A Deeper Look at Dave Tippett - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

MisterJoji · 03-30-2018, 09:58 PM

Branching off of the Gulutzan's replacement thread, Tippett is rumoured to have a legitimate chance of being the next Flames head coach. The reaction to this has been mostly negative with people worrying about the implementation of boring, trap, defensive first system as he has rumoured to have in the past. But is this true?

Let's look at his first few years with the Dallas Stars. In 6 seasons in Dallas, the Stars made the playoffs for his first 5 years on the job. (3 trips to the first round, 1 trip to the second round and 1 trip to the Conference Finals) In those 5 seasons, Dallas never finished worse than 6th and had a President's Trophy season and one where Dallas was 2nd. Pretty nice pedigree, a hell of a lot more than Gulutzan has. Looking at his teams GA is sparklingly good. Never worse than 4th in the Conference with 2 seasons at the top of the GA category. But so what, he has the reputation as a D first coach. When you look at his teams GF, the results are actually not bad. Of the 5 seasons they made the playoffs, in 2 they were middle of the pack (9th) and in the other 3 seasons they were better than average (2nd, 4th & 5th). Thats respectable offence. In those years the Stars had some good offensive players. Modano, Guerin, Arnott, Zubov, Morrow, Jokinen, etc. He was able to get good offence out of good players.

Moving on to Phoenix. They made the playoffs his first 3 seasons there, including a trip to the Conference Finals in 2011/2012. The teams never place lower than 6th and had 2 playoff seasons with home ice advantage. This was again done on the back of sparkling D. GA ranked 1st, 5th and 5th those years, however those teams weren't exactly devoid of offence either, more middle of the pack (9th, 8th and 6th). Again, not the ultra-low scoring teams as rumoured. He was still able to get respectable offence from a much less talented roster compared to the Stars. When guys like Shane Doan, Matt Lombardi, Vrbata, Whitney, Yandle, etc. are able to produce an, at worst, average offence, he's doing something right. We have a >ppg winger, 30+ goal/60+ point centerman, 2 more 20+ goal scoring wingers and 2 (soon to be) 40+ point defensemen. I find it hard to believe that Tippett couldn't get at least Phoenix like average scoring out of this group, but more likely a top 5 team, given what he was able to get with a more talented Stars team. Not 12th in the Conference as the Flames currently sit.

I'm not deeply delving into his last few seasons in Phoenix for a few reasons, first of all, Scotty Bowman wouldn't have been able to get those teams to the playoffs and second, I'm tired. But I will say in his last 5 seasons coaching there, aside from a 15th and 13th place finishes in GF, the team was still at least average for 3 more seasons (7th, 8th and 8th).

That's 12/15 seasons coached where his teams were in the top half of the Conference in team total goals-for. Not exactly devoid of offence huh?. One last quote from Hall-of-famer Mike Modano re: Tippett. "Being around him for so long and hearing his philosophy of the game and how it's played, I can tell you he loves nothing more than a skilled player."

If you ask me, Tippett is still a vastly superior coach to Gulutzan and would have the team achieving way more success than it has under the current head coach.

The Boy Wonder · 03-30-2018, 10:07 PM

As long as don Maloney is on the flames staff it’s highly doubtful Tippett signs here

getbak · 03-30-2018, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

As long as don Maloney is on the flames staff it’s highly doubtful Tippett signs here

Why? Did they have some sort of falling out I don't remember?

Maloney is the one who hired Tippett in Phoenix, and Chayka is the one who fired him.

ForeverFlameFan · 03-30-2018, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

As long as don Maloney is on the flames staff it’s highly doubtful Tippett signs here

Why? Maloney shouldn't play any effect into the head coaching decision. He's not the GM.

browna · 03-30-2018, 11:14 PM

Dp

browna · 03-30-2018, 11:15 PM

Tippett appears to have won some sort of internal power struggle with the owners at the time, Maloney got fired and Tippett got extended for 5 years that same day, and a title added to his name and more authority.

Presumably Treliving is on Maloney’s side, to have him come here.

https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1323331

Toonage · 03-30-2018, 11:18 PM

That title. Ew.

Also while Maloney is a "pro scout" you can be sure he acts as a consultant to Treliving.

Psytic · 03-30-2018, 11:31 PM

He is better than GG but thats not the complaint. The complaint is is he better than the alternatives that will be available. I don't think so. I don't want any more Phoenix Good Old Boys near this team.

direwolf · 03-31-2018, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psytic

He is better than GG but thats not the complaint. The complaint is is he better than the alternatives that will be available. I don't think so. I don't want any more Phoenix Good Old Boys near this team.

I'd be perfectly happy if they brought in Tippett. The guy's resume is pretty damn solid, and as the OP pointed out, he was dealing with some dreadful teams in Phoenix during his last couple of years there and no coach on earth would have gotten them into the playoffs at that time.

That being said, my first choice would probably be either Sutter or Quenneville. If you can't get those guys, then talk to Tippett or maybe Trotz.

Calgary4LIfe · 03-31-2018, 12:11 AM

I would be happy with a coach like Tippett.

I just don't think that any GM - Treliving in particular - would be too keen on hiring a coach who was rumored to be in some power-struggle with his former GM and won.

