This decision was anything but a surprise. Elliotte Friedman hinted weeks ago that Ward would probably be sticking around. And it’s not as if keeping Ward is completely unjustified.
Under Ward the Flames accrued the 11th most points. Their underlying numbers weren’t as good as the results would make you think – they ranked 19th in Corsi For% and had a negative chance differential – but it’s not hard to see why GM Brad Treliving would be enticed to keep him around.
You can definitely nitpick some of the things Ward did. For example, I think he waited much too long to make adjustments with a struggling top line in the playoffs.
Big picture, though, things went about was well as anyone could have realistically hoped during Ward’s tenure as the interim.
When you consider a) the Flames may be heading for a retool; b) Ward is familiar with the roster and organization (that’s a bonus considering we may be dealing with shortened camps, fewer preseason games, a condensed season etc.) and; c) he is cheaper than chasing a big name, keeping Ward around makes sense.
The Flames generally don’t spend a ton on coaching to begin with. Given they’re cutting some costs internally, this probably isn’t the time to buck the trend.
We now know the Flames aren’t making changes behind the bench. It’ll be interesting to see which changes they make on it.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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