How are you feeling about the flames so far?

[Jore]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Well, I think it just emphasizes how bad his predecessors were. Again, see Tuchel with Chelsea - Rudiger goes from not even being on the bench to best defender in Europe. Maybe coaching matters.

Chelsea have far more talent than the Flames, even before they got Lukaku. I think we're more like a West Ham, or perhaps the Spurs now that they fired Nuno.

In general the PL has far less tolerance than the NHL for ineffective managers. No way would Ward or even BT have lasted so long in the prem.

[Shazam]

Soccer talk should be an automatic suspension.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Jore

Chelsea have far more talent than the Flames, even before they got Lukaku. I think we're more like a West Ham, or perhaps the Spurs now that they fired Nuno...

What the hell is going on here.

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[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

Is he that good, or were the previous coaches that bad?

Sutter's really that good, but I wish he were more willing to blender things up when it's not going well, a la Hartley, or first-half-of2018/19 Peters. That's about my only criticism. IMO blenders work when they're a response to poor play on the ice (e.g. three guys had two poor periods, so shorten the bench and roll the other nine)

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Ward was a terrible head coach. I think he's a fine assistant coach.

GG was a terrible head coach.

To be fair to Gulutzan he's also a fine assistant coach. They were both horrible NHL head coaches which probably robbed the core of this team of a few good seasons.

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Sutter's really that good, but I wish he were more willing to blender things up when it's not going well, a la Hartley, or first-half-of2018/19 Peters. That's about my only criticism. IMO blenders work when they're a response to poor play on the ice (e.g. three guys had two poor periods, so shorten the bench and roll the other nine)

In the past, Sutter did match lines and blend with the best of them - which was Peter's primary issue (not the sole issue) in the Colorado series. Sutter may have certain goals for players that he's hoping to achieve - evaluating "performance" as he said in his press conference.

I suspect that line matching and blending will happen as intensity ramps up further along in the season.

In the summer, I did wonder how much Sutter had learned to modify his ways after his time with the Kings. He seemed like a different coach in LA versus Calgary and I wonder if in his down time he spends his time updating his approaches towards the game.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

To be fair to Gulutzan he's also a fine assistant coach. They were both horrible NHL head coaches which probably robbed the core of this team of a few good seasons.

I still can't figure out how Ward turned out so bad.

Like, Gulutzan, I get. Stubborn, never won at any level so didn't know exactly what it takes, used cringey catchphrases (Emotional Bank Account), had unimpressive stories (We all sat down on a train and had a beer!!!) and had bizarre motivational tactics (stick throw)

But Ward should have been better.

He won a cup in Boston.

He understudied under Julien and Peters who achieved strong systems play. He won the President's Trophy eith Julien and Western Conference eith Peters.

He made the brilliant decision to stitch together the Lucic-Bennett-Dube line after Bennett had been sidelined as a depth winger for years.

And yet he was an utter disaster outside of the play-in series vs Winnipeg. So bad that I was compelled to write an essay on it.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I still can't figure out how Ward turned out so bad.

Like, Gulutzan, I get. Stubborn, never won at any level so didn't know exactly what it takes, used cringey catchphrases (Emotional Bank Account), had unimpressive stories (We all sat down on a train and had a beer!!!) and had bizarre motivational tactics (stick throw)

But Ward should have been better.

He won a cup in Boston.

He understudied under Julien and Peters who achieved strong systems play. He won the President's Trophy eith Julien and Western Conference eith Peters.

He made the brilliant decision to stitch together the Lucic-Bennett-Dube line after Bennett had been sidelined as a depth winger for years.

And yet he was an utter disaster outside of the play-in series vs Winnipeg. So bad that I was compelled to write an essay on it.

He also coached the Sens to league-worst special teams, so maybe the successes could be more attributed to whoever his boss was at the time.

[GioforPM]

I still think Ward was (a) thrust into a situation with Peters that was pretty much no-win. Then his non interim HC gig was with a short season with a tiny training camp with a very weird and compressed schedule. Not ideal for a guy with no HC credentials.

Most great HCs have had a few years that look pretty near incompetent when taken in isolation. Whether that’s the story with Ward, I dunno. I don’t think he’s some genius. But it wasn’t exactly a traditional “grow into the position” scenario.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I still think Ward was (a) thrust into a situation with Peters that was pretty much no-win. Then his non interim HC gig was with a short season with a tiny training camp with a very weird and compressed schedule. Not ideal for a guy with no HC credentials.

