With all the talent the Calgary Flames had last season, you would think they would make the playoffs, right? Wrong.
After being right up in the playoff race in the Western Conference, and with 1.1 seconds left in a game against the Islanders, en route to a 3-2 win, the worst thing that could happen happened. Workhorse goalie Mike Smith injured his groin. Plus, to make matters worse, the two backup options they had were young rookies Jon Gillies and David Rittich. The Flames needed a miracle but they didn’t get it. However, think of it this way. I don’t think the Flames should have had to fight that hard for a spot anyway. They had the same, if not more, amount of skill than the likes of the Minnesota Wild and the San Jose Sharks, who had 101 and 100 points respectively. So you can either blame the players for not performing or the coach. However it is hard to blame the players when stars like Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano are having career years. It’s not like you could blame the goaltender either. If not for his injury, Mike smith probably would have been in Vezina talk.
So there’s only one person to blame, and that’s 47 year old Glen Gulutzan. His tactics weren’t the most motivational or helpful, especially when he lost his temper at a Flames practice, with some rather explicit language and some stick throwing. I’m not saying he’s a bad coach. I’m just saying he’s not quite ready for a full time gig yet. If I could compare him to one NHL player, it would be Hunter Shinkaruk, who was recently traded to Montreal. He just needs a little more time in the minors. Same with Gulutzan.
After hiring coach Bill Peters to replace him, I think the Flames are in better hands. He had a decently good record with a mess of a Carolina Hurricanes team and with some real talent in Calgary, they have a good shot at the second or third round of the playoffs.
The Flames are also getting some assets from the Canes, trading them star Dougie Hamilton, 20 goal scorer Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm is a good trade. Lindholm is statistically better than Ferland, and the Flames already have plenty of offensive defencemen (Giordano, Brodie ,etc.) and need some actual good defensive defencemen . Another piece that came over from Carolina is Derek Ryan, who is a good depth signing, and will provide a scoring touch to the bottom six. Bottom line, a new coach, some new faces and a (hopefully) healthy Mike Smith should be their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Though if you’re still worried about the backup goalies, in case Smith goes down, you don’t need to worry. The Maple Leafs are reportedly shopping around goalie Calvin Pickard, and the Flames have shown a ton of interest. However, don’t take my word for it. I’m just a ten year old aspiring GM.
Leave a comment to let me know if you think the Flames are contenders.
See you next week,
Johnny.