The Calgary Flames have removed the interim tag and named Geoff Ward as their official head coach. Ward has now officially become the 20th head coach in the Flames franchise history.
Ward was named interim head coach following the resignation of Bill Peters who stepped down amidst allegations of racism. During his run as the interim head coach, Ward led the Flames to a 25-15-3 record. This was the eighth-best winning percentage in the league over that span. He then led the Flames to a 3-1 series win against the Winnipeg Jets in the qualifying round for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flames then lost to the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round of the playoffs.
Calgary Flames Make Geoff Ward Head Coach
Ward began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant behind the bench at the University of Waterloo. After 3 years he transitioned to the OHL as head coach of the Kitchener Rangers where he remained for five years. Starting in 2000-01 Ward spent time coaching in both Germany and North America where he won the AHL coach of the year award in the 2002-03 season as the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs.
The Boston Bruins hired Ward as an assistant coach in 2007. During his seven years there he contributed to winning the 2011 Stanley Cup championship.
In 2014, Ward returned to Germany as the head coach of Adler Mannheim of the German DEL pro hockey league. That season he led the team to a regular-season championship. In the finals they defeated ERC Ingolstadt in seven games. Ward also won the DEL coach of the year award that season.
On June 17, 2015, Ward was signed as an assistant coach by the New Jersey Devils under head coach John Hynes.
The following summer Ward was hired by the Calgary Flames. Now, he will look to lead the Flames further in the post-season. This should be a big offseason for Calgary, so knowing who their head coach will be is crucial.
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