Most great HCs have had a few years that look pretty near incompetent when taken in isolation. Whether that’s the story with Ward, I dunno. I don’t think he’s some genius. But it wasn’t exactly a traditional “grow into the position” scenario.

That's fair. I'm curious if Dallas Eakins has developed into a good coach. I guess we'll find out when the Ducks have finished rebuilding their core.

It's funny how the Ducks essentially hired Darryl to coach their coach.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Soccer talk should be an automatic suspension.

I thought Ted Lasso changed that.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I still think Ward was (a) thrust into a situation with Peters that was pretty much no-win. Then his non interim HC gig was with a short season with a tiny training camp with a very weird and compressed schedule. Not ideal for a guy with no HC credentials.

Most great HCs have had a few years that look pretty near incompetent when taken in isolation. Whether that’s the story with Ward, I dunno. I don’t think he’s some genius. But it wasn’t exactly a traditional “grow into the position” scenario.

He was in a no-win situation, sadly. Glad to see he got another gig right away though.

[stemit14]

Something I’ve noticed with the flames this year is that they seem to do everything with more purpose.

A great example is dumping the puck in. For years, it’s felt like the team dumped the puck in simply because they had no other option and it was better than giving the puck up. Now, when the flames dump the puck in it’s with the purpose of getting the zone and getting possession.

It’s not like they exclusively dump the puck in… in fact, they seem to carry the puck across the opposing blue line more than ever. But when they do dump it in, the team is moving forward with speed more often so that they have a good chance of gaining possession from it or they are pressuring the defence of the other team almost immediately to cause a turnover. It works so much better than simply having an offensive attack that almost exclusively works on carrying the puck into the zone.


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[Roof-Daddy]

How many coaches have we had that talked about the team playing as a 5 man unit on the ice? All moving together and working together etc?

Even Brent Sutter talked about a "wolf pack" IIRC.

This team is actually doing it now under Darryl. They look so connected out there. A master at getting his message across to the players and then motivating/teaching them to do it properly.

[flamesfan1297]

I'm feeling really good about the Flames now, I'm just excited that their winning and playing so good! I could care less if they get Eichel at this point, and am just enjoying the current success

[1qqaaz]

I hope the Flames don't overplay Markstrom.
It seems like it could be easy to fall into that trap.

[Freddy]

I’m loving this roll the Flames are on but wonder how they will respond when they face adversity such as an early 2 goal deficit against a good team. Will they stick with this system of low event hockey and potentially still lose by 1, or will guys start cheating to get the goals back but end up getting scored on in the process. I’m pumped that our lines are bringing balanced scoring, but when we need the goals will it continue? I sincerely hope our PP1 can settle into a consistent threat as it would go a long way to help in the scenarios I mentioned above.
As the thread topic asks, I’m cautiously optimistic the Flames are actually going to be a top tier team this season and may have the depth within the organization to sustain some success in the playoffs.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by flamesfan1297

I'm feeling really good about the Flames now, I'm just excited that their winning and playing so good! I could care less if they get Eichel at this point, and am just enjoying the current success

Sutter talked during training camp about Vladar needing to be ready to play lots of games, and so far he has played 2/8 and won both. I don't think this should be a concern until something changes.

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[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Sutter talked during training camp about Vladar needing to be ready to play lots of games, and so far he has played 2/8 and won both. I don't think this should be a concern until something changes.

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It was already pretty gutsy to start Vladar after Markstrom had a shutout. It paid off.
Could be a good sign.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Something I’ve noticed with the flames this year is that they seem to do everything with more purpose.

A great example is dumping the puck in. For years, it’s felt like the team dumped the puck in simply because they had no other option and it was better than giving the puck up. Now, when the flames dump the puck in it’s with the purpose of getting the zone and getting possession.

It’s not like they exclusively dump the puck in… in fact, they seem to carry the puck across the opposing blue line more than ever. But when they do dump it in, the team is moving forward with speed more often so that they have a good chance of gaining possession from it or they are pressuring the defence of the other team almost immediately to cause a turnover. It works so much better than simply having an offensive attack that almost exclusively works on carrying the puck into the zone.


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Yup. I said when everyone was complaining about dump and chase that Tampa Bay was using it a lot with great effectiveness, because they were executing it well.

Most systems work if they are done with purpose and executed properly. Sutter's power is getting his players to do what he wants. I mean, I doubt other coaches were telling the Flames not to transition and move the puck up quickly. But somehow they failed to convince them to do it whereas Sutter succeeds. I don't know how he does it but he does.