Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
That's fine, I take the opposite approach. I don't think a new coach changes much nor do I think a new coach masks this team's real problems.
I remember seeing Jets fans calling for a new coach after Paul Maurice failed to find much success for the last 4-5 years. Now they're a top 5 team with the same coaching staff and basically the same roster.
Oiler fans swore that Eakins was the worst coach of all time and that hiring a "good" coach in Todd McLellan would change things around. The next season they finish 29th, an even worse ranking and they had Connor McDavid as well.
Or how about the great Mike Babcock who finished dead last in 30th despite all the Stanley Cups and finals appearances. Same deal with Claude Julien, terrible now in Montreal after the great run with Boston who by the way, are dominant now with out him. Just tons of examples of how coaching doesn't do much. Others can disagree, but I've already heard all the counter arguments here and I haven't been converted.
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This is where we disagree. I don't expect Gulutzan to mask their problems, I expect him to foster growth of their strengths AND try to mitigate problems from their weaknesses. Simple positive moves like Hamilton to the first PP were very beneficial and took forever to be tried. Brodie struggles moving from left D to right D, but Gulutzan continues to expose that weakness instead of foster the strength Brodie showed playing on he right side. Utilizing Troy Brower on the PP exposes a weakness, instead of fostering the strength of a player like Tkachuk. How long did it take Gulutzan to put Tkachuk on the first unit PP? How the heck is Brouwer still anywhere near our pp?
Further, I don't think showing a bad season from Babcock, during a rebuild year where his goal was not to win, but to foster proper habits in players, proves anything. He has won everywhere he has been. He is a good coach and affects the quality of his team's play.