Flames remove interim tag, name Geoff Ward head coach
The Calgary Flames removed the interim tag Monday and named Geoff Ward the 20th head coach in franchise history. The new deal is for two years, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Named interim coach in November after previous bench boss Bill Peters stepped down, Ward guided the Flames to a 25-15-3 record over the remainder of the regular season. He also helped secure the team's spot in the postseason after eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in the qualifying round.
With just under a full season at the helm, Ward now hopes to spend this offseason improving his squad based on feedback from his players.
"One of my first jobs is going to be to talk to all the players," Ward said. "I really want to dig in with them, really get their feedback on how they felt during the season, and through the playoffs, areas where they think we're good, areas where they feel we can continue to get better.
"We want to talk about their roles, how they can continue to expand. I want some feedback from them on what they felt we can do better as a coaching staff in order to help them continue along the path we've started."
Ward first became an assistant coach in the NHL in 2007 with the Boston Bruins. He had a stint in the same role with the New Jersey Devils before landing in Calgary as an associate coach in 2018.
During his time behind the bench this season with Calgary, the Flames ranked fourth in the Western Conference in points percentage and eighth in the league. During that span, the Flames' power-play percentage of 25.7 also ranked second in the league.
Ward said he's using his team's first round elimination as an opportunity to watch the playoffs and learn from the remaining teams.
"I'm always thinking about moving ahead," Ward said. "So I've been spending an awful lot of time just watching the playoffs, taking what I feel we can use from the games that are being played, and how we can apply it with our team, and, you know, putting a plan together for some ideas to be brought up with Tre (general manager Brad Treliving) and the management team as to where do we move ahead from here with our team in order to make it better and take that next step."