Calgary Flames: Everything pointing to Bill Peters as new Head Coach
With the Calgary Flames recent firings of head coach Glen Gulutzan and two assistant coaches, it begs the question of who will be the new bench boss.
Well, just like the last few off-seasons, Brad Treliving has been a busy man. With the Calgary Flames recently firing head coach Glen Gulutzan along with assistant coaches Paul Jerrard and Dave Cameron, people are wondering how soon the Flames will be getting a new head coach. And it may be much sooner than we thought.
There have been rumours circulating that it’s coming down to Darryl Sutter and Bill Peters. Darryl Sutter was a coach for the Flames between 2003 and 2006 and led them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004, the franchise’s first since 1989.
He was most recently the head coach of the LA Kings from 2011-2017, where he led them to two Stanley Cups, including their first in franchise history. However, in the last three seasons under Sutter, they failed to qualify for the playoffs twice and the other time, they lost in the first round.
Related Story: Flames fire head coach Glen Gulutzan and two assistant coaches
Right now, it seems like lots of signs are pointing to Bill Peters, most recently the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes who resigned like… an hour ago. Peters had a 14-day window open for when he would have to resign as the Canes’ coach if he wanted to explore other options. Today was his last day and he had to do it by noon ET.
Not only that but yesterday, the Flames asked permission to speak to Peters, which apparently, the Canes had no problem allowing. There’s also this:
.@FriedgeHNIC on Bill Peters: "My expectation is that it's going to get done. He's going to be the coach in Calgary." #Flames
— Barnburner (@Barnburnerfn) April 20, 2018
And I trust Elliotte Friedman with my life.
It could very well be that Peters would like to explore other options. Bob McKenzie reported that multiple teams have expressed interest in him. He’s been the head coach of the Canes for the last four seasons, which happens to be his only NHL head coaching job. He is also from Three Hills, Alberta and this could be an opportunity for him to be closer to family.
As head coach of the Hurricanes, they went 137-138-53. They have missed the playoffs all four seasons under Peters.
The only thing is that, at a Press Conference on Tuesday after the firings of the coaches, Treliving mentioned how having a coach with lots of NHL experience is crucial. Peters has just four years of NHL head coaching experience and three years of NHL assistant coaching experience. Sutter has six times more years of head coaching experience.
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But with everything happening today, it seems like lots of signs are pointing to Peters as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames. But Treliving could still be exercising his options, and so could Peters. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.