Fansided

Calgary Flames head coaching vacancy is NHL’s most coveted

By Dave Stevenson

CALGARY, AB - MARCH 31: Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan adjusts his tie while assistant coach Dave Cameron looks on in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, March 31, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. The Flames won the game 3-2. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - MARCH 31: Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan adjusts his tie while assistant coach Dave Cameron looks on in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, March 31, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. The Flames won the game 3-2. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Calgary Flames have what it takes to get whoever they want as head coach.

In what could be the start of a summer of change for the Calgary Flames, they fired head coach Glen Gulutzan and dismissed both of his assistant coaches after an underachieving season(37-35-10). This puts them in an interesting position. It’s one they aren’t used to, either. For the first time in a while, the Flames are coveted.

Though the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars already have head coaching vacancies, Calgary will be able to pick whoever it wants. This offseason’s crop of coaching candidates provides them with a variety of options. General Manager Brad Treliving seems intent on hiring a coach who has done it before in the NHL, so, sadly, we can eliminate Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Bringing back old friends is a new trend. For example, Randy Carlyle, who won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07, came back to Anaheim in the 2016 offseason. Also, just last summer, Ken Hitchcock, who brought a title to Texas with the Dallas Stars in 1998-99, returned to the Stars. Though he recently announced his retirement, he’ll remain with the team in an advisory role.

Should the Flames continue the trend, two-time Stanley Cup champion Darryl Sutter makes sense for both sides. Like Hitchcock and Carlyle, Sutter took his old team to the Stanley Cup finals. Sutter didn’t part the Flames on the best terms, but time heals all wounds.

Another old friend with an added degree of separation is former Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett. Treliving knows him well from his time as the Coyotes assistant general manager. The relationship between the head coach and general manager is a critical one. They have to be able to work together well. So why not reunite Treliving and Tippett, if both sides are interested in a reunion?

However, the best candidate technically isn’t available (yet). Bill Peters of the Carolina Hurricanes has a unique clause in his contract. The clause allows him to opt-out of his current deal, which provides him with a $1.6 million salary. Peters must exercise it by Friday, April 20.

The timing of the Flames firing Gulutzan is interesting. Calgary’s season has been over since the start of April. Why not fire Gulutzan earlier? If the simplest answer to a question is the correct one, the Flames were waiting on Peters and he has a good shot of being their next head coach. Treliving and Peters have a working relationship, as both were a part of Team Canada’s 2016 World Championship team.

Next: Each NHL Team's Biggest 'What If' Moment

Regardless of what Calgary decides to do, it should be able to hire its first choice. The Rangers and Stars can’t offer what the Flames can as far as roster talent.

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