Flames fire head coach Gulutzan
CALGARY — The Calgary Flames fired head coach Glen Gulutzan on Tuesday after two years with the National Hockey League club.
Assistant coaches Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard were also relieved of their duties.
Gulutzan led the Flames to the playoffs in his first season with Calgary, eventually being swept by the Anaheim
Ducks. But the club missed the post-season in 2017-18 after posting a 37-3510 record.
“The shortcomings of our season are not solely placed on the three coaches,” said GM Brad Treliving.
“Accountability lies with all of us. When you make a decision (like) I made today, there is a lot of blame to go around.”
Calgary held the Western Conference’s final wild card spot Feb. 25 but finished 12th overall after finishing with just two wins over its final 11 regular-season games.
Calgary was a dismal 17-20-4 at home and its power-play was ranked 29th overall at just 16 per cent.
Gulutzan, 46, was Treliving’s first head-coaching hire.
Treliving extended the contract of Gulutzan’s predecessor, Bob Hartley, in December 2014, but sacked him 17 months later and brought Gulutzan on board.
Gulutzan has a 146-125-23 NHL coaching record that also includes two seasons with the Dallas Stars (2011-2013).