Flames may have cost coach Gulutzan his job

Of all the things the Calgary Flames players should be ashamed of this season, one of the most damning is they’ve put their coach in harm’s way.

They are the ones who have likely played Glen Gulutzan out of a job.

They, in large part, are the ones who got Bob Hartley fired for being too hard on them. Now it looks like one of the league’s most player-friendly coaches will be their next victim.

As affable a person as he is and as well as he’s represented the team and the city, Gulutzan is one of the first people GM Brad Treliving will have to make a decision on as he assesses where and how it all fell apart.

It’s not to suggest the team’s four wins in its last 17 games is all on the coach. This meltdown, as Treliving told Postmedia, is about the players’ inability to rise to the occasion and be as “emotionally invested” as needed to win in this league.

Does the coach play a role in getting players motivated, hyped, prepared and ready for big games?

You bet he does.

But in today’s NHL, the old rah-rah speeches before games don’t have the effect they used to, given the money and power players have, weakening a coach’s impact.

You can’t teach someone how to hate losing, and far too many players on this roster don’t fear or despise losing as they should.

Gulutzan was brought in, purposefully, as a new-age coach who uses analytics and video faithfully to help teach and motivate his players.

His approach revolves around respecting the players, giving them rope, and asking for buy-in.

Captain Mark Giordano insists that just because he’s a very approachable coach doesn’t mean he’s a pushover.

“No. There’s none of that,” insisted Giordano, who calls Gulutzan a “forward-thinking ” coach.

“Sometimes there’s that misconception. He holds guys accountable. We have a lot of video and you’ve seen a few times this year he hasn’t been too happy out there with us. That starts with him but then it’s on us to hold one another accountable.”

They clearly haven’t.

The team’s fragility, and horrific home record, certainly doesn’t reflect well on the coach, nor does the way this team folded at a time when a playoff position was in their grasp.

The 29th-ranked power play also falls largely on the coaching staff, especially given the questionable personnel they deployed on it.

On paper, this team is too good to miss the playoffs by as much as it did. (The Flames are much closer to the Oilers than they are to a playoff spot.)

After squeaking into the playoffs last year and getting swept by Anaheim, the Flames were expected to not only be in the post-season but make some noise while there.

Instead, they took a giant step back with a two-month collapse that exposed character flaws that will require moves of significance this summer to remedy.

The coach will likely be the first victim.

When asked about Gulutzan’s future earlier this week, Treliving shocked no one by refusing to comment, other than to remind the questioner, “he’s a good coach.”

Good coaches get fired every year, in every sport.

So do good people, which, again, is why these players will regret costing Gulutzan a job.

They like and respect the guy, but clearly have a funny way of showing it.

Speculation has run rampant of late there may be a spate of coach firings on what some suggest will be like the NFL’s Black Monday.

The Chicago Blackhawks officially took Joel Quenneville off that potential list Thursday when it was announced by the team he’d return next year despite authoring his first losing record in 21 seasons.

It was a significant development as fewer firings put less of an impetus on hasty coaching decisions following the final game. The more coaches who are fired, the greater chance a team on the fence would jettison their coach, with an eye on plucking a recently unemployed candidate out of the pile.

It’s unlikely Gulutzan will be fired Monday, as Treliving has always prided himself on taking the emotion out of decisions and taking a measured approach to figuring out how best to proceed. The GM will want Gulutzan’s thoughts and feedback on the season.

Keep in mind, Hartley wasn’t fired until May 3, 2016, more than three weeks after exit meetings with players, giving Treliving ample time to figure out which people were part of the problem and who should be part of the solution.

Don’t be surprised if his decision on Gulutzan takes that long.

In terms of coaching options, Darryl Sutter’s name will spark endless local debate, as will Willie Desjardins and Dave Tippett, who coached in Arizona while Treliving was the assistant GM.

One of the more intriguing fits would be Carolina coach Bill Peters, who has strong Alberta ties and would love to return to the Western Conference if his stint with the Hurricanes comes to an end. He was the coach Treliving had when overseeing Canada’s entry at the 2016 world championships.

Had this team lived up to expectations, there’s little doubt Gulutzan would be a shoe-in to finish the third and final year of his contract next season.

However, his players not only let the city and the organization down, they left a good coach twisting in the wind.

Shame on them.