Habsfan Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 There is no point in firing MT if you don't have a superior replacement lined up. Waiting until the off-season if you want to can him, therefore, would be the best idea. The other thing is, we KNOW the structural weaknesses of this team. Most important among these is the lack of finish. A quality replacement coach might get the team firing on all cylinders again, in which case we'll once again look like contenders. But that will not last for four playoff rounds. Sooner or later we'll be back to where we were against Tampa Bay, outplaying the opposition but unable to cash in on our chances. And then we'll lose, scratching our heads and muttering about 'puck luck.' I say we should try to fix the structural problem before we fire a coach who, whatever his weaknesses, still has not lost the room. What a great response. I completely agree! And anyways, if MB were to want to fire Therrien, don't you think Molson would have something to say about that? They just resigned Therrien to a multi-year extension. I don't think Molson would like to throw all that money out the window. Because of that, I think Therrien's job is safe for this year at least. I know that as fans, it's easy for us to sit behind our computers and request a trade. Real life fact is that it's much harder to make a deal, and even harder to make a deal for a good top six forward who can put the puck in the net. You're not gonna get that scorer by offering D.D. or Lars Eller. We're gonna have to give up alot more than that if we want anything decent in return! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illWill Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 There is no point in firing MT if you don't have a superior replacement lined up. That's how I feel about Semin and Kassian. They just cut ties with them without having a better replacement lined up, thus making the team worse. I am more worried about the roster of players than I am about the coach at this point. I agree something has to happen to shake up the team. I was hoping that the Winter Classic win would be that but sadly it wasn't. Perhaps a big line brawl or an emotional come from behind victory will get it done if there won't be any trades or firings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 That's how I feel about Semin and Kassian. They just cut ties with them without having a better replacement lined up, thus making the team worse. I am more worried about the roster of players than I am about the coach at this point. I agree something has to happen to shake up the team. I was hoping that the Winter Classic win would be that but sadly it wasn't. Perhaps a big line brawl or an emotional come from behind victory will get it done if there won't be any trades or firings. I disagree strongly on Semin, as you know; Carr and the others have provided as much offence as he did and would have done. But that's enough about that. In terms of 'shaking up the team,' the thing everyone forgets is that we've actually been playing pretty well. We utterly dominated in St. Louis, and handily controlled the play against Chicago a few nights ago. Last night's game wasn't great, but that was hardly surprising under the circumstances. When your team is going all-out and dominating high-powered opposition, but just not scoring, there is nothing that a coach, or a brawl, or anything else can do. NOTHING can make these players actually put the puck in the net. Only they can. There is no solution apart from either these guys finally starting to capitalize on their numerous chances, or making a player move to bring in a guy who can reliably capitalize. Coaching isn't the problem, effort isn't the problem, desire isn't the problem. The big problem is finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbhatt Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 The other thing is, we KNOW the structural weaknesses of this team. Most important among these is the lack of finish. A quality replacement coach might get the team firing on all cylinders again, in which case we'll once again look like contenders. But that will not last for four playoff rounds. Sooner or later we'll be back to where we were against Tampa Bay, outplaying the opposition but unable to cash in on our chances. And then we'll lose, scratching our heads and muttering about 'puck luck.' I say we should try to fix the structural problem before we fire a coach who, whatever his weaknesses, still has not lost the room. This is how I feel. We have a sub-par group of forwards in our top 6, and any team that has rotating plug 2nd line wingers every damn night is going to have a hard time scoring enough goals to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 This is how I feel. We have a sub-par group of forwards in our top 6, and any team that has rotating plug 2nd line wingers every damn night is going to have a hard time scoring enough goals to win. And our damn goalies can't score. Whats with that? Sometimes if you don't laugh you just cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 If they were just playing lousy, with losses piling up like this, I would be in the front middle of the mob calling for Therrien's head, but they are playing 'OK' and getting scoring chances, but cant put puck in net. Like Plekanec with that wide open net from <5 feet, fumbles puck no goal, or Galchenyuk rifling pucks over top of net way too often. But at least Subban and Pacioretty seem to be warming up and scoring lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 If they were just playing lousy, with losses piling up like this, I would be in the front middle of the mob calling for Therrien's head, but they are playing 'OK' and getting scoring chances, but cant put puck in net. Like Plekanec with that wide open net from <5 feet, fumbles puck no goal, or Galchenyuk rifling pucks over top of net way too often. But at least Subban and Pacioretty seem to be warming up and scoring lately. well that is a hopeful thought, but miss by 1 inch miss by 100 makes no diff you missed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 well that is a hopeful thought, but miss by 1 inch miss by 100 makes no diff you missed The tendency to miss the net on massive scoring chances is chronic and utterly infuriating. I'm SO sick and tired of seeing this. However, this is a thread on firing the coach. You can't blame a coach because his players can't shoot straight. You can only blame the coach if the team isn't being put in a position to succeed, i.e., isn't showing up, isn't generating chances, isn't outplaying the opposition. And since the Habs ARE showing up reliably, getting lots of chances, and often outplaying the opposition - just not scoring - I can only conclude that MT is doing a good job (notwithstanding any specific decisions he makes that we might disagree with). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Prediction: Jonathan Drouin becomes the new head coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illWill Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The way I look at it is; Therrien is doing a great job coaching this team. He is putting his players in a position to succeed and that is demonstrated through their high possession numbers. They are getting good quality scoring chances but are not burying them. However there is a difference between a Paul Byron shot in the slot and an Alex Ovechkin shot in the slot. He just doesn't have the horses to finish. That's on MB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbhatt Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The way I look at it is; Therrien is doing a great job coaching this team. He is putting his players in a position to succeed and that is demonstrated through their high possession numbers. They are getting good quality scoring chances but are not burying them. However there is a difference between a Paul Byron shot in the slot and an Alex Ovechkin shot in the slot. He just doesn't have the horses to finish. That's on MB. This is exactly how I feel. It's on MB for overpaying and keeping a few guys who are damn near useless most nights (ex. Eller, Desharnais), failing to acquire an offensive center with some size, and failing to acquire at least one true 2nd line caliber winger. That coupled with a few players underperforming on any given night, and the lack of Price to 'erase' these mistakes, and you have the disaster we see before us now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Could be worse and could be fan of one of the 17 teams below the Habs in NHL standings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Could be worse and could be fan of one of the 17 teams below the Habs in NHL standings. NO team has been worse over the past six weeks. So for that span of time, it could not be worse. Not one bit. One great reason not to fire MT just yet is that the Rags have been suffering nearly as much as us, and Vigneault could therefore be available at the end of the year. As he is the best francophone coach in hockey, that'd be fantastic news for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Could be worse and could be fan of one of the 17 teams below the Habs in NHL standings. There's only 16 teams and 9 of those teams are 2 or less points behind, 2 teams are 5 pts behind.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 NHL.com league lists Habs at 13, so majority of teams worse off at present and after win today could be 19 teams below them. (By the way, 30-13 = 17) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 16 teams with less points, but yes your right. That ROW comes into play with Ottawa tied with us for 50pts. You can still see the point being that the majority of the teams below us can be above us with one win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyhasbeen Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Was that Mario Trembley I just saw leaving MB's office? Next move Price to Colorado for Varlamov. Just saying, there are worse out there. I think Nolan is available? Richards, Boucher, Wilson, Carlyle..... I don't see much of an improvement in those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Sure Stogey I know, depends on point of view and I go for glass 1/2 full vs the other. Cant help it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Sure Stogey I know, depends on point of view and I go for glass 1/2 full vs the other. Cant help it. I envy you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 I think Le Genius is out of ideas, no clue what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I think Le Genius is out of ideas, no clue what to do. If that were so, I couldn't blame him. This team has played many strong games since December, and lost. It has also played weak games, and lost. It doesn't seem to matter how we play. We lose. What can he do, besides have the team primed and ready to carry the play and get lots of chances? Unless players start to score on their chances, there's not much MT can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It was another game of players standing 10 feet from the net hoping for rebounds. When I saw Mark Barberio go right to the net and try to tuck it under Rask I didn't know whether to be happy to see Barberio be so hungry or ashamed that a defenceman had to do that because we sent Daniel Carr down. When was the last time this team crashed a goalie? When was the last time Pacioretty had the puck and went right into the goalie to make something happen? Goalies don't fear the Habs. They know if Brendan Gallagher isn't on the ice, we give them plenty of space. The advanced stat guys love it when Habs sit 10 feet from the net and try to take shots. It makes the team look great. Until we lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It was another game of players standing 10 feet from the net hoping for rebounds. When I saw Mark Barberio go right to the net and try to tuck it under Rask I didn't know whether to be happy to see Barberio be so hungry or ashamed that a defenceman had to do that because we sent Daniel Carr down. When was the last time this team crashed a goalie? When was the last time Pacioretty had the puck and went right into the goalie to make something happen? Goalies don't fear the Habs. They know if Brendan Gallagher isn't on the ice, we give them plenty of space. The advanced stat guys love it when Habs sit 10 feet from the net and try to take shots. It makes the team look great. Until we lose. It's not just goalies that don't fear them, it's teams. Pacioretty is the only first line player in this line up. Gallagher is a quality second line guy and Plekanec is a second to third line guy. At this point I seriously wonder if Bergevin is lost at sea. He's done nothing at all for this top 6 in his tenure with the Habs. He's made so many trades and acquisitions that didn't workout or were meaningless. Petry was a solid trade( personally think he's overrated), other than that he's done dick all for impact players. He's basically rode on the back of Price, and now the true colours are coming through. This isn't even on Therrien. Bergevin assembled this 3rd line team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It's not just goalies that don't fear them, it's teams. Pacioretty is the only first line player in this line up. Gallagher is a quality second line guy and Plekanec is a second to third line guy. Gallagher is one of the best right wingers in the game. I don't know how people can't see this still. He's not on Kane's level of course but still sits 7th in points per game for all right wingers. Kane, Tarasenko, Wheeler, Ryan, Kucherov and Eriksson are the only guys doing better. You can't say Pacioretty is the only first line player when Gallagher is a Top 10, possibly Top 5 RW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 It's not just goalies that don't fear them, it's teams. Pacioretty is the only first line player in this line up. Gallagher is a quality second line guy and Plekanec is a second to third line guy. At this point I seriously wonder if Bergevin is lost at sea. He's done nothing at all for this top 6 in his tenure with the Habs. He's made so many trades and acquisitions that didn't workout or were meaningless. Petry was a solid trade( personally think he's overrated), other than that he's done dick all for impact players. He's basically rode on the back of Price, and now the true colours are coming through. This isn't even on Therrien. Bergevin assembled this 3rd line team. Fair enough, although this team is quite capable of carrying the play against high-end opposition, and that's the fly in the ointment of this 'team of third-liners' narrative. Look at the series against TB, where we outplayed them more often than not. And I'm not talking about 'fancy stats' here, I'm talking about the eye-test. The team is built to send three fast, smart, effective lines at teams overpower them that way. There's nothing really wrong with that model EXCEPT if the players utterly lack the ability to finish on the chances that this game generates. That's what happened against Tampa, and it's what has happened during this horrific losing streak - compounded by erratic goaltending, such that when the team actually scores goals, the goalies manage to f*ck it up, and when the goalies play well, the team doesn't score. So it's less the idea of rolling three lines, than having players on those lines who can actually capitalize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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