Dear Mike Babcock... - Page 5 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Schmidtyboosh · 02-19-2010, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace Handy

I know we're all Iginla fans here. But IMHO this goes way past the benching of Jarome. Canada was out-coached last night. The Swiss played their system perfectly and our coaching staff either refused to or didn't adjust. The Shark line may have had two goals, but with the amount of ice time they had, they should have had more. Getzlaf was skating around like he was in a freakin' all-star game, yet was out every second shift. The Swiss played amazing, and I'm not saying we should have won 8-0 nothing, but we were lucky to come out of that game with two points.

Well said! Why wasn't Babcock splitting up Getzlaf/Perry/Staal? They did nothing last night. Iggy SHOULD be on the top line. Out of the 3 wingers and Crosby and Nash have had (Bergeron, Toews, Iggy), he has BY FAR been the best. He had a few bad shifts last night, but that doesn't justify sitting ONLY HIM, when how many other players played worse than he did?

questionmotives · 02-19-2010, 12:53 PM

Destiny doesn't take Iginla off the top line.

d_phaneuf · 02-19-2010, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

LOL

Prove it. His record doesn't.

Which is it? Is Babcock a great coach, or was this decision made by some other "GREAT" coach on the staff?

Prove Babcock is a great coach? really? thats not hard

CGY12 · 02-19-2010, 01:04 PM

I don't know why people are talking about this guys NHL track record. The Olympics and international tournaments all together are vastly different than what the NHL has to offer. He may be a great coach in the NHL but internationally show me what he has done? Strategy and bench management are MUCH more important in a elimination tournament then a 82 regular game season.

kipperfan · 02-19-2010, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Prove Babcock is a great coach? really? thats not hard

Cop out. So you're telling me every coach who has ever won a Stanley Cup was a great coach? What a giant load of BS.

the_professsor · 02-19-2010, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Mike Keenan was in year 9.

ya and then he had 11 more years. so give babcock 13 more years, see how many cups and finals appearances he has before u make comparisons

Pastiche · 02-19-2010, 01:10 PM

I have another great idea. Lets keep throwing Getzlaf out there until he starts trying.

d_phaneuf · 02-19-2010, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kipperfan

Cop out. So you're telling me every coach who has ever won a Stanley Cup was a great coach? What a giant load of BS.

most of them are I would say, or were when they won the cup

and Babcock won the cup not too long ago, and took his team to the finals the next year as well

is there a reason why you don't think he is a good coach outside of him not playing Iginla a lot?

Resolute 14 · 02-19-2010, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

is there a reason why you don't think he is a good coach outside of him not playing Iginla a lot?

FWIW, while we focus on Iginla, quite naturally, a couple other good scorers were stapled to the bench in favour of Nash, Thornton and Toews, all of whom were borderline useless for large stretches of that game.

People are venting, and given Babcock's incredibly poor job managing the bench last night, he is rightly earning the wrath of people. We'll see how he, and the team, adapts against the US.

CGY12 · 02-19-2010, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

most of them are I would say, or were when they won the cup

and Babcock won the cup not too long ago, and took his team to the finals the next year as well

is there a reason why you don't think he is a good coach outside of him not playing Iginla a lot?

I don't think he is a bad coach per say. I think right now he is showing his inexperience in international play. Just because you see success at the NHL level, it doesn't necessarily mean it will translate into success in this kind of format. I understand Babcock has his own "horses" that he wants to ride more than others but in a such a short tournament if that player isn't playing well at the moment you can't continue to ride him. You got to go with who is bringing it. Last night the 2nd line (Staal, Getzlaf, Perry) were nowhere to be seen and they continued to see a regular shift, where as Morrow and Richards were playing their a$$ off and bringing the intensity/physicality yet they were glued to the bench. You can rest a sure that if he continues to do that the entire nation will be disappointed because if the opposition wasn't the Swiss and it was a legit hockey power the game would have been long over before shootout. Now we can all wait and see if he does adjust and that will ultimately decide how great a coach he truly is in this competition.

Flash Walken · 02-19-2010, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

I have another great idea. Lets keep throwing Getzlaf out there until he starts trying.

I am so unsurprised by his lack of efficiency, but I didn't expect this apparent lack of 'go' from him. I just thought he was injured and that Canada was ######ed for playing him.

Whatever McGuire says about him talking on the bench, he demonstrates on the ice that his brain is not in it. I don't understand how Iginla rides the pine while Getzlaf skates around like he isn't wearing equipment.

