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Some thoughts and hope for next year-potential team as GM and coach.


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I still say that Marc Crawford is the number one candidate for coach next year. If he didn't have to be francophone, it might be different, but...

The sad thing about this is that cunney had a secure job in the minors, assisted in the bigs for 3 months, head coach for 4 months and out of a job. I'm sure he will find work in the minors, but you gotta think he is disapointed with the things played out.

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I actually forget the name of the assistant GM/Coach that we have right now.......having a brain fart.....but I definitely see him becoming the new GM. I know he hasn't had alot of gm experience but he has been around for a long time, in almost everyother capacity as a front office executive.

If we get Grigo in the draft I definitely see Roy coming over to coach the team.

I would really like to see Roy as coach with Cunny returning to assistant (if he'll have it).

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I'm also supporting the idea of a Pierre Lacroix / Patrick Roy tandem. Would make sense in a lot of ways.

Is Lacroix's health ok, would he have interest of coming here?

If they agree to come, they'll ask for full control and there could be radical changes from top to bottom. And on-ice philosophies change for sure.

Last place in the East would make that kind of overhaul legitimate.

I dont know about his health or if he'll come but I'd try hard. However my last comment was more a condemnation of McGuire than anything. If Lacroix wont come, Pierre McG is not a good plan B. This team needs credibility in the GM chair next year to restore respect league wide.

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Guess that Muller guy would have been a pretty decent pick up.

and I ask a question to all those in favor of Boucher. We were all upset at the Martin defensive system.....do we really want to go with a 1-3-1?

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Guess that Muller guy would have been a pretty decent pick up.

and I ask a question to all those in favor of Boucher.  We were all upset at the Martin defensive system.....do we really want to go with a 1-3-1?

Muller would've faced the same ****-storm as Cunneyworth maybe worse as Martin would've had to be fired after the playoffs not December.

Also we don't all hate defensive hockey, some of us preferred winning no matter what the system was that accomplished that.

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I still say that Marc Crawford is the number one candidate for coach next year. If he didn't have to be francophone, it might be different, but...

The sad thing about this is that cunney had a secure job in the minors, assisted in the bigs for 3 months, head coach for 4 months and out of a job. I'm sure he will find work in the minors, but you gotta think he is disapointed with the things played out.

I am sure Cunney is happy to have had a shot, regardless of how it plays out - cracking into the league as an NHL head coach is no easy task and he just broke the ice. I also don't doubt he is the first to have his premier assignment be a suicide mission.

That's how I'm seeing this, in retrospect: PG and Molson decided sometime in Nov or Dec (maybe after the Dec 6 loss to the CBJs extended another losing streak to three), after they'd learned that Markov wouldn't be back to help much this season (last surgery on Dec 5) that the season was definitely not going where they'd hoped. Next move was the trade for Kabs, which was not a trade for the Wiz, but, rather, a hail mary pass that secured a veteran puck-moving dman for the bottom pairing and second PP QB (a placeholder for Beaulieu). The loss to the Flyers became the pretext for getting rid of the overly defensive JM and handing Cunney the ball = hail mary number two.

My guess is that PG and Molson realized that JM had the coaching ability to likely keep the team on the bubble, and perhaps make the playoffs again, maybe. They, rightly, want more than the bubble and the opportunity was ripe. The plan was made to engineer a higher draft position and trade Cammy, AK and Gill to facilitate that plan. Trading Cammy was as important as ditching JM - he was the only elite offensive talent on the team, and he was almost healthy. Trading him freed up cap space, exchanging a large, affordable second line winger for one less smurf. The later is perhaps most important for the long-term plan. PG has been consistently signing, trading, and drafting for size (as well as speed). Yet DD was in the process of proving himself the real deal against the odds, and Gallagher is in the wings. Both are much more affordable than Cammy, but also shorter :) Not that either of them will replace him, but you can only have so many smurfs in the top 9. The real replacement for Cammy will be drafted in June, or acquired thereafter.

All this to say, that I think what we have been witnessing is the unfolding of Plan B for the season, and while it is not an outright Fail for Nail, it's about as close as you could get.

