Question: What have you learned in the past week, or through the season thus far?
Todd Cordell I learned that Dallas may not be as good as everyone (myself included) thought.
Their defense has certainly never been looked at as a strength, but it seemed to be OK last year and that hasn't been the case this year.
The team is struggling in possession (49%) and to this point the guys they rely heavily on defensively - Trevor Daley and Alex Goligoski come to mind - haven't been playing overly well.
Dallas is averaging over three goals against per game and, though Tyler Sequin and Jamie Benn have been excellent, they're not winning many games.
Only Edmonton has less points in the Western Conference, and if they don't start playing better team defense or get some help there, the Stars are going to fall short of the playoffs.
Tim Chiasson I've learned, over the season to this point, that Barry Trotz may be one of the most over-rated coaches behind the bench right now.
Nashville seems to be doing alright without him and Washington can't seem to get anything going with him.
When Trotz was relieved of his duties in Nashville I wondered what he would do elsewhere around the league. His lengthy coaching career in Nashville would surely get him a job, but he hadn't really won anything meaningful over that long period of time to justify, in my opinion, being so actively sought after.
That being said, Washington isn't the easiest place to coach and the only coach since Boudreau that had any success (Dale Hunter) didn't want to come back and coach the roster.
All I know is that Nashville is sitting third in the Western Conference this year and Washington is 12th in the East.
James Tanner I have learned you should never make predictions since if you're right no one will remember, so it's a lose-lose proposition. I have also learned that goalies are fickle - last year Harding was untouchable, now he's on waivers and Dubnyk just almost shut-out a team that released him despite having no decent alternative.
I also learned that if you get fancy trying to sit goalies in your fantasy league that it will always blow up in your face. Finally, I learned that the NHL needs a trade or two to go down because Gonachar for Moen just doesn't cut it for me. Also, if I didn't already know it, which I probably did, Phil Kessel is the coolest guy in hockey.
Adam French Coaching Matters A lot of times coaches can get scapegoated, rightfully or wrongfully it happens to even the best of them. Some coaches are like a fine wine and get better with age. Others are like beer, skunkening after being opened. Some have short shelf lives, others integrate themselves in the room. Sometimes a good coach is a good fit and other times it's a disaster.
Let's look at some good fits this season.
Peter Laviolette in Nashville. I loved this hiring. The Predators have always had excellent goaltending and a strong defense, they simply couldn't score. Personnel often wouldn't change drastically either as Trotz had his type and loved them. Enter Laviolette and his hounding left-wing lock. An offensive style that demands quality defense and excellent goaltending to succeed. What does Nashville have an abundance of? Just that. Lavalamp is also a short shelf life coach, perfect for kicking complacency out the window and shocking a group to its core. That is what I feel he has done for the Predators...and boy do they look dangerous.
Michel Therrien - The King of Scapegoats! The Montreal media is notoriously cutthroat and whiny...about everything and anything...and Therrien is no different. Despite his extreme success since being named Head Coach, he continues to be the main target. Montreal is not a bad team, they aren't a great first place team either. There's no way you can look at that team and tell me with a straight face that it's a first place team. However, they are getting elite goaltending and one of the best team performances in the league. What matters are results. 1st in the Northeast, 3rd in the Atlantic and now 1st in the league (though I doubt it holds). But no...Subban hates him! He's ruining the Gally's! He's sucking Eller's confidence! He ruined Sekac's Calder chances! Fire him maintenant! If only the media could be hounding two other coaches in Canada instead of the most successful one...
Let's talk bad fits Speaking before of skunkening...John Torterella. That disaster of a year where he attempted to turn the Sedin twins into Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan was certainly interesting. The Canucks aren't a force out there, but they are certainly vastly improved despite a strikingly similar team. There are few players better in the offensive zone than the Canucks out West and exploiting them with offensive zone starts and heavy PP time is the best way to use them just as Desjardins is doing. Torts' system had some success in New York, but you look now with hindsight and you really have to wonder how successful he was there. Offense goes to die under his watch and defenders turn to puck magnets. Did he really need to play such a conservative system with the best goalie in the world on his team? Maybe I'm harping on him too much, point is, Desjardins has been pretty good on a team that looked destined to start a slow slide into mediocrity in a tough Western Conference.
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