No Place But Up

[Nuxfanabroad]

At least now we know blatant goonery might be going the way of the dodo. Perhaps skill, speed & dedication will again be annually rewarded-so there's something truly worth striving for.

It's nice to have Linden back in the fold; & some good kids to enjoy watching(hopefully) develop. Our AHL team should also provide good entertainment in the coming seasons.

Gotta get back to simply enjoying the game, & how it should be played. Be patient(a yr or two) for results.

[Mathew Barzal]

At least now we know blatant goonery might be going the way of the dodo. Perhaps skill, speed & dedication will again be annually rewarded-so there's something truly worth striving for.

It's nice to have Linden back in the fold; & some good kids to enjoy watching(hopefully) develop. Our AHL team should also provide good entertainment in the coming seasons.

Gotta get back to simply enjoying the game, & how it should be played. Be patient(a yr or two) for results.

Yeah, I seriously hope Linden is watching this year's playoffs. Not even the greatest of defensive teams can handle hyper offensive speed and skill. It just becomes overwhelming. We need to infuse youth and get back to counter rush offense.

[JeremyCuddles]

Yeah, I seriously hope Linden is watching this year's playoffs. Not even the greatest of defensive teams can handle hyper offensive speed and skill. It just becomes overwhelming. We need to infuse youth and get back to counter rush offense.

You mean like, Edmonton?

[DefCon1]

Yeah, I seriously hope Linden is watching this year's playoffs. Not even the greatest of defensive teams can handle hyper offensive speed and skill. It just becomes overwhelming. We need to infuse youth and get back to counter rush offense.

We need everything in order to win the cup. Great offense, great defense, great goaltending and some toughness and grit.

[hockeyfan87]

To be fair, it seems that the Sedins wanted a bigger role to prove themselves and it backfired on them. AV had them pegged on the bench during the PK and it was the right decision.

That being said, he (AV) misplayed Kassian very badly and how he handled players like Grabner and Ballard were very questionable, particularly the latter.

AV did a good job for the most part in running a team and I have come to my senses on that. He's not that bad of a coach. But he wouldn't have fixed this year's problems.

Tortorella similarly isn't a bad coach but the team itself wasn't designed with Torts game style in mind.

I agree Tortorella wasn't the right hire for this team given the style his teams have played and the skillset of this roster. However I think J.R. raises a decent point that the best coaches are the ones who are flexible and adaptable to the players they have.

When the Sedins were just emerging as potential first line players AV executed a defensive system in '07 and it was enough to get us past the Stars eventually losing to the Cup champs. When the team matured and changed so did his coaching style and for a couple years we led the league in scoring and were one of the top PP teams. AV demonstrated that he was able to put his personal preferences aside and do what was best to give his team the best chance to win games, something Tortorella has not proven.

Fast forward to this year and I, like everyone else, is amazed by what AV has done with New York. They started the year on an awful road trip in California and despite that they are now in the Eastern Conference Final with a real shot at the Stanley Cup. He took a player many considered to be a buyout candidate last year in Brad Richards and has turned him into once again a difference maker.

The bottom line is that the best coaches adapt and use what they are given to the maximum extent. Coaches like AV, Babcock, Quenville throughout their careers have had success with both star studded lineups and bare bone teams. In contrast coaches like Hitchcock and Tortorella while having success have demonstrated that regardless of what team they are coaching and what year it is they are determined to play the same style no matter what.

[Dazzle]

I agree Tortorella wasn't the right hire for this team given the style his teams have played and the skillset of this roster. However I think J.R. raises a decent point that the best coaches are the ones who are flexible and adaptable to the players they have.

When the Sedins were just emerging as potential first line players AV executed a defensive system in '07 and it was enough to get us past the Stars eventually losing to the Cup champs. When the team matured and changed so did his coaching style and for a couple years we led the league in scoring and were one of the top PP teams. AV demonstrated that he was able to put his personal preferences aside and do what was best to give his team the best chance to win games, something Tortorella has not proven.

Fast forward to this year and I, like everyone else, is amazed by what AV has done with New York. They started the year on an awful road trip in California and despite that they are now in the Eastern Conference Final with a real shot at the Stanley Cup. He took a player many considered to be a buyout candidate last year in Brad Richards and has turned him into once again a difference maker.

The bottom line is that the best coaches adapt and use what they are given to the maximum extent. Coaches like AV, Babcock, Quenville throughout their careers have had success with both star studded lineups and bare bone teams. In contrast coaches like Hitchcock and Tortorella while having success have demonstrated that regardless of what team they are coaching and what year it is they are determined to play the same style no matter what.

Torts had a great early season. Players were showing signs of rejuvenation, namely Kesler. Sedins weren't playing that bad either (but not good), yet there wasn't an urgency for them to produce at that time. The team was winning and players like Kassian were showing their stride.

When January came, that's when everything went downhill. The Handzus incident was just unlucky. We also had a lot of unlucky goals went in, mostly off Edler and/or because of Edler. Basically, it was a PK whenever he was on the ice - and our PK, at first started out okay, then ended up crashing.

It is partially Torts' fault for this season, especially with how he handled Luongo. But most of it was Gillis' fault. The team WAS stale. All that could be exhausted from the team was already shown on the ice.

[Ben Kenobi]

AV's shown that the problem wasn't him. You can be as flexible as you want, but when your top line puts up 112 points combined, you aren't going to win many games in the modern NHL.

[Ben Kenobi]

The team will only start to improve when we start keeping our prospects instead of trading them all away. Every prospect in the system that has been brought up is gone, and we wonder why the team was 30th in offense last season. It's not hard to see.

Dump the Sedins, play the kids. Have a great and fun season. Let them learn without the pressure of having to make the playoffs. That's the way forward.

If the Sedins can't play the minutes in their dotage than let them ride the pine and play the kids.

[Ben Kenobi]

Torts was insisting that they play a complete game including backchecking. Can't fault him for that. How long would the Sedins put up with getting benched before they left to go to MoDo for a couple seasons?

[bp79]

ok so i half agree and half dont. yes we are not a bottom 10 team we had a freak year with injuries edler was off juice was off the twins were off kes was off burr was off etc etc i think coaching had a big part in that problem solved. that being said it worked out well going forward we have a much better staff coming i believe BUT we still need to trade 2 or 3 pieces of the core like kes and get a diff makeup sharks are not better then us i think they will regress next year kings are a toss up they rely on quick way too much the ducks will either be better with kesler or worse without him no selanne koivu no real 2nd line and a lot of unproven young guys so who really knows if kass and bo and mauybe a fox or horvat or crossing fingers here mdc and maybe adding someone like moulson i think we will be just fine

[TheXFactor]

While I agree in believing our core players will get better than this season, I also doubt they would ever reach 2011 form (who does?). Our core players are simply getting too old. Tanev is a good player, but not great and I honestly don't think he's a top 2 Dman. Same goes for Corrado. Kassian as a PF still has a lot to learn and PFs typically take longer to develop. I see Jensen as a top 6 player and not really 1st line caliber unless he REALLY steps up his game.

Then there's Shink, Gaunce, and... Horvat who I believe is the only one on our prospect pool who is of 1st line potential. As the OP said the playoffs are a realistic opportunity, but cup contenders? Not for at least another 2 seasons.