona Coyotes, awful team so far
Chicago Blackhawks, Flames tend to match up well
Detroit Redwings, Flames tend to match up well
Buffalo Sabres, bad team
Columbus Blue Jackets, hit or miss team

I could see the Flames winning 4 out of the next 6 games.
We might have the pitchforks out for Gulutzan right now, but I'm expecting the next few weeks to go better.

[trieu8]

Considering getting tickets to the next game just to start a "Fire Gully" chant.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

The Flames next 6 opponents are:

Minnesota Wild, pretty good team
Arizona Coyotes, awful team so far
Chicago Blackhawks, Flames tend to match up well
Detroit Redwings, Flames tend to match up well
Buffalo Sabres, bad team
Columbus Blue Jackets, hit or miss team

I could see the Flames winning 4 out of the next 6 games.
We might have the pitchforks out for Gulutzan right now, but I'm expecting the next few weeks to go better.

Based on the ease with which the Flames let the Rangers shred their D, why?

Just because they may be a bit worse at capitalizing on an easy opponent?

[Hockey_Ninja]

#### it. Fire this man. Idgaf what anyone says

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

The Flames next 6 opponents are:

Minnesota Wild, pretty good team
Arizona Coyotes, awful team so far
Chicago Blackhawks, Flames tend to match up well
Detroit Redwings, Flames tend to match up well
Buffalo Sabres, bad team
Columbus Blue Jackets, hit or miss team

I could see the Flames winning 4 out of the next 6 games.
We might have the pitchforks out for Gulutzan right now, but I'm expecting the next few weeks to go better.

I see them winning only 2 the most.
GG will get out coach by BB
Flames almost always lose to Tippet coached team
Chicago? Flames of old tend to match up well, current Flames? not a chance, GG will somehow mess with the D paring or the line combination
Detroit? hmmm...this might be the team they can possibly beat
Buffalo sucks almost as bad as us, so this game they might be able to win
Columbus, agree on hit or miss, I bet on the miss

[SportsJunky]

Watching his interview after the game, I like him. He sees what is happening and I think he'll fix it. The season is over. Let him work with this group and mold it into the team that he wants. Why fire him now? It's done.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by trieu8

Considering getting tickets to the next game just to start a "Fire Gully" chant.

Gllluuuuuuueeeee Guuuuuuuuunnnnn.....

[1qqaaz]

Don't get me wrong, I still think Gulutzan is an awful coach.
But the Flames will probably do better in the next 6 games, and the feelings will probably improve. They can't do much worse than losing 4 games in a row. Unless they push it to 10 of course...

But we're seen a good chunk of the season now, and the Flames have hardly progressed at all. I think it's pretty clear that Gulutzan was not the best choice for coach.
It's annoying how Boudreau, the winningest % coach of all time, was available. Treliving was slow, because he wanted to follow his huge multitude of processes. Minnesota was decisive, and managed to snag him quickly. What does Treliving do? He ends up hiring a processed-based coach. And it's been a flop.

Gulutzan is probably great at interviews. However, he's evidently not good at coaching. He hasn't really succeeded at any level.

[GullFoss]

Things I noticed from the game:

1) The flames have terrible coverage in the defensive zone - the flames' centreman and defensemen aren't covering their man. The flames wingers are too high up; therefore aren't collapsing. As a result, the opposing team is making a lot of inside passes, and getting high quality scoring chances on the flames.

2) The flames defensemen aren't moving their feet when in the offensive zone. Its very easy for the opposing team to defend because the flames defensemen just sit on the blue line. Their feet arent moving, so they can't even selectively add pressure. So its basically 5-on-3. Which is why the flames can't score

3) The flames defense are taking too long to transition the puck up the ice and aren't moving their feet. As a result, breaking into the other team's zone and keeping posession is very hard

4) The flames are standing still on the PK when the other team is trying to break in the zone. As a result, its very easy for the opposing team to gain entry and set-up their PP.

This is a mix of bad coaching and players who aren't mentally checked-in.

[Wiggum_PI]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Watching his interview after the game, I like him. He sees what is happening and I think he'll fix it. The season is over. Let him work with this group and mold it into the team that he wants. Why fire him now? It's done.

This is exactly the problem with Gulutzan though, he says all the right things and gives off the impression that he really knows what he's doing, but then the team continues to play very poorly and make the exact same mistakes.

He seems like a really nice guy, but honestly I think he's a snake oil salesman. There's no reason to believe the team will get any better under his coaching, in fact he could hamper the development of a lot of the players.

