Speculation: Who should be the new head coach of the Washington Capitals?

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

I don't see the importance of the proven longevity thing. Of the perennial contenders that hired a coach with previous NHL experience:

Julien - 3 years Montreal, 1 years New Jersey
Sutter - 3 Chi, 5 SJ, 3 Cal
Quenneville - 8 STL, 3 Col
Hitchcock - 7 Dal, 3 Phi, 4 Cbus
Babcock - 2 Ana

Laviolette had 2 NYI, 4 Car, 4 PHi

The only two to have significantly longer stops are Quenneville and Hitchcock. With Trotz gone, only 7 coaches in the NHL have been with their teams for longer than Laviolette's stints in Carolina and Philadelphia (if I didn't miss anybody): Capuano, Tippett, Bylsma, Quenneville, McLellan, Julien, and Babcock

 

[Hivemind]

We don't need a coach that will last forever. We need a coach that can get it done while Ovechkin is a productive player.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

We don't need a coach that will last forever. We need a coach that can get it done while Ovechkin is a productive player.

Agreed. We need someone to make a quick impact that can make 4-5 runs at a Cup.

Establishing a team and organizational identity is the most important thing. That'll carry through the long term and would out-last a particular coach (see Detroit and New Jersey recently).

 

[Langway]

Establishing a team and organizational identity is the most important thing. That'll carry through the long term and would out-last a particular coach (see Detroit and New Jersey recently).

Yeah, hopefully so. With the right GM hire and org. approach that should be the case.

I'm not overly enamored with the Head Coach field outside of those two odds-on favorites. Blashill might be the most attractive option otherwise but I doubt he fits what the org. wants after so many first-time hires. Stevens seems to thrive as a lower-key assistant and I wonder how well that translates (ala Oates). Maybe Boucher with high quality assistants could work but I still wonder about his tactics. Certainly McLellan fits if available but if Toronto and Vancouver are lurking the field could thin out in a hurry if the GM search drags on. A big no to Tortorella & Carlyle should they become available.

 

[Hivemind]

While the crowd could obviously thin quickly, when has there been a better available head coach market? Certainly not when we were looking to replace Boudreau or Hunter.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

That Lavi .gif has me wanting Lavi, but really whoever the next HC is I just want him to have previous NHL HC experience. Get a HC with previous experience just once while OV is still in his prime(?).

 

[txpd]

my view is that the new gm hire lavy. he is a proven cup/finals coach. he has worked with big star players and been successful.

he can be a short term solution, but that also gives the new gm time to establish his program with a couple of drafts and a couple of minor league seasons and some nhl roster turnover.

the second hire there is the most important for that program. meanwhile laviolette gives the caps some jam on the short term.

I expect to see him coaching deep in a playoff run. trotz has never been there. McClellan has had playoff adventures of the capitals sort and I'd rather not deal with any more of that than necessary. Lavy please

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

The lack of any developments whatsoever is getting to me....

Iron Mike looks more and more appealing by the day.

 

[SimplySensational]

Todd McLellan is such an iffy choice... On one hand choker on other hand, a lot of coaches that end up winning Stanley Cups are playoff chokers/mediocre with other teams. Julien and Sutter being obvious examples of this.

Whereas there is Desjardins who was successful in the WHL, then finally given the HC job at the Texas Stars after being an assistant in Dallas, where he turned a good offensive team into a better offensive team while getting them to play a lot better defense.

Blashill has been successful, but not for long.

 

[txpd]

Todd McLellan is such an iffy choice... On one hand choker on other hand, a lot of coaches that end up winning Stanley Cups are playoff chokers/mediocre with other teams. Julien and Sutter being obvious examples of this.

Whereas there is Desjardins who was successful in the WHL, then finally given the HC job at the Texas Stars after being an assistant in Dallas, where he turned a good offensive team into a better offensive team while getting them to play a lot better defense.

