[News] Righting the ship: Ward's decision to change direction (Athletic)

[tvp2003]

Courtesy of Eric Duhatchek (Athletic):

I asked Ward: What went into the decision to move Backlund back to his natural position – because ever since they did that, things seem to be clicking into place far better than before.

“I would agree,” Ward answered. “He came in. He felt his game had fallen off on the wing. He felt like he could do more at center. Sometimes, as coaches, we’ve talked about what a give-and-take it is and how we want to empower what the guys do and listen to them. Thank God, all of us coaches had the wherewithal to listen to what some of the guys were saying – and we restored him to center and he’s really done a good job there. It’s been effective.”

…

Seeking feedback from his players on how they might be utilized wasn’t strictly limited to Backlund either, said Ward.

“We talked to Johnny (Gaudreau). We talked to Monny (Sean Monahan). We talked to a lot of our players over the last couple of weeks and got a lot of feedback from them – and decided this was the direction we had to move, based on what they were saying. It’s paid off. I give them a lot of credit,” Ward said.

“For them to come in and bring up some dicey subjects that maybe in some other areas they wouldn’t want to talk about, they came in and had the tough conversation – and we’ve got to listen to the tough conversation too when it’s coming our way. If we expect them to listen when it’s going the other way. The feedback was excellent. They were honest. They felt it could be something that could help – and right now, it has helped us. It’s paid dividends.

Link: https://theathletic.com/1608257/2020...old-blueprint/

I think this is HUGE. It isn't just about playing with more effort. Ward has buy in from the players because he's actually listened to them and made changes. I wonder if that happens if Peters is still at the helm.

Buckle your seatbelts...

[Gaskal]

I need to go on angry rants in the "Unpopular Opinions' thread more often.

[Looch City]

This team seriously makes me bi-polar.

I love Ward and the Flames again. Last week, I wanted Johnny and Monny off the team. Wtf man

[GioforPM]

I wonder if we're being too hasty in dismissing Ward as a coach candidate. I mean, he's had a half season to prove himself, part of which must be divesting old systems and Peters' style, and which was broken up by the ASG break.

I still don't think he's a front runner for the permanant gig, but plenty of coaches take time to warm into the job. People think pretty highly of Maurice now in Winnipeg but he was closer to being fired early on (at least fans wanted it).

[cannon7]

Mark Jankowski has been playing better of late as well.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

This team seriously makes me bi-polar.

I love Ward and the Flames again. Last week, I wanted Johnny and Monny off the team. Wtf man

It's gonna take a lot more than 3/4 wins to convince me they're back. But here is hoping.

[natsmt]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

This team seriously makes me bi-polar.

I love Ward and the Flames again. Last week, I wanted Johnny and Monny off the team. Wtf man

Same. I just hope they get hot at the right time. Then nothing else will matter.

[DeluxeMoustache]

I understand that they respected the ask from Lindholm, who basically said that if they were going to try him at C, he was willing but wanted 10-12 games.

At the same time, I thought that moving Backlund to the wing was obviously getting less out of him than they should have been.

Good to see them recognize the obvious

Also, some adjustments suggested by players were implemented by the coaches and are showing near term results.

Might the coach coming out and admitting they made adjustments finally throw cold water on the “It’s not on the coaches, the players just don’t want to put in the effort” narrative? I have my doubts

[Split98]

First off, if you don't have a subscription to The Athletic... a top-quality succinct piece the next day that gives us this much insight into how the Flames could be turning it around lately is a good reason to give them a serious look. They give you consistently great content for your money on a level that the networks aren't even close to IMO

But this is an interesting shift in the Flames season for sure. There was a noticeable bump in confidence and going back to the lines that worked in the past may seem obvious - but we see tons of coaches that refuse to re-evaluate (Brodie under GG anyone?). Moving some talent around wasn't a bad call, but with as many players having terrible years as there were, I'm glad we have a coach intelligent enough to have a chat with his team about what they can do together.

The re-formed 3M also has a LOT of potential with Mangiapane in there now and Johnny has been flying out there lately. Results are coming if they can keep up this play, but the Kings game was definitely cause-for-pause. Addressing that game very decisively in Anaheim has me excited for the next game more than I have been in a little while.

[GranteedEV]

So basically the team could coach itself better than when Ward was coaching it. Unsurprising.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Mark Jankowski has been playing better of late as well.

Confidence is the je ne sais quoi of NHL players. If they don't have it it can be ugly. One can only hope that Gaudreau get some of his mojo back, just in time for the last 22 games of the season.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Confidence is the je ne sais quoi of NHL players. If they don't have it it can be ugly. One can only hope that Gaudreau get some of his mojo back, just in time for the last 22 games of the season.

Poor Johnny last night, after the flubbed second breakway you could see him going "#### me, #### I'm bad at breakaways!!" when the camera zoomed in lol. Once it rains it pours.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

So basically the team could coach itself better than when Ward was coaching it. Unsurprising.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Poor Johnny last night, after the flubbed second breakway you could see him going "#### me, #### I'm bad at breakaways!!" when the camera zoomed in lol. Once it rains it pours.

Honestly thought he said "can't buy a ####### break" cause the puck rolled off the heel of the stick.

[Infinit47]

I've been very unimpressed with Ward, but if this works and gets the players bought into the system then full props to him. Time will tell.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Poor Johnny last night, after the flubbed second breakway you could see him going "#### me, #### I'm bad at breakaways!!" when the camera zoomed in lol. Once it rains it pours.

Was nice to see Rinaldo giving him a pep talk. Didn't really see why we brought in Rinaldo as I felt he was super dirty, but since he's been here he seems to be all hard skating and hard hitting.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Honestly thought he said "can't buy a ####### break" cause the puck rolled off the heel of the stick.

Conveniently, I just saw this tweet a second ago

https://twitter.com/user/status/1228303357736914945

[troutman]

18-11-2, .613


Flames have 4th best road record in the NHL.

[Toonage]

^ Yep, I am not good lip reading but did believe Gaskal.

In a way I'm kind of glad he admits this to himself!

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Toonage

^ Yep, I am not good lip reading but did believe Gaskal.

In a way I'm kind of glad he admits this to himself!

Yeah, I'm hoping that this is a team that can rally around him and get his mojo back. Breakaways have a lot to do with confidence I think and we've been seeing a lot more confident plays from him lately. Though still a part of his arsenal too often, we're seeing a lot more than 'short side high from the goalline' over and over

Rittich was in his ear after this if I remember correctly, though it didn't look like Johnny wanted to hear much of it. But if there's one guy that believes in Johnny's ability it's Celebrate-as-Johnny-crosses-the-blueline-all-alone Rittich

Also - sorry, I was popping back in here to share it as I was curious to see it myself after Gaskal posted it. Didn't mean to suggest you were arguing another way