Our coach: Mr. Travis Green (discussion)

[Canuck Surfer]

5 hours ago, zombieksa said:

I like his work with Jake who was called upon to defend leads late in the game by the end of last season. Something you would not have seen a year ago. He's done well to develop Jake as a player who has a better all around game than before. 

I also like that he genuinely gives players a chance. He gave LE and Goldy chances to prove themselves in top 6 roles and they failed.He gave players like Motte a chance to succeed in a bottom 6 role and he became a mainstay all season due to his efforts. TG is very fair and as you said a players coach, and I think that is what we need most of all.

I love this post.  Encapsulates my thoughts really well!

 

If we were critical?  And I am definitely a supporter!  Has Travis resolved how to get solid D from our team?  With good goaltending, we have still been in the bottom of the league in goals against. With (?) great penalty killers in Beagle, Tanev, Edler, Sutter, Bo?  We are well below average in PK.  Is it still personnel? If we can role out good role players, but still not kill penalties effectively…  

 

I'll give our PP a pass.  Pettersson was a rookie, Edler not the worlds best PP captain. And we missed guys like Miller or Ferland to cover the walls on the PP.

 

I suppose you could argue Pouliot, Hutton, Gudbrandson, too many weal links defensively.  No real puck mover to save time in our end.  I believe Benn is an upgrade, Myers a modest one, Hughes a great help in getting out of our zone. He will also boost our PP!

 

I want to see defensive, PP & PK strategic improvement from Green's systems this year, considering potentially better personnel? 

[BrockBoester]

He told Eriksson he's going to have to earn his spot on the roster.

 

And whatever he's doing seems to be working for the young guns.

 

So far coach Mr. Green gets a 7.5/10 from me

[Chickenspear]

4 hours ago, smokes said:

1:) Everyone is talking about how he turned Jake around. I would argue if he did or not. Jake was a first rounder projected to play in the top six and is now a bottom six player who can easily be replaced. 2:) He's trying to turn Goldobin into a two way player when he is clearly meant to play on the offense. 3:) He turned what was one a promising young defence man in Hutton into a free agency giveaway. 4:) He got Eriksson, a 14 year veteran who we haven't heard a complaint from, ever, call him out. 5:) When you look at the improvements of the team last year, we need to ask ourselves, did the Canucks improve because of Green's coaching or because the diamond Benning uncovered in Petey.

1:) First off, WD didn't talk to his "doghouse players" about why they were in the doghouse in the first place. How is Jake (and Tryamkin) supposed to improve if his coach isn't talking to him? TG does, and you can see the improvement from the second season of TG (first season Jake spent the bulk of the season in Utica). Besides, you're putting unrealistic expectations on a 22 year old.

 

2:) 2-way play is how teams win nowadays. If you're 1 dimensional, you're not going to have a very long or good career. It's all on Goldy to improve his defensive abilities.

 

3:) Seriously blaming TG for Hutton going to free agency? You realize the GM signs players right? I'm sure he would have been resigned if the $ from arbitration wouldn't have been so high (rumored to be ~$4-$4.5m last I heard).

 

4:) Didn't Loui complain after his one healthy scratch in 3 years? He's got no right to complain after his lackluster effort, and TG's defended him everytime. I could go on, but we don't need another Loui thread.

 

5:) Yes, Petey was the gem of the draft, and accounted for a lot of offense last season, but that doesn't explain the buy-in and effort from the rest of the team.

[IBatch]

9 minutes ago, lmm said:

that is cuz the old ones don't get the job done

 

never have the Vancouver fans called for the head of a Stanley Cup champ

We’ve been lucky enough to have three great coaches and a couple pretty good ones over the years.   Suppose it’s Roger Neilsons fault he couldn’t take a team that wouldn’t have made the playoffs in a 30 team league all the way to the finals - should have beat the dynastic NYIs - what a chump, considered a great builder, spent hours cutting and editing tape daily to show video to guys about how to improve their games and what tendencies to expect from certain players, a decade before it was somewhat commonplace.   Don’t see a lot of smack against Quin and rightly so, also a great coach and AV was the right coach for the peak Sedin team too.  Crow was one of the most exciting coaches we had as far as his systems went - all or nothing offense in the deepest part of the dead puck era, thank god he wasn’t a copycat trap sort of guy or the WCE would have never happened and that team would have been as boring as watching paint dry.

 

TG is new and not experienced the way the same old regurgitated coaches are which is the right fit for our rebuilding team.  We don’t need a Sutter or Hitchcock or whomever, we need a coach that can grow with the team and build trust.  He seems to be a players coach and able to install good habits without screaming at them and everyone ala Keenan and old Torts (he’s mellowed).   Management went for a similar idea with WD and thankfully they pulled the plug, don’t think TG has under or overachieved (yet), but he does have a lot of potential.  Glad we have him. 

