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Posts posted by REV-G
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If Edmonton does take a defenceman and then Nail goes next and we end up being able to choose between Galyenchuk and Grigerenko, my choice would be Galyenchuk. I sure hope it goes that way. For us to be able to end up with a big, skilled centerman would be just what we've needed for many years.
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For the past few months I thought the draft order was pretty well established as Yakupov, Grigerenko and then Galchenyuk. A few questions. I'm reading that according to various reports Grigerenko's stock has fallen and he may be further down the list now. Is that right??
Secondly, I was really hoping we would get Galchenyuk because he is a center, very hard working, a great skater, and probably almost no threat to bolt to the KHL. What do you think the chances are of us being able to draft him at #3??
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Seems like a natural pick, especially considering the streak of movements between Chicago and Montréal.
Here's an interesting recent article on Haviland http://blogs.suntime...ent_mike_h.html
He looks like a good choice, seemingly well respected by the players. But one of the comments of the above quoted article reported: "Hawks' coach Joel Quenneville, who made the decision to cut ties with Haviland after the assistant coach had lackluster results directing the power play and penalty kill last season, said after letting him go that there had been "dysfunction" among his coaching staff during the campaign". We all know our PP has to improve if we are going to make it onto the playoffs. I wonder who is available who has a really good track record running a PP?
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Personally I think this is a ridiculous thread. Michel Therrien is a very good coach and he has proved it at every level he has coached at. Some people simply refuse to look at the positive accomplishments he has achieved.
For example: in junior he had a winning percentage of over 700 during a 4 year period. Shabby? I don't think so!
In 2003 he led Pittsburgh’s AHL team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, to the AHL finals. A bad coach? Not even close!
The next year he coached that same AHL team to a 92 point season. Anyone would take that, gladly!!
And the year after that his team started out with an AHL record of 15 straight wins and a record of 21-1-2-1, and the Penguins immediately promoted him and in his second year coaching in the NHL he was a finalist for coach of the year with a 105 point season. Was he able to do all that because he was a bad coach?
If he was a bad coach he could never have accomplished those things. Instead he was voted one of the very best coaches in the NHL.
And what happened after that??? Only that the next year Pittsburgh went out, under his system and coaching, and had another 102 point regular season and made it to the Stanley Cup final, where they lost a six-game series to a powerful Detroit Red Wings. Bad coaching? I don't think so.
Those are facts. That is his track record. Nothing is made up. So why in the world, after a very strong front office staff went through all the interviews and could have chosen any one of the other candidates, why do you think they chose Michel Therrien? Because they wanted to fail and lose their jobs and be critized?? Maybe it was because these experienced, very good evaluators of talent, came to the conclusion that he was the best candidate and would do a great job.
Let's try supporting their choice and at least give him a chance to succeed. It's a much better way to live life.
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By the way, all this "stacked team" stuff.. most coaches that have success have a stacked team. Boston, Vancouver, LA, NYR, Washington, Pitts.. they all have more talent that the Habs. A coach has to take the talent he has and get the most out of it. Playing in a cup final is not a bad record. Detroit had a stacked team with a lot more experience.
People around here act like we have a cup team over flowing with talent that is held back by bad coaching... open your eyes. We are a mediocre team with some bright spots, but some major weaknesses too. Some great goaltending and even some good coaching has masked some problems, but let's not pretend that we were an amazing coach away from a cup. With the right talent, Therrien is capable of taking them deep in the playoffs. If he moves us up from last to a playoff position this year, will he be a good coach, or a terrible coach because we didn't win?
Is Julien a great coach for winning the cup, or a terrible coach for going out in round one this year?
There a many good coaches in this league and Therrien is probably one of them. If he has a decent team AND has the right chemistry with them, then he will do well. If the chemistry doesn't click, then he probably won't succeed. Only time will tell.
I couldn't agree with you more. Well stated!!
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I think we’ve focused too much on the negatives regarding Michel Therrien so now let’s choose to look at the glass half full and see the positives that Marc Bergevin must have seen. When you look at his record Therrien has had a winning record at every level of hockey. Overall I would say that he has been very successful.
In 4 seasons of coaching in the QHJML his winning percentage was an outstanding .712!
In 1996 he won the Memorial cup coaching in Granby.
In 1997 Michel Therrien began coaching our AHL team in Fredericton and led them to the Eastern Conference finals.
In 1990-2000 he coached the Quebec Citadelles and led them to the Atlantic Division Championship.
In Nov. 2000 he became the coach of the Montreal Canadiens and led them to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.
In 2001-2002 he took us to the eastern conference semi-finals.
With not very good teams in Montreal his record was 77 wins, 77 loses and 36 ties.
In 2003 he led the Pittsburgh’s AHL team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, to the AHL finals.
In 2004-2005 he led that team to a 92 point season.
In the 2005-2006 his AHL team started out with a 21-1-2-1 record with a league record 15 straight wins.
He took over the head coach position of the Pittsburgh Penguins and in his second season there he was a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year after leading the Penguins to 105 points and a 47-point improvement over the previous season. It was the fourth-biggest turnaround from one season to the next in NHL history.
