[News] Haynes - Slow Starts for New Coaches More Common Than You Think

[gallione11]

Good article from Haynes about the new coach effect.

http://www.flamesfrom80feet.ca/2016/...r-new-nhl.html

The Sullivan struggles extended even further.

After taking over behind the Penguins bench on December 12, his record in his first 17 games was a very pedestrian 6-7-4. But after close to six weeks on the job, the team turned the corner and over the final three months of the regular season, they went 27-9-1 under his guidance for a blazing .743 point percentage (defined as points achieved divided by points available).

Of course, Sullivan's counterpart in the Stanley Cup final, San Jose bench boss Peter De Boer, was also in his first year on the job.

Taking over prior to the season for longtime skipper Todd McClellan, the Sharks record on Remembrance Day was a very ho-hum 7-8-0. But similar to what happened in Pittsburgh, the team settled in under the new coach, became comfortable with the changes he introduced, and they went an impressive 39-22-6 over the remainder of the regular season.

While the Calgary Flames, considering the age of their key pieces, are nothing like the Sharks either, that's also not the point.

History shows that even when you inherit well-built, older, established teams with high-end talent, it still takes a while for it all to come together.

As I looked back at the NHL coaching changes that have happened the last few years, more than 75 percent of the time the team struggled at first, before things eventually clicked and away the team went.

It was difficult to identify a typical point for when that upwards trajectory hit. In the 13 cases below, that moment came somewhere between 12 and 22 games with the median being around the 18-game mark.

I spoke with defenceman Dougie Hamilton on Saturday and he admitted there is a transition going on right now.

"Say, fronting shots in front of the net instead of boxing out. Last year, you're used to just going to the net and looking at the D, now you're focusing on the box outs," said Hamilton, providing an example of a systematic change.


When you've been doing it one way for six months, it does take some time to unlearn the old way and for the new way to become natural. The result during such a transition is more thinking and less reacting.

"When it is a habit, you're doing it second nature instead of having to think, look where guys are and that goes for our whole game -- offensively as well, power play, everything," Hamilton said. "When everyone's familiar with each other and you have chemistry and everything just happens on the ice instead of having to think of where you're going, it's a lot easier."

The way the season has begun, it's inevitable that the team will turn the corner at some point and settle in. It can't get much worse, can it? There's just too much talent for them to continue playing this poorly. However, will it be three or four wins by that 18-game mark when things typically start to take a noticeable turn for the better, or can they somehow scratch out seven or eight wins by then?

The latter may be what's required to make the playoffs and while that sounds a tad optimistic, one thing I am far more certain of is playoffs or not, Gulutzan will still be this team's coach when the season ends.

After all, three hours up the highway, McClellan survived a pretty poor first year in Edmonton and now in his second go-round, the Oilers are looking much more comfortable and are rolling along with five wins in their first six games.

Patience isn't always rewarded and hey, there's no certainties in life, but there are enough case studies out there as noted that riding out the new-coach blahs will end up worth it in the end. Yes, even if you have to plug your nose and cover your eyes to get through October.

[Travis Munroe]

This article just bought 22 games from Gulutzan before I make a decision on whether or not he was the right hire.... Would be really nice if he only needs 7 of the 22 though!

[CroFlames]

Darren Haynes is a little bit of a Flames cheerleader, but not enough to make him partial or biased.

Having said that, he is a really good sports writer IMO.

Hopefully that article is a breath of fresh air for the CP community.

[Weitz]

I always thought for every team that gets the new coach "bump" (sharks, DeBoer) there are 2-3 teams that struggle with a new coach until things get sorted out.

[FlamesAddiction]

Occasionally mid-season replacements will see a team temporarily surge, but for the most part, I kind of assumed that a coaching change would see things get worse before they (hopefully) get better. I was resigned to the fact this season might be a slide in the rebuild the moment the coaching change was made.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Darren Haynes is a little bit of a Flames cheerleader, but not enough to make him partial or biased.

Having said that, he is a really good sports writer IMO.

Hopefully that article is a breath of fresh air for the CP community.

Agreed, I like Haynes style and approach.

[Flames_F.T.W]

He's definitely a "glass half full" guy, but I think this piece adds a little perspective, and that we should be a little more patient (not to say that our collective concerns aren't warranted)

[The Fonz]

Makes me feel a lot better. Then again, I always feel a lot better when I hear the team/media speak about their issues, only to feel a lot worse when they step on the ice and do exactly what they previously identified as being the issues.

[Firebot]

If it makes anyone feel better (or worse) Brent Sutter was 10-5 in his first 15 games with the Flames.

Bob Hartley was 5-7-3 in the first 15.

[TheIronMaiden]

The moral behind all this is that one member of an organization shouldn't receive all the blame for poor performances. Witch hunting is a lot like making excuses. When a team is playing badly, EVERYONE is to blame. Otherwise people who are part of the problem don't feel accountable. We have seen what happens to organisations that place all the blame on coaches, the players begin to feel entitled. So as difficult as it sounds, we might have to ride this one out for a while.

[Shazam]

Great now what am I supposed to do with this sharpened pitchfork?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Great now what am I supposed to do with this sharpened pitchfork?

Just keep it ready for the zombie apocalypse. It is coming.

[codynw]

Fire Haynes!

[belsarius]

It was pointed out that there was really one more year of a rebuild. After this season a lot of money comes off of the books and can be redistributed properly, players have another season of experience and the Flames window is 5 years with Johnny.

