The Paul Maurice Pitchfork Thread (MOD Warning Post #1)

[Catscountry40]

Coaches don't make it to the finals by themselves man. Otherwise, why don't we see the same 2 "best" coaches every season duking it out? Did Sutter forget what to do this year? Did Cooper? No. It's coaches. It's roster. It's locker-room chemistry. It's luck (puck luck and injury luck). There are so many more factors than just who the coach is.

What Maurice showed me THIS season (who gives a shit about the last 25 seasons) is that he can get the most out of what he's given. He's not the reason we lost. But he's a big reason this roster was able to get as far as it did.

He did not get the most. They got boat raced in the finals."They ran out of gas" Did Vegas run out of gas? I am not going to treat this season like 96 where we glorify 2nd place. Done with 2nd place. I want a fat parade down Los Olas Blvd anything less is failure. We keep giving Barkov excuses "he needs to learn'' Did Eichel need to learn? 23 points in 20 games while Barkov was less than PPG. Don't even hang a banner for the ECF. 2nd place is just first loser. Tired of this feeling.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

He did not get the most. They got boat raced in the finals."They ran out of gas" Did Vegas run out of gas? I am not going to treat this season like 96 where we glorify 2nd place. Done with 2nd place. I want a fat parade down Los Olas Blvd anything less is failure. We keep giving Barkov excuses "he needs to learn'' Did Eichel need to learn? 23 points in 20 games while Barkov was less than PPG. Don't even hang a banner for the ECF. 2nd place is just first loser. tired of this feeling.

Better than punting a year during our contending window and giving Montreal a top-10 pick in a deep draft. This was monumental for a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity and embarrassment for three decades with only one or two seasons to hang our hats on.

You can feel down and upset. I know I do. I feel sick going on social media seeing Vegas celebrating. But I’m not mad at the Panthers this year. Im just sad that it’s over.

 

[Gentle Man]

He did not get the most. They got boat raced in the finals."They ran out of gas" Did Vegas run out of gas? I am not going to treat this season like 96 where we glorify 2nd place. Done with 2nd place. I want a fat parade down Los Olas Blvd anything less is failure. We keep giving Barkov excuses "he needs to learn'' Did Eichel need to learn? 23 points in 20 games while Barkov was less than PPG. Don't even hang a banner for the ECF. 2nd place is just first loser. tired of this feeling.

This can still happen.

Just give Ekblad a call to lead a parade down Las Olas.

 

[Jakeybonz]

Coaches don't make it to the finals by themselves man. Otherwise, why don't we see the same 2 "best" coaches every season duking it out? Did Sutter forget what to do this year? Did Cooper? No. It's coaches. It's roster. It's locker-room chemistry. It's luck (puck luck and injury luck). There are so many more factors than just who the coach is.

What Maurice showed me THIS season (who gives a shit about the last 25 seasons) is that he can get the most out of what he's given. He's not the reason we lost. But he's a big reason this roster was able to get as far as it did.

The man played ekblad. On purpose. Injured.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

The man played ekblad. On purpose. Injured.

95% of coaches do the same thing in the Cup final, if the player can say they can play.

Bergeron was allowed to play with a pierced lung.

 

[KW]

Second place this season is an unbelievably excellent result. It matters tons going forward. The players now know what it takes, first hand, in person. Other players now have a new option as a favored destination to go as a FA or in a trade. All adds up to a bright next few years.

 

[ScottyMascotty]

That take is just...unforgettable.

 

[I am not exposed]

That take is just...unforgettable.



View attachment 718037

That poster is notorious for his wild views. I wouldn't take him too seriously.

 

[BeezKnees]

The man played ekblad. On purpose. Injured.

I mean when your alternative is like Casey Fitzgerald...

 

[ShootIt]

I mean when your alternative is like Casey Fitzgerald...

Or Kiersted...

We had Marc Staal as a regular starter on defense. and He wasn't some 14-16 minute a night guy.
He got over 20 minutes in the postseason and 18 in the regular season.

