I can't find fault with that list, there's no NHL history to look at with Eakins so I'm fine with ranking him there using that criteria.

**I should clarify, I'd rank torts below mclelland mainly because the sharks have had some success under him, whereas Torts flamed out in New York and is coming into Vancouver trying to change his image. No idea how well that'll work out, so I'd drop him to 5th. Hartley can stay where he is, and Eakins has no NHL resume.
- Isles_since_6

Fair enough

taking the assistant coaches out of the equation...how would you rank the coaches in the division based strictly on the head coach itself?
- rangerdanger94

Sutter
Tippett
McLellan
Boudreau
Tortarella
Hartley
Eakins

The only reason Eakins is at the bottom is because he hasn't coached in the NHL yet, but I think Hartley has had his chance and is fading, as has Tortarella IMO.

that's different...torts has shown he already can't (or rather, chooses not to or hasn't, yet) adjust the last 4 years in new york. he played an extremely outdated style, and again, from reports...the players "quit on him" and he told the GM to fire him if he doesn't like his philosophy and system because he wasn't going to change it as long as he was behind the bench in NY.

ranking the entire coaching staff is difficult because admittedly, i don't know half of the guys that are assistant coaches and even the names i'm familiar with, i have no idea what exactly they do behind the benches. all i know is that tippett is a better head coach than torts, and i'd personally pick boudreau over torts too.

taking the assistant coaches out of the equation...how would you rank the coaches in the division based strictly on the head coach itself?
- rangerdanger94

Great post. It's that stubbornness and, if you question him about it, arrogance over what really was a sh!tty style of hockey that bothers me.

Gillis had to fire AV this summer and basically picked up the guy best suited to give the players a kick up the a$$. But yelling at players to play into a horribly unentertaining system isn't exactly what this team needs IMO.

Great post. It's that stubbornness and, if you question him about it, arrogance over what really was a sh!tty style of hockey that bothers me.

Gillis had to fire AV this summer and basically picked up the guy best suited to give the players a kick up the a$$. But yelling at players to play into a horribly unentertaining system isn't exactly what this team needs IMO.
- AlexF

I agree with this 100% I'm going to withhold judgment on Torts's system until I see him implement it with this roster. No one on this board knows exactly what he is going to do.

You have Phx over Ana in ur pacific group, but Ana over Phx in total?? How does that math work out?
- Doaner19

It's a week long avg.

Yotes didn't do too well in goal and up front.

I'm very interested to see Gulutzan. I am not not very familiar with him but I know there were a lot of Canuck fans that really liked him and wanted him to be the head coach, so the fact that we got him as an assistant looks like a very positive thing.
- fiveandagame

From what I've read and heard he's a possitive guy.

Torts yells at you
Sully yells some more
Gaz builds you back up

At least that's the plan.

Great post. It's that stubbornness and, if you question him about it, arrogance over what really was a sh!tty style of hockey that bothers me.

Gillis had to fire AV this summer and basically picked up the guy best suited to give the players a kick up the a$$. But yelling at players to play into a horribly unentertaining system isn't exactly what this team needs IMO.
- AlexF

That's ultimately I think what's going to be the show this year. The assistants are a really good mix IMO, but Torts just isn't flexible when things aren't working. Now to be fair, maybe he comes into Vancouver as a new guy and coaches a calm style and shows he can make adjustments. I wouldn't put money down on that though.

Just so it's fair though, you guys are free to take shots at the Isles coach, Barney Rubble.

anyone care to answer this question?

Babcock, better coach on the Ducks or Red Wings?

Sutter
Tippett
McLellan
Boudreau
Tortarella
Hartley
Eakins

The only reason Eakins is at the bottom is because he hasn't coached in the NHL yet, but I think Hartley has had his chance and is fading, as has Tortarella IMO.
- 1970vintage

tough to argue with this list, or fiveandagame's.

while torts did "flame out" in new york, he did make it to the 2nd round last year and the ECF the year before, so there's still something there.

Great post. It's that stubbornness and, if you question him about it, arrogance over what really was a sh!tty style of hockey that bothers me.

