Speculation: Head Coach Hunt 2021

[Jakey53]

North American hockey fans would like to think that, but that's not true or, indeed, provable. Like all sports, when you get to the top level you still get the same mix of great, good, fair, and poor talents. It's so much more about opportunity than it is about skill or competence.



How? There are some tactical and strategic differences, but those are generally minor.

You can't be serious.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

You can't be serious.

I'm 100% serious. You really think that Rick Tocchet is automatically one of the best hockey minds in the world simply because he head coached in the NHL? That's an absolutely ridiculous premise. Being in the league doesn't make you great by association. You get to the league through an opportunity. Whether you stay there or not is where your skill and talent come into play (although in the NHL, you also can have staying power as a mediocre talent if you have friends and play the politics right).

Yes, there is a substantive difference in what you have to do to coach adults versus teens. But the fundamental attributes that make a good coach and leader don't change because of where you do it. A good coach/leader at the NCAA level most likely will be a good coach/leader at the NHL level, because adaptability is one of the basic requirements of being good at this job.

 

[TheLegend]

 

[Jakey53]

I'm 100% serious. You really think that Rick Tocchet is automatically one of the best hockey minds in the world simply because he head coached in the NHL? That's an absolutely ridiculous premise. Being in the league doesn't make you great by association. You get to the league through an opportunity. Whether you stay there or not is where your skill and talent come into play (although in the NHL, you also can have staying power as a mediocre talent if you have friends and play the politics right).

Yes, there is a substantive difference in what you have to do to coach adults versus teens. But the fundamental attributes that make a good coach and leader don't change because of where you do it. A good coach/leader at the NCAA level most likely will be a good coach/leader at the NHL level, because adaptability is one of the basic requirements of being good at this job.

We agree to disagree, and that's fine, different opinions.

 

[Mosby]

How many ex-employees are on Buffalo's payroll? They may just be forced to stick with Granato because of cost.

 

[rt]

How many ex-employees are on Buffalo's payroll? They may just be forced to stick with Granato because of cost.

It's not just that they keep firing people, it's that they keep firing people nobody else wants to hire. LOL. Gets expensive.

 

[Jakey53]

It's not just that they keep firing people, it's that they keep firing people nobody else wants to hire. LOL. Gets expensive.

I know how we can help them save 10 mil.

 

[Jamieh]

Well for those who wanted Blashill he's off the market.

 

[rt]

Dom Ducharme would be a viable option if not re-signed in Montreal, they said. He’s a quality candidate, they said. I say NOOOOOOOO

 

[Mosby]

Well for those who wanted Blashill he's off the market.

Tank is (still) on in Detroit.

 

[Mosby]

Bylsma is out in Detroit, however. Don't imagine we'd look at him, but he is indeed out there.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

Thoughts on Scott Gordon? Just left the head coaching spot for the flyer’s AHL affiliate. Has won more than 400 games as an AHL head coach and was on BA’s staff when he coached at Providence.

 

[rt]

Thoughts on Scott Gordon? Just left the head coaching spot for the flyer’s AHL affiliate. Has won more than 400 games as an AHL head coach and was on BA’s staff when he coached at Providence.

I don’t personally believe age should rule him out but he’s older than Tocchet. BA seems to want a fresh perspective, a “young” guy. I get the feeling he wants an up-and-comer. Gordon is a journeyman type who’s been hanging around forever. It just doesn’t seem like what BA had described as his target.

Then again, Craig thinks the Coyotes are interested in Lane Lambert. And that dude absolutely does not meet the criteria either.

 

[Jakey53]

I don’t personally believe age should rule him out but he’s older than Tocchet. BA seems to want a fresh perspective, a “young” guy. I get the feeling he wants an up-and-comer. Gordon is a journeyman type who’s been hanging around forever. It just doesn’t seem like what BA had described as his target.

Then again, Craig thinks the Coyotes are interested in Lane Lambert. And that dude absolutely does not meet the criteria either.

It will probably be someone out of left field who will leave most bewildered and unhappy. I just hope we don't end up with a RT2 on our hands. Most times you get what you pay for. I must say BA is sure boring compared to the wheeler dealer Chayka.