In 2007-08 Therrien's Penguins kept the same pace and earned 102 regular season points making their way to the Stanley Cup final, dropping a six-game decision to the Detroit Red Wings.
I think that according to his record we have a very good coach. Better than some that we interviewed and the truth is that most likely over these past years he has grown and improved and will likely be better that he was before, not worse.
So I think we have to trust Marc Bergevin and his team and begin to believe they’ve made the best decision and let’s go forward knowing we have some exciting times ahead!
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So this morning I read that RDS is reporting Roy is now officially out of the running. Other than a darkhorse appearing that none of us were anticipating the media is saying it is down to to Therrien and Crawford.
So why are the panel at AntiChambre pushing so hard for Therrien and why is he a finalist with our management team? I've heard and read a lot of negatives about Therrien, but let's force ourselves to look at the positive for a minute. On the positive side, what does Therrien bring to us that would cause Bergevin and his team to choose Therrien over say Crawford? There must be some things we're not seeing or not wanting to see! What do you think?
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Question: who would contribute more to our team next season, Brian Gionta or Jaromir Jagr? Evidently he wants to play another year but isn't committing to Philly at this point. Would he be a good fit for us?
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It's getting kind of funny hearing everyone, including me, going up and down and back and forth on this one. Some have stuck to their guns and named the guy they wanted from the beginning and stayed with it.
I thought Hartley was going to be the man. Not neccessaily my first choice, but I thought he was the one we'd choose.
So now that we're back to square one I think we have to admit that we really have nothing to go on other than our hopes and little bits of rumours we hear from the media, who also have gotten it wrong [with many saying last week [including me] it looked like Hartley was going to be the man].
At this point, today, after all our talk and speculation it looks like we have simply eliminated one candidate, Hartley, and we're still where we have been for a while, asking ourselves could it be Roy, Crawford, Therrien or a dark horse we didn't really think was in the running!! Personally I think we said no to Hartley, or he read between the lines, and that's why he accepted Calgary. But that's just my own gut feeling.
I don't know about you, but at this point, I think I might have moved into the Roy camp. Younger, fresh, passion, fire but unproven at NHL level. But someone already stated, Deboer came from junior, and so did Dale Hunter and they both did pretty good.
So for what it's worth, my top choices are now any of Roy, Lemaire or Robinson as head coach. The rest would all be second and third choices. But I do have a lot of trust in our management team led by Marc Bergevin. Hopefully this will come to a conclusion soon!!
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Shame on that flatulent old pustule.
This has always been the unspoken subtext behind the 'bilingual coach' issue - are we talking bilingualism, or are we talking full-fledged blood membership in la nation québécoise as defined by Jacques Parizeau? Racists like this should be bloody well sent packing.
Well said. I agree totally and I was born and raised in Montreal.
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And to add to and expand the thought that maybe we already have our #1 choice. I've read in a few places that Crawford is taking a daily intensive french speaking course. Would he do that if he wasn't getting the job? Again, just thinking outside the box a little, if Bergevin and his team decided after the interviews that Crawford was the best choice, maybe agreeing not to make an announcement for a month or a few weeks gives Crawford the chance to greatly improve his french speaking abilities and be able to communicate in french the day he is introduced. It could be settled and our #1 choice could be in the bag!
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Sometimes when things all seem to point to only one or two possible conclusions, it turns out that was not ever going to be the final answer.
Let me throw out a hypothetical scenario from left field. Maybe we're getting all worked up over nothing. What if Bergevin has already made his choice and it is not nor has ever been any one of Hartley, Crawford or Therrien?? What if he's waiting to make his annoucement till later because the person isn't free of their current committments? Is it possible that someone like Larry Robinson or Lemaire or both could possibly be the one [or ones] and we could have a great coach or team that we'd all be thrilled with?? Is that possible??
Bergevin and his team seem very calm and relaxed with no visible panic. Maybe it's settled and they've got their #1 choice and just have to wait to announce it. Is this possible??
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Question: is it just me or is there really much much more scrutiny, focus and research being done on this site on players being drafted in later rounds this year than ever before? Could the Claude Giroux rising star, and the fact we passed him over [as many others did] be forcing people to look more indepth at the players available after the top ten, or after the first round?? Is it more this year than other years?? Just curious.
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You're kidding right?? No speakin the french, no working behind the bench!!
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Great news. Hopefully we are seeing a strong foundation being laid for the coming years both in Hamilton and Montreal.
Personally, when I look at the young guys who have recently signed or who are about to, and likely a great 1st round pick this year, not to mention the later rounds, and the managment team that Marc Bergevin is putting together, I am more excited about our team that I have been for a long time. The biggest reason is that I believe we have a great top management team which gives me confidence that we will see some of the best player choices and decisions that we have seen in a long long time.
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To be honest, when I look at Bob Hartley or Marc Crawford I would be happy with either one. I commented on Hartley because there was a lot of talk yesterday that he was going to be the guy and I was responding to that. But I believe that Crawford is equally qualified and would do a good job.
