The trials and tribulations of Glen Gulutzan

[Infinit47]

Winning is great, but the decision to have Stajan out there with 2 minutes left was a huge mistake that could easily have cost the game. How does a player go from being the 13th forward to one of the most trusted centres finishing off a game?

[---Hatrick---]

Originally Posted by Infinit47

Winning is great, but the decision to have Stajan out there with 2 minutes left was a huge mistake that could easily have cost the game. How does a player go from being the 13th forward to one of the most trusted centres finishing off a game?

People need to stop this.
At that point in the game they're just trying to play responsible hockey and not make any big mistakes. They wanna make sure they get that 1 point atleast and they know how dangerous they are 3 on 3.
Stajan has proven that he is a responsible player and likely isn't gonna go make a bone headed play that late. He doesn't have much to offer offensively these days but he's capable of being a responsible vet. Rolling his lines and making sure the top guys have legs for OT makes sense to me.

I'd be more worried putting the Jagr-Bennett line out there that late. They were hemmed in their zone for long periods yesterday

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by ---Hatrick---

People need to stop this.
At that point in the game they're just trying to play responsible hockey and not make any big mistakes. They wanna make sure they get that 1 point atleast and they know how dangerous they are 3 on 3.
Stajan has proven that he is a responsible player and likely isn't gonna go make a bone headed play that late. He doesn't have much to offer offensively these days but he's capable of being a responsible vet. Rolling his lines and making sure the top guys have legs for OT makes sense to me.

I'd be more worried putting the Jagr-Bennett line out there that late. They were hemmed in their zone for long periods yesterday

Stajan is a responsible player. Unfortunately he doesnt have the foot speed to effectivly contain other teams top players. I have really liked his last 2 years as a roll player, age unfortunately has just caught up to him this year.
For this reason i think the coach is making a bad decision putting him our at the end of the game.

[TheIronMaiden]

My 2 cents.

Firing a coach in the middle of a season rarely salvages a season, and doesn't produce immediate results. Also, having a revolving door of coaches doesn't help a team move forward. The Oilers thought that firing their coaches every year would help build a winner, and how did that work?

GG is not perfect. Still he is on track to coach the Flames into the playoffs again. If the Flames miss the playoffs, then a legitimate conversation about replacing him can start. But until then, asking for him to be fired sounds more like whining than credible criticism.

[---Hatrick---]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Stajan is a responsible player. Unfortunately he doesnt have the foot speed to effectivly contain other teams top players. I have really liked his last 2 years as a roll player, age unfortunately has just caught up to him this year.
For this reason i think the coach is making a bad decision putting him our at the end of the game.

Agree, and he certainly has dropped off huge this year. But he only logged just over 11 mins if ice time. It's not like he's being bagged and I think people are cherry picking a little bit here

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

My 2 cents.

Firing a coach in the middle of a season rarely salvages a season, and doesn't produce immediate results. Also, having a revolving door of coaches doesn't help a team move forward. The Oilers thought that firing their coaches every year would help build a winner, and how did that work?

GG is not perfect. Still he is on track to coach the Flames into the playoffs again. If the Flames miss the playoffs, then a legitimate conversation about replacing him can start. But until then, asking for him to be fired sounds more like whining than credible criticism.

Seemed to work pretty good for the peguins a couple years ago.

But yes we arent exactly the penguins.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by ---Hatrick---

Agree, and he certainly has dropped off huge this year. But he only logged just over 11 mins if ice time. It's not like he's being bagged and I think people are cherry picking a little bit here

I think the interesting part is we have personal that would thrive and utilize those 11 minutes better (marik rivick). He is very responsible speed to burn and a heavier body. Its a mix of stajans decline, personnel and blind loyalty that frustrates me when I see stajan out there getting beat at key parts of the game.

I bet the change comes and stajan is phased out, but it will probably happen later than it should.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Seemed to work pretty good for the peguins a couple years ago.

But yes we arent exactly the penguins.

Here is an interesting article regarding this debate. There is proof that it had worked, but more often in fails.
https://www.thesportster.com/hockey/...-8-that-didnt/

[---Hatrick---]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I think the interesting part is we have personal that would thrive and utilize those 11 minutes better (marik rivick). He is very responsible speed to burn and a heavier body. Its a mix of stajans decline, personnel and blind loyalty that frustrates me when I see stajan out there getting beat at key parts of the game.

I bet the change comes and stajan is phased out, but it will probably happen later than it should.

You're right about that

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by ---Hatrick---

You're right about that

Nice to chat with someone reasonable on this board ☺

Hope you have a great sunday!

[UnitedFlames]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I think the interesting part is we have personal that would thrive and utilize those 11 minutes better (marik rivick). He is very responsible speed to burn and a heavier body. Its a mix of stajans decline, personnel and blind loyalty that frustrates me when I see stajan out there getting beat at key parts of the game.

