Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
I don’t know a single “Ward supporter” on this board. You are mistaking people who say a new/better coach won’t move the needle much, and also the times when people disagree with a particular criticism because they think it’s incorrect.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
Are there actually Ward supporters? I don't think there are.
I think there are people that believe the core of this team is the primary problem and there are people that believe the coaching is the primary problem, and there are people that believe both contribute in some manner.
But are there any actual Ward supporters?
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Okay even if this is true then why do these so called non supporters seem to defend him and say changing the coach isn’t part of the solution.
It’s not the only thing that needs to change but it’s clear he’s not the solution, and if he’s not part of the solution then he shouldn’t be coaching here. It’s that simple.
Going back to the offseason I thought there was three steps here and I still do.
1) Hire a proven coach and commit to him for 3 seasons to stabilize the coaching position (Preferably Boudreau IMO)
2) If a core move is available that makes sense in the offseason make that trade, if not don’t make a move for the sake of making a move until you see the players play with the new coach
3) Depending on the result of the season assess what players will work with Boudreau (or whoever the coach is) and his plan as the longer term coach of this team, move on the players that don’t fit in
That should have been the plan.
Instead we got a lame duck coach on a cheap 2 year deal who has no head coaching experience who was in over his head as an interim coach, and now that’s more clear then ever.
We have a group of players with even lower trade value because everyone looks like crap in this passive, defensive system. And nobody seems to be committing or believing what the coach is preaching.
And we have no real long term plan for the coach or the core of this team but who is part of the solution and who is part of the problem is more muddy then ever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
"Its the coaches fault"
"no it isnt...its the same players doing the same thing for the 6th year more or less under yet another guy"
"Apologistic Ward supporting pinko commie bastard......one more coach will make a difference and your crazy if you think otherwise"
CP discourse in a shortened version.
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It’s not quite the same thing though. This is way worse than under any of the previous coaches.
Under Hartley it was a young team that just wasn’t that good yet, they weren’t ready and the 14-15 season made false expectations.
Under Gulutzan they had some issues but overall all the underlying numbers were good and moving in the right direction. The problem then was a terrible shooting percentage and terrible goaltending. That team actually played good in the playoffs, but I think Elliott actually had one of the worst playoff performances from a goalie all time.
Under Peters the underlying advanced stats were still strong but the shooting percentage jumped up (especially to start the 18-19 season) but goaltending still wasn’t great.
Wards team is worse than all those things. The only reason the team even has an okay record is because the goaltending for him has been great (6th in the league in his time as coach) and the shooting percentage has been fine.
The underlying numbers and percentages have dropped off, the team is playing a less attractive style, and they look even less engaged than they did under any of the previous coaches.
So sure some of the signs are similar but Ward is getting even less out of this team than any coach before him, even though he’s getting elite goaltending that the previous coaches didn’t even get a sniff of