Happy or Sad: Your Reaction if Tocchet Named HC?

[Grvmnd]

I like it. Would have probably preferred someone a little more 'hungry'. But he's clearly doing something right.

 

[mouser]

Not happy, but definitely not sad. Could we get an option for melancholy?

 

[rt]

I like the feeling of legitimacy this bestows. Much like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. Premier players, at premier positions from premier teams. Tocchet is a champion multiple times over and a household name. He's been around the game in many facets and has had a ton of success on the biggest stage with a premier team very recently. He feels proven even if he's not. He feels "big time" or "big league". It's nice to have something that somebody else didn't just throw away to the scrapheap. Just like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. I like the legit feeling. My head feels like it can be held a little higher than last summer after that mess of a coup. We cleaned house and are bringing in legit, full blown NHL people. I love it.

 

[RABBIT]

I like the feeling of legitimacy this bestows. Much like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. Premier players, at premier positions from premier teams. Tocchet is a champion multiple times over and a household name. He's been around the game in many facets and has had a ton of success on the biggest stage with a premier team very recently. He feels proven even if he's not. He feels "big time" or "big league". It's nice to have something that somebody else didn't just throw away to the scrapheap. Just like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. I like the legit feeling. My head feels like it can be held a little higher than last summer after that mess of a coup. We cleaned house and are bringing in legit, full blown NHL people. I love it.

only bad news for you rt is, if he comes here and completely ***** the bed...you may have to change your username. If I know you like I think I do, you would have an intense hatred for him after a series of **** ups and would be sick at the thought of supporting a failure, even via username.

 

[rt]

Dangerous when your boyhood idol takes this position for sure.

 

[SniperHF]

There's always Raffi Torres.

 

[XX]

I like the feeling of legitimacy this bestows.

I feel like he's the least legitimate of all the rumored options. This feels like a very cynical hire meant to please fans with the name and 'pedigree'. No offense to anyone excited about this.

Tocchet hasn't been the sole man in charge very much and he's about to go into a complete power vacuum where he'll have a ton of say. It could go great, but there's also a good chance he flops.

This is the first move they've made all summer that I'm struggling a bit with.

 

[RABBIT]

I feel like he's the least legitimate of all the rumored options. This feels like a very cynical hire meant to please fans with the name and 'pedigree'. No offense to anyone excited about this.

Tocchet hasn't been the sole man in charge very much and he's about to go into a complete power vacuum where he'll have a ton of say. It could go great, but there's also a good chance he flops.

This is the first move they've made all summer that I'm struggling a bit with.

Now, I understand your hesitation. I agree with you. It was safe with a little bit of risk still.
I'm just leaning more towards hoping he learned from his experience in a winning environment, because we already know he's good with young players, a good communicator, and seems to be well respected.

 

[_Del_]

There's no magical decisions being made at this level that are guaranteed successes. He wouldn't be my first choice, but I don't see him as substantially less risky than Nelson, Keefe, or Krueger, etc. Blashill, Eakins, Mike Johnston were all the next great young coach at one point. I think I'd still prefer Nelson, Keefe, and Krueger, but it's not like that's a shoe in for success. Tocchet at least has had an extended and recent run behind an NHL bench for a high performance club.
He's also not Tippett, so I'm still happy.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

We can discount the one "sad" vote - it comes from a Habs fan who by his profile lives in Montreal. Just trying to screw with the poll.

 

[XX]

I'm just leaning more towards hoping he learned from his experience in a winning environment, because we already know he's good with young players, a good communicator, and seems to be well respected.

The Pens have always been competitive when he is there, and it's really easy to throw a kid out onto Crosby or Malkin's wing. They'll make you look good. I lean towards coaches that make chicken out of chicken ****, and have a clear upward progression. Nelon's pedigree in the AHL is pretty damn good. Kreuger's ability to maximize his talent in a short amount of time is impressive. Keefe has been steadily climbing upwards.

