Coaching is a serious problem.

[Kennerback]

We could for sure be doing worse. MSL is probably the only coach we've had in the past 20+ years who would play Hutson like we have this year. Therrien & Julien would be limiting him to 10min a game, Carbonneau would probably have him playing as a forward on the 4th line, I can only see Martin in that list as a guy who would actually work with Hutson, and even then the focus would first and foremost be playing sound defensive hockey but he'd at least play him a good number of minutes.

Jacques Martin means 5 years of the most boring hockey imaginable. I can’t go through that again. Life is too short.

 

[Theodore450]

Where do you people come up with this shit?

The habs DO have ambitions and they include Marty, they just realize where they are in the process, and how the roster's makeup wasn't doing him any favours.

You try coaching a team with no 2C, your prized offseason acquisition on the shelf, and have the league's youngest D playing in their wrong chairs with no help from your backup netminder for the first 6 weeks of the season and see how you'd fare.

Or any other coach for that matter.

The idea of firing Marty has never even entered their thought process, nor should it have, he's done nothing to warrant such a terrible decision.

Marty may not be perfect or even polished yet, but has done a hell of a job holding this team together all things considered, he deserves kudos not slights.

This team continues to believe in itself and is progressing. WTF more do you guys want from a coach guiding his team in the 3rd year of a rebuild?

where do you come up with this shit?

-the habs had zero ambition and management understood they would suck
-Marty is a intern coach that will be replaced when we need a coach and not a French Cheerleader
-all of a sudden we have no 2C when people like you have been claiming he would easily replace Monohan
-our “prized” offseason acquisition was a cap dump and that hasn’t played a full season in like 4 years.
- coaching definitely had a say when they decided to sign Barron and move Kova for a high five.
-coaching was fine with Primeau last year.
- the nhl is not a place to develop a coach, that fact alone should prove to you that they had zero expectations for this team.
- the team has not progressed in the slightest and any team that had serious motivation would fire a guy who has been this bad for this long.


The team believes in what exactly?
Just accept that when it’s time to be a good team, we will hire a good coach and these things won’t upset you. We just need to be patient and wait for the prospects to come up and a real coach to get hired

 

[Theodore450]

It's the nature of pro-sports for coaches to focus/work on fixing one aspect of a teams play only for some other aspect that wasn't a problem to become one. In many ways it's a fire fighting excersise where you are jumping from one problem to the next to the next.

So it's worth noting that everytime MSL has said he was going to focus on something, that aspect improved significantly. One of the first things he talked about was getting better at 5 on 5, and they made significant improvements last year, so much so that all the complaints were about how our special teams sucked, especially the PP. So this summer he said he was going to focus on special teams, and this year our special teams have been dramatically better. After the first couple weeks of this season when the D coverage was a disaster and fans were saying MSL system is too complicated for the players he said he was going to focus on that, and we're seeing dramatic improvements in the D zone.

When is the team going to be better in their own end? When can we fix that?


Also the PP only got better because we finally removed that clown Matheson and put someone that knows what they are doing. If MSL had his way Hutson wouldn’t be on it

 

[Kennerback]

When is the team going to be better in their own end? When can we fix that?


Also the PP only got better because we finally removed that clown Matheson and put someone that knows what they are doing. If MSL had his way Hutson wouldn’t be on it

MSL will prove his mettle with how he plays Matheson. MM’s had a couple of brain cramps in his last two games but it didn’t burn us and he was good offensively. PP QB obviously doesn’t work. His real strong point is his shot and it’s become superfluous with the arrival of Laine.

 

[Sorinth]

When is the team going to be better in their own end? When can we fix that?


Also the PP only got better because we finally removed that clown Matheson and put someone that knows what they are doing. If MSL had his way Hutson wouldn’t be on it

Does limiting the 1st and 6th best offensive teams to a combined 2 goals in the last 2 games not count as being better in their own end? How about the fact that since Nov 11th we are currently 16th in the league for GA/G and 12th for SA/G. Is that not better in their own end?

Also the PP was running at 22% during the month of October, it's currently at 21.4% so it's always been good this season even when Matheson was on it to start the year. On top of which MSL does have his way when it comes to who is and isn't on the PP, Hutson being promoted to the #1 PP was his decision.

Goes to show how little your opinion on the matter has any relevance, you either don't watch the games, or can't understand what you're seeing. It's sad really.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Could be. Carrier certainly did improve the play on D-zone, but he learned to play like that elsewhere. Are MSL or Robidas good teachers for these young kids though? Jury still out IMO.

But at least they play better.

