Coach of the Flames: 2014/15

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by ShaolinFlame

Would really like to see Laviolette, but I'm not sure if the team will be mature enough for it.

Laviolette was the first guy that came to my mind as well. I think he would be a solid fit and work well with the youth.

[troutman]

Burke talked to people all around the league. He got negative reviews on Feaster and positive reviews on Hartley. We already have a great coach. It is known.

[sergei_makarov]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Hartley's likely done at the end of the season as it's not typical that a head coach survives a new GM hiring and Hartley hasn't established himself as a coach that deserves another season with a bottom 6 and likely bottom 5 finish this season. Yes the talent is poor but he hasn't done enough to likely convince a new GM not to bring his own guy in. Playing hard is great and all but just steering a bad team to an expected bad finish IMO isn't what I would call positive or trending anywhere up.

I'm hoping that the Predators tank and Trotz becomes available. He seems like a perfect coach for a rebuild. It's probably a long shot that he would get relieved of his position but every head coach has a shelf life and it's possible that organization needs a new direction.

The bolded part speaks more to your own expectations / wishes than anything. Most people have expected the Flames to be where they are, except to likely be worse and do so with much less effort and buy-in from the players.

Hartley's instilled work ethic and a never give-up sort of culture in Calgary in a very short period of time and Burke knows this.

If you look at the roster objectively and watch the games, you'll understand that the Flames should be last in the league, getting blown out / out-played a lot more than they have been.

Fans desire quick fixes and fast turn-arounds but that simply isn't reality.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

I have never been fan of the Bob Hartley hiring. But having said that, the reason why the Flames are 28th is because they have over achieved. Bob Hartley is not the problem. I would be fine with him finishing the season. But I dunno how many more 1 goal weeks he can survive.....

Wait until the summer. Let Burke hire his mock GM. Then see who is available.

One guy who I'd like to see interviewed. Dave Lowry. Also John Stevens currently with the Kings. He got a raw deal in Philly. Might do well under Burke as he really likes tough teams.

Lowry would be a re-tread. I suggest the Flames stay away from hiring former players to coach the PP. Bring back Preston!

[bluloc]

Sammy Jankis.

[DuffMan]

Is there any Sutters left that haven't coached here yet?

[kyuss275]

I like Hartley, but i do worry about his defensive system, or should i say non-defensive system. The next bunch of games until the trade deadline will tell us more whether he deserves another year. I have a bad feeling that the flames are in for many loses until the deadline. Would not be surprised if they only get 3-4 wins in the next 20 games. I don't care who you have on your team, if that's all you can muster up in the win column your job is in serious jeopordy.

[trublmaker]

How about getting D. Sutter back here?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

I don't care who you have on your team, if that's all you can muster up in the win column your job is in serious jeopordy.

It's a results oriented business. Burke has his guys on his mind as will the incoming GM. Burke said positive things about Feaster and the June draft when he came in and still had no issues dropping the axe on him so anything he says about Hartley I would take with a grain of salt. It will ultimately be up to the new GM hire and Hartley will have to hope he can get the team out of this funk because if things continue like they have the last month nobody will remember the first two months of the season.

[CliffFletcher]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say with Futa as the front-runner for GM, we'll see John Stevens coaching the Flames. Probably not this off -season, but at some point in 2015.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Hartley's likely done at the end of the season as it's not typical that a head coach survives a new GM hiring and Hartley hasn't established himself as a coach that deserves another season with a bottom 6 and likely bottom 5 finish this season. Yes the talent is poor but he hasn't done enough to likely convince a new GM not to bring his own guy in. Playing hard is great and all but just steering a bad team to an expected bad finish IMO isn't what I would call positive or trending anywhere up.

I'm hoping that the Predators tank and Trotz becomes available. He seems like a perfect coach for a rebuild. It's probably a long shot that he would get relieved of his position but every head coach has a shelf life and it's possible that organization needs a new direction.

So all coaches for teams at a certain point in the rankings, we'll use your example of bottom five, should turf their coaches? That seems to be what you're saying. If you finish bottom five you don't deserve another year, even if you have the worst roster.

I see positives. We all knew rankings this year would be low and mean almost nothing. I think if we see some positives and growth that's really all you can ask for. Sports are result oriented, of course. But, in all truthfulness we've met or exceeded our expectations, or the results we were looking for. Putting up an arbitrary line in the standings doesn't make much sense to me. Sure if your on the cusp looking for the next level, or mired in a long slump. But not in our situation. If we know we just started a rebuild, why would be surprised by a bottom five finish, or deem it not good enough?

Secondly, I worry about sending the wrong message to the players. Don't want them ruling the roost, AND we need to give them a little consistency right now. It's already been suggested that the constant coaching changes has hurt Calgary to a certain extent. Why make it worse? Let's keep the team on the same page for a while.

Lastly why get in that cycle? Fire Hartley for being bottom five this year. Fire the next coach for being bottom five next year. Where does it end?

I do think the writing may be on the wall for Hartley though. I do agree that a GM will probably want to bring in his own guy. And I'm not entirely confident Burke is sold on Hartley either,. But I don't agree that Hartley hasn't shown he is a good (or good enough) coach to any incoming GM. If what your saying is that a new GM might use that reasoning (low finish in in standings) to bring in his own guy, I understand it, but I think it's a mistake, and would really only be used as an 'excuse' for the GM to bring in a guy he wants more. I don't the rankings are a good indication of expectation, or the job Hartley's done. I do hope we keep him, and I think it would be a mistake to fire him in the offseason.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say with Futa as the front-runner for GM, we'll see John Stevens coaching the Flames. Probably not this off -season, but at some point in 2015.

