With Bob Hartley in place as the Calgary Flames’ new head coach, the question is: what direction will the franchise take? There have been many who’ve been calling for a rebuild for years now, especially since they failed to make the playoffs three seasons in a row, but Hartley told John Shannon that he “doesn’t expect to be part of a rebuild.”
Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that Hartley is correct, yet just about every sign is that the Flames aren’t embracing the idea of shaking the organizational Etch-a-Sketch. GM Jay Feaster has resisted the urge to blow things up by trading Jarome Iginla or many other reset-type moves, to the chagrin of some and relief of others.
In turn, the Flames have been stuck in what seems like hockey purgatory: not good enough for the postseason, but not bad enough to draw great draft picks.
Then again, Hartley probably sides with the “don’t rebuild” model. Compare his Cup-winning days with Colorado to his frustrating time as the Atlanta Thrashers coach and it’s easy to see why - beyond more obvious job security reasons - that he’s on board with the status quo.
In other news, Randy Sportak reports that Hartley plans on bringing on Jacques Cloutier as an assistant coach.
