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What direction will Flames go after firing Glen Gulutzan?

Glen Gulutzan

Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan watches during the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, April 7, 2018, in Calgary, Alberta. (Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press via AP)

AP

The Calgary Flames are cleaning house and going with an entirely new coaching staff for the 2018-19 NHL season. On Tuesday, the team announced that head coach Glen Gulutzan and his assistants, Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard, were all fired.

In two seasons with the Flames, Gulutzan led them to an 82-68-14 record, which featured a playoff appearance last season. But this year, with postseason expectations, a second half swoon did them in and saw them go from playing hockey in late April to worry about the draft lottery later this month.

That power play was not good at all and dipped 4.2 percent from last season and the Flames allowed 2.4 more shots per game, yet their possession numbers were improved by three percent. But as Ryan Pike of Flames Nation dove into recently, there were plenty of issues with Gultuzan’s player usage and the overall systems being employed.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]

Gulutzan’s time might in Calgary might best be remembered for his stick throw during a January practice. Really, that just might be their highlight of the season.

Now comes the question of where will the Flames go for a replacement. As we touched on Tuesday morning, Carolina Hurricanes Bill Peters has until Friday to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract, and he is from Alberta and worked with Treliving at the 2016 World Championships. Alain Vigneault might be an option as well. There is also Dave Tippett, who was head coach of the Arizona Coyotes while Treliving was assistant GM there.

Depending on how fast Treliving wants to move here, he’ll have plenty of options available to him if he’s going to take some time to fill the position. He may have to battle with the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers -- and possibly others -- but if he decided to move on from Gulutzan now, he may already have someone in mind.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.