Eakins or Carlyle

[Sam Slick*]

Stanley cup winner vs up and comer.

In my mind, Dallas Eakins is NHL ready and a hockey tactician. Marlies brand of hockey is fast and entertaining. He has very good systems in place.

Randy won a Stanley cup, but it could be argued, he did it with a much better team and a few superstars.

If it was me, I would put Eakins behind the Leaf bench right now and let him grow with the team. All the players respect him and he holds players accountable. He has done an amazing job with the diverse amount of players he has had to deal with.

I think Eakins is more of a tactician than Carlyle by a long shot. Eakins seems to be more of a teacher/coach where Carlyle is more of a "force first" guy. Eakins is more of a motivator and rewards players with ice through good play.

When Eakins contract is up, NHL teams will be all over this guy. I think the leafs need to do something to keep him. I think it was a mistake to bring in Carlyle when Eakins clearly deserved his shot. I think Burke dropped the ball on this one. Not much of a risk to bring a guy up that is cheaper and knows the players, plus brought them to the finals last year when everyone doubted him and constantly criticized our prospect group down there.

How do we keep Eakins from leaving when his contract is done? Burke has no problem just letting guys go, yet keeps his friend Wilson 2 seasons longer than he deserved.

Thoughts?

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[Man Bear Pig]

This has been discussed ad nauseum.

 

[Sam Slick*]

This has been discussed ad nauseum.

No it hasn't. Who's your choice?

 

[Chungo]

I would have gone with Eakins.

Eakins is a solid coach, who in my limited viewings and thought-process from the Marlies, seems to work with players strengths rather than the coaches.

Wilson forced guys to play a system that didn't suit their skill sets... I feel Carlyle might be the same way.

 

[Sam Slick*]

I would have gone with Eakins.

Eakins is a solid coach, who in my limited viewings and thought-process from the Marlies, seems to work with players strengths rather than the coaches.

Wilson forced guys to play a system that didn't suit their skill sets... I feel Carlyle might be the same way.

I agree.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Don't mind that Carlyle is there but hope that before they lose Eakins that they might entice him with an Assistant job with an eye to eventually replacing Carlyle (though that might not work due to perceptions). Perhaps if they could give him some kind of elbow nudge agreement that he's front of the line and reward him handsomely while biding his time developing the future? I don't know...I just hope it isn't a Marc Crawford repeat.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I do not feel like he's a good fit.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

No it hasn't. Who's your choice?

The mystery box.

 

[exporta]

Don't mind that Carlyle is there but hope that before they lose Eakins that they might entice him with an Assistant job with an eye to eventually replacing Carlyle (though that might not work due to perceptions). Perhaps if they could give him some kind of elbow nudge agreement that he's front of the line and reward him handsomely while biding his time developing the future? I don't know...I just hope it isn't a Marc Crawford repeat.

I could be wrong, but I believe Eakins has been an assistant in the NHL before and stated his desire to only make the jump for a head coach position.

Eakins could have left this past off season, but I believe resigned on a gentleman's agreement that he'd get the NHL job post Carlyle.

 

[SteveV*]

Wilson.


Seriously, one thing that bugs me is all this talk about fitness with Carlyle. Go back to Wilson's beginning and he stressed the fitness level, then go back to when Maurice came in and his big thing was improving fitness. Man we must have been in bad shape with Quinn!

 

[SprDaVE]

In hindsight, Eakins didn't even win a single AHL playoff game before Carlyle was hired, let alone coach a single NHL game.

I would have taken Carlyle 11 times out of 10 at the time, and I probably would still hire him over Eakins right now.

Carlyle has a ton of experience, a cup ring and has been able to develop players and create a great system in Anaheim up until last year. He had a solid track record while in Anaheim and he should be able to do fine here.

I like Eakins but he didn't have the experience and I still don't think he does. He needs another year or so of good AHL coaching and then think about the NHL. There's plenty of coaches that do great in Junior and/or the AHL but can't seem to find a home in the NHL... just like players.

I think Eakins and Carlyle have similar styles of coaching anyway. Both preach the same things and appear to be the same off the ice.

 

[Morlesio14*]

I go to tons of marlies games and if we're ever down by 1 or 2 I know that he can motivate the players and get them on track.