Tocchet has just kind of floated around and found himself in the perfect situation in Pittsburgh. Are the Coyotes still calling Tocchet if the Pens pull a Washington and exit early every year? I'm not so sure. Even Sullivan had a year with WBS.

Being a great first mate ain't the same as being the captain responsible for everyone on board. There's just more potential for outright failure here than with any other candidate IMO. If they manage to find two Barry Smith/John Stevens levels assistants, I'll be sunny as hell about the hire. Right now, I'm pretty skeptical.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

He's perfect for all those who hated Tippett's boring style of hockey. I expect Domi, Duclair and Keller to just fly. Something tells me that the player who will benefit the most will be Perlini. He'll get the puck when in a position to do something with it far more often than last year.

 

[cobra427]

I think their is less risk in Toch then any of the other coaches. He has head coaching experience, recent assistant experience on a winning team, and played the game the hard way, with some skill mixed in. This is still risky, but less risky because of Tochs experience. I'm hoping for the best!

 

[WrinkledPossum]

Sad - I wanted Nelson or Keefe. I think they would be the ideal coaches with dealing with a young team. I'm not completely disappointed though, Tocchet has done really well with Pittsburgh, but I would've preferred Nelson or Keefe. Now if one of them is announced as an assistant I'll be really happy.

I pretty much agree with everything XX has said.

 

[LuckyNumber11]

I wanted Nelson with Keefe as my plan B. But Tocchet isn't bad either, find him a good assistant and I'll be very happy.

 

[_Del_]

I think their is less risk in Toch then any of the other coaches. He has head coaching experience, recent assistant experience on a winning team, and played the game the hard way, with some skill mixed in. This is still risky, but less risky because of Tochs experience. I'm hoping for the best!

He has the least amount of total head coaching experience of any of the candidates. I don't know how that translates to least risky. I like that he's not deathly afraid of young players as though he might catch some sort of new disease, so that'll be a nice change.

 

[moosemeister]

The important thing here is it isn't Eakins.

Get Toch some assistants and let's get this thing going. Can't do much worse than the past few seasons

 

[Jakey53]

I like the feeling of legitimacy this bestows. Much like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. Premier players, at premier positions from premier teams. Tocchet is a champion multiple times over and a household name. He's been around the game in many facets and has had a ton of success on the biggest stage with a premier team very recently. He feels proven even if he's not. He feels "big time" or "big league". It's nice to have something that somebody else didn't just throw away to the scrapheap. Just like Stepan and Hjalmarsson. I like the legit feeling. My head feels like it can be held a little higher than last summer after that mess of a coup. We cleaned house and are bringing in legit, full blown NHL people. I love it.

DM and DT were legit. Look, this could blow up in our face, but Tocchet was the best choice by a wide margin. Like you said, Tocchet is a champion, both as a player and coach. He has been there done that, and I believe coaching in the SCF the last two years is a BIG + in his development as a coach.

 

[Jakey53]

I feel like he's the least legitimate of all the rumored options. This feels like a very cynical hire meant to please fans with the name and 'pedigree'. No offense to anyone excited about this.

Tocchet hasn't been the sole man in charge very much and he's about to go into a complete power vacuum where he'll have a ton of say. It could go great, but there's also a good chance he flops.

This is the first move they've made all summer that I'm struggling a bit with.

Least legitimate? He is the only one who won a SC as a player, and the only one to win a SC as a coach. His risk of flopping is much less that the other options we had. I still wish they would have interviewed more NHL coaches before deciding.

 

[Jakey53]

The Pens have always been competitive when he is there, and it's really easy to throw a kid out onto Crosby or Malkin's wing. They'll make you look good. I lean towards coaches that make chicken out of chicken ****, and have a clear upward progression. Nelon's pedigree in the AHL is pretty damn good. Kreuger's ability to maximize his talent in a short amount of time is impressive. Keefe has been steadily climbing upwards.

Tocchet has just kind of floated around and found himself in the perfect situation in Pittsburgh. Are the Coyotes still calling Tocchet if the Pens pull a Washington and exit early every year? I'm not so sure. Even Sullivan had a year with WBS.

