Sorry James, not remotely close to a dirty hit...The hate is just clouding your judgement. Nhl you can finish your check...he still had another second or 2 to hit him. The Avs players should be the ones suspended.
- annoyed

Yep. Not only can you finish your check, but that was pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder/chest.

Maybe he thinks it's worse because it was an open ice hit? Nothing wrong with it from what I saw.

Yep. Not only can you finish your check, but that was pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder/chest.

Maybe he thinks it's worse because it was an open ice hit? Nothing wrong with it from what I saw.
- Hank3Henshaw

And Girardi swerves towards him after...

Oh well, barely worth talking about IMO...unless you hate the guy already?

Just fire the coach and move on. At least build towards next season.

Ratings are down quite a bit. I wonder why. Maybe it's because the game has been neutered to the point where it's a friggen chore to sit through one period, let alone a game.

JT, I agree with the masses. It's definitely a bit of a predatory hit (just because of the play Nate makes) but it's legal. 0.3 seconds later and it's probably a late hit
Hopefully it's 15+ games and that's the end of it
No, Girard was definitely not going at him (agreeing with JT). He doesn't even look at him

The only reason I'll disagree with firing Tocchet is that he is for the most part, playing the young guys. He's also not handing playing time to them on a silver platter just because they can score, and I don't believe that is a bad thing.

If you're being objective, a lot of the most offensively talented young players the coyotes have don't play a tight game without the puck in various way. I'm not going to even try to describe that player by player. At the same time, I don't have a lot of faith in Tocchet as a great strategist of the game. But at some point stability and youth have to coincide so that they can move forward.

JT, I agree with the masses. It's definitely a bit of a predatory hit (just because of the play Nate makes) but it's legal. 0.3 seconds later and it's probably a late hit
Hopefully it's 15+ games and that's the end of it
No, Girard was definitely not going at him (agreeing with JT). He doesn't even look at him
- WSCTeton17

He goes left around Mac and then swerves toward Rinaldo....I don't care either way but that's what I see, it almost looks like he realizes it's Rinaldo and then decides to not go at him....but it's too late

The only reason I'll disagree with firing Tocchet is that he is for the most part, playing the young guys. He's also not handing playing time to them on a silver platter just because they can score, and I don't believe that is a bad thing.

If you're being objective, a lot of the most offensively talented young players the coyotes have don't play a tight game without the puck in various way. I'm not going to even try to describe that player by player. At the same time, I don't have a lot of faith in Tocchet as a great strategist of the game. But at some point stability and youth have to coincide so that they can move forward.
- The_Journeyman

Example: Nylander and Marner both spent time on the 4th line

Strome would probably stick around more but he's not the quickest....it's just going to take him a bit longer.

There were a bevy of good reasons to fire Tippett. They got his replacement wrong. It happens. Yeah, the team has other issues but the coaching this year has been terrible. They hired a guy whose been out of the league for nearly a generation, and it shows.
- James_Tanner

What is really showing is how bad of a decision hiring Chayka was. He is responsible for the position the team is in right now. They have all been his moves.

Calling a 20 year old who is on pace to win the AHL scoring title a bust after 18 career NHL games (90% of which he skated for 11 minutes with a checker like Richardson) is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have heard said on this board in four years of writing here.
- James_Tanner

The NHL does not equal the AHL. It’s a good sign that he kept up his OHL dominance in the AHL but there are a few players who simply dominate the minor leagues and never flourish on the bigger stage.

I can see goalies taking a long time to develop, and defenceman also... but strome isn’t stacking well against his draft class.

Also. You’re bias towards him exposes a problem with your stats first mentality. You’ll say some 4th liner is garbage and drop his 47 corsi as evidence but then if strome has a 45 corsi or whatever he had, welp, it’s the coach’s fault. Either the numbers are used to defeat bias, or their useless. Don’t just use them to support your own bias. Right now strome sucks in the NHL. On paper. Statistically. There is reason to be optimistic due to AHL and other league stats but there is no evidence yet that he plays well against the best.

The hit on MacKinnon isn't late, isn't dirty, nothing.