I hope PG sticks around. He is shrewd and courageous (e.g. Halak deal, signing Markov, these past couple months), and I trust his judgement.

I think we have an excellent core and I look forward to seing what they can do next season with a more experienced, offensively-geared, and communicative head coach.

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WOW

People should probably read page one first: http://articles.cour...r-paul-holmgren

In 15 years of covering the NHL, we had never seen a coach so universally disrespected and disliked within his own organization.

McGuire fancied himself two parts Scotty Bowman and one part Bob Johnson. It turned out to be a superhuman leap of faith on his part.

At 32, McGuire was the youngest head coach in the NHL. He never had been a head coach at any level. And it showed. He is book smart and X's and O's smart, but often not people smart.

When a young man is so headstrong, so emotional, so calculating, such a control freak, so full of ambition and so full of himself, he will either rocket to the top or crash.

Maybe McGuire will rebound. Maybe Quebec will hire him as head coach or Bowman will make him an assistant in Detroit. It is difficult to believe McGuire, who has one year and about $200,000 left on his contract, can remain with the Whalers in any official capacity.

Remember folks. This was written in 1994.

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I would like to see Scotty Bowman as coach and GM next year!!!!

dreamer. Scotty is retired and will stay that way. 10 years ago would have been great but a little to long in the tooth now, besides he's busy helping junior out.

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Top choice for GM: Nill by a country mile.

Failing that, I have no overpoweringly strong opinion, except to say that McGuire as GM is absolute anathema in my book. Names like Roy and even Damphousse have been thrown around. I'd live with either. Indeed, I've kinda warmed to the Patrick Roy-as-GM idea. Risky, yes, but strictly from a fan perspective there's something satisfying about the thought of the last great Saviour coming home and taking the reins; it feels almost like destiny, a potentially classic chapter in the long history of the Habs.

I also think that Carbo has a resumé that suggests he might be a plausible candidate. Nobody ever seems to mention him.

I suspect, though, that it'll end up being someone like Brisebois or Loiselle.Such names seem better to fit the organization's pattern of going after impeccable 'professional' suits with good, firm resumés and no special flair or drama. Of course, this was the pattern when Pierre Boivin was running the show; Molson is a fanboy who may opt for the more erratic, populist choices (ex-players, Big Names, etc.). And such choices aren't necessarily bad. Serge Savard was an inspired choice by that idiot Corey, all those years ago. In any case, the choice of GM will tell us much about our new owner.

The new GM will have a lot on his plate. Although there is a nucleus here, this team has a disturbing dearth of talent at key positions. We need a #1C, a #1 defenceman (unless Markov comes back strong) and, now that Cammy is gone, a top-line winger. Bagging even one of those will be challenging. It also suggests that we needn't worry too much about what position our top pick this season plays. We'll have a spot for him no matter what.

As for coach? Meh. Hopefully Boucher is canned and we can scoop him up. Since Vancouver will NOT be eliminated early, we can forget about Vigneault. I could live with Crawford; he did good work in Dallas despite being fired. Since coaches are ultimately disposable it's the GM thing that really interests me. That's the choice that will settle whether we're condemned to yet another decade of mediocrity.

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Just wondering. No one responded with a word to my theory posted above. I thought it was a bit provocative and had looked forward to some discussion. So, I am wondering if,

  1. My writing is convoluted and opaque? Or too long a post to bother reading?
  2. What I said is so obvious that everyone wanted to spare my feelings by not saying so?
  3. Folks just disagree so strongly, or find it uninteresting enough, that they'd rather ignore it than bother formulating a reasoned reply?
  4. The same theory has been suggested in another thread and I missed the discussion?
  5. I am not a regular enough poster here to be part of the conversation? (I see this happening on other Habs websites, but have not thought it a problem here)

No worries if it's none of the above or whatever it is. Just hoping for some discussion on the proposal, if it's warranted.

