I would say Gulutzan should get some credit for the top 2 lines working so well. His system relies more on puck support and passing than, say, speed. The guys that do well are two-way players with IQ and good passing, and it helps cover for guys who are not that fast. So guys that do well are the ones you'd expect; Monahan, 3M, Jankowski and Jagr. It also helps Gaudreau as he constantly has other guys close to help him with board scrums.
Gulutzan is not a terrible coach who is completely clueless about the team he has. But I don't think he's good enough.
Good two-way players with high hockey IQ and a good work ethic will do well under most systems. It really doesn't say that much about the coaching.
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Originally Posted by Wild GM
Wouldn’t Backlund and Ferland be at least two guys who have improved under GG. Arguably Johnny and Monahan too if they sustain their pace. Tkachuk has also thrived but there was no pre gg baseline to compare against
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Not sure Backlund has really improved that much, he hit 21 goals and 47 points and was the best two-way player on the team under Hartley. Going from 47 to 53 points can be attributed to having his left wing upgraded from Bennett to Tkachuk, plus the extra experience and confidence success brings.