Geoff Ward, Flames 18 th coach

[travel_dude]

For me, this playoffs will be his proving ground.  BP was outcoached las year, and so far I haven't seen enough good decisions made in game to suggest that Ward is much better.  While an early exit needs to reflect on the players, it also reflects on the coach.  Was there something different he could have done or is he content with having a single plan and staying that plan till the bitter end.

[JTech780]

Well I have been pretty hard on Ward and have been pushing for Gallant or Laviolette for awhile, but with the layoff and a bit of a camp he was able to impliment some new systems in the defensive zone and on the PP and both payed imeditate dividends. 

 

I also like the way he has changed this teams mentality and has them playing the right way. Previously I feel like this team would have faltered after the Jets pushed back and won game 2, but they came back re-focused and determined for games 3 and 4.

 

I now wouldn't mind sweing him back next year, because I really like the way he has this team playing. Though the real test will be the next series.

[The_People1]

42 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

Though the real test will be the next series.

 

This.  We were gifted the series against the Jets.  We likely won't get that lucky again next round.  That will be the real test.

[cross16]

I thought the Flames, in terms of their game plan and structure, were well prepared for the Jets style of play. That speaks well to the coaching staff as well as the adjustments they made during the series and to the PP. 

 

that being said I also agree that this series didn’t present the challenge you were looking for. Even with Schiefelle and Laine In the lineup the Jets are not a very good team imo with a huge weakness on D. Take those 2 out and the series was right there for the taking. Flames really has no adversity in the series and until they do or play a higher wiling opponent I’m not willing to give them or the staff too much credit. 
 

having said that as I’ve said for a while I do think he will be the permanent coach of this team. The players seem to really like him as shown here

 

 

[travel_dude]

3 hours ago, cross16 said:

I thought the Flames, in terms of their game plan and structure, were well prepared for the Jets style of play. That speaks well to the coaching staff as well as the adjustments they made during the series and to the PP. 

 

that being said I also agree that this series didn’t present the challenge you were looking for. Even with Schiefelle and Laine In the lineup the Jets are not a very good team imo with a huge weakness on D. Take those 2 out and the series was right there for the taking. Flames really has no adversity in the series and until they do or play a higher wiling opponent I’m not willing to give them or the staff too much credit. 
 

having said that as I’ve said for a while I do think he will be the permanent coach of this team. The players seem to really like him as shown here

 

 

 

And isn't that part of being a successful coach, your team follows you and plays better as a result.

There are still things about him that bother me, but I think sometimes management puts things in his head.

Don't give him a Rinaldo and he won't play him.

By now, he should know what it takes to have a winner.

 

[JTech780]

6 hours ago, cross16 said:

I thought the Flames, in terms of their game plan and structure, were well prepared for the Jets style of play. That speaks well to the coaching staff as well as the adjustments they made during the series and to the PP. 

 

that being said I also agree that this series didn’t present the challenge you were looking for. Even with Schiefelle and Laine In the lineup the Jets are not a very good team imo with a huge weakness on D. Take those 2 out and the series was right there for the taking. Flames really has no adversity in the series and until they do or play a higher wiling opponent I’m not willing to give them or the staff too much credit. 
 

having said that as I’ve said for a while I do think he will be the permanent coach of this team. The players seem to really like him as shown here

 

 

 

I will say that even though Calgary won the series and they were supposed to, when you look around the league and see all the upsets in the making, Montreal over Pittsburgh, Columbus over Toronto, Chicago over Edmonton, Arizona over Nashville, that easily could have been the Flames.

 

The biggest change for me and you alluded to it, is that he has the players buying in and believing. This is a team who has had trouble competeing consistently and has a long history of playing down to their opponent. Through this series he seems to have changed that mentality.

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, JTech780 said:

 

I will say that even though Calgary won the series and they were supposed to, when you look around the league and see all the upsets in the making, Montreal over Pittsburgh, Columbus over Toronto, Chicago over Edmonton, Arizona over Nashville, that easily could have been the Flames.

 

The biggest change for me and you alluded to it, is that he has the players buying in and believing. This is a team who has had trouble competeing consistently and has a long history of playing down to their opponent. Through this series he seems to have changed that mentality.

 

He will no doubt be measured by how well they do in the next series, but we did see a team different from last playoffs.

Certainly less fragile.

Tough without being (Kassian) dumb.

The players that should be contributing are.

Maybe the scoring is less where it is expected, but that too will come.

I have been more impressed with attention to detail.

Taking out guys that have a scoring chance more than lazy penalties.

Backchecking to strip the puck or support the D-men.

Forcing the will on the other team instead of reacting to it.

 

I look forward to the next round to see what they have learned against the Peg and how they will adjust to a different style of play. 