Our blueline was weak to begin with and they had no depth the entire season. Ekblad didn't look off till the Vegas series anyways.

 

[Jakeybonz]

95% of coaches do the same thing in the Cup final, if the player can say they can play.

Bergeron was allowed to play with a pierced lung.

And that was a demented decision. But bergeron is good in general. Ekblad isnt. So playing him injured and watching him suck that bad out there game after game without replacing him is a fire-able offense.

I mean when your alternative is like Casey Fitzgerald...

It really isnt. We have kierstad and carlsson. Both of them are better than ekblad just in general. Hes a terrible player. He was overrated before all his career ending injuries. Now hes the worst player in the nhl.

 

[drktmplr12]

He did not get the most. They got boat raced in the finals."They ran out of gas" Did Vegas run out of gas? I am not going to treat this season like 96 where we glorify 2nd place. Done with 2nd place. I want a fat parade down Los Olas Blvd anything less is failure. We keep giving Barkov excuses "he needs to learn'' Did Eichel need to learn? 23 points in 20 games while Barkov was less than PPG. Don't even hang a banner for the ECF. 2nd place is just first loser. Tired of this feeling.

I love to see you say this with a straight face to all the players during exit interviews

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

Aaron Ekblad showed as much heart and effort as anyone on the team and was still easily a top-4 quality defensemen during the playoffs for us while being physically decimated the entire time.

I don’t care what anyone says. He’s slow, his contract sucks, he’s made of glass, etc. He’s more important to the team than anyone realizes and if he’s gone we’re gonna miss him.

Maurice earned another year. They will be able to get some improvements in depth so if they’re worse overall next year then they should probably move on from him after that.

 

[CanePanther]

Paul is a super great guy he made himself available to the press and that’s not always easy. He’s a darn good coach after where we were and where we got to there was a clear turnaround in one year that’s where this thread becomes silly and no longer should exist in my opinion. I would like to see some improvement in certain areas and I expect he will look into where we need to shore up and who we need to look at.

 

[vendetta]

Aaron Ekblad showed as much heart and effort as anyone on the team and was still easily a top-4 quality defensemen during the playoffs for us while being physically decimated the entire time.

I don’t care what anyone says. He’s slow, his contract sucks, he’s made of glass, etc. He’s more important to the team than anyone realizes and if he’s gone we’re gonna miss him.

Maurice earned another year. They will be able to get some improvements in depth so if they’re worse overall next year then they should probably move on from him after that.

Ekblad is easily far and away the best defensive dman on the team, the best dman in front of our net and the best dman and getting shots thru traffic from point . Period

Ekblad is easily far and away the best defensive dman on the team, the best dman in front of our net and the best dman and getting shots thru traffic from point . Period

Oh ya best at zone entry denials and shutting down rush too.

 

[Great8Cam]

The number 1 issue that must be addressed is to NOT re-sign Marc OR Eric.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

He did pretty much what he was brought in to do. So I am pleased. Still would prefer Q, but that's a different issue.

 

[JP Mick]

And that was a demented decision. But bergeron is good in general. Ekblad isnt. So playing him injured and watching him suck that bad out there game after game without replacing him is a fire-able offense.


It really isnt. We have kierstad and carlsson. Both of them are better than ekblad just in general. Hes a terrible player. He was overrated before all his career ending injuries. Now hes the worst player in the nhl.

Stop.

 

[letsgrowcactus]

Or Kiersted...

We had Marc Staal as a regular starter on defense. and He wasn't some 14-16 minute a night guy.
He got over 20 minutes in the postseason and 18 in the regular season.

Our blueline was weak to begin with and they had no depth the entire season. Ekblad didn't look off till the Vegas series anyways.

Definitely no proven depth, but there were a couple guys in Charlotte who could have gotten a look. Carlsson definitely should have gotten an extended oportunity - been with us for a while, was Charlotte's n.1 Dman, 25 years old and yet he got all of two games this season.

