Hartley: Flames have a mandate to win, not tank
/Flames coach Bob Hartley, via The Calgary Sun, makes it clear there's a reason why he doesn't want his players trying to tank to increase the odds of the franchise getting a better pick in the draft lottery.
“As a coach, where will I draw that line, when I get in the locker room and I tell them, ‘Well … we don’t need to play hard tonight. It’s OK to lose,’ and then next week or next September, I tell them, ‘You guys have to go through the wall.’ ” Hartley said.
“There’s no halfway in this business. The scouts will find a way to get us some good players, and Brian Burke gave us a clear mandate to play to win.
“We have a bunch of kids. I’m not going to raise those kids showing them it’s OK to lose. That’s why we’re practising hard. That’s why the video sessions are the same. We’re going to fight until the last second of the game in Vancouver.”
Source: Randy Sportak, Calgary Sun