Proposal: Is it time to change coaches

[Mangosteen]

Team been playing some bad hockey for months. Even some of our wins were because of Veggie. We are healthy and can't make crisp plays. Only need to remind you of the Red Wings power plays? Love Bear as a person but does he have systems and belief of the players to win in the NHL.

Can't find his NHL record.

 

[Chel Guy]

ya this coaching staff needs to go.

 

[Arizonatah]

Who is available besides Q? Don't say Torts

 

[Mangosteen]

Who is available besides Q? Don't say Torts

No way for Torts.. give it to an assistant till seasons end.. but statement needs to be made

 

[Arizonatah]

No way for Torts.. give it to an assistant till seasons end.. but statement needs to be made

That's way too extreme for me.

I think AT deserves better than getting shit canned during the season with only 10 more games to go. Just too disrespectful and the kind of statement gives the wrong message, IMO. Especially since the team is right where it was predicted to be, no surprises here.

Tortorella is different story. He's known to be too much of a hardass and is a disrespectful coach. He's not liked by most players from what I gather. If he isn't winning the BS that comes with his style of coaching just isn't worth it. Also, PHI's winning % dropped from to .530 last season to .453 this season. They regressed pretty hard. 8% drop in P%.

AT doesn't deserve to be used in making a bold statement in that manner. He's been a trooper under the circumstances, bought in to the plan 100%, and the team has progressed under him. He's just run the course with this team IMO.

Wait until the offseason.

 

[SpaceCoyote]

I'm fine with AT finishing out the season, mostly because it will only help our draft odds. A new voice in the room would likely improve the team's record at this point. The team doesn't owe AT anything, he was paid to do his job during the rebuild. Clearly at this point he is out of his depth, if BA had the guts to fire him and hire Montgomery instead of STL they might be in the playoffs right now.

 

[SR]

Q would be a huge add. My opinion though

 

[Arizonatah]

Q would be my first phone call.

 

[Chel Guy]

yeah I think At and his staff are gone at the end of the year. Maybe Madden stays.

 

[Hogan20]

They're middle of the pack on the PP and the PK. With the talent this team has they should at least be top 10 on the PP.

I don't think there's a perfect hire out there right now. The only one I'd like to see them try and get would be David Carle from Denver University.

 

[Jakey53]

The team and coaches have achieved what BA expected, but now after a couple bad loses you want to make changes? Look, I'm not saying AT is the answer, but I believe BA likes him and will let him start next year. Next year all eyes will be on AT and the team.

 

[Jakey53]

They're middle of the pack on the PP and the PK. With the talent this team has they should at least be top 10 on the PP.

I don't think there's a perfect hire out there right now. The only one I'd like to see them try and get would be David Carle from Denver University.

Look at the top 10 teams on the PP. This team comes up short in the talent area. Utah still needs talent to get into the top ten rankings. Right now they stand 14th. I think they are lucky to be there, but they are, and deserve credit for that. Look at the teams above them, then you see why they are 14th. PK is 13th. We are knocking on the doorstep guys. The next steps get harder. Patience.

 

[Summer Rose]

To use corporate lingo speak or whatever, I would rate Tourigny’s performance this season as “meets expectations.” No reason to get rid of him before the end of the year over a couple bad games. As for next year, we might as well start the year with him.

 

[LittlePipes]

The last 2 losses were tough, and deserve attention and thought about how the organization should respond. That said, I think the issues are more with the roster than with AT.
I say keep AT; work on the roster and, for now, keep AT.

 

[Snarky Coyote]

Rebuilds are painful. Players are still making progress, and developing is the only criterion we should use. Wins and losses are for 2 years down the road when the team adds size and starts to seriously contend. No reason to make a change now. See how next year starts. Who else can be that developmental coach? Maybe get an experienced assistant that can help transition.

 

[SjMilhouse]

Earlier this year I was very pro firing. Since right before the team got healthy and since they got healthy, I've been less pro firing. If you can find an upgrade, do it. But I also think giving him another year isn't the worst idea

 

[IronFinn]

I am a bit surprised nobody has brought up the atrocious goaltending of the last 3 games. Sure we beat TB in that first match-up, but it was not because of our goaltending, but in spite of it. And the goaltending has been worse the last two games. Over the last 3 games our goalies have saved less than 3 in 4 shots on net. Most of that is due to them being in terrible position to make a save. Don't get me wrong, I am not putting all of this on the goalies, but they need to be better. We clearly rode Vejmelka too hard, and he has lost his focus. I see his worst habits leaking back in where he over slides on every shot and is out of position for any rebound. And Stauber simple wasn't up to NHL standards this time around. Probably why he was sent down and Villalta was brought up today.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

I don't think the team has developed enough for a change. A change will be in order if AT doesn't show the ability to progress, as the team develops. We're getting close, the team had a resurgence with the return of Durzi and Marino, since that time we've pretty much been punching above our current weight class and now appear to have broken down.