Blashill has been successful, but not for long.

my issue with the choking is purely how that fits in with the capitals franchise long history of epic choking at every opportunity. to hire a coach who just rode his team down from a 3 games to none choke and got fired just seems like you are asking for it.

I thinks its best to reduce the media hype on the choke come next chance at the playoffs rather than highlight it.

if he is the best coach available, I say take him. I just believe that the franchise history for that mess carries each new team with a weight that the other team doesn't have to carry. Lavy has a track record of playoff success. Ovechkin and Backstrom and Green and any of the others that choked on the Pens and the Habs will have to carry that rep. I just see the coach as a way to help carry that weight easier. McClellan would bring his own weight to add to the load.

 

[Langway]

Lavy has a track record of playoff success.

So...maybe he's not interested?

Hard to have many developments until a GM is in place unless ownership wants to jump the gun.

Apparently Keenan will stay in the KHL another year.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Didn't I hear during the Uncle Teddy and DP presser that they may not make a GM decision until after the draft? Or did I imagine hearing that? Waiting that long to make a GM hire makes no sense at all, but it would appease the Smokin Al's of the world that want someone like Trotz hired ASAP.

 

[OviTaughtMe]

There's no way that they'd actually hire the coach before the GM...right?

 

[SimplySensational]

Didn't I hear during the Uncle Teddy and DP presser that they may not make a GM decision until after the draft? Or did I imagine hearing that? Waiting that long to make a GM hire makes no sense at all, but it would appease the Smokin Al's of the world that want someone like Trotz hired ASAP.

No. Never.

 

[SimplySensational]

There's no way that they'd actually hire the coach before the GM...right?

They didn't want to handcuff themselves.

If a great coach gets fired, should they wait for a new GM or just pull the trigger.

 

[Liberati0n*]

If they hired McLellan, would he bring back Jim Johnson with him?

 

[usiel]

There's no way that they'd actually hire the coach before the GM...right?

They didn't rule out since they have hired a coach before a GM. But they did say they would like to have a GM on board to have their input before hiring a coach. Just never know how things break out.

 

[Langway]

No. Never.

Patrick did say it could happen and that they have people in place (Mahoney, Fishman) to be able to make decisions at the draft if need be. Obviously that's not an ideal situation and doubtful that's necessary but he didn't rule that out either.

 

[FloridaCap]

That Lavi .gif has me wanting Lavi, but really whoever the next HC is I just want him to have previous NHL HC experience. Get a HC with previous experience just once while OV is still in his prime(?).

Agree. Veteran players can't help but NOT respect rookie head coaches like Oates. You just know all the veterans in the room were wondering what the hell Oates was doing. That wouldn't happen with a coach with a track record.

 

[Liberati0n*]

Agree. Veteran players can't help but NOT respect rookie head coaches like Oates. You just know all the veterans in the room were wondering what the hell Oates was doing. That wouldn't happen with a coach with a track record.

If the rookie coach is a leader, he's a leader.

 

[FloridaCap]

If the rookie coach is a leader, he's a leader.

How do you know if he's leading the right way if he's never done it before?

When you have such a weak locker room like ours, mentally, you need an established coach.

 

[Liberati0n*]

How do you know if he's leading the right way if he's never done it before?

When you have such a weak locker room like ours, mentally, you need an established coach.

"Established" is code for other things: leadership, charisma, effective communication, etc. There's no reason (except Ted's stupidity and Patrick's delusions) you can't assess the "other things" directly.

 

[usiel]

The "Right Way" thing is akin to the douchiest page 34 search result meme on loserdom.

 

[SimplySensational]

Patrick did say it could happen and that they have people in place (Mahoney, Fishman) to be able to make decisions at the draft if need be. Obviously that's not an ideal situation and doubtful that's necessary but he didn't rule that out either.

Thats fine because they won't be rushing to hire someone just for the sake of hiring them before the draft.

If Benning is the right choice and takes a long time to make a choice between Washington or Vancouver, they should go into the draft as if there won't be a GM.

 

[SimplySensational]

McLellan didn't throw his players under the bus and took blame.