[Googlie]

Note to Green:

Play Goldy with Beagle and Motte for 10 games.

Tell him that his NHL future rests on his beating Motte on the forecheck (nigh impossible) and beating Beagle on backchecking (barely possible)

Oh, and tell him too he needs get at minimum 6 points in those 10 games if he wants promoted to the top 6

It worked with Jake when Green had him in Utica so why wouldn't it work with Goldy?

(Although one would think that playing on Petey's line last year, and seeing his commitment to shot blocking and backchecking might have rubbed something off on Goldy, but apparently not. So I am not holding my breath in expectation of any improvement)

[lmm]

5 minutes ago, IBatch said:

We’ve been lucky enough to have three great coaches and a couple pretty good ones over the years.   Suppose it’s Roger Neilsons fault he couldn’t take a team that wouldn’t have made the playoffs in a 30 team league all the way to the finals - should have beat the dynastic NYIs - what a chump, considered a great builder, spent hours cutting and editing tape daily to show video to guys about how to improve their games and what tendencies to expect from certain players, a decade before it was somewhat commonplace.   Don’t see a lot of smack against Quin and rightly so, also a great coach and AV was the right coach for the peak Sedin team too.  Crow was one of the most exciting coaches we had as far as his systems went - all or nothing offense in the deepest part of the dead puck era, thank god he wasn’t a copycat trap sort of guy or the WCE would have never happened and that team would have been as boring as watching paint dry.

 

TG is new and not experienced the way the same old regurgitated coaches are which is the right fit for our rebuilding team.  We don’t need a Sutter or Hitchcock or whomever, we need a coach that can grow with the team and build trust.  He seems to be a players coach and able to install good habits without screaming at them and everyone ala Keenan and old Torts (he’s mellowed).   Management went for a similar idea with WD and thankfully they pulled the plug, don’t think TG has under or overachieved (yet), but he does have a lot of potential.  Glad we have him. 

you seem to have a hate on for regurgitation and yet Quinn and AV were on their 3rd team when they coached here, Quennville on his 3rd team in Chicago, Gallant on his 3rd in Vegas, Scottie Bowman became the best coach ever being regurged 5 times.

I think Green will be a really good/ great coach one day, but I do not believe he is there yet and I believe the regurging and re-inventing and introspection process of being fired and regurged is what make a great coach.

How many first time coaches can you recall that have had the time to develope their craft with their first team?

They either come in and succeed or learn through firing and becoming regurged.

[IBatch]

2 minutes ago, lmm said:

you seem to have a hate on for regurgitation and yet Quinn and AV were on their 3rd team when they coached here, Quennville on his 3rd team in Chicago, Gallant on his 3rd in Vegas, Scottie Bowman became the best coach ever being regurged 5 times.

I think Green will be a really good/ great coach one day, but I do not believe he is there yet and I believe the regurging and re-inventing and introspection process of being fired and regurged is what make a great coach.

How many first time coaches can you recall that have had the time to develope their craft with their first team?

They either come in and succeed or learn through firing and becoming regurged.

Ha ha .  Like I said I’m happy to have a new coach rather then just picking whatever former NHL coach that was  waiting for their next gig at the time given this team is rebuilding and again no thanks to Sutter or Hitchcock (although the latter would be fine for a veteran team that needs a tactical approach as he’s one of the best in the business in that regard).   How did Torts work out for us anyways? Just ran the Sedins into the ground and did some crazy things while he was here and then we still had some decent vets.  WD did better with them the following year didn’t he....but his moustache ran out of juice and switching him out was a good call.

 

Who would you have preferred instead?

[Nuxfanabroad]

Great topic & GREAT Coach!

[Nuxfanabroad]

6 hours ago, nux_win said:

I like the way he handles the team, but I particularly like the way he handles the press (and that's no easy thing in Vancouver or any Canadian market).  Green is always in control.  In control of his emotions, in control of the message and he doesn't put up with stupid questions.  I like that.  He uses humour and sarcasm when needed but he can be serious when needed too.  Go Green Go!

Great observation. Doesn't let the tail wag the dog, nor does he suffer fools lightly.

[King Heffy]

1 hour ago, lmm said:

King you are totally contradicting yourself here.

Loui floated for 2 years under Green and he benched him for 1 game!!

"Never mind the times Green publicly defended a truly awful hockey player"

what is the message there?

