Insightful and provocative, great post
- 1970vintage

It's because none of them are Flyers.

It doesn't make for great viewing that's for sure.
- AlexF

yeah its only good viewing if you want to see your team go farther in the playoffs.

the issue with lundqvist was that probably half if not more of the goals he let up were lucky deflections due to all the bodies in front of him since everyone collapsed or were because he was screened by all the collapsing bodies in front of him.

a lot of people are saying that now with a more open system and a different defense that lundqvist will suffer...but i actually think he will improve. i mean...washington's gameplan in the playoffs was literally just to blast shots from the point to try and get deflections or screened goals and it was working, before torts adjusted to give the point men less open space. now that hank can actually see the shots, i think he'll improve. obviously, hank was starting to get very annoyed by all the bodies in front of him from his end of the year interviews.
- rangerdanger94

Was only kidding about Lundqvist, but how do you think AV will do in NY? He definitely loves his #1 guy, as long as there is no competition for the position... I think you will see a return to form of Richards, your skilled players are going to play a lot, and in offensive situations IMO. Should be a good change.

It's because none of them are Flyers.
- A_SteamingLombardi

Not yet anyway... When the Oilers miss the playoffs this year they will fire Eakins and voila he will coach the Flyers to their first Cup in a bazillion years.

They're all awesome, but they all also suck.
- Nucker101

I concur.

(although Tippett is a top 5 coach in the league)

Was only kidding about Lundqvist, but how do you think AV will do in NY? He definitely loves his #1 guy, as long as there is no competition for the position... I think you will see a return to form of Richards, your skilled players are going to play a lot, and in offensive situations IMO. Should be a good change.
- 1970vintage

i'm excited for the season for sure. from the comments i read here, AV is a defensive-minded coach, but i think he's still gonna open up the offense a lot more than what it was under torts. i was really tired of just dump and chase and constant cycling and it was getting nerve-wrecking seeing our top players constantly throwing themselves into slapshots so i'm pumped for some hopefully exciting offensive hockey.

in terms of no competition for the position...do you mean as the #1 center or in terms of the goalie position? obviously, hank has the spot locked up. as far as the #1 center spot goes, it's really up for grabs between richards, stepan, and brassard. stepan was almost a ppg player last season and built some awesome chemistry with nash (although he was clicking with anyone he played with all season long) and brassard has the best vision and hands out of all 3 of them, just hope he can put it together consistently.

i think it will be richards who starts out the season regardless of stepan's season last year on the 1st line with nash and it will be his spot to lose.

overall, the season really hinges on stepan keeping up that level of play, richards regaining his form, and kreider tapping some of his potential and netting 20-30 goals. would be great for cally to break 30 finally, hags to break 20 finally, brassard to get some consistency, staal to return to form, and mcdonagh and MDZ to take off offensively too but i'm not expecting all that to happen, especially right away.

i think the oilers will be better then the coyotes also. Otherwise i think you've done a fair job, mind only fair job. I however can't argue yoour placement of the oilers coaching as they are alll unknowns at this point. Have some issuews with the foward and defence ranksings but thats just my opinion. we will now wait and see how close you are.

the fact taht you think justin shultz is a bottom paring D has just ruined my opinion of you a bit. That totaly sounds bitter. Justin shultz is much more then a bottom pairing D i happen to know andrew fernece personally a little bit and know his sister rather well (witch means nothing exept i know the guy better then you do) and though he may be a product of the boston system he was also a big part of the calgary run as well. Hence i think you swap the oilers D with calgarys and move the ducks up one spot. aside from taht little botch i think you've done a great job. THe oilers top six is still young and have some growing to do but they aren't as small as you seem to think, having said that, at this current time i think where you've placed them is fair as for goaltending i'm on the fence with that one, i'm not a huge fan of dubnyk but he's proven he can be great, but he's also proven he can be really bad too. So i'll say you've got him in the right place as well. I'll give ya a B. Were it not for that rather mindless remark about justin shultz i'd give you an A

i'm excited for the season for sure. from the comments i read here, AV is a defensive-minded coach, but i think he's still gonna open up the offense a lot more than what it was under torts. i was really tired of just dump and chase and constant cycling and it was getting nerve-wrecking seeing our top players constantly throwing themselves into slapshots so i'm pumped for some hopefully exciting offensive hockey.