Girard did two hand Ridildo. That's proven watching the slow motion replay. But he kept moving and was attempting to carry on with the play.

It's obvious he wasn't stopping to engage Ridildo and it was a total sucker punch.

What's bullpoop is Archibutthole came flying trying to take MacKinnon head off. That poop was just as dirty, if not worse than what Ridildo did.

Not sure what you're watching James. I don't like Rinaldo. I don't think he should be playing for the Coyotes. And he probably shouldn't be in the NHL at all. But there was nothing wrong with that hit. And Girard (however briefly) does engage with Rinaldo.

All that said....I'd be totally fine with never hearing from Rinaldo ever again.

He is a total POS. Someone just needs to crush him and end his "career". League won't do anything worth while.
- bigjersey3

Ya he absolutely cannot play hockey at any skill level and is essentially a matt cooke. Just a matter of time before he hurts a real hockey player. I love fights, but this clown makes the team an absolute joke. Call up a prospect and be done with this experiment.

Not going to argue if Rinaldo belongs in the league or not, but there was nothing overly egregious with what I saw. The hit was clean any way you look at it and Rinaldo probably felt it just as much as Mackinnon.

There's a problem in the league where 9 times out of 10 you're going to get jumped after any sort of big hit, clean or not. Rinaldo was probably slightly dazed from the hit, saw the Colorado guy skate up to him with his stick up and started swinging to defend himself.

It looks bad after the fact when you slow it down, but this is a league that allows players to fight and doesn't have an issue with players getting jumped after they hit someone.

Just make fighting a suspendible offence already.

I'd laugh if:

Breaking news:
Rinaldo terminated as a player and named interim coach for recently fired Rick Tocchet

The tears would be delicious

Clean hit. Girard then made a direction change to get to Rinaldo. Also, Girard had time to get his stick into crosscheck mode (as usual in the NHL) as he approached Rinaldo. Maybe he should have just skated clear by rather than interfering in something he was not qualified to handle.

Reminds me of this wienerhead.


- RhinoFan

At least this meathead could play hockey. Zac Rinaldo can barely skate

The hit was fine but the sucker punch deserves a suspension. Good on Mackinnon for trying to go after Rinaldo after seeing his teammate get sucker punched. I hope the leauge just bans Rinaldo from the league. It would be doing the Coyotes a favor.

If Tochett is getting fired it should be right after the GM is fired. They have a poop lineup and if the coach isn't good enough after half of a season it needs to be the GM who hired him who loses their job first.

Chayka reminds me a lot of the Sashi Brown experiment with the Browns. A guy who says he is going to rebuild a team and make roster decisions based on analytics and completely falls on his face.

Clean hit. Girard then made a direction change to get to Rinaldo. Also, Girard had time to get his stick into crosscheck mode (as usual in the NHL) as he approached Rinaldo. Maybe he should have just skated clear by rather than interfering in something he was not qualified to handle.
- ICUBB

Exactly how i seen it too. I agree he isnt looking at Rinaldo when he gets hit...but i think at the last second he had a change of heart... l o l

Question, Mr. Tanner:

If Tocchet is the worst coach you've ever seen, then what does that say about your boy genius GM? You know, the guy who you claim is one of the best GM's in the NHL. Was he not the genius who hired the head coach?

A little defense of JT here:

On Rinaldo: His reputation is such that if he tapes his stick, he must be spearing someone. He was a Flyer. We lived with it every game. Any hit he threw that was on the edge...it was a penalty. He costs his team more than he can ever help them. He is not a good enough player to make up for it. If he had, oh, Rick Tocchet's skill set as a player, then he might be okay. He doesn't even have Craig Berube's. He can skate and that is about it.

On the Check: It was on the dirty/late/high side. There are angles where it looks horrible and angles where you say "he committed to the check and the puck was moved". Either way, it was a 4th liner taking a run at a 1st liner. We he going for the highlight real open ice check...yes. Did he bounce off (which is kinda amusing)? Yes. All in all, the check might not even have gotten him a minor. It is on the edge and his reputation makes it worse.

