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The team’s troubles didn’t start in the final month of the campaign, although the last few weeks of the season went off the rails. The Flames won only two games in their final 11. It was hard to believe it was the same club that was in a playoff position on Feb. 25, when they occupied the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

They finished 20th overall while their home record, 17-20-4, was the 28th-worst in the NHL.

“Personality didn’t have a whole lot to do with this decision,” Treliving added. “I don’t think our group is necessarily a difficult group to coach. There are challenges. I think there are challenges with every group. But by no means is today’s decision letting anyone off the hook. You have success when players perform well.

“I felt that in order to get us to this level, we had to make this decision.”

The 46-year-old native of Hudson Bay, Sask., was hired by Treliving on June 17, 2016, following the dismissal of Bob Hartley who had spent four seasons at the helm of the Flames, including the truncated lockout season of 2012-13. Gulutzan has a 146-125-23 record at the NHL level between two season with Calgary (2016-2018) and two seasons at the helm of the Dallas Stars (2011-2013).

He had one year remaining on his contract.

“You can’t keep churning (coaches in and out),” Treliving said. “But, having said that, you can’t not make a decision for the same reason. Ultimately, it’s my responsibility to get it right. But anyone can look back historically and see where success lies. You’re going to have ups and downs … but stepping back and really analyzing how you have to move forward, I felt it had to be done.”