Treliving staking future on Peters
GM believes players will respond to Alberta native’s direct approach, demand for accountability
It’s not the popular choice, nor was it the most conventional approach.
However, the hiring of Bill Peters as coach of the Calgary Flames is a move Brad Treliving is clearly willing to stake his future as GM on.
“My job isn’t to go out and do what’s necessarily politically correct, or what’s safe, but my job is to do what’s best for the hockey club, and I have nothing but belief Bill is going to come in here and do a phenomenal job,” said Treliving at a Monday press conference, confirming the hire many had connected dots on a week earlier when Glen Gulutzan was fired.
“There were some great candidates out there. I have a file on a lot of guys from two years ago when I went through this process, so it’s not like we left stones unturned.”
Perhaps, but Treliving made an admission on Monday that would come across as shocking if not for his steadfast belief that Peters is the right hire: he didn’t interview anyone else.
“No, I didn’t,” said Treliving, uttering words rarely ever used following an NHL coaching hire. “I’m not going to elaborate on that. What I would say is, I was focused on Bill.”
Peters clearly left a sizable impression on Treliving at the world championships in 2016, when the coach brought home gold for a team assembled by Treliving and George McPhee.
He liked how prepared Peters was, as well as his modern and tactical approach to the game.
But what resonated most is what the Calgary Flames need more of than anything: the accountability Peters demands.
“I think he’s relationship-driven with players. He’s honest and direct,” said Treliving of the 53-yearold coach.
“One thing I want to make sure we’re doing as a staff is getting out from the coach’s room and spending time with the players to build relationships with the players. You can do a lot of things tactically when you find out what drives each player, and you’re pushing those buttons to drive and maximize the abilities of players. Ultimately that’s coaching.”
Ultimately that’s what this move is all about — changing the mental approach this group of underachievers had this year.
The style of play will be similar. Over the last week, as word filtered out Peters was set to resign in Carolina and join the Flames, fans grew angry that a list that included names like Darryl Sutter, Dave Tippett and Alain Vigneault was being ignored.
Their resumes include Stanley
Cups, Jack Adams Trophies, Presidents’ Trophies and trips to the final.
Peters failed to make the playoffs in four years with the Hurricanes. He has four less games of NHL head coaching experience than Gulutzan.
Fans hoped Treliving would also wait to see if list of qualified candidates might even grow after the first or second round.
However, Peters came across well at Monday’s news conference with a mindset, plan, birth certificate and approach that may already have turned a few naysayers.
Surely, those focused on the (137138-53) record of the Three Hills, Alta. native are aware the ’Canes generally spend $15 million below
the cap and have long iced young teams with horrific goaltending. Not excuses, just reasons. Peters made it clear his infamous rant on Eddie Lack late last season was a mistake, as he prides himself on building relationships with players, not destroying them.
As Sportsnet’s Rob Kerr put it, this is the Goldilocks Hiring: Bob Hartley was too hard on the players and Gulutzan was too soft, opening the door for a hire Treliving hopes is just right.
“I felt we lacked a little something that Bill’s able to bring,” said Treliving, reminding people the 53-yearold Peters coached Spokane to a Memorial Cup, has won several
international tourneys, and learned the trade under Mike Babcock.
“It’s a feel, it’s an intuition, having been around him. He has the ability, personality and style to push players.”
Five Flames players looked on during the press conference, soaking up as much information as they could on the new boss, who jets off Wednesday to coach Team Canada at the worlds next month.
So what can fans expect next fall? “We have an identity we want to work towards, for sure,” said Peters, who wants his defencemen jumping up to provide plenty of offence andchances.
“Everybody wants to be the hard-
est working team in the league. You want to be in that conversation.
“We want to have speed in our game, whether it’s puck speed, foot speed, we want to play quick, we want to have the puck and we want to attack.”
He believes in pairs — not trios — so Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan will start together. Other than that, he wants people to know the environment he’ll create should be, well, nowhere near a country club or a prison camp.
“I want the rink to be a destination they’re looking forward to coming to work,” said Peters. “We can be demanding without being demeaning.”