2011-2012 NHL Thread

[Crucialness Key]

markhmasters: RT @43_Kadri Big congrats to my junior coach dale hunter on the coaching job in wash. Well deserved #goingproagain

Queue the Kadri to Washington rumours.

Kadri for Ovechkin straight up  ;D

 

[maplesyrup]

markhmasters: RT @43_Kadri Big congrats to my junior coach dale hunter on the coaching job in wash. Well deserved #goingproagain

Queue the Kadri to Washington rumours.

Eklund is all over it, I'm sure.

 

[cw]

I've heard via TSN this AM (can't recall which radio show for sure), the Ducks are looking to move a player before coach Carlyle, who just got renewed this summer. I wonder if Maurice or Boudreau will get a chance to catch their breath before Columbus comes calling about replacing Arniel ....

 

[maplesyrup]

I've heard via TSN this AM (can't recall which radio show for sure), the Ducks are looking to move a player before coach Carlyle, who just got renewed this summer. I wonder if Maurice or Boudreau will get a chance to catch their breath before Columbus comes calling about replacing Arniel ....

I think Boudreau ought to be worth a look by other teams. I think he's a good coach. 

 

[maplesyrup]

So how long before Hunter has Semin crying in a dressing room corner?

 

[bustaheims]

So how long before Hunter has Semin crying in a dressing room corner?

Have they had a practice yet?

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

markhmasters: RT @43_Kadri Big congrats to my junior coach dale hunter on the coaching job in wash. Well deserved #goingproagain

Queue the Kadri to Washington rumours.

Kadri for Ovechkin straight up  ;D

A friend asked me today, "Kessel for ov straight up today. U take it?", and honestly I didnt have a straight-up easy answer, considering salary, contract length, mental game, and future career trajectory for both.

 

[cw]

I've heard via TSN this AM (can't recall which radio show for sure), the Ducks are looking to move a player before coach Carlyle, who just got renewed this summer. I wonder if Maurice or Boudreau will get a chance to catch their breath before Columbus comes calling about replacing Arniel ....

I think Boudreau ought to be worth a look by other teams. I think he's a good coach.

I think so as well. McKenzie felt both coaches would need some time to decompress. But he wasn't as sure about a quick return to the NHL for Boudreau. He described him as a rink rat though and as such, he'd be back in hockey soon enough.

 

[Sudafederov]

So how long before Hunter has Semin crying in a dressing room corner?

About as long as it takes to break a pair of bongos.

 

[cw]

Caps Owner Ted Leonsis weighs in:
http://www.tedstake.com/2011/11/28/thank-you-bruce/
Thank You Bruce

Gratitude. We just completed a long weekend to give thanks and express gratitude.

It?s never easy to let a coach go, and Bruce was a popular personality who helped turn around our franchise. Despite what transpired on the ice this year, I always will be thankful for Bruce?s time with the Capitals and will remember him fondly. He is a great coach who I?m confident will land another spot in the NHL. Unfortunately the shelf life of a coach is short; Bruce was the fifth longest tenured coach in the league. That?s amazing to me.

Here is the news release announcing Dale Hunter as coach. Dale was a tenacious player and great leader. The reins are his, and we are here to support him. More on Dale later, but first I wanted to express my appreciation for Bruce and what he has meant to our franchise and our community - he not only won games but also created a tremendous brand awareness for us locally as well as nationally and even internationally.

I am very grateful. Bruce was instrumental in the team?s success over the last four seasons. He won four division championships, a Presidents? Trophy, an Eastern Conference banner, two playoff series and coached us to our best records in team history during the regular season. He also won a coach of the year award and holds the record for winning 200 games faster than any coach in NHL history. He is a good man. Thank you for four great years. I appreciate all you did for us as a franchise. I am grateful to you and your entire family.

Nice note. Leonsis has always seemed like a good guy to me.

 

[caver]

I can't wait to see Hunter lose it behind the bench. When he erupts it will make Tortorella look like a girl scout. 

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Caps Owner Ted Leonsis weighs in:
http://www.tedstake.com/2011/11/28/thank-you-bruce/
He won four division championships, a Presidents? Trophy, an Eastern Conference banner, two playoff series...

Man, that really brings it home, only two series won with four division championships (albeit in a weak division).

 

[cw]

Caps Owner Ted Leonsis weighs in:
http://www.tedstake.com/2011/11/28/thank-you-bruce/
He won four division championships, a Presidents? Trophy, an Eastern Conference banner, two playoff series...

Man, that really brings it home, only two series won with four division championships (albeit in a weak division).

After finishing out of the playoffs, in Boudreau's first season, he took over at US Thanksgiving and he took them from 14th place in the conference to 5th. They lost to the Flyers in a 7 games series in OT of the 7th game.

The following year, after beating the Rangers in a 7 game series, they lost to the Cup champ Penguins in 7 games.