There’s no doubt we’re not going to be this good the rest of the way. We’re playing well now but still a sub playoff team. Things will go the other way and this thread will heat back up.

But I think it’s absolutely relevant to say that Carriere makes a huge difference back there. No coach can fix a bad D. So maybe MSL isn’t as good a coach as he seems now but he’s not as bad as he was perceived to be back then either.

Don’t worry folks, more losses are coming.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I am happy I see some progress from MSL, but he is not a good coach because we play a good hockey now. He did not coach Laine's one-timer. People talk about Carrier which helped for sure, but the main difference is that MSL stopped those constant line changes. Since Carrier arrived, we play the same 3 D pairings, so they can work on their flaws and fix them. Matheson- Hutson still sounds wrong, sorry.
We say that team is bad, but we expect high draft picks at TDL for players like Savard, Evans... So are they really that bad? Primeau was horrible, but he is not new to the organization. Who forced them to keep him?
Matheson still playing 25 mins and PK1 is weird decision.

Those line changes were understandable though. When you lose 10 of 12 you’re going to try different things. His second line sucked so he tried to balance things out. That clearly didn’t work - again though was that a coaching issue or a problem with the roster?

 

[Theodore450]

Does limiting the 1st and 6th best offensive teams to a combined 2 goals in the last 2 games not count as being better in their own end? How about the fact that since Nov 11th we are currently 16th in the league for GA/G and 12th for SA/G. Is that not better in their own end?

Also the PP was running at 22% during the month of October, it's currently at 21.4% so it's always been good this season even when Matheson was on it to start the year. On top of which MSL does have his way when it comes to who is and isn't on the PP, Hutson being promoted to the #1 PP was his decision.

Goes to show how little your opinion on the matter has any relevance, you either don't watch the games, or can't understand what you're seeing. It's sad really.

lol this is hilarious

 

[ReHabs]

St. Louis has mentioned how Struble needs to raise his floor, that when he has a bad game, it can be really bad, and he needs to make those bad games less bad. But Struble seemed somewhat confused by the assessment of his play.

When asked if he felt some hesitancy creeping into his game, he reluctantly agreed, but he didn’t actually agree.

“I honestly thought I was playing pretty well, but I guess so, because I’ve obviously been taken out,” he said. “But before I got taken out I thought I was playing some pretty good hockey. Yeah, I don’t really know.”

source

Not sure what to make of this. Is the case that MSL doesn't communicate properly or that Struble really doesn't get it?

 

[dcyhabs]

I looked at data since 11/11 until 15/12 (I.e. Before the 5 last games), 2.8 GPG, 3.4 GAPG, 31st in shots for, 17th in shots against. 21th in PPG (0.500), I.e. They improved indeed point wise but they still get outshot steadily, they don t have a lot of ozone possession and when they do it is quite sterile.
If the Benchmark is the Show during Heavy losses vs PIT SEA NYR then sure they have improved but to my earlier point, how does it mean this is enough to say this coaching staff is great ?

I’m not even sure what team has a great coaching staff at this point. I don’t know that MSL is a great coach but I don’t think he is the main problem for the team, the problem is that they need another 2 good top 4 D, notably a true #1, and a few defensive forwards.

Is there a clearly better coach who is both available and acceptable to our deplorable media? Pascal Vincent isn’t on a hot streak.

The habs may want to plan a coaching change in a year or two to get a different perspective and to get the new coach motivation once they actually expect to win games, but I don’t see the point now.

The difference in the last few games could be getting an adequate defensive RHD, something they are seriously lacking. I’m not even convinced this season is the right time to fix team composition. Leave the team unbalanced, draft Schafer to fix the biggest problem, then sign some decent grinders and a defensive D or two while letting some vets walk. Worry about coaching when the team has the personnel to compete.

 

[salbutera]

I’m not even sure what team has a great coaching staff at this point. I don’t know that MSL is a great coach but I don’t think he is the main problem for the team, the problem is that they need another 2 good top 4 D, notably a true #1, and a few defensive forwards.

Is there a clearly better coach who is both available and acceptable to our deplorable media? Pascal Vincent isn’t on a hot streak.

The habs may want to plan a coaching change in a year or two to get a different perspective and to get the new coach motivation once they actually expect to win games, but I don’t see the point now.

The difference in the last few games could be getting an adequate defensive RHD, something they are seriously lacking. I’m not even convinced this season is the right time to fix team composition. Leave the team unbalanced, draft Schafer to fix the biggest problem, then sign some decent grinders and a defensive D or two while letting some vets walk. Worry about coaching when the team has the personnel to compete.

