Your thoughts on Berube & coaching staff

[nuck]

If you take Berube away for 4 weeks hide him on a golf course down south, all our players are healthy, would anyone notice. By that comment I mean, is it system that has us in a similar position in the East standings again or does this team crater.

I'm not trying to be mean but I'm not sure I can identify what Berube has brought to the team, I'm not hating on him, i just dont see what has changed? If Coach Q came here (prays to Jesus), I'm 100% confident you would see a more structured game, with more accountability and a noticeable difference in how the team plays.

Wherever you hide Berube this teams biggest issue has to be AM. He will be lucky to produce 30g and 40 assists when his goal total alone last season was 69. He is taking an MVP bite out of the cap and not able to remotely deliver due to injuries and whatever else is going on with him. Thats like the Oilers replacing McDavid with Brock Nelson and expecting the same result. What would their record be if he had 20 more goals? They would go from 11th in goals for to 2nd. Five more wins makes them first overall. The straw isn't stirring the drink.

So is it Berube's fault that even when 34 is in the lineup and apparently healthy he is mediocre a lot of nights? Well I guess I do have a concern that the Chief comes from a head coaching background where 37g is a monster number so does he fully understand how to get the absolute best out of his gunslingers? I will put it this way, because I don't want to seem like a Berube fan when his team is playing this sloppy hockey -maybe he doesn't have a handle on this very different group of skill sets, or maybe these guys are not all buying in. This was not a lineup built for him so maybe he gets a Berube player or two to change the narrative.

 

[Donnie740]

If anyone can’t see the difference in style of play and overall strategy between Berube and Bozo the Keefe, maybe hockey isn’t the sport for you.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Craig Berube was a way better player than Bozo the Keefe and also a way better coach too.

Yeah no. The team isn't nearly as good at 5 on 5 as they have been in the past 4 seasons heading into this one and the special teams haven't improved. They can still win provided they get great goaltending from Stolarz and Woll in the playoffs but outside of that I doubt it.

 

[BraveCanadian]

If anyone can’t see the difference in style of play and overall strategy between Berube and Bozo the Keefe, maybe hockey isn’t the sport for you.

I can see it, I just don’t think it has been particularly effective.

To me the pluses this year are Tanev, Knies improving, and a huge serving of good goaltending. The minuses are Matthew$ being a 7 million dollar player and the offence in general seeming to struggle.

Luckily for us, to be better in the playoffs goaltending is huge, and surely one of these years one of our big guns has to get hot.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Happy with what Berube has done, they're playing very differently. My big concern is Savard, this guy has not moved the needle and it's gonna cost us.

 

[Stephen]

Wherever you hide Berube this teams biggest issue has to be AM. He will be lucky to produce 30g and 40 assists when his goal total alone last season was 69. He is taking an MVP bite out of the cap and not able to remotely deliver due to injuries and whatever else is going on with him. Thats like the Oilers replacing McDavid with Brock Nelson and expecting the same result. What would their record be if he had 20 more goals? They would go from 11th in goals for to 2nd. Five more wins makes them first overall. The straw isn't stirring the drink.

So is it Berube's fault that even when 34 is in the lineup and apparently healthy he is mediocre a lot of nights? Well I guess I do have a concern that the Chief comes from a head coaching background where 37g is a monster number so does he fully understand how to get the absolute best out of his gunslingers? I will put it this way, because I don't want to seem like a Berube fan when his team is playing this sloppy hockey -maybe he doesn't have a handle on this very different group of skill sets, or maybe these guys are not all buying in. This was not a lineup built for him so maybe he gets a Berube player or two to change the narrative.

Yeah. The biggest problem is Auston Matthews quality of play. You take a guy who could or should be taking steps to be in the Leon Draisaitl level and you get a Mark Scheifele average year, your team is going to suffer. The points and wins are still there. It looks good in the standings but the on ice is suffering an obvious power outage.

 

[Stephen]

Happy with what Berube has done, they're playing very differently. My big concern is Savard, this guy has not moved the needle and it's gonna cost us.

Is the PP fundamentally uncoachable?

I can’t imagine a PP architect would draw it up the way they play.

Like “instead of moving the puck around quickly to each other, try to slow it down and turn every puck touch into a slow and awkward one on on with the opposition D. Take your time moving up the ice. There’s no rush. Don’t shoot it if you don’t feel like it. Sprinkle in an escape spin-o-rama at slow speed to avoid coverage. No point shots under any circumstances. More drop passes any way you can find them.”

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Is the PP fundamentally uncoachable?

I can’t imagine a PP architect would draw it up the way they play.

Like “instead of moving the puck around quickly to each other, try to slow it down and turn every puck touch into a slow and awkward one on on with the opposition D. Take your time moving up the ice. There’s no rush. Don’t shoot it if you don’t feel like it. Sprinkle in an escape spin-o-rama at slow speed to avoid coverage. No point shots under any circumstances. More drop passes any way you can find them.”

Yeah there's no urgency at all, I think it's a matter of the coach just placating and telling them "You guys are awesome, just let your skill take over".
The PP runs through Mitch, and his game is stylistically inclined to slowing the game down to his own pace...but they have to find a way to change something.

OEL looked pretty good on the point earlier in the year, he can at least shoot. They don't want to hurt Mo's feelings.

 

[Stephen]

Yeah there's no urgency at all, I think it's a matter of the coach just placating and telling them "You guys are awesome, just let your skill take over".
The PP runs through Mitch, and his game is stylistically inclined to slowing the game down to his own pace...but they have to find a way to change something.

OEL looked pretty good on the point earlier in the year, he can at least shoot. They don't want to hurt Mo's feelings.

Yeah Mitch’s game is a lot about slowing it down, and that change up speed is an extremely powerful tool a la Kane, Kucherov. But guys can’t all be asleep at the wheel playing that off speed game the majority of a PP. You have to speed it up somewhere.

Morgan has no right to play that off speed game. He sucks at it and gets trapped and makes poor decision. He needs to get in better shape because his slowness is not by design.

Auston, hurt or unmotivated or an intersection of both. No urgency. No shot. And an underrated weakness to his game is he doesn’t make good distance passes to spread things out. It’s always these little short bumps and useless puck handoffs that don’t change the geometry of the defensive coverage. He’s a brutal distributor.

Willie is okay as the third option. He would look better if the other two ahead of him were consistently at a higher rate.

Tavares isn’t the most effective slot, bumper and net front guy. Just seems like he’s not actually a garbage goal man, we don’t shoot enough from the point for deflections and passing to him doesn’t work because he can’t receive a puck and make a coherent play from that area.

 

[Da Mash]

We have better goaltending and a few better defenceman. We will see if this Berube system works in the playoffs. Every game is close it seems with Berube system. We do have a amazing record when leading going in the 3rd so that's a bright spot. So that will help in the playoffs.

The issue is again....secondary scoring and we need better defenceman that move the puck. Reilly always gets a pass. Is never mentioned when fans complain about the core 4 and I have no idea why.

He is pathetic defensively .......makes his partner worse instead of better and he really should be a winger as he has no shot from the point either. This guy has been our number 1 defenceman over the past several years and has helped us win what?

Berube likes playing Reaves and its another "why" question. Offers absolutely nothing. Is a liability when on the ice but Berube plays him.

Maybe Berube needs to bench Domi too. His father had similar stats scoring while with leafs and thats scary as the old man had hands of stone ....

What would this team be like if it had the goalies like Keefer teams had. ?