rt
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I like Thompson the best, too. I’ll go further and say that I’ve become a Thompson fan through this. Even if the Coyotes don’t hire him, I’m going to be following his career and cheering for him.
Speculation: Head Coach Hunt 2021
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Mosby
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- Feb 16, 2012
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It’s interesting how Thompson and Tocchet were basically the same player but are wildly different coaches. Would Tocchet be where Thompson is now had he taken a similar coaching path?
In hindsight Rick Tocchet going EIGHT years between head coaching gigs should have been our first clue. That’s basically unheard of.
In hindsight Rick Tocchet going EIGHT years between head coaching gigs should have been our first clue. That’s basically unheard of.
Tocchet never put in the time anywhere in the lower leagues as a HC. It really showed in him not really understanding the basics of things like ingame adjustments and goalie/timeout management. Great head coaches tend to be studious and understand everything going on tactically, even if they delegate or relinquish control entirely. He never improved over the years, so he might just peak at excellent cheerleader/good cop. It's telling that Tocchet is not noted for any tactical acumen, only being able to talk with players. You got the sense he desperately needed his assistants to carry the load in a way other coaches didn't.
I like that Thompson can give a talk that gets the notice of other pro level coaches. He doesn't have any sacred cows because he doesn't have that luxury. If he finds a better way, he'll use it, no questions asked. And the upside with regards to holding on to the room there isn't compromised in any way either. Guys love him. Teams tuned Rick out after the first month or so when he failed to make adjustments and they'd just run into the same wall over and over again. He only really knows how to poorly mimic how the Pens play and that's it.
I can't really think of a better cheap (read: likely) candidate with less risk at this point than Thompson.
I like that Thompson can give a talk that gets the notice of other pro level coaches. He doesn't have any sacred cows because he doesn't have that luxury. If he finds a better way, he'll use it, no questions asked. And the upside with regards to holding on to the room there isn't compromised in any way either. Guys love him. Teams tuned Rick out after the first month or so when he failed to make adjustments and they'd just run into the same wall over and over again. He only really knows how to poorly mimic how the Pens play and that's it.
I can't really think of a better cheap (read: likely) candidate with less risk at this point than Thompson.
rt
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Rick Bowness has. He served as head coach for the Islanders prior to coming here to be an assistant and then took over in 2003-04 for 20 games when Francis was let go. He then stayed as an assistant until taking over from Montgomery last season. That's a huge gap of 15 years, and would be 22 had he not been an interim here. To be fair though, he made the Finals in Dallas as interim and so they kind of had to keep him. I think under normal circumstances, there would have been zero chance that any team would hire him or offer him an interview, so your point is well taken.
RT was a leader as a player, he did that by his play on the ice and his attitude. As a coach, he tried to befriend the players fist, then be a leader second, leadership does not work that way. You can see all this in the Morgan sit down, it has little to do with his tactics, lines or decisions, he just couldn't get the players to follow him. Our next coach needs to be a leader above all else.
Tire fire? Chayka screwed us and we are moving forward. Not many HCing jobs in the NHL so most of the people mentioned would jump at the chance to be one. The experienced proven HC can be more choosey and can wait for the right opening and $$$.
Bonsai Tree
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rt
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I’m going to give BA the benefit of the doubt on his hire. But if he hires one of the guys I happen to like the most, I’ll feel all the better about it. BA continues to do the things I want him to do, just on a more patient and conservative timeline than I want. Which is a good thing. If I was GM the entire roster would turn over twice per season. Lol. I’m very hopeful that his head coach pick will be a good one.
BUX7PHX
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My only question with coaching is where are our players at?
What I mean by that is we have some young talent. I think even BA was saying that he acknowledged having a little more depth in the system than realized. So, we should have a lot of players whom the front office controls for a while. This is inclusive of all of those long term deals that were by Keller, Chychrun, etc.
Is our team the type that right now is getting the most out of its players? If we still have enough players who learned a bad system of Tocchet's, how much more/better teaching is needed? Thompson sounds like the type if we need more teaching. There's a big part of me that wants to say that the team has grown up to where less teaching/instruction is necessary and now we need more of the psychological type who knows how to get people to perform.
I guess I am asking, what is the biggest piece to the puzzle that we need our coach to add? Because we can hire the guy for all the right reasons, and still achieve poor results.
What I mean by that is we have some young talent. I think even BA was saying that he acknowledged having a little more depth in the system than realized. So, we should have a lot of players whom the front office controls for a while. This is inclusive of all of those long term deals that were by Keller, Chychrun, etc.
Is our team the type that right now is getting the most out of its players? If we still have enough players who learned a bad system of Tocchet's, how much more/better teaching is needed? Thompson sounds like the type if we need more teaching. There's a big part of me that wants to say that the team has grown up to where less teaching/instruction is necessary and now we need more of the psychological type who knows how to get people to perform.
I guess I am asking, what is the biggest piece to the puzzle that we need our coach to add? Because we can hire the guy for all the right reasons, and still achieve poor results.
rt
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Under Tocchet, our team has been soft, sluggish, unprepared and shrunk in the big moments.
We need a leader. The best leader of men we can find. I think BA recognizes this. He keeps saying a young guy with “energy” who can give us the “push” we need. Then he inevitably starts talking all about leadership.
For my money, that’s Rocky Thompson, hands down.
rt
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It's easy to be a manager and a leader of one restaurant, quite another to be promoted to general manger and control 20 restaurants and have the same success. Not saying it can't be done, but I don't want my coach needing training wheels on my dime. Of all the names talked about, Quinn seems the most qualified but he was fired for missing the playoffs which may or may not have been his fault as we don't have any inside info. Interesting times.
The safest bet is somebody proven Gallant/Torts type, previous success at multiple stops. We are going to hire somebody that has had success at some level, we know that, but that doesn't mean they were a good leader. I would look past the success and dive into leadership qualities. Does BA know what to look for and what questions to ask? Maybe, I hope so. Chayka wouldn't know, he had no leadership experience or training in that area. This is a pretty sophisticated and nuanced topic, I just hope BA picks the right coach (good leader), it will do wonders for our team.
rt
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I am unable to understand the way that you think.
Just because you managed a business or restaurant and had some success, it doesn't mean you are a good leader, there is a big difference. I agree, if you had success on a smaller scale, it doesn't translate to success at a higher level. Leadership skills do transfer though, I would look for that in a hire.
rt
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Mosby
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This board wants to build a monument to Dave Tippett. Well, in 2002, Dave Tippett became a first-time NHL head coach at 41 years old. He took the job with 3 years experience as an NHL assistant coach and 4 years experience as a minor-pro head coach. As a first-year NHL head coach, he then led the Stars to 111 points and the second round of the playoffs.
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