GDT: Leafs at Flames: 7pm MT on SNW

[Flameshomer]

Man, our coaching sucks. Babcock made gulutzen look like a dummy.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Give the leafs credit. They played a good game. We were off.

Not surprising we got stomped.

But hockey is an 82 game schedule and every team has 10+ off nights every year.

But if the Stamps taught me anything. It’s that the only thing that matters about the regular season is making the playoffs

 

[Baxterman]

Only players talented enough to take over that role are Bennett and Jankowski. One has been converted to a winger because his wingers sucked when he was a center, and one has been typecast as a bottom sixer because Monahan scores goalz

No they aren't close to talented enough to take over the role.

If they were talented enough to take over the role they would have more than 4 points on the season and not have been held pointless in 75% (if not more) of the games that they have played in.

 

[Tofveve]

This game felt like one we weren't going to win by about half way through the first. That's when the bobbling became apparent.

And I don't think it was for not showing up. They were just flat, probably tired, and out of sinc with everything that was going on. Not an excuse but it shook out that way.

 

[Flameshomer]

Monahan-johnny weren't on tonight, Smith let in a real softie, and our d continues to make bad puck decisions. Pair this with a coach who doesn't know what line matchups are and we have a loss. Tough to blame the first three as they're the only reason we've won at all this season.

Something has got to give on this blue line.

 

[Tofveve]

Monahan-johnny weren't on tonight, Smith let in a real softie, and our d continues to make bad puck decisions. Pair this with a coach who doesn't know what line matchups are and we have a loss. Tough to blame the first three as they're the only reason we've won at all this season.

Something has got to give on this blue line.

The first line wasn't good.

But I gotta say, I still see Johnny busting his ass every night. He was still in on 3 or 4 good chances. And right at the end while already being on the ice for 30 or 40 seconds, he's the first back racing Marner to save the empty net goal - which he succeeded in. Johnny was off like everyone else, but I still saw solid try in his game overall.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Sean Monahan is the softest player in the league and the Flames will never win anything until that changes or someone else can take over his role

You spelt Gaudreau wrong.

 

[viper0220]

Man, our coaching sucks. Babcock made gulutzen look like a dummy.

Hard not to agree with this, Babcock is one of the best coaches in the league but he made GG look like a child.

With the D we have, our shots against and our goals against should be a lot lower. I think a better coach can get more out of this team.

Also the secondary scoring is nonexistent, if it were not for Johnny, Monahan and Smith, we be in the dump.

 

[Baxterman]

I am not blaming GG and I think he got a real unfair treatment from many fans since the day he started here but more and more I having a hard time finding what it was that Treliving saw in him that made him want to hire him.

I just don't see anything in his past experience/record and certainly not anything in the way he handles this team that indicates to me that he is a good coach. For almost any other coach out there, even guys I don't like, I can at least see how there was something that was appealing but for GG there's nothing.

I am not sure he has done something specific to be fired, but I am struggling to find a reason to have hired him in the first place and not sure why I would keep him other than continuity.

Sorry this is a little off topic because I am not blaming this specific game on him but just a feeling I have had about GG for a while now and it seemed to come out now, perhaps because I feel he has had enough time to show something by now.

 

[Flameshomer]

You spelt Gaudreau wrong.

I agree that he's absolutely wrong, but I sure as hell hope nobody is expecting Gaudreau to be anything but soft as butter, wouldn't want him hardening up those silky mitts of his.

Monahan also isn't supposed to be the tough guy on the line, he's supposed to almost be invisible so he can get to those spots he loves to snipe from.

This is ferlys role on the line!

 

[Flameshomer]

Hard not to agree with this, Babcock is one of the best coaches in the league but he made GG look like a child.

With the D we have, our shots against and our goals against should be a lot lower. I think a better coach can get more out of this team.

Also the secondary scoring is nonexistent, if it were not for Johnny, Monahan and Smith, we be in the dump.

The 3m line has been relatively consistent, but some games they just can't overcome the raw amount of time they start in the dzone. If another forward line could be counted on at least a bit for some defensive starts I think 3m would see better numbers with the extra ozone starts

 

[Anglesmith]

I am not blaming GG and I think he got a real unfair treatment from many fans since the day he started here but more and more I having a hard time finding what it was that Treliving saw in him that made him want to hire him.