On the "Sucker Punch": That was vintage Rinaldo. Two players are coming at you, both with their gloves on, both chastising you for a "play". Drop your one glove and punch the one who is less likely to respond. Then turtle when the bigger player responds. Again...he was a Flyer...we saw this act. He threw the punch at a player who didn't have his gloves off and was in no position to defend himself. Was he approaching Rinaldo, yes. Was he engaged with him...NO. That, with his existing reputation/repeat offender label means suspension.

As for Tocchet. He was a bad coach in Tampa. He has his idea of a system and doesn't worry about the players around him. He wants his system run...even if they are not the right players to run it. He plays serious favorites and he will always play the vet whenever he can. This is not just JT, this is not just me. This is a lot of people who know the game better than any of us posting on this thread. Tocchet is a good hockey mind, a good assistant coach, but he is not a good head coach.

At least this meathead could play hockey. Zac Rinaldo can barely skate
- claude1971

Rinaldo is a very good skater.
#supportzac

What is really showing is how bad of a decision hiring Chayka was. He is responsible for the position the team is in right now. They have all been his moves.
- Confidenceking77

I don't agree. Chayka has made some really good moves. Chychrun and Keller look like absolute superstars and those are his signature moves.

Hard to fault him for the Stepan/Raanta trade. The Hjallmarsson has been injured, but that's good too.

Perhaps he didn't get enough quality vets, and certainly not having a quality backup to Raanta to start the year was a huge mistake, but it's really hard to fault him for any of his trades.

The problem with Tocchet is that he doesn't just want to let people play. You can say what you want about not gifting people ice time, but then explain Tobias Rieder to me . OR the fact that after nearly 2 points per game in the AHL, Strome's first game back nets him 11 minutes.

A little defense of JT here:

On Rinaldo: His reputation is such that if he tapes his stick, he must be spearing someone. He was a Flyer. We lived with it every game. Any hit he threw that was on the edge...it was a penalty. He costs his team more than he can ever help them. He is not a good enough player to make up for it. If he had, oh, Rick Tocchet's skill set as a player, then he might be okay. He doesn't even have Craig Berube's. He can skate and that is about it.

On the Check: It was on the dirty/late/high side. There are angles where it looks horrible and angles where you say "he committed to the check and the puck was moved". Either way, it was a 4th liner taking a run at a 1st liner. We he going for the highlight real open ice check...yes. Did he bounce off (which is kinda amusing)? Yes. All in all, the check might not even have gotten him a minor. It is on the edge and his reputation makes it worse.

On the "Sucker Punch": That was vintage Rinaldo. Two players are coming at you, both with their gloves on, both chastising you for a "play". Drop your one glove and punch the one who is less likely to respond. Then turtle when the bigger player responds. Again...he was a Flyer...we saw this act. He threw the punch at a player who didn't have his gloves off and was in no position to defend himself. Was he approaching Rinaldo, yes. Was he engaged with him...NO. That, with his existing reputation/repeat offender label means suspension.

As for Tocchet. He was a bad coach in Tampa. He has his idea of a system and doesn't worry about the players around him. He wants his system run...even if they are not the right players to run it. He plays serious favorites and he will always play the vet whenever he can. This is not just JT, this is not just me. This is a lot of people who know the game better than any of us posting on this thread. Tocchet is a good hockey mind, a good assistant coach, but he is not a good head coach.
- wbon22

This sums everything up perfectly in my opinion.

I don't agree. Chayka has made some really good moves. Chychrun and Keller look like absolute superstars and those are his signature moves.
- James_Tanner

Chayka had next to nothing to do with drafting Chychrun or Keller. He was hired after they were done playing and all the scouting reports were in. He wasn't in charge of the team at the draft, he still reported to VP of Hockey Ops Tippett.

Just because you like a decision doesn't mean Chayka deserves credit, and just because you don't like a decision doesn't mean it isn't his fault. Everyone, including you, knows this was Tippett's team until the end of last season, and the good decisions Tippett made don't suddenly become Chayka's signature moves.