Recently, the Calgary Flames announced the dismissal of their head coach, Bob Hartley. It came as a bit of surprising news as a fair amount of firings usually happen right after the season ended for teams who missed the playoffs.
Remarkably, Hartley went from Jack Adams winner to a coach looking for a job in about a year.
Bob Hartley received the Jack Adams Award on June 24, 2015 for what he did with the Flames last season. Now he's out of a job.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) May 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/twolinepass/status/727499194064338944
If I were a head coach I would start actively avoiding the Jack Adams trophy. The trophy basically rewards PDO, a stat that puts together save percentage and shooting percentage. Most teams average around 100 and is the baseline for the stat. Hartley’s playoff team had a very high PDO and because of it they rode it all the way to the playoffs. Good for the one season, but unsustainable over a long course of time.
With Bob Hartley out, three of the past five Jack Adams winners have been fired from team they won the trophy with.
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) May 3, 2016
While the firing may hurt for Hartley, for Flames fans this should be seen as a god send. They will have a real opportunity to upgrade the position in the near future with a large amount of good coaches still available.
GM Brad Treliving during a press conference today, spoke plainly about the firing:
“Bob has taken this team as far as I feel he can take it.”
When asked if Bruce Boudreau may be the person they are wanting to pursue, this was Treliving’s response:
“Today’s decision wasn’t based upon anybody sitting in the on-deck circle, This isn’t about ‘is there a prettier girl at the dance.'”
What an odd, odd statement. It remains to be seen if Boudreau is their man, nonetheless the Flames will be hard pressed to not find an upgrade over Hartley. Plenty of options still available.