The only other drawback with Tippett as far as I can tell is his rumored dislike of playing rookies. Now, this seems to be the case for practically every NHL coach not tied to the Edmonton Oilers, and is probably something that is overblown, but the fanbase in Arizona felt he was particularly distrustful of rookies on his team. AV has the same reputation (but in my opinion, it seems every coach in the NHL has the same 'issue' - rookies make mistakes more often, and only when they 'prove' themselves should they be given more ice - the issue is what makes a rookie prove himself? To a fanbase it may be one thing, to a coach, it may be another).

saXon · 03-31-2018, 02:07 AM

You want boring, uninspired, low scoring hockey...then hire Tippett. Nothing from him coaching in the desert has ever shown me otherwise.

Pointman · 03-31-2018, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I would be happy with a coach like Tippett.

I just don't think that any GM - Treliving in particular - would be too keen on hiring a coach who was rumored to be in some power-struggle with his former GM and won.

Kings did it with Sutter, who had previously supplanted Button in Calgary.

nik- · 03-31-2018, 06:20 AM

If the Flames hire Tippett, I'll be convinced they're running a social experiment.

"How much terribly boring hockey will this market take?"

Mitt31 · 03-31-2018, 06:56 AM

With this current core of players and especially heavy on young talented D, Tippets style of hockey might just work....

These guys work off the transition this season and almost played trap hockey anyways...

I have never been to the Dome, but am pretty sure right now people who pay for the tickets there don't really care as long as the team wins.

iamca · 03-31-2018, 07:16 AM

Hmm, I don't think anyone wants boring hockey and I know I definitely do not.... Had enough of it with GG.

BT's position as GM should be on the line as he orchestrated this roster and since he brought in GG.

If he brings in Tippett and they still miss the playoffs, he should be out of a job. Of course the organization seems to be accepting of mediocrity, so it may explain why others have avoided joining this franchise in the last ~15 years.

Food for thought:.
http://arizonasports.com/story/11563...-dave-tippett/

belsarius · 03-31-2018, 07:27 AM

I have to laugh at people who complain about Tippett bringing boring hockey and then wanting Sutter. Yes Sutter is a winner, but his teams are boring and devoid of offense. Tippett at least knows how to get the goals out of his teams and while he doesn’t have the cups, those LA teams were stacked and still in the lower half of the league in GF under Sutter. What they did have was the best GA in the league. It boggles my mind that people complain about low scoring GG but want the guy who lives by the mantra of winning every game 2-1.

Sutter is a winner, no doubt. But honestly after this season I could use some excitement in my hockey and I think Tippett could bring that. He was he guy I wanted instead of Brent. Arizona has been a gong show for years but he stuck through it and did the best he could like a pro. The flames have some high end talent, he know how to coach talent. The Flames have some pretty average to bad bottom guys. He knows how to get the most out of those guys too. I don’t care about the Phoenix connection, I think he would be a good fit.

TOfan · 03-31-2018, 07:51 AM

Friedman talked about this on the fan a couple weeks back; tipped is close with Canes new owner Tom Dundan. Bill peter's is in the last year of deal with the Canes. Treliving & Peters have a history having worked on the world championship team two (three?) years ago.

If Peters is available, I think he is certainly on the Flames radar.

dissentowner · 03-31-2018, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saXon

You want boring, uninspired, low scoring hockey...then hire Tippett. Nothing from him coaching in the desert has ever shown me otherwise.

This. When Tippett was cutting his teeth in Dallas he had pretty offensive teams and did not implement any actual system. As time went on he developed his boring brand of hockey and the Stars struggled given their talent level and cut ties with him. Once he got to Phoenix he constantly stifled young players who had promising offensive talent and as the Yotes continued to draft good young exciting talent they continued to wallow with him at the helm. Much like some say if GG is retained they will take some time off from the team I feel the same way if they hire Tippett. If you think Gully hockey is boring you have not seen anything yet, this guy will turn Gaudreau into a 50 point player.

dissentowner · 03-31-2018, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by belsarius

I have to laugh at people who complain about Tippett bringing boring hockey and then wanting Sutter. Yes Sutter is a winner, but his teams are boring and devoid of offense. Tippett at least knows how to get the goals out of his teams and while he doesn’t have the cups, those LA teams were stacked and still in the lower half of the league in GF under Sutter. What they did have was the best GA in the league. It boggles my mind that people complain about low scoring GG but want the guy who lives by the mantra of winning every game 2-1.

Everything you just said about Sutter with the exception of winning is Dave Tippett to a tee. You say you want exciting hockey and then go to bat for Tippett? That is hilarious!

belsarius · 03-31-2018, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Everything you just said about Sutter with the exception of winning is Dave Tippett to a tee. You say you want exciting hockey and then go to bat for Tippett? That is hilarious!

Maybe with a crappy Phx team, but go look at what he did in Dallas. How many seasons has Sutter had over 110 points? Dave Tippett teams actually have ppg players. Sutter took a 90 point Iginla and turned him into a 70 point player. Did the same thing with Kopitar. I know recency plays a big role in how Tippett is viewed but before being saddled with a dud lineup he coached a balanced style.