I want to see what Maurice (and to some degree, Zito) does next season, especially if we have all these injuries and aren't in a cap hell anymore. Do we see more of the young guys (and not on line 4, playing 5 minutes per game)? It's not exactly an exciting group, but there are a few hopefuls and maybes. Apart from Carlsson, I'd like Kinnunen and Ludvig on the D to get a look, even if it's just 10 or so games. At forward, it's time to make the call on Hepo, Hutsko and possibly Denisenko - do we keep them (and play them), or does Zito try some "reclamation projects exchange" type of trade to salvage at least some value there? Sourdif's season hasn't been the best and he is still just 21 so barring a big improvement I expect him to spend the full next year in Charlotte, but Samoskevich could try to force his way into the lineup - and if he does, will Maurice give him the chance? McAllister is a mystery box - could be nothing, could be something, could be ready soon-ish or be the diamond in the rough that needs to marinate in the AHL for 2-3 years.

Fingers crossed we can find some hidden gems in the draft. Zito's first draft in 2020 was an absolute homerun; 2021 looks decent enough with Samo and Nause; still way too early on 2022, though Devine at least looks promising. It's not like our draft situation will be any better in 2024 or 2025, so we need to hit on some of those later picks. I guess we'll see.

 

[TotalHomer]

Maurice is still a caveman with his fourth line usage. Vegas' fourth line killed Tkachuk, Florida doesn't even ice theirs. In a long playoff run the extra minutes off the top line guys stack up. Alsoo relying too much on Bob to bail out the endless collapsing on defense, not sustainable.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Maurice is still a caveman with his fourth line usage. Vegas' fourth line killed Tkachuk, Florida doesn't even ice theirs. In a long playoff run the extra minutes off the top line guys stack up. Alsoo relying too much on Bob to bail out the endless collapsing on defense, not sustainable.

To be fair, did you see our 4th line?

Once Eetu went down, that effectively killed the 4th line with Lomberg moving up a spot. White couldn't do anything and E.Staal had his moments but is washed.

I would love to bring back Acciari for the 4th next year, but he might re-sign in Toronto

 

[TotalHomer]

To be fair, did you see our 4th line?

Once Eetu went down, that effectively killed the 4th line with Lomberg moving up a spot. White couldn't do anything and E.Staal had his moments but is washed.

I would love to bring back Acciari for the 4th next year, but he might re-sign in Toronto

The fourth line was bad and needs upgrading but Maurice also ignored it in Winnipeg. And tough for them to get going if they get couple of shifts per period.

 

[Little Bobby Boo]

Maurice has earned a year of us not making him the whipping boy.

If Zito gives him a great bottom 6 and he ignores it, then we can start to question it. But PoMo did a lot with very little this season. And of course you can say he got carried by Bob, but all good coaches have great goalies.

 

[GermanPanther]

The Game in our own Zone was horrible, but not only the D it was the whole Set up.
This they mostly hunted the Puck or get drag out and get out of Position. Forwards and Defense in the same Way. On some PP we faced, we doesnt play aggresive enough against the Blueline. A lot of Goal could be denied, if the Blueline doesnt had that much Space by our Player hold the Distanz.

Good was his fast changing when we really faced a Problem and adjusted. When the Player would be on the same Wave we would able to tie the Series in Game 4.

PK PP bad as it was before. That must be one sing to work on and the Assistant Coach who worked on Good Bye. Sorry you didnt do your Job or doesnt reach the Players, no matter what Job not done.
As a HeadCoach you also had to look on it. To they to Player find an Answer, might be an option in the PlayOffs but not for the next Season.

But he reaching more far as we thought this would go and for that alone he get the credit. And i love his Press Conference and some Interviews. Knowledge and Jokes always works. Make him Charasmatic in a fashion.

 

[Jakeybonz]

Stop.

Being right about hockey? Unlikely.