Gillis had to fire AV this summer and basically picked up the guy best suited to give the players a kick up the a$$. But yelling at players to play into a horribly unentertaining system isn't exactly what this team needs IMO.
- AlexF

i don't think torts is an idiot. he's been very humbled from the firing and all the bashing he got via the media. is he gonna play with 6 goalies on the ice like he did in NY? probably not. but is he gonna let the sedins cherry pick every now and again? probably not either.

if a sedin has a chance to block a shot and doesn't, i can see torts still benching him for the rest of the period. forechecking-wise, he will play a very aggressive system with 1 or 2 players pressuring the puckhandler. it really comes down to him letting the offensive players freedom to create plays instead of just cycling and dumping and chasing and altering his defensive system so that there actually is a transition game because it's tough when all 3 of your forwards are behind the hashmarks in their own zone to get any odd man rushes or any good transition offense at all.

anyone care to answer this question?

Babcock, better coach on the Ducks or Red Wings?
- IanEsplen

he's the same coach?

It's a week long avg.

Yotes didn't do too well in goal and up front.
- IanEsplen

Ahh. Gotcha. Didn't see the goalie one, so I'll have to look back as to why we didn't do so well. Thanks!

tough to argue with this list, or fiveandagame's.

while torts did "flame out" in new york, he did make it to the 2nd round last year and the ECF the year before, so there's still something there.


i don't think torts is an idiot. he's been very humbled from the firing and all the bashing he got via the media. is he gonna play with 6 goalies on the ice like he did in NY? probably not. but is he gonna let the sedins cherry pick every now and again? probably not either.

if a sedin has a chance to block a shot and doesn't, i can see torts still benching him for the rest of the period. forechecking-wise, he will play a very aggressive system with 1 or 2 players pressuring the puckhandler. it really comes down to him letting the offensive players freedom to create plays instead of just cycling and dumping and chasing and altering his defensive system so that there actually is a transition game because it's tough when all 3 of your forwards are behind the hashmarks in their own zone to get any odd man rushes or any good transition offense at all.
- rangerdanger94

I think its more complicated than just what will Tortarella's system be. The team has been built as an offence from defence transition. Most of the D are capable of rushing the puck, all make a quality first pass out of the zone and most of them are good at jumping in from the point whether its on a cycle or a rush from their own end. Frankly, I find the "system" talk to be a bit overblown because really, how many different "systems" are there. The biggest change I feel will be the accountability factor, and the shift in player "favourites". I just hope there is more coaching/teaching and some patience for younger players, different line combinations so that actual chemistry has a chance to develop.

I dont think there's too many organizations that would take tortorella over boudreau or tippett.

What do u put premiums on? A ring in torts case it seems. even considering he tanked after that, was jobless for awhile and then underachieved in ny.
And if in fact it is rings, then how is hartley at 6 with torts at 3?

Outside of an unproven eakins at 7, that list seems abit funny to me.

I dont mind the oiler trolling as we usually bite. But it seems the homer knows no bounds with you.

I wonder how many teams would choose eakins over torts? We know of a few for sure anyway.

I dont think there's too many organizations that would take tortorella over boudreau or tippett.

What do u put premiums on? A ring in torts case it seems. even considering he tanked after that, was jobless for awhile and then underachieved in ny.
And if in fact is rings, then how is hartley at 6?

Outside of an unproven eakins at 7, that list seems abit funny to me.

I dont mind the oiler trolling as we usually bite. But it seems the homer knows no bounds with you.

I wonder how many teams would choose eakins over torts? We know of a few for sure anyway.
- hugefemale dog77

Only reason Eakins is there on my list is because he has no nhl experience. It's not meant as a slight, it's because I don't have anything to compare with him. Ahl history rarely translates into the same amount of nhl success. He could easily move up at the halfway mark once I have something to work with.

I dont think there's too many organizations that would take tortorella over boudreau or tippett.

What do u put premiums on? A ring in torts case it seems. even considering he tanked after that, was jobless for awhile and then underachieved in ny.
And if in fact is rings, then how is hartley at 6?

Outside of an unproven eakins at 7, that list seems abit funny to me.

I dont mind the oiler trolling as we usually bite. But it seems the homer knows no bounds with you.

I wonder how many teams would choose eakins over torts? We know of a few for sure anyway.
- hugefemale dog77

I wanted VAN to hire Eakins instead of Torts. I would rather go with new instead of a retread. I think the NHL is constantly changing and adapting, and IMO the younger coaches are more willing to adapt and try new things than older some older coaches. I give Torts a window of 2-3 years.