Knut · 02-19-2010, 01:45 PM

I think the biggest thing that was apparent last night in the third period was that the pretty plays were not getting it done. You needed to score with a bang and crash style goal. Iginla- Richards - Morrow would have been the perfect line for that. I am not upset that Iggy was taken off the top line, but that that line was not given more of a chance to get a garbage goal in. The one shift they had at the 10 minute mark of the third was a hard-nosed gritty shift that had a few scoring chances. Put them out there again to wear down the Swiss D.

kevman · 02-19-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Based on age, play this season... I would say Iginla is in the mix with Morrow and Bergeron for the #11-13 spots, and Bergeron is the designated face-off guy...

Iginla 57 pts in 62 gms
Nash 57 pts in 63 gms
Perry 59 pts in 62 gms
Toews 49 pts in 55 gms
Richards 46 pts in 60 gms

Just curious, based on this seasons play, why are all the other guys so far ahead of Iginila on the depth chart?

I get it that it's the in thing to do to hate on Iginla but, rosed colour glasses or not, he was far from the worst player on the ice last night!

CGY12 · 02-19-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

You guys are acting as if this is 1984 and Babcock benched Gretzky. Good lord, have some perspective. For all we know, Iginla is the 13th forward on the depth chart, notwithstanding the awesome display against Fort Worth...errr... Norway. Based on age, play this season... I would say Iginla is in the mix with Morrow and Bergeron for the #11-13 spots, and Bergeron is the designated face-off guy...
I think it's a much bigger deal that Lidstrom was getting minimal ice-time for the Swedes - was he benched?

I wish their was a thumbs down option.

Ark2 · 02-19-2010, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Oh please. Babcock is an amazing coach, and was an amazing coach in Anaheim prior to Detroit.

Let's not get carried away here. He was only in Anaheim for 2 seasons. Yes he deserves credit for what they did during his first year, but most of the success can be pinned on the superhuman performance by Giggy.

Azure · 02-19-2010, 03:07 PM

LOL.

Babcock is hilarious.

"I told Iginla when he arrived in Vancouver that we need him to play the body and a physical game. We really don't need him to score goals. It just so happened that tonight he did."

Oh really?

I recall a shift in the 3rd period where Iginla/Richards/Morrow were on the ice, and that is exactly what they did. Hit, cycled the puck, hit some more, cycled the puck some more, got a couple scoring chances, hit some more, cycled the puck some more, provided some energy, hit some more and got a couple more scoring chances.

I also recall that when they came back to the bench after THAT shift, all 3 were benched for the rest of the game.

So tell me again how smart Babcock is.

Come on, I dare you.

Azure · 02-19-2010, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

You guys are acting as if this is 1984 and Babcock benched Gretzky. Good lord, have some perspective. For all we know, Iginla is the 13th forward on the depth chart, notwithstanding the awesome display against Fort Worth...errr... Norway. Based on age, play this season... I would say Iginla is in the mix with Morrow and Bergeron for the #11-13 spots, and Bergeron is the designated face-off guy...
I think it's a much bigger deal that Lidstrom was getting minimal ice-time for the Swedes - was he benched?

Iginla is the 13th forward?

Thats your problem right there.

VladtheImpaler · 02-19-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevman

Iginla 57 pts in 62 gms
Nash 57 pts in 63 gms
Perry 59 pts in 62 gms
Toews 49 pts in 55 gms
Richards 46 pts in 60 gms

Just curious, based on this seasons play, why are all the other guys so far ahead of Iginila on the depth chart?

I get it that it's the in thing to do to hate on Iginla but, rosed colour glasses or not, he was far from the worst player on the ice last night!

I know, he is a Flame and he is the best. Just keep repeating that. The other guys are all younger and only getting better - I'm not telling you that's how I rank them, but where I think Yzerman & Co. rank them.

Ren · 02-19-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I know, he is a Flame and he is the best. Just keep repeating that. The other guys are all younger and only getting better

Which is completely irrelevant when you're talking about building a team to play right now. If this tournament were taking place over the span of the next 10 years then you may have a point here.

Ark2 · 02-19-2010, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I know, he is a Flame and he is the best. Just keep repeating that. The other guys are all younger and only getting better - I'm not telling you that's how I rank them, but where I think Yzerman & Co. rank them.

What? People keep saying that Iginla is not getting the ice time because of his regular season numbers, but when it is pointed out that his numbers are on par with nearly half of the forwards, then it becomes an issue of youth? I think the Team Canada brass made their minds up back in November on how this team would look and they are too proud now to admit they are wrong.

If you look at Nash and Iginla this season, both are having similar seasons, however Iginla has undoubtedly been the better player during this short tournament. Yet, Nash is somehow a staple on the first line and Iginla is a spare part without a purpose. Makes perfect sense to me