Speculation: The coaching search continues

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

The “read between the lines” crowd suddenly doesn’t want to read between the lines

I don't know about you but I'm so tired of bitching about this team. Feels healthier to just not be here anymore if we're going down that road all over again. The last 7 years were such a miserable display of hockey and hockey management it'd suck the love of the game out of a 6 year old.

 

[bert]

Friedman said on Marek's show that money was the issue with Berube. And as far as I can tell, we still have a skeleton front office.

So same philosophy from a better speaker in a nicer suit.

Thats not what he said actually. Do some actual research and watch it.

Friedman

'They interviewed alot of people who had nhl experience. Went far down the road with Berube. He felt there were better set ups elsewhere. Some financial questions about his hire. Berube decided what his worth was, and it was in a differ stratosphere. There were better options in a situation that didnt make sense for them (sens). They went far down the path on Berube.

With green this situation end of the year interim coach not a real fair look at him as a coach.

In vancouver did somethings went well and somethings he didnt do well. Vancouver is a much more stable situation now than then. He was very tough on Hughes and Petterson at times. Green can be really tough, not a soft guy. some similarities to Berube and he can be blunt and a bit of a prick. Thats what ottawa was looking for.'

Sounds like Berube set a price that was only there because he knew Ottawa was desperate. It wasnt where he wanted to be but if he could get the number he would do it. Who knows what that number was but id imagine it was quite a bit. So if you want to push this narrative that Andlauder/Ottawa is 'cheap'. Go for it. I have seen them spend money absolutely everywhere, as a STH it was obvious going to the building. I have contacts in management they have bolstered every part of the organization.

Frankly I hope 'fans' like you go elsewhere and cheer for other teams. The negativity and frankly dishonest discussion isnt good for the people that are looking to enjoy the team and fandom.

Realistically what did they think Berube was going to cost? He was the best coach available ffs

Clearly Staios is a very patient man not sure if that’s gonna be a good thing for roster turnover I personally wanna see lots of change this summer.

Sounds like he was pushing to be the highest paid coach of all time which would be in the 7 million range. Do you think its worth putting that many resources into a head coach? I dunno, every team has a budget. They are spending alot of money on other parts of the organization that was barren under the previous regime. While I want this team to be competitive I also would never assume to spend someone elses money.

 

[Micklebot]

He’s trying to be nice because we are super sensitive around “cheap” in this market.

I mean, sure, we definitely overreact to any hint of financial implications on decisions.

I'd frame it less as he's trying to be nice and more as he's trying to convey while finances were a consideration, they aren't the driving force behind all decisions.

There's a difference between balking at paying a guy what he's worth, and balking at paying a guy more than he's worth because of an Ottawa sucks right now tax, or I have more desirable landing spots tax.

I think we could have found cheaper options than Green if we wanted to, we probably could have retreaded Marc Crawford, or Boucher for less, for example, or gone with Gruden,.

If the only acceptable scenario was money is no object, well fans will be disappointed. I don't see that as a realistic expectation, but if the expectation is money won't prevent us from getting a qualified candidate then I think it's reasonable to believe we are there.

 

[bicboi64]

I don't know about you but I'm so tired of bitching about this team. Feels healthier to just not be here anymore if we're going down that road all over again. The last 7 years were such a miserable display of hockey and hockey management it'd suck the love of the game out of a 6 year old.

That's the secret sauce my friend, I bitch about everything in life, except my awesome dog lol

 

[flyingfingers]

Thats not what he said actually. Do some actual research and watch it.

Friedman

'They interviewed alot of people who had nhl experience. Went far down the road with Berube. He felt there were better set ups elsewhere. Some financial questions about his hire. Berube decided what his worth was, and it was in a differ stratosphere. There were better options in a situation that didnt make sense for them (sens). They went far down the path on Berube.

With green this situation end of the year interim coach not a real fair look at him as a coach.

In vancouver did somethings went well and somethings he didnt do well. Vancouver is a much more stable situation now than then. He was very tough on Hughes and Petterson at times. Green can be really tough, not a soft guy. some similarities to Berube and he can be blunt and a bit of a prick. Thats what ottawa was looking for.'

