Trizzak Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Winnipeg fired coach Claude Noel this morning. Paul Maurice is his replacement. I'm shocked it took this long, to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Happy for Maurice. I always liked his style, even when he was a bag-eyed wreck in TO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Winnipeg fired coach Claude Noel this morning. Paul Maurice is his replacement. I'm shocked it took this long, to be honest. I think everyone besides their GM is shocked it took this long. Nice hire in Maurice as the replacement too. I feel bad for Perry Pearn though who also got the axe today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Maurice seems a good call. Not big fan of Pearn as a d-coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Added bonus to this firing: one more bilingual coach is in the talent pool to replace Therrien! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Added bonus to this firing: one more bilingual coach is in the talent pool to replace Therrien! Are you sure if he is? I know his name is quite french sounding but he's an Ontarian who has never worked or played in the Q. Mike Babcock has a closer connection to Quebec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMAC Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Roy MacGregor in the G&M said he was.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Yeah, it was in the Globe where I read that Quebec media reports that Noel had "lost his French" were totally false. I was being a bit ironical in that post though - his track record isn't exactly one of sterling success. Still, given that the Habs are an affirmative action program for French-speaking coaches and managers, having the additional option is better than not having it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Sad anyone has to ask. All Canadians should be bilingual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Yeah, it was in the Globe where I read that Quebec media reports that Noel had "lost his French" were totally false. I was being a bit ironical in that post though - his track record isn't exactly one of sterling success. Still, given that the Habs are an affirmative action program for French-speaking coaches and managers, having the additional option is better than not having it. I think Therrien is more likely to get extension than be turfed and I think he is doing (surprisingly) well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Therrien has done well. But I cannot believe that he is a Lindy Ruff/Barry Trotz franchise-defining coach. He'll be out within the next couple of years, I'd expect. I disagree that "all Canadians should be bilingual," but that's neither here nor there Canadians aren't and never will be, so we've got to deal with the facts as we find them. What I regret is that the Habs have chosen to deal with these facts by massively shrinking the pool of available talent, thus putting themselves at a systematic competitive disadvantage, forever. Que sera sera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Therrien has done well. But I cannot believe that he is a Lindy Ruff/Barry Trotz franchise-defining coach. He'll be out within the next couple of years, I'd expect. That's certainly the likeliest possibility. Maybe 5% of NHL coaching hires turn out to be 'franchise-defining', and even a guy like Julien who has had boatloads of success almost got fired by Boston a couple times. The main thing that Therrien has is a pretty solid young core, and if there seems to be progress from year to year then he'll get some rope. One thing that I don't expect is for him to get canned the year after a very deep playoff run like he was in Pittsburgh, unless Bergevin had his ideal replacement waiting in the wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 That's certainly the likeliest possibility. Maybe 5% of NHL coaching hires turn out to be 'franchise-defining', and even a guy like Julien who has had boatloads of success almost got fired by Boston a couple times. Julien was toast in Boston if Montreal had won that series. I guess Neely slipped it to a few people. He hasn't liked him as the Bruins coach from the start but Julien can now point to a Cup and a finals appearance. Therrien I don't feel has a short leash in Montreal but I also think if the team had a replacement that worked perfectly, they'd work with the fact he couldn't speak french if that was the case. All of the hysteria about that was about Pierre Gauthier doing one of the most purposeful examples of tanking I've seen in the NHL since the Senators were being accused of it back in the mid 90s (Gauthier took over after those accusations). A big part of that was adding a mediocre head coach and allowing the situation to not be about how the team could fire Martin when the team wasn't far from the playoffs with a mediocre coach, but a language debate. Jack Todd wrote a good article recently about how Montreal hysteria has been common regardless of the teams success or failures (http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Hysteria+norm+with+Habs+fans/9378020/story.html) and a big point about it is that the fans are ready to fire Therrien for anything despite the fact Therrien/Bergevin has amounted to 55 wins in 94 games so far. We're really not in a place to burying the coach. And I say that as someone who would prefer someone different for the team. In the end, Bergevin will probably point to the "No Excuses" sign and show Therrien the door, but we're probably a season away from that. And even then, I'd rather Therrien pull what Julien did in Boston, and take this team to the Cup whether I like him or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Julien was toast in Boston if Montreal