If Treliving knew he wasn't going to take Bob as the guy for the next phase of the team then it starts to make sense that he made the move this season knowing of this transition period to a new coach. It gives the players this whole season to learn the new system and start next year, Burke's run phase, already acclimatized to the new coach and systems. It's a plan for the long game, give them the year to be prepped for the real push seasons instead of having to waste a playoff year on learning a new coach.

Maybe I give him too much credit but if a reporter can see the trend with new coaches, then I hope a NHL GM can see that same trend and plan for it. Bob didn't deserve to be let go but in a 5-6 year outlook it makes sense why it was done.

[Bingo]

no coach can save a team that has it's best 5 or 6 players floundering.

Gaudreau, Monahan, Brodie, Giordano, Hamilton have all spluttered to start the season. That's what? 38M dollars of salary not playing up to snuff.

Like last week when we heard Gulutzan F-bombing the players for poor decisions on zone entries, it's largely performance based so far this season.

He's not coaching "hey guys lets make sure we take the puck into the most traffic possible. Oh and guys when the pucks loose make sure you turn the wrong way and let the opposite team collect it. And Gio ... lets get that stick up, we need more minor penalties buddy!"

[Strange Brew]

That article was a breath of fresh air and helpful. Still doesn't excuse the horrible training camp this team had.

I still find it inexplicable how all the top players are playing so poorly.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by Bingo

no coach can save a team that has it's best 5 or 6 players floundering.

Gaudreau, Monahan, Brodie, Giordano, Hamilton have all spluttered to start the season. That's what? 38M dollars of salary not playing up to snuff.

Like last week when we heard Gulutzan F-bombing the players for poor decisions on zone entries, it's largely performance based so far this season.

He's not coaching "hey guys lets make sure we take the puck into the most traffic possible. Oh and guys when the pucks loose make sure you turn the wrong way and let the opposite team collect it. And Gio ... lets get that stick up, we need more minor penalties buddy!"

Absolutely, but I think the spluttered start is because of the coaching/system change.

To me it looks like someone trying to learn to write with the wrong hand.

It's a slow process and takes a lot of relearning, too much thinking and not enough comfort and instinct. Hamilton had the same problem adapting to Hartley's system but finally caught on and had a decent year after he adapted. It looks like all of the "talent" is having the same problems, overthinking, over compensating and falling back into habit. This slows them down, causes bad passes, penalties and total system breakdowns. Except for Gio it is also all young guys having problems where guys who have been around the league and had to adapt to different systems are faring better.

When you have 2 guys falling back into Hartley's system and 3 guys trying to play the new system everything is going to look a mess. It has to be so frustrating for GG, but after reading about the normalcy of the problem it doesn't surprise me anymore. Game 20? Game 30? Who knows when but they will adapt. GG isn't getting fired anytime soon because he is the long term guy, no change by New Years might be different. Part of the stupid Oilers problem has been coach changes every year.

[nik-]

Struggling under a new coach is one thing. Looking like an absolute abomination is another. We haven't looked anything close like they're starting to get it yet and, as we know, early struggles can sink an entire season. There's no bonus points in the standings for a new coach.

I can accept that a new coach has some issues with a team. I'd be a lot more patient if they weren't running tryouts until the end of preseason in order to get people gelling as much as possible.

Even with accepting both of those, a blown season is still a blown season, and people can justifiably be angry about it.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by belsarius

Absolutely, but I think the spluttered start is because of the coaching/system change.

To me it looks like someone trying to learn to write with the wrong hand.

It's a slow process and takes a lot of relearning, too much thinking and not enough comfort and instinct. Hamilton had the same problem adapting to Hartley's system but finally caught on and had a decent year after he adapted. It looks like all of the "talent" is having the same problems, overthinking, over compensating and falling back into habit. This slows them down, causes bad passes, penalties and total system breakdowns. Except for Gio it is also all young guys having problems where guys who have been around the league and had to adapt to different systems are faring better.

When you have 2 guys falling back into Hartley's system and 3 guys trying to play the new system everything is going to look a mess. It has to be so frustrating for GG, but after reading about the normalcy of the problem it doesn't surprise me anymore. Game 20? Game 30? Who knows when but they will adapt. GG isn't getting fired anytime soon because he is the long term guy, no change by New Years might be different. Part of the stupid Oilers problem has been coach changes every year.

You may indeed be right, or Bingo may indeed be right.

In the end, it is difficult to judge exactly what is going on just after 6 games. If this is continuing to happen after 20 games, I will start to agree more with you than with Bingo. Right now, we just have to give everyone that benefit of the doubt that this is just a 'transition', and though we all would have liked for it to happen much faster, it is just taking its' course.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Bingo

no coach can save a team that has it's best 5 or 6 players floundering.

Gaudreau, Monahan, Brodie, Giordano, Hamilton have all spluttered to start the season. That's what? 38M dollars of salary not playing up to snuff.

Like last week when we heard Gulutzan F-bombing the players for poor decisions on zone entries, it's largely performance based so far this season.

He's not coaching "hey guys lets make sure we take the puck into the most traffic possible. Oh and guys when the pucks loose make sure you turn the wrong way and let the opposite team collect it. And Gio ... lets get that stick up, we need more minor penalties buddy!"

Isn't that just the same as saying that we are losing because we let more goals than we score?

It kind of goes without saying that teams do poorly when their best players perform poorly and they win when their best players do well.

The real question is why are the Flames top players performing poorly.

Maybe it's on them, or maybe it isn't. Until someone can point to something, it's anyone's guess.