Bob Hartley: Will he ever get back to the NHL?

[ottawa]

And Roy won it the year before and Maclean the year before that and Hitch the year before that and Bylsma the year before that.

It's as if that trophy doesn't mean all that much

You're basically implying we should abolish the Jack Adams? interesting hot take

 

[tmurfin]

And Roy won it the year before and Maclean the year before that and Hitch the year before that and Bylsma the year before that.

It's as if that trophy doesn't mean all that much

Did you see the roster he brought to the playoffs that year? In his tenure the Flames were the hardest working team in the league.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Can he coach in the nu-NHL though?

 

[tony d]

He is a good coach, def a name I'd look at if I was a NHL team looking for a coach this year.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Yeah look at all the success he's had since his Cup! So much!

If he had so much success he wouldn't even be in the KHL right now, guy.

Coaches don't tend to win cups with more than 1 team.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Bowman might be the only one.

 

[kungfugazi]

I like him as a coach, like wadda guy. Somebody with more knowledge on this than me will probably correct me on this, but it always seemed to me like he was the kind of coach that forces the other team to go back to the first few pages in the coaching book.

I remember coach Q once saying how "out coached" he was against Hartley that one game... Now, obviously I don't think he's a better coach than Quenneville, but that, and the way Torts hates to coach against him, and how he outcoached the nucks in that playoff series against Desjardins who couldn't adapt, it seems like he's the kind of coach that will do anything to win, even going back to the most basic or underhanded strategies that usually aren't played at the NHL level.

He's the kind of guy that would go for the wraparound in NHL 94 all the time, or go all in every round in a poker game. You don't do that at the higher level of play, right? But sometimes, strats gets so overly complex that it circles back to the most simple strategies. Coaching against him, it seems like you have to go back to basics, and it's tough for the opposing coaches to flip that switch.

Once you got it figured out though, his offense is easy to shut down. There's a reason why these strategies don't work on the long term at that level. But for a team like the Oilers who might need a reset, it could do wonder.

 

[joestevens29]

You're basically implying we should abolish the Jack Adams? interesting hot take

No, just saying it's not the end all that makes a guy great. Having one good year doesn't mean a lot in the coaching world

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Once you got it figured out though, his offense is easy to shut down. There's a reason why these strategies don't work on the long term at that level. But for a team like the Oilers who might need a reset, it could do wonder.

Hartley's offense wasn't easy to shut down. He had a shallow roster in Calgary that was kind of weak down the middle, so they sometimes struggled to enter the zone against hard trapping, but they still finished 6th and 10th in goal scoring in 2015 and 2016 respectively. His PP had a poor start in his final year here, but powerplays are notoriously volatile. The only team that really had Calgary's number over Hartley's tenure was St. Louis, and they had way more of an advantage than just coaching - they were damn good those few years in every area.

If he had a "flaw" it was that he didn't play a shot suppression defensive system like Peters currently does, but at the same time we can't really judge because he never had a deep roster to truly implement his plan. All too often it was the Engelland, Jokipakka, Stajan, Bollig, Granlund types who struggled to execute his system. He wanted to take advantage of the skating and stretch passing abilities of Brodie, Giordano, and Hamilton but his system had no support for the fact that Russell, Engelland, Smid couldn't execute those breakout plays to the same level. Had he had this year's roster - Hanifin, Hamonic, Andersson, Kylington, Valimaki, Stone at his disposal, his systems wluld have been a pleasure to watch.

 

[QcFlames12]

Hartley is a great short term coach. He has a shelf life though as I think he pushes too many buttons.

But man can he ever get the best out of his players his first few years, the guy is a general

 

[InfinityIggy]

Hartley is an interesting coach. He seems to be a strong motivator but has a really short shelf life before the players tune him out. Could definitely see a bottom team bringing him in for a couple seasons.

 

[Brownies]

I think some coaches have a bad reputations for whatever reason and might get fired way sooner than others because of it. Claude Julien didn’t get fair chances before landing in Bruinsland IMO and is a really good coach. I don’t think Hartley was given a fair chance with the Flames.

He gets a Jack Adams when a subpar team has a good year and gets fired when that subpar team plays accordingly. Ridiculous. He’s had a lot of success outside the NHL, has a Jack Adams and a Stanley Cup. Guy should coach in the NHL. I love his passion for the sport and the players.

 

[Smokescreen]

He will never coach in the league again. For those who don’t know Hartley coaching methods he’s probably one of the hardest coaches on his players. He’s notorious for playing mind games and pushing his players to their mental limit. I believe there’s an interview with Corey Sarich that discusses Hartley’s methods. He’s an old school coach and by old school I mean OLD SCHOOL. There’s a reason why his teams have amazing work ethic, but he’s not a guy you want to have for more than a couple years. At the end of his tenure with the flames it was obvious that the players were completely done with him. He’s a great coach imo, but his methods are not for this new generation. I

 

[Alex Jones]

Hartley is an interesting coach. He seems to be a strong motivator but has a really short shelf life before the players tune him out. Could definitely see a bottom team bringing him in for a couple seasons.

Hartley has always been a good coach, the problem is that his gimmick doesn't work anymore. In the 90's you could be a control freak the played mind-games your guys, but anymore players don't want to deal with that shit. Not sure if anyone will really want him at this point.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

He's one of the most interesting guy to listen to in the French media for sure. Seems like he was beloved by the players in Calgary. I feel like he's adapted to the new NHL.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

At the end of his tenure with the flames it was obvious that the players were completely done with him.