[Alpine Fisher]

I like Gully's interview. Lots of compete. Good structure. Solid 15 minutes out of a Possible 15 minutes.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by Dion

Gulutzun reminds me of the Dallas Eakins era in Edmonton.

I'm falling into this camp now too...

I was willing to give him a chance to establish himself and get the team doing what he wants.. but now, 16 games in and it's this bad. I'm done, I have a short fuse, I guess.

He has far too much talent on this team to be 5-10-1. there is no excuse.

I firmly place this on GG and Cameron.

[SportsJunky]

I just don't see any scenario where they fire him right now. No way. This is his team. He's barely got his feet wet. Are they ####ed? Yes, they probably are this season. All the more reason to keep GG and let him and the players figure this out. My .02

[GranteedEV]

I've been wondering how I feel about Gulutzan for a while. My thoughts are:

- His line combinations, scratches, and D pairings have actively cost the team wins. The biggest mistake Treliving made was bringing in guys Gulutzan coached in Dallas or Vancouver (Grossmann, Chiasson, Vey, Higgins) because he simply can't be impartial to these players.

- His offensive philosophy in my opinion is not the best for this team, because our best players want to pass the puck and skate and he wants them to shoot it rather than thread the needle and grind in the corners - resulting in a dissonance of styles. The problem is that our team doesn't have those kind of elite shooters - no Laine, Stamkos, Ovechkin, Malkin, Giroux. Nor does it have those kind of elite screen/deflection guys - no Pavelski, Crosby, Kucherov, Hudler. This is a team that has to "pass the puck into the net" so to speak.

- The team is in fact slowly picking up his system. A few breakdowns tonight by individuals that have breakdowns often, don't change that. Anyone saying his system is the Dallas Eakins swarm is ignorant. Yes there is a strong side overload, that is a tactic used by some very good teams.

- The team's breakouts under Gulutzan so far neuter the great outlet passing of our defensemen. Unsurprisingly, the D who's best suited to this system is Engelland, who can just shut his brain off and wire the puck along the boards, because in this system there is always a burly winger posted to battle for the puck and chip it out.

- As for whether they're a good breakout technique in general - as much as I want to say it's the system failing, I can't help but wonder if our wingers (except for Tkachuk and Ferland) are just... bad at completing the break out play. This sort of breakout done right usually has the winger tip or collect and float a lateral pass to a streaking teammate in stride, but I don't think our wingers have executed at all. Obviously Johnny has some physical limitations that made him better suited for Hartley's system, but it was a necessary evil to be a good team (Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel have similar issues on their own teams). But I feel Frolik, Brouwer, Chiasson, etc have just not been "completing the play".

- His penalty kill is a lot better than the results suggest. I am willing to be patient with it.

- He is terrible at coaching from behind. Doesn't shorten his bench or pull goalies or mix up line combinations. This leads to what most of us consider boring, uninspired hockey.

- He is pretty good at coaching with a lead or tied. It's just not happening often enough this year.

16 games in, I still don't have a clue what I actually think about Gulutzan. I don't really have a defense of him for how the team has played, but I also don't know definitively if this is just growing pains for a new coach. Some things that drive me nuts about his coaching won't change. But it's possible others will, and it's possible they don't. I still need more time.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Things just aren't getting better at all.

Flames dropped a spot - now tied for 2nd last in the league with Vancouver (who own the tie-breaker so far, and have a game in hand). They are up 1 point over Arizona, but Arizona has 2 games in hand. The upcoming game should be interesting - might end up being the 'battle of the basement'.

Team has no offence.
Team has no defence.
Team has a terrible PP.
Team has a terrible PK.

Hartley was canned for a few of the reasons above, but things are actually worse now. This is not a 'Hartley shouldn't have been fired' or a 'Bring Hartley back' point. My point is, that one coach who got this team into the playoffs and into the 2nd round, winning the Jack Adams while doing so, got canned after a disappointing season. One season. The team showed progress through that time up until last season, and were widely lauded for their hard working identity. He got sacked.

With that in mind, how much rope does Gulutzan have? There is no way he gets fired yet, but that pressure must be building up. Things are worse than they were last season, and this team is without question a 'better' team than last year, especially in net.

If the Flames are still bottom 3 he has to be gone around January, I would guess. I don't see the point of holding onto him all year if the Flames are in that spot by then. If they are bottom 10 but 'climbing' and showing improvement at least, then I say let him ride the year and see how the 2nd half does.

