Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild GM
Here is why I defend him
- I largely view a lot of the criticism to be based on anecdotal evidence, hearsay and narratives that are poorly supported but people have just chosen to believe.
- As an extension of this, I view this to be a witch hunt and scape goatism. I’m not a fan of that. It reminds a lot of what happened to Playfair who I viewed as a good coach not given a fair shake
- I think that coaches get too much blame overall. I’m of the view that it is on the players to execute. Coaches are the easy one to blame so they take it
- I value stability within key roles and think that teams that are changing coaches and GMs constantly suffer because of it. The Flames included.
- I think there are some fair criticisms of GG, namely player usage and inability to figure out, with his ACs special teams, which are vital to success in the NHL now. I’m not disagreeing on those points
- I really get frustrated when people slam a coach over things like facial expressions, looking down on the bench, etc. I think all of that is unfair.
- Overall in my view I see a team that generally has outplayed other teams most nights, and the underlying metrics support this. Their inability to finish though is both a combination of bad luck, and lack of skill within the forwards. Neither I can blame GG for. The team SHOULD be better than its record based on the metrics and eye test
- That being said, I also don’t think the team is distinctly more talented than most other teams. The Smith injury has set them back, but in general they are tracking to finish close to where I thought they would
Those are all my opinions, and what I struggle with is how the other side gets so upset or can’t even grasp that someone may not share the view that GG is the primary cause of the performance. Both sides have fair points to make.
In my view if they miss the playoffs you have to evaluate the coach, but you also need to evaluate the make up of the team and the roster. Dumping the coach while not addressing the clear gaps in the line up would be foolish.
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That's pretty much me.
I cringed under Hartley because the system relied so much on getting dominated that you almost felt "dirty" after every win, and those wins largely came in one season.
I like puck possession teams, and I like a team that generally outplays the opposition and we've been seeing that in the last 14 months.
However the special teams have been a mess, and he's ultimately the guy that can put a stop to that if a Dave Cameron isn't getting it done. Bad luck happens but not swapping sides for shooters or including Hamilton was insane.
I don't like his fourth line usage ... terrible times of the game. The third pairing used to be the same, but they improved the third pairing so it's less of an issue.
I really don't understand dressing Glass last night.
The big thing now though is culture, leadership and fragility.
The only way to fix those things is to move out your core, or add a leader. The leader can't be a fourth line player so it may have to come from a coaching change, and I get that.
But I'm with you; loser organizations hire and fire GMs and coaches too frequently.