In the words of our old friend Willie, "This isn't a try league"

so is Green 'trying' to instill good habits, or is he instilling good habits?

is he 'trying' to instill a winning system, or is he instilling one?

You don't think that maybe his boss might have given him a little pushback benching a 6 million dollar player?  Also keep in mind the team was actively shopping him and benching him more would have made any potential deal impossible.  Now that it's clear he can't be moved, I am expecting him to be where he belongs: the AHL. The poster I was replying to seemed to think Green was being too hard on LE since the spoiled punk whined about being benched for that game to the media.  As for the public defense, it shows the rest of the team that the coach has their backs.  We want a team that will battle for each other, and we want a coach that will battle for his guys.   Any dressing down can happen behind closed doors, which is where LE should have left things.

 

At the end of the year, he basically had the choice of benching LE or Goldy.  Goldy at least still has some hope of developing into an NHLer, while Eriksson is a lost cause.  Better to not allow Goldobin to continue with bad habits and hope you can get rid of the 6 million dollar floater.

[Metal Face Doom]

He's done a fantastic job with our youth and has been doing a good job with the pieces he has.  

[lmm]

19 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Ha ha .  Like I said I’m happy to have a new coach rather then just picking whatever former NHL coach that was  waiting for their next gig at the time given this team is rebuilding and again no thanks to Sutter or Hitchcock (although the latter would be fine for a veteran team that needs a tactical approach as he’s one of the best in the business in that regard).   How did Torts work out for us anyways? Just ran the Sedins into the ground and did some crazy things while he was here and then we still had some decent vets.  WD did better with them the following year didn’t he....but his moustache ran out of juice and switching him out was a good call.

 

Who would you have preferred instead?

well tbh I was on the Gallant train, with a sidetrack of Kevin Dineen. I do not blame Gallant for choosing Vegas, that gig smelled like roses from the get go.

I think Torts did what he was asked to do, shake up the stale core. But management chickened out after only changing Luongo,(not Torts's best move).

But I would have been happy to see Torts get a full run at the job. I think Bo and Jake and Hutton an Guber would have thrived under Torts. I think the change some of us wanted post 2012 would have happened 5-6 years ago. You never know with a guy like Torts who will rise with him and who will run and hide or wilt. 

I think Willie's first season was more a re-action to the relief that Torts was fired and our stale crew performed one last gasp of inspired play before the wheels fell off.

Enough about Torts, he is gone.

I agree Sutter would not be the answer.

 

Maybe one thing Green will learn after the Canucks show him the door is to ask for more from his assistants. Maybe when all is said and done, he reflects on whether his assistants gave enough or whether his loyalty caused his undoing.

This is not the Baumer thread, but I have no more faith in him than I did in Doug Lidster.

[Nuxfanabroad]

2 hours ago, Googlie said:

I'd like to see Green go full Robbie Ftorek and wear a sweater behind the bench instead of a jacket (and while at it, regrow his mullet!!)

 

That would give the media something new to talk about instead of slagging our Canucks

I'd almost prefer Samurai armour(with requisite katana), or stealth ninja get-up, to that darned sweater!

 

2 mins in the sin-bin, Googlie!

[lmm]

9 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

You don't think that maybe his boss might have given him a little pushback benching a 6 million dollar player?  Also keep in mind the team was actively shopping him and benching him more would have made any potential deal impossible.  Now that it's clear he can't be moved, I am expecting him to be where he belongs: the AHL. The poster I was replying to seemed to think Green was being too hard on LE since the spoiled punk whined about being benched for that game to the media.  As for the public defense, it shows the rest of the team that the coach has their backs.  We want a team that will battle for each other, and we want a coach that will battle for his guys.   Any dressing down can happen behind closed doors, which is where LE should have left things.

 

At the end of the year, he basically had the choice of benching LE or Goldy.  Goldy at least still has some hope of developing into an NHLer, while Eriksson is a lost cause.  Better to not allow Goldobin to continue with bad habits and hope you can get rid of the 6 million dollar floater.

you are still taking in circles

if Green cannot bench a $6 mil floater, he can't expect to be respected by the rest of the team. 

If keeping Loui in the line up is the "easy" decision it is still the wrong one, for all the reasons you say he is a good coach.

You are proposing "having your cake and eating it too"

Green is not the GM and Loui did not get traded, in part because the GM gave him a NMC and partly because everyone in the league knows how bad he has played.

Green's job was to get Loui to play better, and he failed. Jim is partly to blame giving Loui that horrible contract, but making excuses for Green doesn't change that Green did not get Loui to perform.

[King Heffy]

5 minutes ago, lmm said:

you are still taking in circles

if Green cannot bench a $6 mil floater, he can't expect to be respected by the rest of the team. 