No, that was not obvious, nor was it even implied by the GM who fired him.

Gaudreau, Giordano, Backlund, Colborne, Brodie, Bennett, and Hamilton all had (to that point) career years in his last year here. The team played way better than their record and the only thing they didn't get for most of the year was timely saves, as Calgary had the worst SV% in the NHL due to Ramo's injury and Hiller's steep decline. Later in the year when Ortio took over the saves were there and so was team structure, but they lost some tough ones with much of their roster depth depleted after the deadline (David Jones, Jiri Hudler, Kris Russell). Even then, it was clear they were a team that played hard for Hartley, they blew McDavid and the Oilers out 5-0 in what was Edmonton's most embarassing loss, their final game in that building. Overall they closed out that season 9-6-3 which was a testament to Hartley keeping them playing for pride.

When Treliving fired him, he identified two reasons for firing Hartley - weak special teams and systems (puck possession). Of course those are important but they are not the same as players quitting on a coach. That same core legitimately quit on Glen Gulutzan last year.

 

[tmurfin]

Hartley suffered more from a GM wanting to get his own team in, than his own performance imo. Hartley was Feasters guy through and through.

 

[Balthazar]

Always wanted to see what he could do in Calgary when given something better than Jonas Hiller to do it with

With so many NHL vacancies I'd be shocked of we didn't see him again. He's won at almost every level.

QMJHL Championship
Calder Cup
Stanley Cup
Swiss Championship
Jack Adams winner

And looking good in the KHL so far too

He's a super underrated coach.

Harley is a heart and soul kind of guy, one of the few coach who has a legit chance of being successful in Edmonton or Buffalo.

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

hes a gutless puke

signed, tortorella

he's a class act, he always does interviews at crazy hours for him ( around 1-4 AM almost each days so the media in MTL can have his insights). he is an overall amazing model for the hockey world

Would love him in Montreal.

 

[Balthazar]

He will never coach in the league again. For those who don’t know Hartley coaching methods he’s probably one of the hardest coaches on his players. He’s notorious for playing mind games and pushing his players to their mental limit. I believe there’s an interview with Corey Sarich that discusses Hartley’s methods. He’s an old school coach and by old school I mean OLD SCHOOL. There’s a reason why his teams have amazing work ethic, but he’s not a guy you want to have for more than a couple years. At the end of his tenure with the flames it was obvious that the players were completely done with him. He’s a great coach imo, but his methods are not for this new generation. I

I don't think he's still like that anymore but he definitely has a past of being a bully. Ordering his guys to fight and calling them p***yes, etc.

Former Avs enforcer Scott Parker says coach Bob Hartley 'was a bully'

 

[RobBrown4PM]

I hope he does. He got torpedoed by the Flames.

 

[Smokescreen]

No, that was not obvious, nor was it even implied by the GM who fired him.

Gaudreau, Giordano, Backlund, Colborne, Brodie, Bennett, and Hamilton all had (to that point) career years in his last year here. The team played way better than their record and the only thing they didn't get for most of the year was timely saves, as Calgary had the worst SV% in the NHL due to Ramo's injury and Hiller's steep decline. Later in the year when Ortio took over the saves were there and so was team structure, but they lost some tough ones with much of their roster depth depleted after the deadline (David Jones, Jiri Hudler, Kris Russell). Even then, it was clear they were a team that played hard for Hartley, they blew McDavid and the Oilers out 5-0 in what was Edmonton's most embarassing loss, their final game in that building. Overall they closed out that season 9-6-3 which was a testament to Hartley keeping them playing for pride.

When Treliving fired him, he identified two reasons for firing Hartley - weak special teams and systems (puck possession). Of course those are important but they are not the same as players quitting on a coach. That same core legitimately quit on Glen Gulutzan last year.

One of the main reasons he was fired was because Treliving wanted a player coach that would be better suited to guide young players. That’s why GG was hired. Hartley was not liked by the players, no one was sad to see him go. He’s a maniac coach but a good one. He instilled in his teams a crazy work ethic but the flames tuned him out in his final season. He’s not a coach you want near younger players and the flames realized this. His mind games are notorious, that alone will be why he won’t get a job again.

 

[kungfugazi]

I don't think he's still like that anymore but he definitely has a past of being a bully. Ordering his guys to fight and calling them *****es, etc.

Former Avs enforcer Scott Parker says coach Bob Hartley 'was a bully'

Sadly, McGrattan pretty much confirmed that was still the case in Calgary .

 

[Fixxer]

I don't know why but I could see him with Buffalo.
Anyway, good luck to him and his team in the KHL playoffs.

 

[Kimota]

Really i don't understand why they keep bringing up the same names, guys keep getting hired back like Desjardin and McLellan and Stevens and Bylsma and so forth when if I was a team I would jump at the chance of getting Hartley. I listen to this guy all the time on radio(where he calls from Russia) and he's so passonate about hockey and he is so knowledgeable. In this league it feels like it's who you know, if you're friends with so and so. I mean the Sabres possibly hiring McLellan is so disappointing.

 

[Mobiandi]

Hartley seems very endearing when you listen to interviews but seeing some players' accounts of his actions as coach makes me doubt he could stick around with a team for longer than 2 years and have success.

Rumor has it that he was heavily disliked by a lot of the Flames players at the time he was let go.