 

[Rielly Good]

Carlyle is a great coach. But I love Eakins. Eakins gets almost everything from each player. The marlies are closer group(on the ice) than the leafs have looked in any of the last 7-8 seasons, IMO.

 

[Drew311]

As far as systems are concerned, whatever system Eakins is running right now is what you'll see Carlyle use. The Leafs and Mariles use the same system to make the transition from the AHL to the NHL as easy as possible for the young players.

So it really comes down to who is the better players coach. I think Eakins is an amazing guy and seems to be loved by all of his players, a reputation that Carlyle does not seem to have.

It comes down to choosing between an experienced guy who has won the Stanley Cup, or a guy who you know the players will love and respect.

To be honest, I don't care either way. It's up to Burke to ice a competitive team. If he doesn't do that, it doesn't really matter who is behind the bench.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Carlyle is a great coach. But I love Eakins. Eakins gets almost everything from each player. The marlies are closer group(on the ice) than the leafs have looked in any of the last 7-08 seasons, IMO.

The most important quality in a coach, IMO. Pat Burns had this in spades.

 

[The Blue Devil]

Stanley cup winner vs up and comer.

In my mind, Dallas Eakins is NHL ready and a hockey tactician. Marlies brand of hockey is fast and entertaining. He has very good systems in place.

Randy won a Stanley cup, but it could be argued, he did it with a much better team and a few superstars.

If it was me, I would put Eakins behind the Leaf bench right now and let him grow with the team. All the players respect him and he holds players accountable. He has done an amazing job with the diverse amount of players he has had to deal with.

I think Eakins is more of a tactician than Carlyle by a long shot. Eakins seems to be more of a teacher/coach where Carlyle is more of a "force first" guy. Eakins is more of a motivator and rewards players with ice through good play.

When Eakins contract is up, NHL teams will be all over this guy. I think the leafs need to do something to keep him. I think it was a mistake to bring in Carlyle when Eakins clearly deserved his shot. I think Burke dropped the ball on this one. Not much of a risk to bring a guy up that is cheaper and knows the players, plus brought them to the finals last year when everyone doubted him and constantly criticized our prospect group down there.

How do we keep Eakins from leaving when his contract is done? Burke has no problem just letting guys go, yet keeps his friend Wilson 2 seasons longer than he deserved.

Thoughts?

Clearly you know nothing of Carlyle.

Getzlaf and Perry were not "superstars" by any means during the Ducks reg season, they broke out in the playoffs. Randy did a great job implementing a system for his type of players to succeed in. He was a great mentor for Getzlaf, Ryan, Perry, Fowler etc when they all first came into the league.

 

[The Blue Devil]

I would have gone with Eakins.

Eakins is a solid coach, who in my limited viewings and thought-process from the Marlies, seems to work with players strengths rather than the coaches.

Wilson forced guys to play a system that didn't suit their skill sets... I feel Carlyle might be the same way.

I hope you all realize that Carlyle is gonna be implementing the same or a similar system to that of the Marlies, he's already stated multiple times. I hate when people spout their uninformed nonsense.

 

[Chandrashekhar Limit]

Carlyle has much more pedigree than Eakins, and he likes to implement a system which suits Burke's preference as well. I think for now, he is the right guy.

Lets see how he does. It's not like we've lost Eakins.

 

[The Blue Devil]

Wilson.


Seriously, one thing that bugs me is all this talk about fitness with Carlyle. Go back to Wilson's beginning and he stressed the fitness level, then go back to when Maurice came in and his big thing was improving fitness. Man we must have been in bad shape with Quinn!

Carlyle has a proven track record when it comes to this though.

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

Carlyle.

Eakins has been phenomenal, however hasnt really payed his due's. Hes had a stacked AHL to work with and has excelled. MLSE has given him every opportunity to succeed. Choosing Eakins for the job and having him fail will essentially put Burke out of a job. Even though the praise would be greater if he succeeded. Carlyle is the proven winner and NHL coach, hes the right choice 100% of the time.

 

[The Blue Devil]

As far as systems are concerned, whatever system Eakins is running right now is what you'll see Carlyle use. The Leafs and Mariles use the same system to make the transition from the AHL to the NHL as easy as possible for the young players.