I just don't see anything in his past experience/record and certainly not anything in the way he handles this team that indicates to me that he is a good coach. For almost any other coach out there, even guys I don't like, I can at least see how there was something that was appealing but for GG there's nothing.

The way I see it, the hiring requirement this time around was about what plan the coach had for the team. Treliving wanted a change in the way the team played, and decided a coach based on the plan and the vision he had for how he wanted the team to play, and how he thought he could bring that about. Hiring a coach with a track record doesn't always work. See Lindy Ruff in Dallas. At the end of the day, you can't really know what the results are going to be.

Overall, I think the team has adjusted the way it plays in line with what Treliving wanted. They try to pass the puck out of their own end and spend more time with it, and when they're playing well, they don't spend nearly as much time in their own end.

A few things: first, it's silly to judge a coach by the team playing at its worst (the first 45 minutes of tonight's game was about as big an egg as we've ever laid). And secondly, a coach can only lead his horses to water. The Flames are bad when their players are doing stupid things. If players are giving the puck away because of a lack of options and a lack of puck support, I definitely start looking to the coach to fix that problem. If players are giving the puck away because of stupidity alone, like tonight, then I feel sorry for the coach, who is probably losing a gasket on the bench feeling all the same frustrations we are.

But lastly, I disliked the Gulutzan hire when he was hired for exactly the reasons you pointed out. I didn't see a reason to hire him at the time. The second half last year was reason for optimism. The first half this year is another step back and is causing some serious concerns. He was likely signed for three years, so it's not inconceivable that his job relies on the Flames' success this season.

 

[Tofveve]

I am not blaming GG and I think he got a real unfair treatment from many fans since the day he started here but more and more I having a hard time finding what it was that Treliving saw in him that made him want to hire him.

I just don't see anything in his past experience/record and certainly not anything in the way he handles this team that indicates to me that he is a good coach. For almost any other coach out there, even guys I don't like, I can at least see how there was something that was appealing but for GG there's nothing.

I am not sure he has done something specific to be fired, but I am struggling to find a reason to have hired him in the first place and not sure why I would keep him other than continuity.

Sorry this is a little off topic because I am not blaming this specific game on him but just a feeling I have had about GG for a while now and it seemed to come out now, perhaps because I feel he has had enough time to show something by now.

It reminds me a bit of the Greg Gilbert hiring way back when.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

It reminds me a bit of the Greg Gilbert hiring way back when.

Remember Don Hay?

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I agree that he's absolutely wrong, but I sure as hell hope nobody is expecting Gaudreau to be anything but soft as butter, wouldn't want him hardening up those silky mitts of his.

Monahan also isn't supposed to be the tough guy on the line, he's supposed to almost be invisible so he can get to those spots he loves to snipe from.

This is ferlys role on the line!

I don’t expect Johnny to play that role, but that just isn’t Mony’s game as you said. You surround them with bangers.

 

[SmellOfVictory]

Game was mostly not great, but on the plus side Brouwer looked okay for stretches.

 

[Mobiandi]

Had to step out after the second. From the sounds of it, looks we played a crap game the whole way through

 

[Anglesmith]

Had to step out after the second. From the sounds of it, looks we played a crap game the whole way through

Actually, we played decently for most of the third after the Kadri game. Started making simpler plays through the neutral zone and actually skating balls-to-the-wall.

We really looked in this game very similar to the first game of the year against Edmonton. Very similar game.

 

[Lunatik]

As LB pointed out, it was almost like this was the first home game after a long road trip

 

[Tofveve]

Remember Don Hay?

Yup. Wasn't he just a WHL prior? With Kamloops? Yeah, sometimes thinking outside of the box isn't all it's cracked up to be.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Yup. Wasn't he just a WHL prior? With Kamloops? Yeah, sometimes thinking outside of the box isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Yeah he was. Honestly I’d like Ruff, he would be a good fit for our team and has a good track record with getting stars to have good seasons. Tippett doesn’t play youth, that’s a major reason he was fired so pass. If we were going to hire any Sutter, I’d want Brent back, not Darryl. Another interesting name could be AV if he becomes available.