I'd actually love if that were the case. He really does seem like a great coach for development, as he is part of the reason LA has the defence it has.

[btimbit]

Laviolette. He's great with young players, and him and Burke have a working relationship with the US olympic team.

Other than him, I see no reason to not keep Hartley for another year and see if Ward can sustain success in Abby, then maybe get him up here when Hartley's contract expires.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by strombad

I'd actually love if that were the case. He really does seem like a great coach for development, as he is part of the reason LA has the defence it has.

Not long ago people were singing the praises of Brent Sutter as someone failing here but proven as good with youth. Too soon?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by troutman

Burke talked to people all around the league. He got negative reviews on Feaster and positive reviews on Hartley. We already have a great coach. It is known.

I think much of this depends upon where a team is at in its development as well. The recent history of Stanley Cup winners shows that coaches with whom teams win are not the same coaches who they start with in the rebuilding stage. It is practically certain that whoever coaches the Flames next season—whether that be Hartley or someone else—will not be the coach to take the team to a championship.

Having said that, I think Hartley is a good coach for where the team is at in its development, but will likely only be a good coach for this team over the course of the next two or maybe three seasons. I don't think that this is the right time to make a coaching change. It will happen, but the best time is probably when the team begins to be competitive again.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Well last year was a bit of a different case as they lost several of their best players after the lockout ended. Then we got a huge rash of injuries which depleted both Calgary and Abbottsford. Ward was kind of handcuffed last year by all the injuries in the organization. The farm team is affected by players getting injured in the NHL which leads to them losing their best players but also the injuries at the AHL level. So they got double hit last year

I guess we'll see how this season ends up for them. I'd expect that we trade a lot of people at the trade deadline and thus we'll be making a lot of recalls at that time. I'd expect the Heat will probably look worse after we steal their best 3-4 players. Pretty standard.

I've been impressed by Ward's work this year and last. Burke has mentioned that he likes what both Ward and Hartley have been doing.

Other teams in the AHL faced the same problems, that's what being the top minor league team is about. This is Ward's third year as head coach and IIRC both years have followed the same pattern, fast start and lousy finish. This year is going the same way before we have raided the Heat, so we'll see what happens but I'm not impressed. Certainly not enough to replace Hartley with Ward.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Daradon

So all coaches for teams at a certain point in the rankings, we'll use your example of bottom five, should turf their coaches? That seems to be what you're saying. If you finish bottom five you don't deserve another year, even if you have the worst roster.

I see positives. We all knew rankings this year would be low and mean almost nothing. I think if we see some positives and growth that's really all you can ask for. Sports are result oriented, of course. But, in all truthfulness we've met or exceeded our expectations, or the results we were looking for. Putting up an arbitrary line in the standings doesn't make much sense to me. Sure if your on the cusp looking for the next level, or mired in a long slump. But not in our situation. If we know we just started a rebuild, why would be surprised by a bottom five finish, or deem it not good enough?

Secondly, I worry about sending the wrong message to the players. Don't want them ruling the roost, AND we need to give them a little consistency right now. It's already been suggested that the constant coaching changes has hurt Calgary to a certain extent. Why make it worse? Let's keep the team on the same page for a while.

Lastly why get in that cycle? Fire Hartley for being bottom five this year. Fire the next coach for being bottom five next year. Where does it end?

I do think the writing may be on the wall for Hartley though. I do agree that a GM will probably want to bring in his own guy. And I'm not entirely confident Burke is sold on Hartley either,. But I don't agree that Hartley hasn't shown he is a good (or good enough) coach to any incoming GM. If what your saying is that a new GM might use that reasoning (low finish in in standings) to bring in his own guy, I understand it, but I think it's a mistake, and would really only be used as an 'excuse' for the GM to bring in a guy he wants more. I don't the rankings are a good indication of expectation, or the job Hartley's done. I do hope we keep him, and I think it would be a mistake to fire him in the offseason.

While i do agree with a lot of the things you wrote you are also leaving out an important piece..... last year. That is certainly part of the grade process. He was brought in to get every last drop out of the veterans and failed miserably. If not for 2 fluke goals, that should never happen in the NHL, the flames would have finished 3rd to last. So if he can't teach a veteran team, and the new GM does not think he can teach a young team, then what's the point?

Like i said in another post the next 20 games or so are going to be big for Hartely. Right now the Flames and Edmonton are playing the worst hockey in the NHL. Even Buffalo in their last 10 have gotten going at 5-3-2. If flames get 3 wins in the next 20 to go along with what they have done in the last 10 its going to be hard for him to retain a job for next year.

[gunnner]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

How about getting D. Sutter back here?

The way he was run out of town it seems unlikely, but that man was the best coach this team ever had. If Burke is going to load the line up with big guys, there isnt a better coach of the bruising game then Darryl.

[Wolfman]

Troy Ward...knows the young guys in the system and can play to their strengths.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

How about getting D. Sutter back here?

Why would he leave the Kings? That is not happening.