St. Louis is a Jack Adams finalist

[huzer]

Hutson isn't the only one that made the final three in an award category, although I expect Carbery to win this one. Three worthy nominees. Congrats to MSL for the nomination.

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I think Marty has a genuine shot of winning here. Habs finished far above expectations 

[Commandant]

Its Carbery 100%, Marty is probably 2nd. 

 

Washington was well above expectations too, plus he dealt with all the media of the Ovechkin goal chase.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Kudos to MSL!

 

I was deeply skeptical about this hiring given his complete lack of experience, but fortunately he has proved me wrong and beaten the odds - which is what he’s done his whole life. I should have known better than to bet against MSL!

[Fanpuck33]

Props to St  Louis, but crazy to me that Dean Evason doesn't get a nod here.  Montreal was about a year ahead in their rebuild and for Columbus to nearly take that last playoff spot when they were looking down the barrel of being bottom 3 again was remarkable.  Completely changed the direction of the organization.

[Commandant]

3 hours ago, Fanpuck33 said:

Props to St  Louis, but crazy to me that Dean Evason doesn't get a nod here.  Montreal was about a year ahead in there rebuild and for Columbus to nearly take that last playoff spot when they were looking down the barrel of being bottom 3 again was remarkable.  Completely changed the direction of the organization.

 

I think with the exception of the Calder, the voters in the NHL dont often give awards to people on non-playoff teams.  There are exceptions but its really rare, and they already went with a nomination for Werenski on Norris.

[WildTurkeyXX]

Funny the difference that one win can make. I feel like if we had not won that last game, and missed the playoffs, the attention would be on the end of year collapse and the extended loosing streaks throughout the season. We'd probably be talking about whether or not he should be replaced with an experienced coach. One win.... 

[Commandant]

1 hour ago, WildTurkeyXX said:

Funny the difference that one win can make. I feel like if we had not won that last game, and missed the playoffs, the attention would be on the end of year collapse and the extended loosing streaks throughout the season. We'd probably be talking about whether or not he should be replaced with an experienced coach. One win.... 

 

I don't think we would.

 

The goal this season was to be "in the mix" late in the season, and we would have been that even with missing the playoffs by a point. 

[WildTurkeyXX]

11 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I don't think we would.

 

The goal this season was to be "in the mix" late in the season, and we would have been that even with missing the playoffs by a point. 

 

I suppose you are right. But I would say that there is a difference in being in the mix due to an average, back and forth season that just falls a little short in the end (like Columbus) and not just being in the mix, but having a clear opportunity to lock it in and failing to do so due to a poor timed losing streak. This was a weird season, for sure. For long stretches we were one of the worst teams in the league and for long stretches we were one of the best. 

 

I know that me, personally (even having made the playoffs) I'm left questioning how much of each, the losing and the winning had to do with coaching and how much had to do with the players? Maybe it was the players (talent) that led to the losing, and the coaching is what was able to pull them out of it for stretches at a time. Or maybe it was the other way around. 

 

I haven't definitively decided one way or another, but I imagine if we hadn't made it (despite our expectations at the start of the season) this would be a topic of discussion, in social and mainstream media. 

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, WildTurkeyXX said:

I suppose you are right. But I would say that there is a difference in being in the mix due to an average, back and forth season that just falls a little short in the end (like Columbus) and not just being in the mix, but having a clear opportunity to lock it in and failing to do so due to a poor timed losing streak. This was a weird season, for sure. For long stretches we were one of the worst teams in the league and for long stretches we were one of the best. 

 

I know that me, personally (even having made the playoffs) I'm left questioning how much of each, the losing and the winning had to do with coaching and how much had to do with the players?

Lack of consistency is not at all unexpected with young players. Even experienced teams go through slumps and streaks, but this tendency is exacerbated by lack of experience. And, ultimately, it doesn't matter (or at least shouldn't matter) whether you slump early and streak late, or the reverse: what matters is the end result.

[Commandant]

What really impressed me on this staff was how much better the team got when they finally learned the Hybrid system.  It took a bit (as it has with other teams) but once it clicked the whole team was much more solid defensively 

[DON]

On 5/2/2025 at 2:24 PM, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Kudos to MSL!

 

I was deeply skeptical about this hiring given his complete lack of experience, but fortunately he has proved me wrong and beaten the odds - which is what he’s done his whole life. I should have known better than to bet against MSL!

Yup, pleasantly surprised all round with new management.

St Louis seems like a very likable smart fella and obviously a hard worker.