had won that series. I guess Neely slipped it to a few people. He hasn't liked him as the Bruins coach from the start but Julien can now point to a Cup and a finals appearance. Therrien I don't feel has a short leash in Montreal but I also think if the team had a replacement that worked perfectly, they'd work with the fact he couldn't speak french if that was the case. All of the hysteria about that was about Pierre Gauthier doing one of the most purposeful examples of tanking I've seen in the NHL since the Senators were being accused of it back in the mid 90s (Gauthier took over after those accusations). A big part of that was adding a mediocre head coach and allowing the situation to not be about how the team could fire Martin when the team wasn't far from the playoffs with a mediocre coach, but a language debate. Jack Todd wrote a good article recently about how Montreal hysteria has been common regardless of the teams success or failures (http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Hysteria+norm+with+Habs+fans/9378020/story.html) and a big point about it is that the fans are ready to fire Therrien for anything despite the fact Therrien/Bergevin has amounted to 55 wins in 94 games so far. We're really not in a place to burying the coach. And I say that as someone who would prefer someone different for the team. In the end, Bergevin will probably point to the "No Excuses" sign and show Therrien the door, but we're probably a season away from that. And even then, I'd rather Therrien pull what Julien did in Boston, and take this team to the Cup whether I like him or not. Framed like that, Gauthier's last year was more savvy than he's given credit for (and I'm in favour of most of his personnel moves). I read that Todd article too and liked it, and it could be written every year for every passionate fanbase. Always someone ready to blow it up. The fact is that Therrien has gotten this roster to perform about as well as it could. I wasn't a fan of his hire but he's won me over so far, even though it could be the case that his style of coaching has a short shelf-life with players. Not much out there that seems better, in our little pool of eligible candidates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Framed like that, Gauthier's last year was more savvy than he's given credit for (and I'm in favour of most of his personnel moves). I read that Todd article too and liked it, and it could be written every year for every passionate fanbase. Always someone ready to blow it up. The fact is that Therrien has gotten this roster to perform about as well as it could. I wasn't a fan of his hire but he's won me over so far, even though it could be the case that his style of coaching has a short shelf-life with players. Not much out there that seems better, in our little pool of eligible candidates. It's definitely frustrating that it feels like the Canadiens have been through two full time coaches trying to make up for past errors instead of running on past success (Martin and Therrien). They are certainly not the attractive coaching options but the most attractive option ever mentioned is Guy Boucher, who looks like a Bond villain and failed like one too, with less success than Martin or Therrien. I tend to feel that Gauthier felt out of options at some point and realized when ownership changed that the writing was on the wall for him. It wasn't just Martin being fired. It was trading Cammalleri mid-game when he pointed out the failures of the club (Cammalleri was adamant in interviews he didn't think Martin lost the room as well) and trading pretty much every UFA worth something while also bringing in a goony pugilist to give the fans something to cheer late in the season. Getting Kaberle for Spacek was Gauthier trying to right the team for the playoffs. Once he fired Martin, I don't see the goal to have ever been to make the playoffs. It was all about saving face for a future job elsewhere. Also, there's a funny TSN poll when Martin was fired asking who should be Montreal's head coach in 2012-2013. The top two voted answers? Patrick Roy and Randy Carlyle. This is why I say quite often I'm happy professionals are running the team instead of fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just to be clear, I'm not calling for MT to be fired. I do agree that he is on borrowed time - he has maybe another year or two at most - just because that's the life of the average NHL coach and he is not, to my mind, exceptional enough to buck those odds. Gauthier's hockey moves were mostly good...but being a GM is also, and very significantly, about managing people. Gauthier seems to have created a toxic environment nobody wanted to be a part of and to have had the people skills of an eel. That exemplary leader and team guy Hal Gill bent Dave Stubbs' ear with something like 30 minutes of off-the-record anecdotes about the insane stuff that went on under the Goat seems to show pretty conclusively that this guy should not be running an operation. Given his hockey acumen, I'd take him on board, but never as more than a lieutenant. If the point was to "save face," I don't think he succeeded. But it is interesting to consider that part of the problem may have been a transitional phase in ownership. That hadn't really occurred to me before. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Julien was toast in Boston if Montreal had won that series. I guess Neely slipped it to a few people. He hasn't liked him as the Bruins coach from the start but Julien can now point to a Cup and a finals appearance. Therrien I don't feel has a short leash in Montreal but I also think if the team had a replacement that worked perfectly, they'd work with the fact he couldn't speak french if that was the case. All of the hysteria about that was about Pierre Gauthier doing one of the most purposeful examples of tanking I've seen in the NHL since the Senators were being accused of it back in the mid 90s (Gauthier took over after those accusations). A big part of that was adding a mediocre head coach and allowing the situation to not be about how the team could fire Martin when the team wasn't far from the playoffs with a mediocre coach, but a language debate. Jack Todd wrote a good article recently about how Montreal hysteria has been common regardless of the teams success or failures (http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Hysteria+norm+with+Habs+fans/9378020/story.html) and a big point about it is that the fans are ready to fire Therrien for anything despite the fact Therrien/Bergevin has amounted to 55 wins in 94 games so far. We're really not in a place to burying the coach. And I say that as someone who would prefer someone different for the team. In the end, Bergevin will probably point to the "No Excuses" sign and show Therrien the door, but we're probably a season away from that. And even then, I'd rather Therrien pull what Julien did in Boston, and take this team to the Cup whether I like him or not. Jack Todd, he still around and posting crap eh. Used to read stuff he posted if I needed a laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Holy crap, 35-8 for the Ducks, Washington Caps maybe would like the ol pudgy coach back? Teenage Rookie d-man Hampus Lindholm on a 40 point pace and a team leading +23. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Devan Dubnyk (50% retained cap hit/salary) goes to Nashville for Matt Hendricks. Ilya Bryzgalov is now the undisputed #1 in Edmonton, I don't think anyone saw that coming a few months ago. I have to think the Oilers have another deal in the works as I'm not sure Richard Bachman is the answer at the #2 spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Devan Dubnyk (50% retained cap hit/salary) goes to Nashville for Matt Hendricks. Ilya Bryzgalov is now the undisputed #1 in Edmonton, I don't think anyone saw that coming a few months ago. I have to think the Oilers have another deal in the works as I'm not sure Richard Bachman is the answer at the #2 spot. And there it is, Ben Scrivens goes from LA to the Oilers for a 3rd round pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Scrivens for a third ain't bad for the Oilers. They look much better in net with Bryzgalov/Scrivens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 These seem like good moves for the Oil (just as signing Bryghalov was - people confuse the difference between a grossly overpaid player, and a bad player). Was goaltending really the problem, though? - or is it an amateur-hour defence corps and a team that can't play D, period? If so, then Scrivens et al. will just be the next victims of the killing floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 These seem like good moves for the Oil (just as signing Bryghalov was - people confuse the difference between a grossly overpaid player, and a bad player). Was goaltending really the problem, though? - or is it an amateur-hour defence corps and a team that can't play D, period? If so, then Scrivens et al. will just be the next victims of the killing floor. They are both UFA goalies so it's sort of Edmonton saying that this is an audition. Scrivens though is a local boy, so I'd expect him re-signed. Goaltending isn't the problem whatsoever. The team defence is. Their back-end isn't strong enough and their forwards are defensively inept. Especially the youngsters. If I was MacT I'd be trading for Ray Whitney at a song price and letting him be a veteran motivator for the youngsters in what could be his final year in the NHL. Youth movements are nothing without the right veterans to insulate it. But when you look at Edmonton's young guns, there isn't much backchecking going on between Hall, Yakupov, Gagner and Nuge. You know how Boston trading Seguin for an in-prime forward with great two way play? That's exactly what Edmonton should have done, or should be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 But when you look at Edmonton's young guns, there isn't much backchecking going on between Hall, Yakupov, Gagner and Nuge. You know how Boston trading Seguin for an in-prime forward with great two way play? That's exactly what Edmonton should have done, or should be doing. Boston did it because they were in the middle of their contending window and didn't want to suffer any more Seguin growing pains (and had decided on Bergeron and Kreijci as their top-6 guys). Plus they restocked their prospect cupboard and were selling from a postion of strength, a luxury that Edmonton doesn't have. They definitely need a shakeup, but I wonder what kind of player an Eberle or Yakupov could haul in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Boston did it because they were in the middle of their contending window and didn't want to suffer any more Seguin growing pains (and had decided on Bergeron and Kreijci as their top-6 guys). Plus they restocked their prospect cupboard and were selling from a postion of strength, a luxury that Edmonton doesn't have. They definitely need a shakeup, but I wonder what kind of player an Eberle or Yakupov could haul in. Yakupov's value is a bit lower than it should be but I don't know what Edmonton can do about that. It won't go up until he's moved probably. Eberle has almost 40 points so he'd still be traded at a position of strength. The haul? Holy crap would it be good for him. Five years at $6M for a guy who will easily put up 60 points for you and probably more with the right situation. If I'm a Detroit I'm all over him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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