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Just wondering. No one responded with a word to my theory posted above. I thought it was a bit provocative and had looked forward to some discussion. So, I am wondering if,

  1. My writing is convoluted and opaque? Or too long a post to bother reading?
  2. What I said is so obvious that everyone wanted to spare my feelings by not saying so?
  3. Folks just disagree so strongly, or find it uninteresting enough, that they'd rather ignore it than bother formulating a reasoned reply?
  4. The same theory has been suggested in another thread and I missed the discussion?
  5. I am not a regular enough poster here to be part of the conversation? (I see this happening on other Habs websites, but have not thought it a problem here)

No worries if it's none of the above or whatever it is. Just hoping for some discussion on the proposal, if it's warranted.

Well, patience, don't take these things personally. We've all launched posts that we thought were provocative or interesting or well-thought out, only to find them ignored.

As for your idea that Gauthier consciously tanked in order to get a high pick, I find it completely implausible.

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Well, patience, don't take these things personally. We've all launched posts that we thought were provocative or interesting or well-thought out, only to find them ignored.

As for your idea that Gauthier consciously tanked in order to get a high pick, I find it completely implausible.

Oh, no real worries. Like I said. (I guess everything one does in life is personal, it just depends on how you take it). I was just curious to hear what people thought on the matter as it's the way I'm seeing the season since Dec in retrospect. If people disagree, which is what I am most curious about, I was looking for a reasoned rebutal. That's all :)

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Oh, no real worries. Like I said. (I guess everything one does in life is personal, it just depends on how you take it). I was just curious to hear what people thought on the matter as it's the way I'm seeing the season since Dec in retrospect. If people disagree, which is what I am most curious about, I was looking for a reasoned rebutal. That's all :)

My 'reasoned rebuttal' is this.

I think GMs want above all to keep their jobs, and just behind that, to win. And I think owners want to make the playoffs for obvious financial reasons, and are likely to be inclined to fire GMs who take teams from Game 7 OT against the Cup champs to 2nd last overall. Therefore, Gauthier would not have deliberately made decisions intended to drive the team out of the playoffs, because he wants to win and to keep his job; and Molson would not have acquiesced in any such plan, because he wants playoff revenues.

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Gotcha, and I see the logic for sure. I appreciate the response and expect no more follow up - you've been kind.

I guess the question is how long-term Molson and PG think in general, and in Nov and Dec of this season in particular, when it might have been obvious to them, given their inside knowledge about Markov's knee and the possible deal on the table for Cammy, that an opportunity was afoot to draft very high and get a new coach on the scene this summer, if things were orchestrated properly?

Afterall, what is a few million bucks in bubble team revenues compared to a long-term opportunity to become a Stanley Cup contender with a newly drafted elite centreman, a healthy Markov, and Price, PK, Patches, DD, Eller, Leblanc and Emelin all with a year or two or three more of experience under their belts (+ Gallagher, Tinordi and Beaulieu coming into the picture eventually)?

I think the best evidence for such vision on their part was the firing of JM and appointment of Cunney. Did anyone really expect him, as a rookie NHL head coach, to suddenly take the team to new hieghts mid-season? No one with any sense. I can't really see any other way to interpret it than being fed up with the bubble and planning to drop significantly in the standings.

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I agree with CC on this, the firing of Martin and hiring of Cunneyworth was a huge mistake, but I don't believe it was a plan orchestrated to fall down the standings.  It doesn't fit with trading for Kaberle just one week earlier to try and fix an ailing PP.  That's the problem with Gauthier this season, none of the moves fit together to show any kind of coherent plan, not for tanking or otherwise.

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I agree with CC on this, the firing of Martin and hiring of Cunneyworth was a huge mistake, but I don't believe it was a plan orchestrated to fall down the standings. It doesn't fit with trading for Kaberle just one week earlier to try and fix an ailing PP. That's the problem with Gauthier this season, none of the moves fit together to show any kind of coherent plan, not for tanking or otherwise.

Unless he told Kabrle to come to Montreal put up some points but play extra soft.

Like Melted butter.

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Unless he told Kabrle to come to Montreal put up some points but play extra soft.

Like Melted butter.

mmm...melted butter, you've got me thinking about sea-food.
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well, you can scratch Carlyle off as a choice - if they did want to consider a non-french choice, Leafs have just picked him up. Will make for a tough game tomorrow, as they will be pumped up.

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