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.