If keeping Loui in the line up is the "easy" decision it is still the wrong one, for all the reasons you say he is a good coach.

You are proposing "having your cake and eating it too"

Green is not the GM and Loui did not get traded, in part because the GM gave him a NMC and partly because everyone in the league knows how bad he has played.

Green's job was to get Loui to play better, and he failed. Jim is partly to blame giving Loui that horrible contract, but making excuses for Green doesn't change that Green did not get Loui to perform.

No coach in the world could get a piece of garbage like LE to perform.  Green didn't tell LE to go out and completely disgrace the jersey every time he set foot on the ice.  Would I have preferred for LE stay in the press box all last year?  Of course.  But when your boss signs a guy for big bucks, you try absolutely everything you can think of before sitting him out.  The gloves come off after LE spewed chose to slander Green in the off-season, and I am confident that Eriksson will never waste another second of NHL ice time.

[erkayloomeh]

I like green.  I think he's a good coach . I hope he turns into a great coach .

 

[luckylager]

I like Green. He seems down to earth, open, honest and fair. Hopefully he can guide the team to a playoff spot or I could see this being his last season in Vancouver.

 

I'm concerned he may not be hard enough on his assistants. They need to be held accountable too. With the additions JB has made and the apparent call up depth in Utica, there will be no excuses for these guys. Do or die season for the coaching staff IMO.

 

 

[Googlie]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

No coach in the world could get a piece of garbage like LE to perform.  Green didn't tell LE to go out and completely disgrace the jersey every time he set foot on the ice.  Would I have preferred for LE stay in the press box all last year?  Of course.  But when your boss signs a guy for big bucks, you try absolutely everything you can think of before sitting him out.  The gloves come off after LE spewed chose to slander Green in the off-season, and I am confident that Eriksson will never waste another second of NHL ice time.

Good grief !!!!!!!!

"Completely disgrace the jersey" ...... "slander Green" 

Exaggerate much?

[King Heffy]

7 minutes ago, Googlie said:

Good grief !!!!!!!!

"Completely disgrace the jersey" ...... "slander Green" 

Exaggerate much?

So you consider Eriksson's play last year, and the garbage he spewed to the media to be acceptable?  I stand by my statement; LE is absolute trash, both on and off the ice.  Green is the epitome of class for taking the high road after having this worthless bum throw him under the bus.

Edited August 10, 2019 by King Heffy

[oldnews]

4 hours ago, xereau said:

You can throw out all the numbers and stats that you want.

 

I am specifically talking about the stretch of games he had between his second to last, and last benching.

 

I saw him going and getting the puck on the boards. And I was amazed. He was even throwing around his body.

 

He was not dropping to the ice like a sniper was in the rafters when he heard skates coming his way.

 

He hit the crossbar something ridiculous like 8 times in 4 games.

 

Not goals, but he was beating goalies. With a snapshot as every bit as good as Naslunds.

 

He appeared to be getting it, finally. And then Green benched the guy. And I was pissed.

 

I was on Goldobin's case constantly since we got him. But I could see that he appeared to finally be turning the corner.

 

And then Green benched him. To play Spooner. And Schaller. And Utica plugs.

 

Sorry, but that is just boneheadedness, and not Green's finest moment ever.

I agree with one part of that - Goldobin's lack of puck luck (goalpost champion of 2018/19) - but the throwing the body thing - the Naslund snapshot - imo are embellisments - wishful but not really representative.   

 

And here's another consideration.  The end of last year did not matter much.  The incentive to Utica players - is a real factor to cultivate - and what you saw in Goldobin - this relative break-out you seem to have witnessed - I'm not sure that evaluation would be shared by people like Green - who deals with him on a day to day basis.  The goalposts may have shown true Canuck luck - and promise - but not enough overall from Goldobin.  Something else to consider - perhaps handling Goldobin that way could actually serve him better than spoon-feeding him minutes down the stretch last year.   The really critical work for Goldobin is this summer - he enters a stiff competition - on a career threshold where in spite of being qualified he could find himself on waivers - if that doesn't light the necessary fire under Goldobin, not sure he has a much better chance than what we've already seen.  Like I said numerous times elsewhere - he appears to be a 'young-minded' guy - and therefore I'd have more patience with him as a potential late-bloomer/later to mature player - but threre's only so much time on the clock as well with the reality of waivers and a lot of competition, not just in Van but around the league to earn spots.  Goldobin's shot metrics, his goal metrics = not very good last year - his grit/assertiveness without the puck - just not good enough last year.

Edited August 10, 2019 by oldnews