2023-24 Bill LaForge Trophy (Worst Coach)

[Hasbro]

2023-24 Bill LaForge Trophy (Worst Coach)

Who ya got?

Click to read more...

 

[The Great Mighty Poo]

Ekim Navillus.

 

[Hasbro]

I try not to put my pick in the OP, but this year I think there maybe a near unanimous choice.

 

[xVolchenkov]

DJ Smith

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Ekim Navillus.

Owt Spuc

 

[PredsV82]

Is the criteria that they have to have coached the whole season? Because if fired coaches count, Babcock is the runaway winner, and Woodcroft a close second

 

[Hasbro]

Is the criteria that they have to have coached the whole season? Because if fired coaches count, Babcock is the runaway winner, and Woodcroft a close second

The opposite. Babcock pulling a Friday boosts his case.

 

[sabremike]

Don Granato. Clueless, tactically inept and badly outcoached on a nightly basis. Never would have got an NHL head coaching from a real organization in the first place and would've been sacked in December if just about the most unqualified GM hire of all time didn't hand him a completely unnecessary contract extension that hadn't even kicked in yet. If there's a version of this award for worst assistant Matt Ellis should win it in unanimous fashion.

 

[trick9]

Lindy Ruff?

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Babs

 

[Megustaelhockey]

Jay "Oh yeah..." Woodcroft.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Don Granato. Clueless, tactically inept and badly outcoached on a nightly basis. Never would have got an NHL head coaching from a real organization in the first place and would've been sacked in December if just about the most unqualified GM hire of all time didn't hand him a completely unnecessary contract extension that hadn't even kicked in yet. If there's a version of this award for worst assistant Matt Ellis should win it in unanimous fashion.

Yeah both Granato and Smith were awful. How in the world did a single division have these two clowns?

 

[The Great Mighty Poo]

Owt Spuc

What's he done since the second cup again? Who played Jansen Harkins? Who ran Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves and Jamie Oleksiak all out of town? Anything else wrong you have to share with the class or are you through being confidently incorrect?

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

What's he done since the second cup again? Who played Jansen Harkins? Who ran Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves and Jamie Oleksiak all out of town? Anything else wrong you have to share with the class or are you through being confidently incorrect?

That was joke. He done nothing, I agree.

 

[cptjeff]

Is the criteria that they have to have coached the whole season? Because if fired coaches count, Babcock is the runaway winner, and Woodcroft a close second

I'd still give it to Woodcroft. Babcock may have had a spectacular implosion, but Woodcroft had a Stanley Cup Finalist roster in the basement of the league over a sustained period. That is incredibly difficult to do.

 

[njdevils1982]

2023-24 Bill LaForge Trophy (Worst Coach)

Who ya got?

i'll work on the trophy later on (unless someone else wants to take a stab at)

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

I'd still give it to Woodcroft. Babcock may have had a spectacular implosion, but Woodcroft had a Stanley Cup Finalist roster in the basement of the league over a sustained period. That is incredibly difficult to do.

No, it was actually pretty easy to do if you never watched a game.
Woodcroft got laughable, ridiculously bad goaltending for the first 13 games before he was fired. Nobody, not even Scotty Bowman, was winning with that kind of goaltending & McDavid & Ekholm were both not healthy.

 

[PaulD]

Michelle Therrien

 

[ijuka]

Is the criteria that they have to have coached the whole season? Because if fired coaches count, Babcock is the runaway winner, and Woodcroft a close second

How on earth is Woodcroft a close second?

Are you suggesting he was supposed to hypnotize Skinner to not have .780 goaltending, or what?

Or are you only looking at the results without considering what parts of the game a coach can actually influence?

 

[belair]

How on earth is Woodcroft a close second?

Are you suggesting he was supposed to hypnotize Skinner to not have .780 goaltending, or what?

Or are you only looking at the results without considering what parts of the game a coach can actually influence?

He tried to implement the Bruins' zone system that was designed to essentially beat Vegas four months after they lost in the WCSF. His inability to get the team to execute it was a big reason why Skinner's numbers tanked at the beginning of the year.

The team looked like trash for the first dozen games.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

He tried to implement the Bruins' zone system that was designed to essentially beat Vegas four months after they lost in the WCSF. His inability to get the team to execute it was a big reason why Skinner's numbers tanked at the beginning of the year.

The team looked like trash for the first dozen games.

No.
Skinner's & Campbell's numbers tanked because they played absolutely terrible during that stretch. Their collective xGAA was basically the exact same for those 13 games as it was down the stretch after they got Ekholm the previous season. Their actual GAA was more than a goal higher than the xGAA &, I'm sorry, no team is ever winning consistently when that happens.

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah both Granato and Smith were awful. How in the world did a single division have these two clowns?

And to make up for it they now have Travis Green filling in for them.

 

[belair]

No.
Skinner's & Campbell's numbers tanked because they played absolutely terrible during that stretch. Their collective xGAA was basically the exact same for those 13 games as it was down the stretch after they got Ekholm the previous season. Their actual GAA was more than a goal higher than the xGAA &, I'm sorry, no team is ever winning consistently when that happens.

Those stats are highly irrelevant in that short of a sample. The goals frequently came from NZ turnovers and DZ breakdowns and a high number of those GAs came from Grade A shots that most goalies don't stop.

The fact that Skinner's numbers did a complete 180 following the coaching change show you how much the team's play in front of the goalie impacts his individual performance.

You could've had Hallebuyck in net, that team was still going to be sub-500.

 

[FoxYou727]

Shocked no one has put Lane Lambert. My top 3 are:

Lane Lambert
DJ Smith
Todd McClellan

 

[Ianturnedbull]

I thought Keefe had a decent year, but then he had his team push for the Milestone Cup at the end of the season.