The following year, they went 7 games against the Habs, losing by a goal in the 7th game, after outscoring the Habs and outshooting them by over 100 shots in the series. Halak stole it with a .938 save% for the series against a ferocious attack.

Last year, after beating the Rangers with their rookie goalie, they got snuffed handily by Tampa. While the others were heartbreaking, that to me was the only really ugly loss of the bunch.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

The following year, they went 7 games against the Habs, losing by a goal in the 7th game, after outscoring the Habs and outshooting them by over 100 shots in the series. Halak stole it with a .938 save% for the series against a ferocious attack.

I think that's where things went wrong for Boudreau. He took that as a sign that his team needed to dramatically change the way that they were playing, when in reality they were just beat by a goalie who was playing like a man-possessed. Put any other goalie in the league in net for the Habs that year and they could have won the Cup.

 

[cw]

The following year, they went 7 games against the Habs, losing by a goal in the 7th game, after outscoring the Habs and outshooting them by over 100 shots in the series. Halak stole it with a .938 save% for the series against a ferocious attack.

I think that's where things went wrong for Boudreau. He took that as a sign that his team needed to dramatically change the way that they were playing, when in reality they were just beat by a goalie who was playing like a man-possessed. Put any other goalie in the league in net for the Habs that year and they could have won the Cup.

I think you're at the very least a heck of a lot closer to right than wrong. That was a +85 powerhouse of a hockey club. No they weren't great defensively, in part because of the style they played. But there was an awful lot more right than wrong with that team.

So he shaves half a goal off their defence to shore it up but takes a goal per game off their offence doing so and they're that much less potent last year.

Wilson made a similar mistake in my opinion with his roster last year. Obviously, they weren't nearly as talented but their skill set was not suited to the defensive style he tried to implement to get optimum results. So they played pretty well defensively in the first month or two but so much was dedicated to that effort, they couldn't score. By the end of November, they're out of it. By January, Wilson gets some help and starts to show signs that he figured it out earning him a reprieve.

The difference maybe today is that Ron still has a job in the wake of three lousy seasons because he finally figured it out while Bruce is out of  a job in the wake of three decent seasons followed by one underachieving season where his adjustment screwed up. It's a tough job to keep for a long period of time.

 

[bustaheims]

TSNBobMcKenzie: Three game suspension for MTL's Max Pacioretty.

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

The following year, they went 7 games against the Habs, losing by a goal in the 7th game, after outscoring the Habs and outshooting them by over 100 shots in the series. Halak stole it with a .938 save% for the series against a ferocious attack.

I think that's where things went wrong for Boudreau. He took that as a sign that his team needed to dramatically change the way that they were playing, when in reality they were just beat by a goalie who was playing like a man-possessed. Put any other goalie in the league in net for the Habs that year and they could have won the Cup.

I think you're at the very least a heck of a lot closer to right than wrong. That was a +85 powerhouse of a hockey club. No they weren't great defensively, in part because of the style they played. But there was an awful lot more right than wrong with that team.

So he shaves half a goal off their defence to shore it up but takes a goal per game off their offence doing so and they're that much less potent last year.

Wilson made a similar mistake in my opinion with his roster last year. Obviously, they weren't nearly as talented but their skill set was not suited to the defensive style he tried to implement to get optimum results. So they played pretty well defensively in the first month or two but so much was dedicated to that effort, they couldn't score. By the end of November, they're out of it. By January, Wilson gets some help and starts to show signs that he figured it out earning him a reprieve.

The difference maybe today is that Ron still has a job in the wake of three lousy seasons because he finally figured it out while Bruce is out of  a job in the wake of three decent seasons followed by one underachieving season where his adjustment screwed up. It's a tough job to keep for a long period of time.

I really think the bigger difference between Boudreau's situation and wilson's is less about figuring it out and more about the roster they've had to work with.  The leafs didn't.  The window for opportunity is so small ..you really can't afford washington to lose a year here with the talent they have..trying to find their way to the next level...where I feel that the leafs over the last few years could barely ice an nhl team...

 

[4th Liner]

@twinglis - #NHL games coached by division:
NE  - 4,347
CEN - 3,945
PAC - 2,489
ATL - 1,960
NW - 1,793
SE  -    174

I guess this means a South East Stanley Cup winner, eh? 

 

[4th Liner]

TSNBobMcKenzie: Three game suspension for MTL's Max Pacioretty.

Video: http://t.co/u6jmgqxQ

EDIT: It lines up with the suspension on MacArthur - pretty much the same type of play. Sounds right to me.

 

[Tigger]

I think this is one of those cases that a lot of Wilson's defenders will be horrified to see. There's no real reason to believe Hunter is a better coach than Boudreau but there's an argument to be made that just making the change is going to light a fire.

I guess I'm one of those who have defended him, though not a huge fan, I'm pretty far from horrified. Taken in context I can see why both teams made their moves where Wilson's  team is performing, improving and they're certainly not quitting on him with 80 man games lost to injury ( excuses ).