Flames extend Bob Hartley's contract

[Era of Sanity]

He's done an excellent job. And likes the rough stuff to to keep things interesting.

 

[Frenchy]

i'm very happy for Bob and for the Flames fans . He's a really good coach doing an insane job in Calgary . When Brian Burke came on board the Flames organization i was a little worried for Hartley , but i'm happy to see that he will stay in Calgary for the next few years

 

[QMJHLfollower]

Hartley is a great coach. Very good move by the Flames and happy for him.

 

[Del Preston]

Good coach. Well deserved.

 

[MarkGio]

No Flame has regressed under Bob Hartley. Nuff said

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

No Flame has regressed under Bob Hartley. Nuff said

Sven Baertschi and Curtiss Glencross. But yes in general bob has done a great job.

 

[KPower]

He'll be fired half way through next season.

But it was nice of Burke to give him a retirement deal.

 

[VanIslander]

I drafted him recently on the All-Time Draft board here at HfBoards. He is coaching my Seattle Thunderbirds in the playoffs right now!

Bob Hartley, a coach who won a championship at every level he has coached: junior A, major juniors, AHL, NHL and most recently Swiss league. He began his career coaching a Junior-A team to the championship trophy, thereafter going to major juniors where he coached Laval to a league championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup tourney in 1993. He then coached an AHL team to two divisional titles and a Calder Cup win in 1997. A year later he got an NHL job coaching the Avalanche, leading them to their first Northwest division title, upsetting Detroit's hopes of a threepeat when Colorado defeated them in the second round of the playoffs, though the Avs fell to the eventual cup champs Stars in the western finals. His second year in Colorado was much like the first: a divisional title, a second round defeat of Detroit and third round loss to Dallas. In his third year at the helm, the Avalanche won the President's trophy and the Stanley Cup (2000). The following postseason, Hartley became the first head coach since Billy Reay to guide his teams to four consecutive conference final appearances. Hartley left Colorado and went to Atlanta during the next season and in his first full season as Thrashers coach he set a franchise record for wins and points, following that up with the team's first ever winning season. His third year in Atlanta he led the team to the playoffs and its first divisional title. In 2012 he led a Swiss team to an upset championship over expected favorite Bern. He then returned to the NHL to coach a rebuilding Flames squad, getting a heavy fine for his role in a heated brawl with the Avalanche in his first full year in Calgary, and overseeing an unexpected playoff-calibre start a quarter of the way through the second full year, to rave reviews.

Tambellini’s team, Zurich’s ZSC Lions, won the title by upsetting SC Bern in seven games in April.

“I’ve never had a coach who has wanted to win so bad,” said Tambellini, who’s back in Vancouver for a few months before heading back to Europe in early August.

“He’ll do anything to win. That’s where you hear about how he pushes guys and makes them uncomfortable, but he just wants to win so bad that he’ll push as many buttons as it takes. It’s hard but I can respect that. You know where you stand with him. He has a relationship with each of his players and he cares about each person. He works with the young guys, but he also challenges them to be better.”

Tambellini also credits Hartley for pushing the right buttons when Zurich was down 3-1 in the seven-game final to Bern.

“We go to practice — Game 5 is the next day — and he’s pushing us, grinding guys harder than all year,” said Tambellini. “I’d never seen this before in that situation. But it pissed us all off so we go into Game 5 fired up, half at him, but it brought the emotion out of us. So we beat Bern in overtime and pushed it to seven games.

“But that’s Bob. He never stopped from Day 1. He said we’re going to shock the Swiss hockey world. Some people laughed at that, but he kept pushing and by the end of it guys were believing in it.”

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Hartley+perfect+coach+Canadiens+Tambellini/6698268/story.html

With the NHL season a month old, USA TODAY Sports looks at the league's best coaching job:

Bob Hartley: Has to get the nod for inspiring his Flames to overachieve almost every night.

His team is well-prepared, and every player seems empowered. Hartley's coaching ability is probably at a higher level than when he was coaching those successful Avalanche teams.

He seems more patient with his younger players. Hartley has done a masterful job of helping Gaudreau break into the NHL. He sat Gaudreau for a game and then sat down with him and asked what he saw on the ice from the press box.

Center Sean Monahan grew as a player under Hartley last season, and it looks as if Gaudreau will do the same this season. He seems to have a blueprint for how to maximize the value of young talent.

Hartley is a passionate coach, and his passion seems to trickle down. This Flames group doesn't seem to know when it is supposed to lose.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ins-nhl-best-coaching-job-one-month/18573985/

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1794909

 

[Johnnybegood13]

Sven Baertschi and Curtiss Glencross. But yes in general bob has done a great job.

Yipe, Sven for sure, there's always a couple of players that a coach doesn't like. I expect Sven to be traded soon.

 

[Dolemite]

He deserves an extension for just fixing Ramo's inability to track a glove side shot.

 

[stish]

He'll be fired half way through next season.

But it was nice of Burke to give him a retirement deal.

This sounds familiar. Ron Wilson?

 

[Snakepit]

To quote another user on another forum:

No coach in the history of the NHL could have coached the roster he's had to any championships. We're building here, so you evaluate the sturdiness of the blocks. There is no question that the team cohesiveness, the individual strides and the overall effort and no-quit attitude this team has is top of the league. That's all the coach and the leadership group the coach inspired and appointed.

To add to that, I think consistency is hugely important especially during a rebuild.

What head coaches that might be around this off season are better than Hartley? Is that worth setting the rebuild back by changing the systems?

Anyone saying this is a bad move has no idea what they're talking about. This is the best coach the Flames have had since Darryl Sutter.

 

[MarkGio]

Sven Baertschi and Curtiss Glencross. But yes in general bob has done a great job.

Looking at numbers, but we barely saw Baerachi before Hartely. Still, Baertachi is looking more well rounded under Hartz.

 

[Reinhart]

Good timing. Flames play hard under Bob. They formed a real identity under Bob. They have exceeded expectations under Bob.

The last thing you want as an organization is to kiss the above away by letting him walk. As for timing - it was about time. You can't leave him and the rest of the team wondering if he is a lame-duck coach.

As for everyone arguing against this signing (which are few), who really is going to replace Hartley? I can't think of any candidates. Even Babcock if he decides to leave the Wings would probably have a number of teams chasing him that he would probably rather go to. I can't think of a better coach to replace Hartley with that is available now.

 

[Kaapo Cabana]

I think the extension and the losing streak are unrelated. I'm sure the talks were ongoing.

Not letting the losing streak dictate long term plans shows the confidence the Flames have in Hartley.

Having a coachthat knows the organization has faith in him is much more conducive to success than the feeling of walking on eggshells with every decision made.

Good move by Calgary

 

[Flair Hay]

Good call Flames. He's shown he can get the most of his group. It's up to his bosses to get him the right guys now.