[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

No doubt Jagr has a terrific work ethic when it comes to fitness, but I think the criticism is that he may not be committed to staying within the hockey system GG has instituted. I think the concern is (which I share), that he is looking to pad his individual stats, and perhaps not play the 5 man system that would be crucial to Flames team success.

Not sure if it is an entirely fair concern, but perhaps Cali can again provide some insight as to the systems in Florida. I would suspect last year was basically a gong show with Rowe, but perhaps the Gallant system is similar to what the Flames use? I really don't know.

Hey all,

Sorry, I've been locked down in faculty meetings for this entire week, so I'm catching up to some questions.

I'll start with the question from Toonage (I think) who asked about Jagr's playoff time. Someone else posted the he still got plenty of minutes, but I noticed that the entire line was neutralized pretty well by the Islanders defenders (one of which was Hamonic who did yeoman's work, the other very effective defenseman for them was Boychuk). Tavares was also a beast in that series, and played against Barkov quite a bit, doing a good job of limiting his chances. However, the Barkov line (Jagr included) still managed to create some offensive chances, but when they did, Greiss stood on his head and shut it down. Greiss, Tavares, and the defense really carried the Isles in that round, and I don't put much stock in the lack of production from Jagr or that line.

As for the Panther's systems: Under Gallant, Jagr had no problem with his responsibilities defensively, although the responsibilities of wingers is somewhat limited, but they often covered for pinching defensemen (Brian Campbell, Aaron Ekblad) at the back of the offensive zone and the neutral zone. They would also move down the to the half wall defensively when necessary in order to help strip the puck from attacking forwards. In rare cases, they needed to protect the high slot from dangerous shots.

Gallant's system focused on the defensive zone in excruciating detail, but he was also a solid offensive strategist. He relied on defensemen to help move the puck up-ice and often carry it into the offensive zone if their skills dictated it. But he also would dump and chase and then work a cycle offensively if that's all that was available. The team wasn't a Corsi darling under him or anything, but they still managed to control the puck often when they were playing the system well. Quick transitions led to career years for players like Smith, who can score off the rush. In the end, the team was very good defensively, decent offensively, but tended to struggle on special teams, largely because they weren't as experienced as other teams.

Gallant was also a great players coach, and yet was a tough enough task master to get the team to play the system effectively. He has an ability to make sure guys feel like they're contributing, even if it's only as a 4th liner. He also tailors his approach depending on the player, and often earns their trust without much trouble. He's going to be very good for Vegas.

Gallant was fired because he didn't line up his gameplan with the advanced analytics guys, and when the results weren't there right away (to be expected when you overhaul the lineup as much as they did) they canned him based on his unwillingness to adapt his system to the players they brought in. It was a total failure of job specification, as the analytics guys were basically trying to coach as well as do their job.

There had been whispers of friction between Gallant and the front office over the latter’s emphasis on advanced analytics, which dictated some of the controversial offseason moves such as trading rugged defenseman Erik Gudbranson to the Vancouver Canucks for unproven 20-year-old forward Jared McCann, now in the minors.

“There was definitely a philosophical divide and conflict,” Rowe added, referring to analytics. “We wanted to develop a fast team, move the puck quickly and attack the net, and pressure the puck in all three zones. Gerard wanted a little more size. We decided to go in a different direction. Were we on the same page every day? No. Our philosophies were different and did weigh into the decision that was tough to make.”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/f...128-story.html

Not that I was super fond of Gudbranson, but he's clearly better than a minor league level forward. That was just one of many moves that made the team smaller, weaker, and less defensively focused. That's the major reason why the team sucked last year. They were definitely a bit more mobile and a bit more quick, but not so much that they could overwhelm the opposition. Rowe definitely WAS a bad coach, but that's more likely because he wasn't very detail focused and made very few tweaks to the system or playing style. Mostly, the team struggled to exit their zone, and that's largely because Rowe's system didn't generate any speed out of the zone or through the neutral zone. Pretty easy to defend when you have to dump and chase all game. Jagr had enough skill and brains to create offense despite that joke of a system.

“We want to go into more of an area zone coverage type system,” Rowe said. “We don’t think we need to make a ton [of changes] right now. We will as time goes on. Defensively, we want to fix that area first.

So, a super-passive defensive zone system similar to Hartley. We all know how well that worked out. If Jagr deviated from the system, it's because there wasn't much of a system under Rowe, and it became a very loose playing style. His hockey IQ allowed him to fulfill his responsibilities defensively, and then go on the attack in his own fashion, often being the only really effective offensive player besides Trocheck, and Barkov/Huberdeau when they were healthy.

Hope that helps.