Playoffs are realistically out of reach. They COULD still make it, but it would take quite the run, and this team doesn't have the horses yet. Playoffs are gone in my mind. For me, it is all about getting this team playing well, getting the players more experience and developing well. I am not going to expect wins any longer - season is lost, so for my own sanity, I have to switch my expectations up and think: "development year" again. Tkachuk and Kulak are the only young players who have shown strides this year (and Tkachuk.. well, I am being generous is saying he is showing strides, as this is his first season and we don't know if he is better or worse since we don't have anything to compare it to). Ferland is better I guess too.

Flames are the worst team in the NHL by points percentage. They should not be the worst team in the NHL. This is awful. This is getting worse. My bet from what I am seeing is that Gulutzan is removed in early January. Cameron and Jerard have to go too.

We can question Gelinas - Flames had a horrible start to their PP last year too, but if I am not mistaken, removing the first month from last season and they were a top 10 PP, were they not? Get rid of Gelinas or promote him to head interim head coach. Or Huska. Heck, make Conroy the coach. Maybe make Smid the coach. I don't think the points percentage would get much worse, would it?

This team is not winning. This team is not fun to watch. This team is also not seemingly helping the youth and future core take a step forward. There are no silver linings as far as I can tell. There are no available coaches that I would want either. Tough season to digest so far.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Things just aren't getting better at all.

Flames dropped a spot - now tied for 2nd last in the league with Vancouver (who own the tie-breaker so far, and have a game in hand). They are up 1 point over Arizona, but Arizona has 2 games in hand. The upcoming game should be interesting - might end up being the 'battle of the basement'.

Team has no offence.
Team has no defence.
Team has a terrible PP.
Team has a terrible PK.

Hartley was canned for a few of the reasons above, but things are actually worse now. This is not a 'Hartley shouldn't have been fired' or a 'Bring Hartley back' point. My point is, that one coach who got this team into the playoffs and into the 2nd round, winning the Jack Adams while doing so, got canned after a disappointing season. One season. The team showed progress through that time up until last season, and were widely lauded for their hard working identity. He got sacked.

With that in mind, how much rope does Gulutzan have? There is no way he gets fired yet, but that pressure must be building up. Things are worse than they were last season, and this team is without question a 'better' team than last year, especially in net.

If the Flames are still bottom 3 he has to be gone around January, I would guess. I don't see the point of holding onto him all year if the Flames are in that spot by then. If they are bottom 10 but 'climbing' and showing improvement at least, then I say let him ride the year and see how the 2nd half does.

Playoffs are realistically out of reach. They COULD still make it, but it would take quite the run, and this team doesn't have the horses yet. Playoffs are gone in my mind. For me, it is all about getting this team playing well, getting the players more experience and developing well. I am not going to expect wins any longer - season is lost, so for my own sanity, I have to switch my expectations up and think: "development year" again. Tkachuk and Kulak are the only young players who have shown strides this year (and Tkachuk.. well, I am being generous is saying he is showing strides, as this is his first season and we don't know if he is better or worse since we don't have anything to compare it to). Ferland is better I guess too.

Flames are the worst team in the NHL by points percentage. They should not be the worst team in the NHL. This is awful. This is getting worse. My bet from what I am seeing is that Gulutzan is removed in early January. Cameron and Jerard have to go too.

We can question Gelinas - Flames had a horrible start to their PP last year too, but if I am not mistaken, removing the first month from last season and they were a top 10 PP, were they not? Get rid of Gelinas or promote him to head interim head coach. Or Huska. Heck, make Conroy the coach. Maybe make Smid the coach. I don't think the points percentage would get much worse, would it?

This team is not winning. This team is not fun to watch. This team is also not seemingly helping the youth and future core take a step forward. There are no silver linings as far as I can tell. There are no available coaches that I would want either. Tough season to digest so far.

Problem with him being canned in January, is that the season is 100% lost then (it's getting there, but it isn't quite there right now - the Ducks came back from a similar hole to take the division). And everything that happened under the GG experiment would have been a write off. 4 months of no progress, just wasted time and probably a step backwards. It has to happen sooner than then, if management have any sense whatsoever. Unless they just don't care about this season having a chance, and have no problem prolonging the rebuild. Cause the young players are not progressing under this man from what I've seen. Bob helped the players along quite well, even if his team wasn't always winning. That, along with implementing a defined culture and direction the players could rally behind, was far, far better than this. Even with his loosey-goosey system.