Speculation: Our Next Head Coach(es)

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DevilsFanInFla

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Feb 28, 2014
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With the season effectively over for many teams, I figured now would be a good time to sprinkle some dedicated discussion to who our next head coach or coaches might be. I figured I would throw some names out there that either are available or are rumored to be potentially available soon. Obviously some of the names in the poll are going to be unlikely but with new ownership at the helm I figured why not open them for discussion.
 

Zajacs Bowl Cut

Lets Go Baby
Nov 6, 2005
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it will be Adam Oates

thats my belief until its proven otherwise

and it will make us even worse off than we are now, if thats possible
 

DevilsFanInFla

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Feb 28, 2014
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I would take the actual hydra as opposed to Adam Oates. I really can't see him being hired given that since he took over the offense we decided to stop shooting the puck. My preference would be for McLellan or, if he opts out of his contract, Dave Tippett. I realize Babcock isn't happening but elected to include him because until he isn't, there is room for speculation.
 

Bleedred

#FIREDAVEROGALSKI
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#anybodybutoates

And NO to that fat walrus Teddy Roosevelt looking mother****er.

Let Melnyk continue to pay him for the next however many years he has left on his contract. Maybe we can see if Chere has any news on him?

I've never been a fan of Tmac, but I'd take him over this crop.

There will be too many decent coaches out there for Lou to have to settle with plastic surgery mannequin man.
 

tycobb

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Jun 28, 2011
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Tell you the truth I won't be surprised if Lou has the money to get Babcock, but I am sure Babcock will get a similar offer with a better situation and would take that over us. Lou isn't about to give up player control that Babcock would demand.


Lou next hirer needs to be very strong system guy who can develop young players. My guess is Stevens is named HC, but I would rather we get McClellan out of that group.
 
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Bleedred

#FIREDAVEROGALSKI
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it will be Adam Oates

thats my belief until its proven otherwise

and it will make us even worse off than we are now, if thats possible

Ugh I actually feel the same way.

If we get through Monday without hearing about Oates being promoted, I'll feel a little bit better. Not completely safe but significantly better.

He might be worse than DeBoer as head coach.

The only thing worse would be hiring that jackwad Mike Foligno.
 

Devil X

Call me Nostradamus
Jul 9, 2007
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Hydra isnt working and i think its clear because Lou has only left the bench 1 time i believe.

I think Stevens has the inside track over Oates just my opinion.

Right now i believe it will be Stevens with Oates running the O and possibly Albelin running D. Then they hire someone like they have in the past to be a PP or PK guy. I dont seen an outside guy coming in.
 

Zippy316

aka Zippo
Aug 17, 2012
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Ideally, Babcock.

After that, I would not mind Boucher either. Some may be opposed to that but I think he would be the right balance between status quo and changing things up.

Stevens as the defensive assistant and whoever they want to bring in as the offensive assistant. I like Oates as an assistant but I cannot stand his stupid decisions anymore. I guess on a good team some of his ideas will work but he just can't adjust.
 

ForeverJerseyGirl

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Dec 14, 2014
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Here are my thoughts about wanting and likelihood of getting (taking into account the person's desire to come here and Lou's willingness to hire them) each coach besides the actual hydra mentioned in the poll:

Adam Oates: Since Oates has been brought in by Lou to try to bring some good out of this disaster of a season, Lou will probably at least consider him for the head coach position. However, hopefully Lou will look at the terrible job Oates did as head coach in Washington and how Washington has done a one-hundred-eighty since Oates left and resist the urge to reward Oates by giving him the head coaching position. Ideally, Lou will only keep Oates on in an assistant coach capacity if at all. If Lou offers, Oates would almost certainly take the position, because he will want an NHL head coaching job, and he can't really be too picky after the debacle he created in Washington.

Scott Stevens: I like what I've seen from our young defensemen since he's taken over that, and players like Larsson seem to have a good relationship with him. Lou and Stevens definitely have a mutual respect and trust, but I'm not even sure that Stevens would want a head coaching position. He might just enjoy being an assistant coach as long as he feels that his ideas are listened to and taken into account. There is also no sample size by which to judge Stevens as a head coach in the NHL. He could be great; he could be terrible. That would be a risk for Lou in hiring Stevens as head coach, especially since if Stevens turns out not to be a good head coach, he would be put in the awkward position of handing Stevens the pink slip. Stevens might be better off in an assistant coaching capacity, but I'd rather Stevens get the reigns than Oates. Hopefully Stevens is kept around as an assistant coach, but Lou hires somebody else to take on the head coaching duties. If Lou offers the post to Stevens, he will probably accept either because he wants to be a head coach or out of loyalty to Lou and this organization.

Paul MacLean: MacLean had a pretty successful first two years in Ottawa (being nominated and then winning the Jack Adams), so that might impress Lou, and it is at least NHL experience and some positive track record. MacLean also worked as an assistant for Babcock for a number of years (including in 2008 when the Red Wings won the Cup), so that's a valuable education to draw on. MacLean did seem to emphasize defense a lot even if it led him into a conflict with Karlsson and some other stars with the Senators, and Lou is a defense-first kind of guy. The problems with him is that he did get into conflict with players and that Ottawa did turn around after he was fired, so that's a bit of an egg on his face. There are reasons for Lou to stay away but some other reasons for him to consider the hire. If Lou extends an offer to MacLean, I could see him accepting, because he will want another NHL job and his tenure in Ottawa isn't so impressive that he's in a position to be too choosy.