[jjgallow]

Ward is the real deal and proving it.  Took the Flames way to long to bring him up.

 

 

[The_People1]

So Ward is done right?  He over coached in the most important game of the season/playoffs.

[robrob74]

5 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

So Ward is done right?  He over coached in the most important game of the season/playoffs.

 

yup! 
it looked like he finally got the guys going. It they somehow beat themselves in the second period, even when Dallas wasn’t even going or doing things well. 

[ABC923]

He mismanaged the biggest game of the season, hard to see him come back. Especially if we can land one of the big fish coaches out there.

[travel_dude]

On 8/16/2020 at 4:02 AM, jjgallow said:

Ward is the real deal and proving it.  Took the Flames way to long to bring him up.

 

 

 

The real deal sealed it for himself.

 

[phoenix66]

19 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

The real deal sealed it for himself.

 

I fully expect Ward to be back .

I look at his whole body of work 

Turned the team around after a tailspin, players bought into the system 

The system was good , needed better execution..that's on the players .

 

He'll be questioned over the Talbot lull , but if he hadn't and Talbot  kept allowing softies he'd be getting burned for not pulling him 

 

I'm more concerned about Huska..  why were we not blocking shots ? Our best guy for doing that was out, but not enough was happening in close 

[The_Tribal Chief]

Cant blame the coaches for everything we have had so many coaches i have lost count

[cross16]

I'm at the same place with Ward i've been since the end of the season. I do expect he'll be the permanent coach but I don't think it's worth being excited over. I do think Ward got out coached in this series and his mistakes were a factor but at the same time this is a player problem for sure and i'm not going to even hint that I think a new coach or coaching is the biggest issue they have. 

 there are things I like about Ward:

He's positive, a good communicator, seems to empower his players, willing to adapt, willing to experiment and i think a real good PP coach. 

 

However, what I don't like:

Passive defensive system (i'll give him an out here because I don't know if this is opinion driven or personnel driven), I really worry about his accountability with players (we saw the same mistakes repeated again and again), and he is one of the poorest in game NHL coaches i've seen. He appears really over his head when it comes to managing the game and he's made so many critical mistakes (Talbot pull, keeping Bennett-Lindholm out for 3 min at the end of the game) and they add up. 

 

He'll probably remain the coach but I think the Flames would be wise to try and find an upgrade. I don't think he's terrible but I also think he's nothing special and probably at best, would be an avg to below avg NHL coach. 

[tmac70]

The only Difference from this year vs last is behind the bench. This team looked marginally improved. It’s been a revolving door for coaches because the players seem to not want to play for a specific coach. IMHO you bring in said coach and for those who wish not to play, pack your Satoshi Nakamoto your leaving 

[JTech780]

For me it depends on what the plan is this off season. Are there going to minor tweaks and then try to be competitive, then you need to find a different coach.

 

Or are they going to do a major overhaul and look to go with a younger team, then I can see the advantages of having Ward around. He is really positive, is a good communicator and the players seem to respond to him. I think that benefits a younger rebuilding team.

 

I just don't think Ward is the coach to take you over the top, because of his in game coaching is lacking.

[travel_dude]

39 minutes ago, cross16 said:

I'm at the same place with Ward i've been since the end of the season. I do expect he'll be the permanent coach but I don't think it's worth being excited over. I do think Ward got out coached in this series and his mistakes were a factor but at the same time this is a player problem for sure and i'm not going to even hint that I think a new coach or coaching is the biggest issue they have. 

 there are things I like about Ward:

He's positive, a good communicator, seems to empower his players, willing to adapt, willing to experiment and i think a real good PP coach. 

 

However, what I don't like:

Passive defensive system (i'll give him an out here because I don't know if this is opinion driven or personnel driven), I really worry about his accountability with players (we saw the same mistakes repeated again and again), and he is one of the poorest in game NHL coaches i've seen. He appears really over his head when it comes to managing the game and he's made so many critical mistakes (Talbot pull, keeping Bennett-Lindholm out for 3 min at the end of the game) and they add up. 

 

He'll probably remain the coach but I think the Flames would be wise to try and find an upgrade. I don't think he's terrible but I also think he's nothing special and probably at best, would be an avg to below avg NHL coach. 

 

Outcoached is the problem for me.  I think he is a good teacher.  I don't know that I like the defensive systems in place.  Is that on Huska?  The baby Flames were good under him, but I don't know if he is the right guy for this group.Is he just outlining the systems and guys like Gio revert to their own system?  Is he unable to get them all to buy in and they follow Gio?  Or is he just not understanding the game at the NHL level.