There’s no such thing as a great coach just like there isn’t a great GM - it takes a lot out of life to coach the Habs in a fishbowl market in the social media age…. there’s a huge difference being a coach of a US based team vs Mtl Canadiens …. enormous difference

Laviolette right now isn’t feeling anywhere near the heat even w NYR in full tank mode to what any Habs coach feels even on a daily basis when things are going well

 

[waitin425]

My answer to the Thread Title....

 

[Guy Larose]

Yeah, not sure why this thread is still a thing... should be closed

 

[themilosh]

Yeah, not sure why this thread is still a thing... should be closed

Nope, keep it open. It's important to hear what others have to say.. censorship has got to end..

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

source

Not sure what to make of this. Is the case that MSL doesn't communicate properly or that Struble really doesn't get it?

It’s a case of us having too much depth on LD. He’s the 4th best LD on the roster. Frustrating for him I’m sure but there’s no space for him now.

That’s why I’d like to see Matheson moved. Struble would play on the right 3rd pair. Not ideal but at least he’d get some ice time.

Struble is a solid player. He’s going to have a good career. Unfortunately it likely wont be with us.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Yeah, not sure why this thread is still a thing... should be closed

The Canadiens are on a hot streak. That’s not going to last all year. We’re still transitioning and I suspect we’ll drop off sooner rather than later.

Trust me, this thread will heat up soon enough.

 

[Guy Larose]

The Canadiens are on a hot streak. That’s not going to last all year. We’re still transitioning and I suspect we’ll drop off sooner rather than later.

Trust me, this thread will heat up soon enough.

What does a hot streak or anything else have to do with saying coaching is a SERIOUS problem, which is crap in the first place?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

What does a hot streak or anything else have to do with saying coaching is a SERIOUS problem, which is crap in the first place?

Because when we lose someone MUST be blamed.

And to be fair it was a terrible start. Coaches are going to get heat when that happens. For whatever reason this team didn’t seem prepared to start the year. I don’t know if it was a systems issue, injuries, conditioning… or a combination of a lot of things. But when you’re that bad, the coach (fairly or not) is going to take some heat.

 

[Guy Larose]

Because when we lose someone MUST be blamed.

And to be fair it was a terrible start. Coaches are going to get heat when that happens. For whatever reason this team didn’t seem prepared to start the year. I don’t know if it was a systems issue, injuries, conditioning… or a combination of a lot of things. But when you’re that bad, the coach (fairly or not) is going to take some heat.

Oh yes, forgot what site I was on. Thanks for setting me straight

 

[BaseballCoach]

It’s a case of us having too much depth on LD. He’s the 4th best LD on the roster. Frustrating for him I’m sure but there’s no space for him now.

That’s why I’d like to see Matheson moved. Struble would play on the right 3rd pair. Not ideal but at least he’d get some ice time.

Struble is a solid player. He’s going to have a good career. Unfortunately it likely wont be with us.

Might as well move Savard instead since I wouldn't want Savard on the second pair

 

[HabbyGuy]

No one's ignored the last dozen games. Some of you are insisting to 'settle scores' and re-write the season as if there hasn't been a dramatic turnaround.

So hypothetically speaking if the habs fired Marty after their early season struggles, and then they had this exact same "dramatic tunaround" as you put it, with the new guy, would you not be pointing fingers and saying, "see it was obviously a coaching problem, they're playing so much better now that Marty is gone"?

 

[ReHabs]

So hypothetically speaking if the habs fired Marty after their early season struggles, and then they had this 'dramatic tunaround' as you put it, with the new guy, would you not be pointing fingers and saying, "see it was obviously a coaching problem, they're playing so much better now that Marty is gone"?

That would be the simplest conclusion, yes. You wouldn’t?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Might as well move Savard then.

Savard doesn’t hold Matheson’s value. And Matheson’s defense (and Hutson’s offense) make him expendable.

 

[HabbyGuy]

That would be the simplest conclusion, yes. You wouldn’t?

It must be nice to have your cake and eat it too!

The point is, they had this turn around with Marty in tow, not the hypothetical new guy. Hence Marty derserves the credit new guy would have took.

 

[Naslundforever]

Nope, keep it open. It's important to hear what others have to say.. censorship has got to end..

I’m not a fan of the thread title either. Becomes an argument as to whether coaching is a problem (dichotomy is not interesting for fun convo) instead of a tread about what we think of coaching. Might rename to “what do you think of coaching’ or just “coaching” because a forum implies sharing opinions anyway.