It's alright, they've done a damn good job, they're just exhausted (as well as not quite good enough) at this point. Having said that, I do expect to see a few more quality games from them.

EDIT: My first sentence does not mean I think they have not developed, just that they haven't to the point where that development has superseded AT's abilities.

 

[SpaceCoyote]

I am a bit surprised nobody has brought up the atrocious goaltending of the last 3 games. Sure we beat TB in that first match-up, but it was not because of our goaltending, but in spite of it. And the goaltending has been worse the last two games. Over the last 3 games our goalies have saved less than 3 in 4 shots on net. Most of that is due to them being in terrible position to make a save. Don't get me wrong, I am not putting all of this on the goalies, but they need to be better. We clearly rode Vejmelka too hard, and he has lost his focus. I see his worst habits leaking back in where he over slides on every shot and is out of position for any rebound. And Stauber simple wasn't up to NHL standards this time around. Probably why he was sent down and Villalta was brought up today.

The goaltending woes can be attributed back to mismanagement as well. AT's plan of riding Veggie for the rest of the season did not work, games like Buffalo or Seattle could have leveraged a back up goalie. Once Veggie struggled against Detroit, to put him back up against TB the following game at the start of a back to back was clearly the wrong call.

 

[Jakey53]

The goaltending woes can be attributed back to mismanagement as well. AT's plan of riding Veggie for the rest of the season did not work, games like Buffalo or Seattle could have leveraged a back up goalie. Once Veggie struggled against Detroit, to put him back up against TB the following game at the start of a back to back was clearly the wrong call.

AT had no other choice. Utah was still in the hunt, and I'm sure if AT had an alternative he would have used it. I don't blame AT at all for how he used Veggie.

 

[TheLegend]

The last 2 losses were tough, and deserve attention and thought about how the organization should respond. That said, I think the issues are more with the roster than with AT.
I say keep AT; work on the roster and, for now, keep AT.

I wasn't feeling all that bad about the Florida game. The effort was there.

Tampa Bay was a whole different thing. They took a day off as a team in the whole and you can't do that this time of year.

 

[Chel Guy]

The biggest question I'll ask everybody...Is the team improving year over year since AT has been hired as head coach?

 

[Jakey53]

The biggest question I'll ask everybody...Is the team improving year over year since AT has been hired as head coach?

I would say yes, but he and the team really had a low bar when it came to winning. Next year the expectations by BA is the playoffs. Let's see how AT and the team responds. BA will have to find more talent as well for this team to make that next step. Not sure if any overseas or in the minors are ready.

 

[cobra427]

I think this decision can partially hinge on any pressure BA feels from ownership. First of all, they have to decide if they are keeping BA, I think they will. The next question, is ownership happy with the results this season, mid 80 point team, missing the playoffs. If ownership isn't happy with that, BA can kind of make AT the scape goat, coaches get the axe first usually. If BA on his own isn't happy with AT and the results, he will make a move this summer and fire AT.

This will be interesting because BA is all happy go lucky with the team, performance, right where we should be, year 4 of the rebuild even though its year 5. If everything is all good, why fire Bear, things are great? Maybe this is only BA's 3rd year, since the first year shouldn't count for him if it didn't for BA.

The team has never really over achieved under BA/Bear, the low points are always ok, because we have a young team, just wait until next year. The pretty inconsistent play we see down the stretch, I think, is partly because the team is misconstructed, but it could be a coaching issue too, along with young players maturing.

If BA has ownerships backing, I think he keeps Bear. But if this team stumbles at all next year, be ready for a mid season coaching change, if we aren't solidly playoff bound. BA will need to pass the buck at that time, or else he will get the blame.

 

[Mangosteen]

The biggest question I'll ask everybody...Is the team improving year over year since AT has been hired as head coach?

They players are improving but the team is not. The systems are breaking down