Gonchar available...

[smoneil]

Just saw that the Pens cut all of Sullivan's assistants in a coaching room re-tooling. I always liked Sergei Gonchar as a player, and he's done an excellent job with the Pens' young defensemen. Could Gonchar be a good fit to replace Lindy Ruff?

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[will1066]

I automatically assumed this was a player thread. I'm old.

 

[NCRanger]

Not a bad idea.

 

[Thirty One]

He apparently taught Jagr to one-time the puck, leading to one of the greatest single-season performances in our history. Imagine he can do that with Fox and DeAngelo?

 

[cwede]

if he was worth it, Pitt woulda kept him

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Replacement for TDA?

 

[Thirty One]

if he was worth it, Pitt woulda kept him

Most coaches available have been let go.

 

[BKGooner]

Replacement for TDA?

lol First thing I thought was rather give Zubov the money to replace TDA.

 

[HFBS]

I automatically assumed this was a player thread. I'm old.

When I first saw his name I knew he was retired and thought he must have died.

 

[ecemleafs]

malkin borderline idolizes gonchar.

 

[aufheben]

I’m down.

 

[Thirty One]

delet

 

[haohmaru]

No 35+ contracts, plz.

 

[haohmaru]

^ That's humor before someone gets all twisted about it.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

^ That's humor before someone gets all twisted about it.

its not funny if you explain it

 

[HFBS]

its not funny if you explain it

Didn't have a high ceiling anyway.

 

[BroadwayStorm]

We should hire Kasparaitis.

 

[McRanger]

No 35+ contracts, plz.

Hey, he may be 46 but at least he’s left handed.

 

[haohmaru]

Hey, he may be 46 but at least he’s left handed.

And probably still better than Marc Staal

 

[NYRFANMANI]

Most coaches available have been let go.

Adding to that. Some might even chose to change environment ... and just don't re-sign.

On the matter at hand, why not.
He's a f***ing legend and if he in fact can teach some O to our young and very much offensively talented D-corps, I'm totally in.

 

[Machinehead]

I automatically assumed this was a player thread. I'm old.

Worse yet, I'd unironically take him over some of our LHD.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Rangers keep adding LHD.

Yeah I mean, he was a great player for a long time and not one of those guys who had natural raw ability and just used that. He was a worker and studied the game.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Most coaches available have been let go.

I can't help but feel like it's bc they suck. I'm not being sarcastic I just really suspect that this is the case.

I feel like many of them get by bc it's a little bit of a boys club mentality and bc coaching in pro sports in general seems to be the worst it's ever been. Hockey, basketball and baseball seem to be sports where the right players buoy sub par coaches into looking like good ones. There isn't much room for innovation in how these games are played tactically. We've had the better part of a century (or more) for coaches to invent or even reinvent the wheel while adhering to a relatively static rule set the last few decades. So everyone has the same baseline "playbooks". Only really, really exceptional coaches devise ways to really accentuate the unique combination of skills that their players bring to the table.

Comes out more in football. Which is why a guy like Belichick can absolutely manhandle an entire league (on an otherwise even playing field) for what would have been considered an impossible length of time before now.

Does this apply specifically to Gonchar? I have no clue. He's a relatively newer coach too so there's always room for a newer coach to take a next step.

 

[smoneil]

I can't help but feel like it's bc they suck. I'm not being sarcastic I just really suspect that this is the case.

I feel like many of them get by bc it's a little bit of a boys club mentality and bc coaching in pro sports in general seems to be the worst it's ever been. Hockey, basketball and baseball seem to be sports where the right players buoy sub par coaches into looking like good ones. There isn't much room for innovation in how these games are played tactically. We've had the better part of a century (or more) for coaches to invent or even reinvent the wheel while adhering to a relatively static rule set the last few decades. So everyone has the same baseline "playbooks". Only really, really exceptional coaches devise ways to really accentuate the unique combination of skills that their players bring to the table.

Comes out more in football. Which is why a guy like Belichick can absolutely manhandle an entire league (on an otherwise even playing field) for what would have been considered an impossible length of time before now.

Does this apply specifically to Gonchar? I have no clue. He's a relatively newer coach too so there's always room for a newer coach to take a next step.

The thing that puts me at ease w/Gonchar is the fact that they wiped out ALL of the assistant coaches in Pittsburgh. This wasn't a "the D is struggling, so let's replace that coach." It was more of a "we're keeping the coach but sending a message to the room by getting rid of ALL the assistants." More of a final warning to the players than a condemnation of Gonchar's coaching.

And then you can look at the young D Gonchar has brought along the last couple years. Some of them have been unheralded, lesser known guys or reclamation projects. I just think Gonchar would be great as a developmental coach, which would be useful to have since most of D moving forward will be barely out of diapers, haha.

 

[Allan92]

Dumoulin and Letang still looking good and I'm thoroughly impressed with Marino so I can't imagine he'd be a downgrade.

I would definitely like a defensively minded coach who has proven he can manage defenses with good positioning and net front presence, two things our D has lacked forever