Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
This core had quit on just about every coach they have had, hard nose or not. Initial success followed up by disappointment. Hartley, GG, Peters, Ward all had this happen. Now pretty much everyone is gone from the Hartley era so maybe this trend starts to reverse. NHL coaches do seem to have extremely short shelf lives, but even shorter here.
|
I don't think they ever quit on Hartley or Peters tbh.
In the case of Hartley, it's complicated of course because of the previous year's success, but I remember that year. They had a tough start as Brodie was out and the Giordano-Hamilton pair was worse together than any pair we rolled in last year's Oilers series. And they basically fought league-worst goaltending the rest of the way. If Hartley wanted more out of that team, he probably needed to change the systems, not get more commitment to his.
Peters's second year was a rough start, sure, but a small sample size of middling play, and their best defenseman had declined from a calendar year prior. Peters wouldn't have been on the hot seat if not for the reasons we're all aware of.
And GG / Wards deserved to be quit on. Ward's systems were non-existent, and GG was a caricature who kept square-pegging things that weren't working all year long (and even then, the team probably makes the playoffs if not for injuries towards the end)