It's been more than three weeks since Bob Hartley was relieved of his duties and we're finally starting to get some clarity as to who will be the next coach of the Calgary Flames.
While there are no shortage of rumored candidates a couple have emerged from the pack, according to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Sun.
As many as 10 candidates may be considered for the Flames’ position and the front-runners now appear to be New Jersey Devils assistant coach Geoff Ward and former Edmonton Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger. Flames GM Brad Treliving has cited the experience of building something of significance at various levels in the game as being a key criteria to develop his young players and get the Flames back to the playoffs.
I've touched on Ward's credentials in the past but here are the cliffs notes: he was a long-time assistant with the Boston Bruins and helped them get to a pair of Stanley Cup Finals. He won coach of the year and a league title his only year coaching in Germany, and his most recent NHL work involved coaching a Devils team short on talent to have a top-10 power play.
He doesn't have any head coaching experience in the NHL but he's had success everywhere he has coached and I'm not sure what more he could accomplish as an assistant.
Krueger is the lesser of the two candidates, I think. He's known to be a player's coach more than an x's and o's guy and his most recent NHL stint with the Edmonton Oilers didn't go overly well.
He has since moved on to work with Southampton of the EPL, and was recently named head coach of Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey, so he's clearly still well regarded by some.
Krueger isn't near the top of my list, however, I think I'd rather roll the dice with him than a guy who has struggled mightily to adapt to the new NHL like Randy Carlyle.
It would seem Brad Treliving agrees.
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