Sutter
Tippett
McLellan
Boudreau
Tortarella
Hartley
Eakins

The only reason Eakins is at the bottom is because he hasn't coached in the NHL yet, but I think Hartley has had his chance and is fading, as has Tortarella IMO.
- 1970vintage

Good post.
This makes much more sense.

Only reason Eakins is there on my list is because he has no nhl experience. It's not meant as a slight, it's because I don't have anything to compare with him. Ahl history rarely translates into the same amount of nhl success. He could easily move up at the halfway mark once I have something to work with.
- Isles_since_6

Agreed.
Eakins was the prize catch, but until hes proven something at this level, he belongs in that spot.

Tippet over torts seven days a week

I wanted VAN to hire Eakins instead of Torts. I would rather go with new instead of a retread. I think the NHL is constantly changing and adapting, and IMO the younger coaches are more willing to adapt and try new things than older some older coaches. I give Torts a window of 2-3 years.
- immature_male

I think you've misunderstood my post. Gillis is pigheaded in that he's inflexible when he's made up his mind on something, even when it's not working. He's got a short fuse which has come up and been easy to see in several press conferences and interviews.

He's also very critical of how Torts coached in New York, which is fairly interesting given he's hired him, and now seems to expect him to coach a different style.

Torts has shown no patience with media, blown up at reporters, called out players and generally looked like an ass.

Even Richards has been quoted as saying his relationship with Torts is not what it used to be.

He's said all the right things so far, but I'm really interested to see how he deals with adversity in a new setting, with a boss who's job may be on the line as early as this season, and who doesn't want a sideshow.
- Isles_since_6

When has he been pigheaded? I can only assume you are referring to the Luongo situation?

And in terms of him having a short fuse. I would (respectfully) disagree, but am curious in what manner you mean. IMO Gillis tends to be pretty tolerant of the media and I can't remember any instances where he's blown up or appeared to have a "short fuse."

Torts is obviously a different story!

I wanted VAN to hire Eakins instead of Torts. I would rather go with new instead of a retread. I think the NHL is constantly changing and adapting, and IMO the younger coaches are more willing to adapt and try new things than older some older coaches. I give Torts a window of 2-3 years.
- immature_male

it would have been interesting, it's a tough call though. I think with the age of the players and how they've played over the past few years that a veteran coach in Vancouver was a better bet, but I think Torts is the extreme end of that spectrum. Eakins, I believe, has a better chance to be successful long term in Edmonton due to the wealth of young talent and being able to work with them as they're still fairly young. I don't know if he would have been able to gain the respect of the Canucks room as a rookie coach in the NHL. The general feeling in Vancouver (regarding the fans) seems to be that they want someone to come in and shake it up, kick some ass and motivate the team. Hard to do that off the hop as a rookie coach. I just feel Torts is too far to that end, and his message is going to grate against the vets in the canucks room.

Was there a good fit for head coach out there when the Canucks were looking? I'm not sure there was a perfect fit. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.

taking the assistant coaches out of the equation...how would you rank the coaches in the division based strictly on the head coach itself?
- rangerdanger94

McLellan
Tippett
Sutter
Tortorella
Boudreau
Eakins
Hartley

I wanted VAN to hire Eakins instead of Torts. I would rather go with new instead of a retread. I think the NHL is constantly changing and adapting, and IMO the younger coaches are more willing to adapt and try new things than older some older coaches. I give Torts a window of 2-3 years.
- immature_male

Not disagreeing with you but a lot of people were calling out Sutter as a "dinosaur" and completely not what LA needed before his arrival.

he's the same coach?
- rangerdanger94

I know that. But which team was he a better coach with.

Not disagreeing with you but a lot of people were calling out Sutter as a "dinosaur" and completely not what LA needed before his arrival.
- AlexF

I'm not a Sutter fan, but he's done a good job so far in LA. I think they will continue to run into problems because they don't play enough offense, even though they have a number of great offensive players. I think his style will get old in LA very quickly if they don't have success this season as he stifles their offense and hopes to win every game 2-1.

Why all the hartley hate? At least in relation to torts who seems to widely considered as undoubtedly the better coach.

Im not even sayin he's great, but he's won a championship at every level he's coached.
Junior, ahl, nhl and even won one in europe recently.
Neither did he do a brutal job last year with what was certainly a brutal team in calgary.

Just seems like contagious diffusion is kinda the name of the game in the hockey world without alot of facts to back the original thought up.