I bet the change comes and stajan is phased out, but it will probably happen later than it should.

I don't see it as blind loyalty. I see it as respect for a veteran who's played almost 1,000 games in the NHL, a guy who's been a leader in the room. I sort of commend the Flames for that.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Here is an interesting article regarding this debate. There is proof that it had worked, but more often in fails.
https://www.thesportster.com/hockey/...-8-that-didnt/

Good article. Thanks for posting. Rrally I guess its who is available to come in and how quivkly the team adjusts.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by UnitedFlames

I don't see it as blind loyalty. I see it as respect for a veteran who's played almost 1,000 games in the NHL, a guy who's been a leader in the room. I sort of commend the Flames for that.

Loaylty is to be commended. But not at the expense of winning. If they want to be loyal/appreciative to stajan they should sit him then offer him a nonplaying roll next season.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I think the interesting part is we have personal that would thrive and utilize those 11 minutes better (marik rivick). He is very responsible speed to burn and a heavier body. Its a mix of stajans decline, personnel and blind loyalty that frustrates me when I see stajan out there getting beat at key parts of the game.

I bet the change comes and stajan is phased out, but it will probably happen later than it should.

We don't know that Hrivik would thrive in the NHL. To this point in his career he hasn't shown he can. I know people are down on Stajan but he has a long established history of being an NHLer. Hrivik doesn't. We can't assume that any player that is doing well in the AHL will plug n' play in the NHL level.
I also think you need to have some eye on the team culture and cohesion. How does the locker room react if Stajan is cut.

All of things are factors that must be weighed particularly when there is likely only marginal improvement to be had by improving the 4th line.

I see more consistent play from the 3rd line, which has started to happen, to be far more crucial. You need a solid top 9 in the NHL in part to be able to manage match-ups.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Loaylty is to be commended. But not at the expense of winning. If they want to be loyal/appreciative to stajan they should sit him then offer him a nonplaying roll next season.

I don’t see Stajan as costing us games. He is serviceable in a 4th line role, while not coming close to “wowing” anyone and likely deteriorating, he’s not a noteable reason we’re losing when we do lose.

I think it’s a matter of “the grass is greener” that often comes in these debates. Stajan might subjectively be the worst forward on the Flames, but just because he’s the worst player on this team doesn’t mean he could easily replaced by a “better” player on an AHL squad or another NHL team, it’s all relative.

I don’t see many options that would offer a huge upgrade on Stajan, so I’m not eager to see it dealt with. He’s fine.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by Wild GM

We don't know that Hrivik would thrive in the NHL. To this point in his career he hasn't shown he can. I know people are down on Stajan but he has a long established history of being an NHLer. Hrivik doesn't. We can't assume that any player that is doing well in the AHL will plug n' play in the NHL level.
I also think you need to have some eye on the team culture and cohesion. How does the locker room react if Stajan is cut.

All of things are factors that must be weighed particularly when there is likely only marginal improvement to be had by improving the 4th line.

I see more consistent play from the 3rd line, which has started to happen, to be far more crucial. You need a solid top 9 in the NHL in part to be able to manage match-ups.

I thougjt he was pretty good in limited time for the Rangers last season. I could be mistaken though.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I can only go by the stats. If he played when I watched the Rangers I don't remember him - 2 assists in 16 games.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I don’t see Stajan as costing us games. He is serviceable in a 4th line role, while not coming close to “wowing” anyone and likely deteriorating, he’s not a noteable reason we’re losing when we do lose.

I think it’s a matter of “the grass is greener” that often comes in these debates. Stajan might subjectively be the worst forward on the Flames, but just because he’s the worst player on this team doesn’t mean he could easily replaced by a “better” player on an AHL squad or another NHL team, it’s all relative.

I don’t see many options that would offer a huge upgrade on Stajan, so I’m not eager to see it dealt with. He’s fine.

Fair enough. Your right to say he is serviceable. I do think that an above average 4th line can really push hard in the playoffs. Not sure if stajan will be that, but the grass may be just as brown on the other side. I guess thats sports and we will have to wait and see.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by Wild GM

I can only go by the stats. If he played when I watched the Rangers I don't remember him - 2 assists in 16 games.

Could be good to see him get 4 or 5 games and find out I guess. I just hope a few other players get the chance to see if they can be an upgrade.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Stajan is a responsible player. Unfortunately he doesnt have the foot speed to effectivly contain other teams top players. I have really liked his last 2 years as a roll player, age unfortunately has just caught up to him this year.
For this reason i think the coach is making a bad decision putting him our at the end of the game.

Except Stajan is not good enough defensively, he's too slow and ends up taking bad penalties, just like he did to almost cost the Flames the game last night.