April 2 Practice notes

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It is not really, though—Loubardias is echoing the overwhelming sentiments of most hockey people, national hockey observers and pundits who have cared to weigh in on the coaching situation in Calgary.

I know fans disagree and don't like to hear it, but it seems abundantly clear that Gulutzan is highly regarded in NHL circles.

We better have a voice of sorts, we pay their salaries and allow them "weigh in" at all.

At the end of the day, they can think highly of each other, but the results have to be there. If nice guys are finishing last, you have to boot them. This isn't a country club.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It is not really, though—Loubardias is echoing the overwhelming sentiments of most hockey people, national hockey observers and pundits who have cared to weigh in on the coaching situation in Calgary.

I know fans disagree and don't like to hear it, but it seems abundantly clear that Gulutzan is highly regarded in NHL circles.

I think you may be reading too much into that. Coaching is a fraternity and no doubt Gulutzan is a likeable guy and of course he is highly regarded. It would be very odd if he wasn’t. Those kinds of comments are often thrown when a coach is dead man walking and I recall hearing similar things in other sports.

The true test is obviously whether he gets another head coaching gig in the NHL.

As for fans not wanting to hear it, I hope it is an extremely small minority that truly wish bad things upon the guy..

[Manhattanboy]

If he’s fired after this season there’s not a chance in hell GG gets another head coaching gig in the NHL. Maybe a job as an assistant.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Agreed, and that line has looked good together anyway.

Except Bennett should be moved up over Brouwer. Giving Bennett a chance to find chemistry with Backlund is a more useful move than plugging Brouw up there (which serves no purpose).

Chemistry found with 3 games to go before the offseason doesn't count for anything. So I could see Bennett playing on any line on the roster at the moment. It's not worth spending a lot of time or energy over.

It seems the verdict is in on whether Sam is a center or winger going forward. I'll be very interested to see where he slots in next season after the roster shakes out and the Flames forward group is set.

But for now? Throw him in the blender with everyone else.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by TOfan

Hard to admit, but this is the truth of the matter. Excuses for Sam are running out. He has been one of, if not the most, disappointing Flames players this year.

Take away the '4th overall' label and replace it with '4th round selection', he's in the AHL.

The only chance for salvation is for a new coach to come in a somehow light a fire under him. If not, it's so long Sam. What a bust and huge setback for the organization.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Ok so the Carolina Hurricanes have the best CF% in the NHL this year. The Calgary Flames are 3rd. The Capitals are 24th. Corsi means nothing.

You're moving the endzone

We were talking about Shore, and you said CF% is a useless stat after someone brought up his numbers. I talked about fourth liners without counting stats, and not getting shot upon being a pretty important metric.

You came back with the Hurricanes?

I'm happy to have that conversation as well, just look at the Canes goaltending this year and you have your answer, but Shore was the topic and his underlying numbers are pretty important when evaluating his fit and his role on the team next year.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

The only chance for salvation is for a new coach to come in a somehow light a fire under him. If not, it's so long Sam. What a bust and huge setback for the organization.

Nope.

30 point third line players aren't busts.

30 point third line players just aren't what their draft pedigree said they could or should be.

I think that's an important distinction, and one that I'm sure the GM has over hyper emotional fans.

[nik-]

He's not a bust, but at the same time it's clearly a huge setback for the organization.

We couldn't afford to have our highest pick ever, in the middle of our rebuild, turn into what Bennett is turning into. We needed him to be at least Monahan level to really have this team be a contender.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Ok so the Carolina Hurricanes have the best CF% in the NHL this year. The Calgary Flames are 3rd. The Capitals are 24th. Corsi means nothing.

It means exactly what it means.

That the team generates more shots at the opposition net, than the opposition generates at it's own net.

The problem lies with interpretation not the stat. In general it is better to shoot more at your opposition net than it is for your opposition to shoot at yours. But it also doesn't mean 100% that you are going to be a better team because there are so many other factors (quality of chances for/against, shooting talent, goalie talent, special teams, etc)

It's just another variable to look at. It's not the "Holy Grail" of stats, and it's not useless. It's just a single variable that should be used in conjunction with other stats and the eye test.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It means exactly what it means.

That the team generates more shots at the opposition net, than the opposition generates at it's own net.

The problem lies with interpretation not the stat. In general it is better to shoot more at your opposition net than it is for your opposition to shoot at yours. But it also doesn't mean 100% that you are going to be a better team because there are so many other factors (quality of chances for/against, shooting talent, goalie talent, special teams, etc)

It's just another variable to look at. It's not the "Holy Grail" of stats, and it's not useless. It's just a single variable that should be used in conjunction with other stats and the eye test.

Agreed ...

But this was about a fourth line center.

If you're fourth line is spending minutes in the opposition zone instead of your own, which is supported by shot metrics you have a good thing.

A fourth liner doesn't need the same scrutiny as a team when it comes to underlying numbers ... just don't get filled in when on the ice.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by nik-

He's not a bust, but at the same time it's clearly a huge setback for the organization.

We couldn't afford to have our highest pick ever, in the middle of our rebuild, turn into what Bennett is turning into. We needed him to be at least Monahan level to really have this team be a contender.

Totally agree.

I just cringe at the need to adjust the floor to a player when his ceiling is getting lowered.

Makes little sense.