 

[rt]

It will probably be someone out of left field who will leave most bewildered and unhappy. I just hope we don't end up with a RT2 on our hands. Most times you get what you pay for. I must say BA is sure boring compared to the wheeler dealer Chayka.

What do you mean by "out of left field"? Someone who's not aligned with the criteria BA has stated he's looking for? So someone very obscure that hasn't been mentioned here yet?

 

[Summer Rose]

It will probably be someone out of left field who will leave most bewildered and unhappy. I just hope we don't end up with a RT2 on our hands. Most times you get what you pay for. I must say BA is sure boring compared to the wheeler dealer Chayka.

If I can trade the off-ice entertainment of a young whippersnapper GM for the on-ice entertainment of a team that wins hockey games, I make that trade every time.

 

[Jakey53]

What do you mean by "out of left field"? Someone who's not aligned with the criteria BA has stated he's looking for? So someone very obscure that hasn't been mentioned here yet?

Someone that hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[rt]

Someone that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Nah. I don't think so. Not if we're considering "young" to mean at least five years younger than Tocchet.

 

[rt]

Nah. I don't think so. Not if we're considering "young" to mean at least five years younger than Tocchet.

EDIT: Now, if BA doesn't end up going "young" like he said he would, then I could see him going a bit of an unexpected direction and hiring one of his connections from earlier in his career like Brad Shaw or Scott Gordon.

 

[rt]

Also, I'm actually a bit disappointed that BA painted himself so thoroughly into a corner with all of this "young" talk. Brad Shaw just became available, and he's someone that I think would be an extremely interesting candidate for us. He was an assistant in Columbus under Torts for five seasons and was in St Louis as an associate coach for a decade, under four different head coaches. He has a sterling reputation, and is a really interesting guy. But he's less than a month younger than Tocchet. So I'm not sure he qualifies as "young" - haha.

Anyway, he's a lot more interesting to me than his fellow Columbus assistant Brad Larsen, who's already rumored to be a candidate here. The Dallas assistants are more interesting to me than almost all of the guys in their 40s that have been talked about. Nelson and Laxdal are very intriguing. But they're not going to convince anyone that they're "young" up-and-comers since they're in their mid-50s.

 

[Mosby]

Pass on Gordon. He's a failed NHL HC. Maybe he could be an assistant in AZ. Our HC in Tucson.

 

[Mosby]

I'd pass on Shaw as well. Little to no experience as a successful head coach. That said, I don't think Army is going to box himself in just because he used the word "young" in a Morgan article and some radio interviews that barely anyone listens to.

 

[rt]

If you're worried about getting your hopes up and being disappointed, I recommend going over to the Rangers board and reading posts from around the time Kris Knoblauch took over for COVID reasons, then reading some posts from the time between JD and Gorton being fired and the time Quinn was fired, then read posts right when he was let go. It might cool you off on Quinn a little. A lot of what I read from fans made me a little wary. More formal analysis from media members and other articles I've read made me feel a lot better about him. I also like the guy. He seems really cool and his background is super interesting. But then I remember how all the media members like Tocchet and how complimentary all the articles about him are, and how he's a really cool guy and how I like him a lot, too. LOL. The main difference is Quinn's resume and the way he himself speaks.

Since Gallant, Bourdreau, Tortarella, and Julien are obviously not on the table, I'm thinking my ranking is shaping up like this:

1. Thompson
-
-
-
2/3. Quinn/Nelson
4. MVR
5. Laxdal
-
-
-
-SHAW
6/7/8/9/10. Knoblauch/Tourigny/Vincent/Leach/Carbery
11/12. Larsen/Leaman
13. Lambert

^ but this will change 763 times in the 8 weeks between now and the time BA hires somebody in two months. LOL.

I might put Shaw somewhere like right there ^

 

[rt]

... I don't think Army is going to box himself in just because he used the word "young" in a Morgan article and some radio interviews that barely anyone listens to.

Good point. I hope you're right. Even removing Gallant, Boudreau, Torts and Julien I still have four of my top five picks as guys in their 50s. Rocky Thompson is the only candidate in his 40s that I wouldn't be nervous about.

 

[TheLegend]

Tocchet getting interviews with Seattle and New York (Rangers).