Should Hartley get a contract extension?

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by BigRed

Does anyone think we're close? I think the point is more that Hartley got a consistent hard effort out of the team, thereby instilling a competitve attitude that will pay off down the road when the talent develops.

Credit where credit is due: Hartley completely changed the culture of the team, from country club to scrappy and hungry. That's a foundation to build on, and he deserves to be acknowledged for it.

IMO the culture and lacklustre attitude of the team since 06-07 was the #1 reason we underachieved so much. We had high end talent, but poor work ethic and a sense of entitlement going around. We can have all the game breakers and stars in the world. But if we put in a crappy effort every game, like we did more often then not in those days, it means nothing. Hartley managed to do last season was B. Sutter could not do for 3 seasons. I think he will be extended next season, and it is well deserved.

His associates also deserve a lot of credit. I had my reservations when Gelinas was hired along with Cloutier. I'm very happy I was wrong about them. Neither of those guys has gotten enough credit for helping to relay Bob's message to the players.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Zevo

While Giordano sure helped, I think you're selling Hartley short.

Pretty hard to change the culture in his first year with no training camp, preseason, and very little practice time over a 48 game season.

And, how would the fanbase have reacted to Hartley's sitting Jerome for floating? They'd have demanded his head.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Zevo

While Giordano sure helped, I think you're selling Hartley short.

Pretty hard to change the culture in his first year with no training camp, preseason, and very little practice time over a 48 game season.

I think you are selling Giordano short as well as the shadow Iginla cast on the organization. Hartley's first season was awful and that team didn't play an organized defensive game until after the traded deadline which coincided with Iginla getting traded. Immediately after that the team played hard much like they did for most of this season.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

And, how would the fanbase have reacted to Hartley's sitting Jerome for floating? They'd have demanded his head.

That was the problem in a nutshell as Iginla was bigger than the coach. Hartley couldn't bench Iginla nor could Brent even if they wanted to. They were preaching responsible play but at the same time they knew they couldn't enforce it on certain players. That's a tough way to operate and one of the reasons this franchise really struggled after Darryl Sutter stepped down as he was the one guy that seemed to be able to push Iginla's buttons and give him the hard love he needed at times.

[Zevo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I think you are selling Giordano short as well as the shadow Iginla cast on the organization. Hartley's first season was awful and that team didn't play an organized defensive game until after the traded deadline which coincided with Iginla getting traded. Immediately after that the team played hard much like they did for most of this season.

You think Giordano is that much of a wilting flower that having Iginla on the team held him back that much? Again, how was Hartley supposed to instill anything that quickly with no camp or practice time? Of course it took part way through a lockout shortened season with a new coach to instill any kind of systems. I do think Gio played a huge part of it, but the coaching staff provided the framework and the right atmosphere, especially for the rookies.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Zevo

You think Giordano is that much of a wilting flower that having Iginla on the team held him back that much? Again, how was Hartley supposed to instill anything that quickly with no camp or practice time? Of course it took part way through a lockout shortened season with a new coach to instill any kind of systems. I do think Gio played a huge part of it, but the coaching staff provided the framework and the right atmosphere, especially for the rookies.

I think moving underachieving Jay B. out also helped make Gio The Guy.

[FlamesAddiction]

I say yes, he should be extended for at least 1 year.

He has done enough to earn that small amount of security until Treliving has a season to evaluate better. It's already been established that he will be the coach for the upcoming season. I'd rather not have a sitting duck coach that starts pulling desperate measures to save his job.

[4oh3]

All contracts should be short term for the next couple years

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

And, how would the fanbase have reacted to Hartley's sitting Jerome for floating? They'd have demanded his head.

Didn't D Sutter bench Jerome for that exact reason?

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Didn't D Sutter bench Jerome for that exact reason?

Don't remember him ever being a healthy scratch under Sutter.

[cKy]

Ugh, It kills me to read Flames fans typing JAROME fricken Iginla's name wrong. People make spelling mistakes all the time and I can accept it, but come on, show the decency to at least get one of our best ever players name right.

[LouCypher]

Having a coach like Hartley here for a long stretch I think goes a long way towards team identity, stability in style of play and helps really foster a system where young players can come in and be successful so long as they are willing to work for it and listen. Detroit had Scotty Bowman for so long then if I recall correctly they went with Dave Lewis before ending up with Babcock. They had Bowman for many years and he established the Detroit system in many ways, so then they get Lewis who wasn't the best fit and end up with Babcock who has also been there for years. Good coaches may not win every year but teams build identities around their style of play and general atmosphere of the team, much of this comes from having a consistent message behind the bench and someone who can also adapt with the times. I think Hartley meets much of this criteria and it really is time to keep pushing and establishing that identity, Darryl Sutter was a great coach for us and the tough part was that having only coached us for 2 and a half seasons he really couldn't find a good follow up to keep building on things the way he might have if he was still coach.

Let Hartley build up the identity with a nice extension, still hold him accountable but let the man finish his work first. Great coaches don't come around often, 5 more years is what id like to see!