Calgary Flames Make Mistake In Hiring Cameron

The Calgary Flames have had a very productive summer, but hiring assistant coach Dave Cameron was the wrong move for the organization.

The Calgary Flames have had a terrific offseason thus far. General Manager Brad Treliving has essentially knocked off just about everything on his summer check list.

Hiring a new coach? Yup, Calgary hired Glen Gulutzan who comes highly recommended and seems due to redeem himself in his second stint as an NHL head coach.

Add some young talent via the 2016 NHL entry draft? The Flames snagged Matthew Tkachuk at 6th overall and still managed to get some interesting talent in the later rounds like Dillon Dube, Tyler Parsons, and Eetu Tuulola.

How about adding a true number one goalie? Acquiring Brian Elliott for the very reasonable cost of a couple of draft picks gives the Flames their first true number one puck-stopper since Miikka Kiprusoff graced the Flames net. Signing one of the best back-ups in the NHL in Chad Johnson solidifies the position brilliantly and gives Calgary an enviable goaltending tandem heading into next season.

Ok, but what about a right-winger to play in Calgary’s top-six, preferably a guy with size? Signing Troy Brouwer fills a lot of needs for the Flames, even if they had to overpay a little, it was nothing compared to some of the other insane contracts doled out on July 1st, looking at you David Backes.  Calgary also added some nice depth at the right-wing position by acquiring Alex Chiasson and Linden Vey.

Finally Calgary wrapped up a busy few weeks by hiring two assistant coaches in Paul Jerrard and Dave Cameron. First lets talk about Paul Jerrard, who will be in charge of Calgary’s defence man and penalty kill. Jerrard is a decent hire for the club, as he seems to be more of a teacher than a yeller and screamer. Jerrard has only played 5 games in the NHL, so he will have to command respect from the players through something other than an illustrious playing career, which could be an issue.

Jerrard will run Calgary’s P.K. and he has had some success in the AHL, finishing 2nd, 4th, and 6th in the AHL’s penalty kill rankings. In his time in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, he finished 13th and 17th before being fired along with Glen Gulutzan. I don’t mind the hire, as I think Jerrard will help the Flames penalty kill, although I guess it can’t get much worse.

The real stinger came in the hiring of the other assistant coach, Dave Cameron. I see the reasoning behind hiring Jerrard as he has had success coaching a team’s penalty kill, and has a relationship with head coach Gulutzan, but the hiring of Cameron is a head-scratcher.

With a crop of great junior coaches, and AHL coaches to choose from the Flames had their pick of the litter of several coaches who could help their team. But Calgary wanted a former head coach to help Gulutzan deal with the pressures of being a head coach in the NHL, and Cameron would fit the bill as he spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Ottawa Senators.

Cameron was chased out of Ottawa and was publicly criticized by outspoken owner Eugene Melnyk for some of his coaching decisions. After a terrible season in Ottawa, Cameron was shown the door and looked to be done in the NHL for awhile. However, Cameron wouldn’t have to wait long for his next opportunity as Calgary hired him only months after he was fired from the NHL.

I believe there is something intrinsically wrong about hiring a coach who was just recently fired from the NHL, as how much can actually be changed and upgraded about a coaches make-up in a matter of months? While Cameron will be in a different capacity with Calgary, I don’t support the theory that he will thrive in a situation with less pressure on him, people tend to not have magical renaissances in such short periods of time.

As he will be in charge of the Flames power-play, lets take a look at his track-record with power plays in the NHL. As a head coach Cameron finished with the 21st power play in both of his seasons, and finished with the 8th, 20th, and 13th ranked power play as an assistant. While he has had some success as an assistant coach in the NHL, don’t forget that Cameron had one of the most dynamic and best power play defence man in the game in Erik Karlsson, and still couldn’t maintain consistent success.

Most concerning about Cameron is the fact that he has been known to be hard on his players, and coaches a somewhat similar style to outgoing coach Bob Hartley. Calgary has been trying to move into the new-age of thinking by adding smart forward thinking people, hiring Cameron is certainly a step in the wrong direction as his inability to adjust and come up with new ideas and approaches is one of the primary reasons he was canned in Ottawa.

Hiring Cameron also creates a confusing coaching structure for the players as Martin Gelinas remains with the club as the “eye in the sky” and will split the forward-coaching duties with Cameron. This seems incredibly odd to me, as I don’t think having four assistant coaches will be prudent to success for Calgary, as the players might struggle with having four coaches to listen to.  Remember when Calgary brought three goalies on one-way deals to training camp, how did that work out?

Next: Calgary Flames Draft Day Analysis, Grades

After a brilliant offseason which saw Calgary add quality piece after quality piece, the Flames took a blatant misstep by hiring Dave Cameron. Cameron’s lack of success running a teams power play, and ugly departure from Ottawa do not inspire confidence in his abilities. Time will be the only thing that will truly tell if Cameron was a good hire for Calgary, but right now Cameron’s hire only tarnishes an otherwise terrific offseason for Calgary.