Being a great first mate ain't the same as being the captain responsible for everyone on board. There's just more potential for outright failure here than with any other candidate IMO. If they manage to find two Barry Smith/John Stevens levels assistants, I'll be sunny as hell about the hire. Right now, I'm pretty skeptical.

Pittsburgh saw something in Tocchet and hired him. He stayed on after they fired their HC so that shows what they thought of him. I just don't see how there is more failure with Tocchet than the others mentioned, in fact, I think it is just the opposite.

 

[Jakey53]

He's perfect for all those who hated Tippett's boring style of hockey. I expect Domi, Duclair and Keller to just fly. Something tells me that the player who will benefit the most will be Perlini. He'll get the puck when in a position to do something with it far more often than last year.

Don't count your chickens just yet.

 

[Jakey53]

I think their is less risk in Toch then any of the other coaches. He has head coaching experience, recent assistant experience on a winning team, and played the game the hard way, with some skill mixed in. This is still risky, but less risky because of Tochs experience. I'm hoping for the best!

I agree.

Sad - I wanted Nelson or Keefe. I think they would be the ideal coaches with dealing with a young team. I'm not completely disappointed though, Tocchet has done really well with Pittsburgh, but I would've preferred Nelson or Keefe. Now if one of them is announced as an assistant I'll be really happy.

Just like the Canucks, Oilers, Colorado thought when they hired their last coach. There is success stories and failures at every level, I just thought that Tocchet is the least risky at this time. He could fail, but he has stayed in the NHL after he left Tampa and has two SC rings as a coach.

I pretty much agree with everything XX has said.

He has the least amount of total head coaching experience of any of the candidates. I don't know how that translates to least risky. I like that he's not deathly afraid of young players as though he might catch some sort of new disease, so that'll be a nice change.

He is the only one to win a SC as a player and the only one to win a SC as a coach.

 

[Mosby]

It's funny. When the Tocchet news broke yesterday morning, my preference was still Nelson. He is still my preference today.

I then wondered if we could do Nelson as the head coach and Tocchet as his assistant, but knowing full well that the Penguins were not going to grant a lateral move for Tocchet. But it never occurred to me swap the positions, having Tocchet as the head coach and Nelson as his assistant. And I think that is the combination they need to go with here to make this the best possible case.

There is no denying Tocchet brings some interesting experience to the table. You can never have enough winners, and he is one. I like that he is a little bit tough. At the same time, coddling the youth seems to be the magic formula in today's NHL and I think Nelson can contribute there. Ideally he takes over for Playfair (Nelson was a defenseman, after all). Then we given Tocchet his pick to replace Newell Brown. You know who could be a good fit there? Joe Mullen. Former teammate of Tocchet's who was just dumped as the Flyers assistant coach.

So, Tocchet, Nelson, and Mullen.

 

[rt]

DM and DT were legit. Look, this could blow up in our face, but Tocchet was the best choice by a wide margin. Like you said, Tocchet is a champion, both as a player and coach. He has been there done that, and I believe coaching in the SCF the last two years is a BIG + in his development as a coach.

Tippett began as legitimate. He devolved into activities director at the summer camp he built for his friends. Commander in Chief of Coyotes Country Club.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Tippett began as legitimate. He devolved into activities director at the summer camp he built for his friends. Commander in Chief of Coyotes Country Club.

Nonsense. Coyotes infrastructure has been a hot mess for years. Talent acquisition and development has been nonexistent for years. Tippett has had little talent to work with from top to bottom of the roster.

One can throw out names like Turris or Mueller, or Domi for that matter, but the reality was that we had the poorest talent in the league, year after year. Tippett stated publicly when he took the job that the only chance for success with the Coyotes was to have a boring, grind it out style with the hope to win games 2-1. His whole system was meant to decrease the impact of opposing teams' offensive talent as much as possible.

I have no problem with Tippett leaving as part of the "purge", but let's not pin the blame of the Coyotes utter lack of success on Tippett. He shouldn't be scapegoated.