Matt Karash: My final verdict on Kirk Muller

I'm right there with you, Matt. Muller didn't have enough fire or emotion for my taste behind the bench. When something bad happened, he would pull that card out of his blazer, check his grocery list, and stick it back in. He always had the look of someone who was about a step behind. The first year, the excuse was that he didn't have a full season. The 2nd, no real training camp. This year, injuries. The only problem with that is the Canes really didn't have a ton of injuries that hurt the team. Every coach has to deal with this.

While some of your particulars are different ( like having legit offensive talent)the demise of Trotz in Nashville seemed to have 2 common factors.

Stubbornness in adjusting to opponents or circumstances within a game or most particularly a playoff series. This has been an ongoing gripe amongst fans in nearly every playoff series the Preds have played.

Also, stubbornness in sticking to "the system". This seems to stunt younger offensively talented players. They end up in Milwaukee, in the press box or on the 4th line w/o any talent around them. A punishment for not excelling in the system rather than trying to put them in positions to play to their strengths.

matt,

it's going to be left up to the new gm, i'm sure ron francis will look at all of the issues and be fair but in the end i think mueller is toast. kevin dineen is not a bad choice and i won't mind seeing the all new jersey coaching connection head out as well

also, skinner is not a problem on this team, they need complimentary players around him so that he gets top 6 minutes, the guy is creative and can score, find the right pieces to go with him

Seems like the guys on the team with a hard working reputation like Muller just fine...

Seems like the guys on the team with a hard working reputation like Muller just fine...
- Philly17RB

Yeah, because they get 17 minutes a night to try and hit their career high of 20 to 30 points.

Blog was a pretty good incrimination of Muller. He isn't getting the best out of anyone on the roster outside of maybe Gerbe and Dwyer.

I don't disagree that Kirk should go, but I think, at some point, we need to take a step back and realize that it has more to do with the players than the coach. We've been through 3 coaches since the Cup win, and have struggled on the power play every season since. The lack of mental toughness, and physical for that matter, has been apparent as well. It just seems to me we are putting bandaids over gunshot wounds by having a rotating coach every few years.