So it really comes down to who is the better players coach. I think Eakins is an amazing guy and seems to be loved by all of his players, a reputation that Carlyle does not seem to have. It comes down to choosing between an experienced guy who has won the Stanley Cup, or a guy who you know the players will love and respect.

To be honest, I don't care either way. It's up to Burke to ice a competitive team. If he doesn't do that, it doesn't really matter who is behind the bench.

Where do you even get this? If Carlyle couldn't get the best out of his players then he probably doesn't win a cup.

 

[The Blue Devil]

Just to be clear, I do NOT hate Eakins nor do I have anything against him. I think he could be a great coach, it's just that people are severely under-rating Carlyle and judging by their opinions, clearly know nothing about him.

 

[jmart21]

Stanley cup winner vs up and comer.

In my mind, Dallas Eakins is NHL ready and a hockey tactician. Marlies brand of hockey is fast and entertaining. He has very good systems in place.

Yes he does, but he Carlyle will also have a very good system in place, one which addresses the holes in recent Leafs play.

Randy won a Stanley cup, but it could be argued, he did it with a much better team and a few superstars.

Yes, obviously he did it with a team better than this current leaf squad...it's not a SC winning team. No coach could do it with this team. Carlyle has coached a team to a SC and "but it could be argued" does not apply as Eakins has nowhere near anything like this on his resume.

If it was me, I would put Eakins behind the Leaf bench right now and let him grow with the team. All the players respect him and he holds players accountable. He has done an amazing job with the diverse amount of players he has had to deal with.

This team needs to stop "growing" and start playing a responsible style of hockey to start winning games (maybe Eakins would have been a suitable candidate if it were 2006 and we were starting down a long road). Carlyle is a respect coach that is the definition of accountability.

I think Eakins is more of a tactician than Carlyle by a long shot. Eakins seems to be more of a teacher/coach where Carlyle is more of a "force first" guy. Eakins is more of a motivator and rewards players with ice through good play.

I'm not sure what you are basing this off, Carlyle is a coach with good systems in place. He also has coached several young players into NHL stars and gotten quite a lot out of some mediocre Anaheim teams.

When Eakins contract is up, NHL teams will be all over this guy. I think the leafs need to do something to keep him. I think it was a mistake to bring in Carlyle when Eakins clearly deserved his shot. I think Burke dropped the ball on this one.

NHL teams will be calling Eakins, yes. But I still don't think at the time of Carlyle's hiring and the situation the team was in that Eakins was the best choice.

Not much of a risk to bring a guy up that is cheaper and knows the players, plus brought them to the finals last year when everyone doubted him and constantly criticized our prospect group down there.

a) I don't care how much a coach costs and that shouldn't be an arguing point.
b) I'd argue that you are overrating how he "knows" the players. He knows the AHL players yes, but certainly doesn't have experience with a large number of the NHL roster.

[/quote]
How do we keep Eakins from leaving when his contract is done? Burke has no problem just letting guys go, yet keeps his friend Wilson 2 seasons longer than he deserved.
Thoughts?[/QUOTE]
To keep eakins, we need to make more threads. That simple..

 

[Sam Slick*]

Don't mind that Carlyle is there but hope that before they lose Eakins that they might entice him with an Assistant job with an eye to eventually replacing Carlyle (though that might not work due to perceptions). Perhaps if they could give him some kind of elbow nudge agreement that he's front of the line and reward him handsomely while biding his time developing the future? I don't know...I just hope it isn't a Marc Crawford repeat.

Good post.

 

[JAMmer124]

I would've gone with Eakins. As others have said, he has that "it" quality to get the most out of every single guy. Not to mention how dedicated he is to fitness, would've been good for some guys.

He seems to know what buttons to push with our young players, ie Kadri, to get them to perform at their top level.

I don't hate the Carlyle choice, it's a logical one given all factors, but it's a safe choice. IMO, it's time to take a chance on something/someone. Whether it be Eakins at coach, Kadri at centre in the NHL, or going all in for a star centre/goalie, it needs to be done. The last real splash we made was the Phaneuf deal.