in terms of no competition for the position...do you mean as the #1 center or in terms of the goalie position? obviously, hank has the spot locked up. as far as the #1 center spot goes, it's really up for grabs between richards, stepan, and brassard. stepan was almost a ppg player last season and built some awesome chemistry with nash (although he was clicking with anyone he played with all season long) and brassard has the best vision and hands out of all 3 of them, just hope he can put it together consistently.

i think it will be richards who starts out the season regardless of stepan's season last year on the 1st line with nash and it will be his spot to lose.

overall, the season really hinges on stepan keeping up that level of play, richards regaining his form, and kreider tapping some of his potential and netting 20-30 goals. would be great for cally to break 30 finally, hags to break 20 finally, brassard to get some consistency, staal to return to form, and mcdonagh and MDZ to take off offensively too but i'm not expecting all that to happen, especially right away.
- rangerdanger94

I was alluding to the ongoing goalie controversy in Vancouver, which started because AV went to the backup instead of the starter in a critical playoff game. I know there is no real competition for the starting job in NY. I don't think that AV is really any specific kind of coach (offensive/defensive), as fans we tired of him in Vancouver because he has his favourites that often didn't make sense, his assistant coaches were boneheads, his constant line changing didn't allow compatible players to develop chemistry and he rarely allowed younger players to play through their mistakes.

the fact taht you think justin shultz is a bottom paring D has just ruined my opinion of you a bit. That totaly sounds bitter. Justin shultz is much more then a bottom pairing D i happen to know andrew fernece personally a little bit and know his sister rather well (witch means nothing exept i know the guy better then you do) and though he may be a product of the boston system he was also a big part of the calgary run as well. Hence i think you swap the oilers D with calgarys and move the ducks up one spot. aside from taht little botch i think you've done a great job. THe oilers top six is still young and have some growing to do but they aren't as small as you seem to think, having said that, at this current time i think where you've placed them is fair as for goaltending i'm on the fence with that one, i'm not a huge fan of dubnyk but he's proven he can be great, but he's also proven he can be really bad too. So i'll say you've got him in the right place as well. I'll give ya a B. Were it not for that rather mindless remark about justin shultz i'd give you an A
- deadsector

I assume there is no fingerin involved now

the fact taht you think justin shultz is a bottom paring D has just ruined my opinion of you a bit. That totaly sounds bitter. Justin shultz is much more then a bottom pairing D i happen to know andrew fernece personally a little bit and know his sister rather well (witch means nothing exept i know the guy better then you do) and though he may be a product of the boston system he was also a big part of the calgary run as well. Hence i think you swap the oilers D with calgarys and move the ducks up one spot. aside from taht little botch i think you've done a great job. THe oilers top six is still young and have some growing to do but they aren't as small as you seem to think, having said that, at this current time i think where you've placed them is fair as for goaltending i'm on the fence with that one, i'm not a huge fan of dubnyk but he's proven he can be great, but he's also proven he can be really bad too. So i'll say you've got him in the right place as well. I'll give ya a B. Were it not for that rather mindless remark about justin shultz i'd give you an A
- deadsector

What on earth are you on?

the lightning won the division the previous year and then finished 2nd in the league with 106 pts the year they won the cup.
they were for sure one of the favs. how could they not be considered that?

gaborik, Richards, nash, stepan, callahan, girardi, mcdonagh, LUNDQVIST all after making the EC..and then adding rick nash??
fair enough if you didn't like the makeup, but it certainly wasn't silly of anyone to put that roster as one of the true favs
- hugefemale dog77

You do know who played a big role in developing most of those Rangers don't you?

Yah...player development isn't because of the coach.

I was alluding to the ongoing goalie controversy in Vancouver, which started because AV went to the backup instead of the starter in a critical playoff game. I know there is no real competition for the starting job in NY. I don't think that AV is really any specific kind of coach (offensive/defensive), as fans we tired of him in Vancouver because he has his favourites that often didn't make sense, his assistant coaches were boneheads, his constant line changing didn't allow compatible players to develop chemistry and he rarely allowed younger players to play through their mistakes.
- 1970vintage

Well said.

I would add inability to adapt his gameplan, and poor communication skills to his list of faults.