Initially I was in Guy Carbonneau's corner, but truthfully, as much as I like him, he doesn't have the junior, AHL or even the NHL experience and success that both Hartley and Crawford have.
The bottome line? I agree with what's been already said that at this point, we have to put our trust in Bergevin and the great team he is surrounding himself with and have confidence that they know things we never will and that they will put the best person in place to coach our team. And personally, I do have that confidence in them. So we'll just have to wait and see.
However I am curious why no annoucement has been made yet. Either Hartley has to get out of his contract overseas or they have not made a decision yet and it still may be between 2 or 3 guys.
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Why? Explain.
When I look at Harley's record I think he has the best track record of any of the other candidates that we've talked about and it seems to me that he has had good success with his coaching style at every level.
In his first coaching experience with a junior team in Hawkesbury he won a championship.
He moved up to coach the Laval Tiatans and won a berth in the Memorial cup.
In the AHL he won two divisional titles and then went on to win the Calder Cup Championship in 1997.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
In 2006-7 he coached the Atlanta Thrashers to qualify for their first playoff appearance in team history.
Then this past year he evidently led his team in Europe to another championship.
He also speaks both languages fluently.
That's pretty impressive and consistant over quite a few years.
So IMO I believe that if you are an NHL coach and have had longevity of the kind Hartley has, that in itself says something about your ability when you consider how many "coaches in waiting" there are waiting for a chance to take your spot. Clearly Bob Hartley is a very good, qualified and successful coach.
Secondly, when you win championships and titles at virtually every level you've coached at, that has to be a testimony to your ability to coach. It's one thing to coach teenagers at the junior level and then quite another to coach millionaires in the NHL and win with them.
And I don't think any of the other candidates have quite that successful a resume. So that is why I think Hartley is the best choice to be our next head coach.
However with all the talk going on about who our next coach will be I am a little surprised that over the last week or so, with a few names seemlngly on the short list, there seems to have been no mention, or very little, of Marc Crawford. Kind of surprising.
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Usually when there are this many people reporting that Hartley is the guy, he likely is the guy. My guess is that Tuesday there will be an announcement. I personally think out of all the candidates Bob is the best choice and the best qualified. I really like this choice.
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Out of curiosity, where is Don Lever these days? Could he be a serious candidate? Didn't he do quite a good job for us in Hamilton?
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I guess, based on the results of the coaching poll which didn't seem to have any one coach way out in front [other than Robinson], that we will ultimately have to trust in the knowledge and skills of our new GM and his team to bring together the right coach, assistant coaches, players and scouts, and to draft the right players and make the changes to the team during the free agency period so whenever the new CBA is agreed upon we will have the team that will make the playoffs and be a contender.
I personally feel very confident that we have a very good, maybe excellent, management team that will build a strong contender with some great players coming up, including this years draft picks. I think we have a very bright future with Geoff Molson, Serge Savard, Marc Bergevin and the team of assistants and players they will put in place.
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Eklund is reporting that Tampa Bay would only be interested in Luongo if Vancouver would be willing to take back Lecavalier's contract....and that Vancouver has no interest in doing that at all.
So my thought/question is: if Tampa Bay really wants to unload Lecavalier's contract, and because of what he has done for their franchise they would never ever consider burying him in the minors, do you think they would ever consider trading him to us for Gomez and something else, and then bury Gomez in the minors, which they could do with no ramifications from their fanbase at all?
I guess part of the question is, would we want to take on a contract that large? But I don't know what Lecavalier's cap hit would be in the latter part of the deal? What do you think?
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I have a feeling Bob Hartley is going to be our guy.
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BUT....what if Robinson is now open, even wanting to be the head coach and has in mind some guys who would make a really strong staff around him?? I would do that in an instant!
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I wonder why we haven't considered Larry Robinson as a candidate to be our Head Coach? I know in the past he has said that the pressure was too much for him. But sometimes it takes a few years as an assistant coach to be able grow into the head postion. He's learned the ropes, how to cope with the media and handle the pressure. Maybe he's ready to be the head guy again. And yes, he does speak french very well. I just read in the Toronto Star that one of their reporters talked with Robinson's agent and just as we've heard, his agent said that Larry would be very interested in returning. Maybe he's open to being the head coach this time.
He is also very well connected and could bring in any number of high quality coaches. Maybe even Lemaire?? Roy?? I admit those guys probably aren't intereseted in coming in as assistants, but the names Robinson and Lemaire certainly go well together!
Who will it be, the assistant coaching edition
in Habs & Hockey Talk
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Can someone explain to me why Donald Audette was even interviewed. If he has not coached anywhere in pro hockey, other than midget??, why would we even be interviewing him???? Why spend the time and money when you have a guy like Gallant, who has done his time and has lots of coaching experience at the junior and pro level. Unless there's something we don't know that sounds very very strange to me.
I wonder if he was the one who pushed for us to sign Kaberle?? That alone could be the reason.