Sounds like Berube set a price that was only there because he knew Ottawa was desperate. It wasnt where he wanted to be but if he could get the number he would do it. Who knows what that number was but id imagine it was quite a bit. So if you want to push this narrative that Andlauder/Ottawa is 'cheap'. Go for it. I have seen them spend money absolutely everywhere, as a STH it was obvious going to the building. I have contacts in management they have bolstered every part of the organization.

Frankly I hope 'fans' like you go elsewhere and cheer for other teams. The negativity and frankly dishonest discussion isnt good for the people that are looking to enjoy the team and fandom.

That is actually what he said. Ottawa was in discussions with Berube, but he had a price and Ottawa was not willing to go up to that price for whatever reason, so they moved on to other candidates.

And yes, I imagine it was "quite a bit". Because good coaches cost "quite a bit".

As Jamie McLennan always says, there is a cold weather tax in Canada. And if you're not willing to pay that tax, you're not going to get the guys you want. And we again seem to have an ownership group that won't pay the tax.

And where has Andlauer spent any money, so far, from a hockey ops perspective? Right now, Staios is both President and GM, he's hired a VP who hadn't worked in the league for 10 years, and we're 60 days away from the draft and free-agency but don't have a head amateur or pro scout.

How is that any different than the Pierre Dorion led front-office? It's still a skeleton crew with no winning pedigree.

Honestly Andlauer had to hire 1 person with a winning track record as an executive or coach in the NHL. One! That's it! And he hasn't done it, while trotting out slogans as stupid as "unparalled success".

We've got some new lighting at CTC. Cool. As a fellow STH, I've pretty underwhelmed by this management group, which sucks because we all just went through the miserable Melnyk years.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Via Thomas Drance, Canucks beat writer:

“I covered Travis Green closely during arguably the most dysfunctional stretch in recent Vancouver Canucks history — and that’s saying something.

After a successful stint as the club’s AHL coach in Utica, a stretch that included a Calder Cup Final appearance in the early stages of Green’s tenure, the club iced rosters that were undermanned in the extreme. And those Green-era teams played recognizably organized hockey, often punching above their weight, especially early in the year, before the extreme lack of talent caught up to them.

In 2019-20, the club hit something of a wave and over-performed — both in the regular season and in the playoff bubble. Green’s tactics against the Golden Knights in forcing a seventh game as a massive underdog in the second round became a template that Golden Knights opponents widely copied in frustrating the DeBoer-era Golden Knights in the playoffs over the next few years.

Then things got weird in Vancouver.

COVID-related budget cuts gutted the roster. A massive COVID outbreak during the 2021 season impacted Green severely, and the team massively as well, as the club sagged to seventh in the All-Canadian division.

The next year, Green made some tactical tweaks to try and shore up the club’s brutal defensive game. It worked at five-on-five, but the team was undone by struggling severely on the penalty kill and by the pervasive struggles of some star players. Twenty-five games into the season, Green was fired and replaced by Bruce Boudreau.

Throughout his Canucks tenure, Green’s Canucks leaned heavily on and did well to develop young players. He was disciplined and even innovative about how he handled matchups in-game.

He tended not to get fooled by hot streaks, and when he was criticized for player deployment, his decisions tended to bear themselves out over time (the players who didn’t get enough opportunity under Green tended not to become more meaningful contributors after his departure). His X’s and O’s and structural work are excellent, and he’s open minded about incorporating analytics into his player evaluation, working closely with Vancouver’s since-promoted director of analytics, Aiden Fox, throughout his Canucks tenure.

This is a sharp coach who deserves a stable opportunity after the way things unfolded for him in Vancouver. Taking over a young team like the Senators strikes me as a uniquely good fit.”

 

[NyQuil]

The punch line is "stable opportunity".

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I don't know about you but I'm so tired of bitching about this team. Feels healthier to just not be here anymore if we're going down that road all over again. The last 7 years were such a miserable display of hockey and hockey management it'd suck the love of the game out of a 6 year old.

I don’t want to bitch anymore. Only the teams results can stop me !

 

[jhutter]

That is actually what he said. Ottawa was in discussions with Berube, but he had a price and Ottawa was not willing to go up to that price for whatever reason, so they moved on to other candidates.