 

I dunno.  Something isn't right from the planning to execution.  I can't see a passive system as being a direction.  We have seen a different looking team.  Maybe the personnel changes impacted the game in the playoffs.  I wouldn't be keeping Forbort.  Gus I may have a use for, but only with a solid D-man beside him.  Gio had as bad a playoffs this year as last.  We need a combination of good coaching and good execution.  Can Ward drag the team there?  Probably not unless there is a turnover of some players.

[jjgallow]

2 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

The real deal sealed it for himself.

 

 

I'm expecting to see him back, but perhaps I'm overly optimistic that this will be seen for what it is, a problem at the GM level.

 

Compare this to Bill Peter's playoff record on the Flames.   Bill had a Much better team in front of him and they just crashed and burned by epic proportions...

 

Yet I never saw you have any issues with Bill until it was basically confirmed that he was a rotten human being.

 

Compare that to this year's playoffs..... They won their first "round" and at least had a close series with Dallas.

 

There's only one constant in all of this and that's the GM and the extremely poor playoff performers he assembles for us to endure each year.

[travel_dude]

5 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

I'm expecting to see him back, but perhaps I'm overly optimistic that this will be seen for what it is, a problem at the GM level.

 

Compare this to Bill Peter's playoff record on the Flames.   Bill had a Much better team in front of him and they just crashed and burned by epic proportions...

 

Yet I never saw you have any issues with Bill until it was basically confirmed that he was a rotten human being.

 

Compare that to this year's playoffs..... They won their first "round" and at least had a close series with Dallas.

 

There's only one constant in all of this and that's the GM and the extremely poor playoff performers he assembles for us to endure each year.

 

Please excuse reaction to his coaching of one game and some of his questionable choices.

There are things to like for sure.

I don't know what the future of the team is, so I can't say he is the right fit.

How much blames does Huska deserve?

Sigalet?

Gelinas?

 

My first reaction to an epic fail is to throw blame where it is deserving.

Top line, top D, shakey goaltendiong in relief.

Some of it was a byproduct of the reset.

BSD was not what he was and should never have played a game without tuneup.

In any other year, we could have been riding two goalies.

We had one that ended the season without know it was the end.

The other guys was battling back.

 

Ward used what he was given but made some poor choices in those decisions.

Forbort never showed in regular season that he was a good choice.

Gus was a QB specialist that didn't look good in the season.

We had Kylington and a few other players that might have fit better.

Rinaldo was not the worst decision but he is by far the worst player on the roster this summer.

Janko didn't play bad enough to deserve being sat.

[jjgallow]

51 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Please excuse reaction to his coaching of one game and some of his questionable choices.

There are things to like for sure.

I don't know what the future of the team is, so I can't say he is the right fit.

How much blames does Huska deserve?

Sigalet?

Gelinas?

 

My first reaction to an epic fail is to throw blame where it is deserving.

Top line, top D, shakey goaltendiong in relief.

Some of it was a byproduct of the reset.

BSD was not what he was and should never have played a game without tuneup.

In any other year, we could have been riding two goalies.

We had one that ended the season without know it was the end.

The other guys was battling back.

 

Ward used what he was given but made some poor choices in those decisions.

Forbort never showed in regular season that he was a good choice.

Gus was a QB specialist that didn't look good in the season.

We had Kylington and a few other players that might have fit better.

Rinaldo was not the worst decision but he is by far the worst player on the roster this summer.

Janko didn't play bad enough to deserve being sat.

 

Understandable yeah that was an emotional game to watch lol.   Truth is our fate was pretty well sealed before this game started and maybe Ward was being desperate.   I like Ward...he can't save this team though.  If our next GM wants a fresh start...fair enough.  But if they fire Ward and think the problem is solved then that would....not...go well

[sak22]

The decision last night backfired, if it worked out we are talking about who's starting game 7.  So much happened, Lucic took a bad penalty and the PK didn't do their job and let them back in.  Honestly this is a team lost series, while it becomes a coaching discussion, lets not have a grass is greener belief.  There is a coach who's name is constantly called for here who also watched his team blow a 3 goal lead in an elimination game last year.

 

[rickross]

I don’t see Ward coming back. He was handed a tough situation but I think we’ve seen enough to know he’s not the coach that’s going to take this team to the next level. He mismanaged too many opportunities not to mention his team handed the playoff series to the Stars. Flames are far too fragile mentally under Ward. There are MUCH better options at HC that will be available

[jjgallow]

please delete, duplicate post

[jjgallow]

Just a general reminder guys,  there is a reason why "Fire the Coach"  is widely seen as the dumbest fan response above all other fan responses.

 

We've tried it twice under BT.   If a GM has to go through 3 coaches and still can't put together a team that isn't embarrassing in the post season....

 

Well you know.   

 

Enough time has passed, enough coaches have been fired and enough poor player moves have been made that there is only one constant in this.