Oh, and add ability to work the shīt out of a lozenge as one of his strengths.

Well said.

I would add inability to adapt his gameplan, and poor communication skills to his list of faults.

Oh, and add ability to work the shīt out of a lozenge as one of his strengths.
- Fosco

I bet he even sucks a lozenge when he gets tender with his wife.

He did have his good points too I'm sure, but the disappointment is still too fresh for me to find any right now.

EDIT - hmm, how to say this without getting banned... I wonder if he ever flipped a coin when deciding which "entry" to use?

I wasn't as big of a fan of the Rangers team he had last year as a lot of people were, especially after Staal went down. That was devastating for them.

The Lighting were not a favourite to win the year they won. Not by a longshot. The Avalanche were heavy, heavy favourites. In fact, they probably should have won the year before as well.
- KB3Point0

Not a favorite? In 03-04? I must have missed the memo. The team piled up 46 wins on its way to the Eastern Conference crown and didn't stop there. I'm not sure there was a team in the East I would have taken ahead of the Lightning in a playoff pool that year.

Rewinding, in 02-03 the Bolts won the SE division and made it to the second round, losing to the eventual Stanley Cup winning New Jersey Devils. That was with a young, offensively gifted core that was developing at rapid pace. It's fair to say the Lightning wasn't THE favorite in 03-04, but to say the team wasn't A favorite is simply incorrect.

And, for the record, I give John Tortorella a huge amount of credit for showing the Lightning organization and its players what it takes to win. I don't know how he did it, but he instilled something in the organization that allowed it to reach greater heights. The Lightning had the talent, but Tortorella brought something more. If he can do the same in Vancouver, you folks will all be mighty pleased.

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

If Torts doesn't adapt and find a happy medium to his style he will be unemployed .

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

If Torts doesn't adapt and find a happy medium to his style he will be unemployed .

I bet he even sucks a lozenge when he gets tender with his wife.

He did have his good points too I'm sure, but the disappointment is still too fresh for me to find any right now.

EDIT - hmm, how to say this without getting banned... I wonder if he ever flipped a coin when deciding which "entry" to use?
- 1970vintage

I can't recall what his wife looks like, but I'm guessing that's something I don't want to picture.

I'm also guessing that there were times his wife was envious of that damned lozenge...

DP

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

If Torts doesn't adapt and find a happy medium to his style he will be unemployed .

I bet he even sucks a lozenge when he gets tender with his wife.

He did have his good points too I'm sure, but the disappointment is still too fresh for me to find any right now.

EDIT - hmm, how to say this without getting banned... I wonder if he ever flipped a coin when deciding which "entry" to use?
- 1970vintage

Are you starting your 2nd bottle of Pinot Noir?

Wow, the site is franked!

Marwood, no, sadly no booze for me yet, just off to the final game of my summer league, win and we finish 3rd, lose and we're 4th, the drinking begins shortly thereafter.

Fosco, DP, only when Bowness is over for Sunday dinner

bada-ching!

I've felt that if the Canucks were coached better over the last few years, they would've won a cup. That's why I value that experience in a coach, and not only a coach but in players too.

My list would be:

Sutter, Torts, Hartley tied for first.
Boudreau
Tippet
McLennan
Eakins

I'd further add that I think that if all these guys were available Tippet and Sutter would be the first guys to get jobs; and that Torts and Hartley would be the last guys.

You do know who played a big role in developing most of those Rangers don't you?

Yah...player development isn't because of the coach.
- IanEsplen

Oh ian, stop with the attempt at hubris.
I already attempted a direct comment to your laughably homeristic blog. with no logical reply.

Torts had zero interest in the development of some the guys who probably are the biggest reason the vaunted rangers failed throughtout this year. If he doesnt have 5 goalies on the ice he's lost.
Nash? Gaborik? Richards as of now? Even lundqvist? How do you win games when your team doesnt score?

Torts did quite the opposite actually.

Im not sayin torts is a bad coach, im just sayin your rankings didnt have alot of logic to it. In fact, i think torts was dangerously close to being unemployed if gillis wasnt backed into a corner to shake things up now.
He's not at 3 in the pacific division from anybody who's not either looking for hits and/or a total homer.

Just Leave the head slapper emoticons out of it.