And yes, I imagine it was "quite a bit". Because good coaches cost "quite a bit".

As Jamie McLennan always says, there is a cold weather tax in Canada. And if you're not willing to pay that tax, you're not going to get the guys you want. And we again seem to have an ownership group that won't pay the tax.

And where has Andlauer spent any money, so far, from a hockey ops perspective? Right now, Staios is both President and GM, he's hired a VP who hadn't worked in the league for 10 years, and we're 60 days away from the draft and free-agency but don't have a head amateur or pro scout.

How is that any different than the Pierre Dorion led front-office? It's still a skeleton crew with no winning pedigree.

Honestly Andlauer had to hire 1 person with a winning track record as an executive or coach in the NHL. One! That's it! And he hasn't done it, while trotting out slogans as stupid as "unparalled success".

We've got some new lighting at CTC. Cool. As a fellow STH, I've pretty underwhelmed by this management group, which sucks because we all just went through the miserable Melnyk years.

You've nailed it. I don't care if they updated the coke machine in the dressing room. They have a rookie PoHo who named himself GM, and hired a more polished Pierre McGuire to assist him. This was all prior to hiring a coach that ostensibly wasn't being considered by any other team, including the 23rd place New Jersey Devils that weren't interested in retaining his services.

After Melnyk, the bar is embarrassingly low.

 

[DrEasy]

I listened to the Corrado & Pounder interviews. At least it was something more than fan reaction based on Green’s won/loss (point percentage) record. Vancouver was a pretty dysfunctional environment. If there was a GM that might have been worse than Dorion, it would have been Benning in Vancouver.

One thing that I thought was a positive is that Green gets to know his players and their personalities and uses different approaches to motivate them versus just one standard approach for all players. I think that is a positive and well suited to youthful NHL players today.

The only thing I would have liked to hear more about was the systems Green likes to use. Corrado got that question in his interview, but all he said is that Green emphasizes an aggressive style which I assume meant an aggressive forecheck based on other words he used. I wish Corrado would have dug a little deeper into that topic though.

I know enough about what I don’t know. And I know that I’m not in the team’s dressing room, or on the ice during practice, or on the bench listening to what the coach is telling players. So, when I’m evaluating something that I have very little information on, I try to take that into perspective. I guess I feel like I don’t have to have a strong opinion about everything, and especially about things in which I have little subject matter information.

I don't think using Benning as an excuse for Green's performance makes me feel any better. It reminds me that Benning was the guy who hired him. Had Green been working under a competent GM I would have given him more slack.

I guess Berube doesn't walk on water!

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

That's the secret sauce my friend, I bitch about everything in life, except my awesome dog lol

Lol, well, you're talking to a guy just getting through a separation and trying to steer life in positive directions, so I'm going to have to disagree at least a little bit.

 

[bert]

These are depressing thoughts. But they're probably correct.

All you have done is be negative since you started posting here. You obviously have a specific agenda.

 

[flyingfingers]

All you have done is be negative since you started posting here. You obviously have a specific agenda.

Not really. I judge what happens for what it is. This team was an absolute disaster under Melnyk and Dorion for the last 7 years (or whatever it was), and we all rightly shit on them for it.

The new guys have come in, and despite touting silly slogans, have so far continued to disappoint. I have no problem calling that out just because they're new.

Hey, maybe I'll be wrong. But I remember lots of people telling other fans to wait and see about many of Dorion and Melnyk's decisions too. But most of them ended up being what we thought they were going to be.

 

[Micklebot]

Via Thomas Drance, Canucks beat writer:

Can't be trusted, he's just saying nice stuff so that he will continue to get interviews. Hockey db is the only trustworthy source...

 

[jhutter]

All you have done is be negative since you started posting here. You obviously have a specific agenda.

The truth hurts.

 

[Micklebot]

Gonna lock this thread up, we don't need two coach threads,, link to the active thread below

Confirmed with Link: - Travis Green named new head coach

There’s a wide spectrum of reactions here: 1. This is the death knell for the franchise. 2. This is disappointing but I guess we’ll see what happens. 3. Green’s record is unfair because of the lack of talent he had to work with due to his GM. 4. I think his no-nonsense work ethic style...

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