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On December 17, the Calgary Flames announced that Head Coach Bob Hartley received a multi-year contract extension, keeping him behind Calgary’s bench for the foreseeable future. He was hired by the club in May of 2012, and over his three seasons with the Flames he has complied a record of 71-79-13. While few coaches would receive such an extension with a record below .500, there are a couple of reasons as to why getting Hartley long-term was a smart move for the Flames.
First of all, he is someone who has invaluable experience with 813 NHL games as head coach, a Stanley Cup championship with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, and he recently earned his 400th career win on December 4. Having all of this on his resume is beneficial to a young team like Calgary. A lot of their players haven’t been in the NHL for a longtime, so having a veteran coach lead the team really makes sense.
It’s no secret that the Flames are in a rebuilding mode, and a key to rebuilding is having everyone buy into the program, including the coach. Having Hartley onboard for the future shows the younger players that he wants to win alongside them. He has done a great job with young guys, such as Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, and having him in Calgary long-term will only benefit the group as a whole.
In the future, everyone will be on the same page, because they have learned together and will know what to expect of each other. It’s tough to go through a rebuild when you have different coaches every other year, because the systems change. For proof, just look at the Edmonton Oilers.
Keeping Hartley with the team will really benefit the Flames in the future. He is an experienced coach who has won before and has been great with the new wave of young players. He deserved the extension and it was a great move by General Manager Brad Treliving.
Shaun Lavery is a Calgary Flames writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, or add him to your network on Google.
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