Dan Bylsma: He coached the Penguins to a Cup way back in 2009 and the Penguins always made the playoffs under him (even if they had a ton of humiliating exits to lower seeds), but the fact that the Penguins might not make the playoffs and have looked pretty poor overall this year might make him not seem so terrible. He's known as an extreme player's coach and I'm not sure Lou would be a fan of that. Bylsma has great regular season and limited postseason success in the NHL and he would probably be popular in the locker room, so that might make him an attractive candidate to Lou. If Lou extends an offer to Bylsma, whether he accepts or not will probably depend on what other teams might be interested in his services (since after the Penguins falling apart this year, he might find his phone ringing more) or how much he enjoys being an analyst and just cashing checks for doing nothing from Pittsburg.

Todd McClellan: Assuming McClellan is handed his walking papers in San Jose, he will have guided the team to a great deal of regular season success and a mixed bag of playoff results (some series wins and some embarrassing series choked up). He's another Babcock protege, which again gives him a valuable education to draw on that Lou might appreciate. Based on his track record in San Jose, McClellan might get a fair number of phone calls this summer, or he might not. The number he gets might influence how likely he is to come here if Lou extends an offer.

Mike Babcock: I personally think he's the best coach in the NHL, so it would be like a pipe dream for me if he came here, but I don't believe it's likely. With the new owners, I think there would be the money to pay top dollar to draw a coach like him here, but other teams would certainly be throwing out similar offers and could probably offer more attractive situations to go to. Babcock is also rumored to want more control over player personnel, and I doubt that Lou would be willing to concede that even to entice Babcock to come here. It would be amazing if Babcock came here, but I just can't imagine it happening. It will be a very pleasant surprise if it does.
 

Benedict Parisechuk

Army of Pandolfo's
Apr 5, 2013
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Hydra isnt working and i think its clear because Lou has only left the bench 1 time i believe.

I think Stevens has the inside track over Oates just my opinion.

Right now i believe it will be Stevens with Oates running the O and possibly Albelin running D. Then they hire someone like they have in the past to be a PP or PK guy. I dont seen an outside guy coming in.

Oates shouldn't be back in any capacity and I don't think Stevens is ready to be a full time head coach so if this all happens then things will be just as bad, if not worse next year
 

Devil X

Call me Nostradamus
Jul 9, 2007
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Oates shouldn't be back in any capacity and I don't think Stevens is ready to be a full time head coach so if this all happens then things will be just as bad, if not worse next year

Not disgreeing that it very well could be bad or worse. Just an opinion.

I would rather like someone from the outside.
 

NJDevs26

Once upon a time...
Mar 21, 2007
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Hydra isnt working and i think its clear because Lou has only left the bench 1 time i believe.

I don't think that's any indication one way or the other...there was no realistic way Lou was leaving the bench. If the team was playing well he wouldn't throw a monkey wrench into it by leaving. If the team was playing poorly he wouldn't abandon a sinking ship.
 

Hypernova

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Apr 20, 2007
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I don't think that's any indication one way or the other...there was no realistic way Lou was leaving the bench. If the team was playing well he wouldn't throw a monkey wrench into it by leaving. If the team was playing poorly he wouldn't abandon a sinking ship.

I agree. Lou even said that he didn't want one person to deal with this mess so he wanted to be there to deal with the media while the other coaches concentrate on making the players/team better. Looks to me like he is taking complete blame for this team like you would hope.
 

DevilsFanInFla

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Feb 28, 2014
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I would be surprised if Lou has Oates or Stevens as HC next season. This team needs a coach who isn't going to feel like he's in over his head or we have JMac part 2. For that reason I wouldn't see someone like Boucher being brought in. I could really see McLellan coming in and doing well, all things considered, in moving this team in the right direction. Tippett would be my first choice but he would have to exercise his out clause and I'm not sure he'd do that just to come here and do what he would basically be doing in AZ as is. Like others have stated, I think Babcock is the longest shot not because we can't afford him but his desire for control would not mesh well with Lou. Unless Lou plans on taking a hands off approach :)laugh:) then that's just not happening. The more I think about it, if they fire McLellan in SJ then I would love for us to go after him hard. That is of course barring the lack of availability of an actual hydra.
 

NJDevs26

Once upon a time...
Mar 21, 2007
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If Lou hires Oates that would be enough for me to join the Lou must go camp, and I'd believe he'll gone himself at the end of next year. If he wants to go with a modified hydra with Stevens as the head guy and Oates/Albelin as the main assistants I guess it could work but I'm not even too thrilled with that. I'd rather have someone from the outside even though it had mixed results with Pete (and even if we bring in an 'outsider' you know he'll get tethered at least one Lou guy as an assistant, probably Stevens).
 

DenisSamson3

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Sep 13, 2007
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If Lou hires Oates that would be enough for me to join the Lou must go camp, and I'd believe he'll gone himself at the end of next year. If he wants to go with a modified hydra with Stevens as the head guy and Oates/Albelin as the main assistants I guess it could work but I'm not even too thrilled with that. I'd rather have someone from the outside even though it had mixed results with Pete (and even if we bring in an 'outsider' you know he'll get tethered at least one Lou guy as an assistant, probably Stevens).

But I think the potential for the team getting better is their. Just not next year. Maybe the year after. I cheered them on, but they need to produce. After all these contracts are over they can re-evaluate what they wan't for future offense.
 

tr83

Nope, still embarassed
Oct 14, 2013
14,602
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A couple of out of left field as head coaching possibilities

Mike Eaves from Wisconsin

Jeff Blashill from the Grand Rapids Griffins

Mike Kitchen from Chicago

John Hynes from the WBS Penguins
 
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