Angry Goose

Have you ever had enough of someone who is an obvious meat head/bully/whatever else? Maybe had the balls to push back and let them know they are full of shit? Well Torts did that, and maybe to a fault because in the larger context it became a lightning rod for criticism, public scrutiny etc etc. Everybody wants their NHL coaches to be gentlemen right? No doubt Torts took issue with the other coach, and it wasn't the only time either. Shit happens.

You are living in a dream world f you don't think an improvement in Kassian's play was at least in part due to Torts coaching him. We heard numerous times early in the season that one of Kassian's biggest knocks was him not playing more consistently i.e. maintaining a hardwork effort level. Well heaven behold, Kassian improves in that regard. His 2 way play improved at the same time, and he started to use his size and puck control more often in the opponents zone as well. Is it a coincidence that his minutes increased as Torts began to see more reliable, and high percentage play from him? I have no doubt in my mind that Torts worked on the finer points in Kassian's game, and as Kassian improved on those shortcomings he saw increased trust from Torts. And still Torts hasn't succumbed to the larger public mentality that Kassian should be playing top 6 minutes etc etc. Torts is developing the right way to play in Kassian first before giving him that. And he is doing the same thing with Jensen. Although Jensen started off strong, he began to fade and make mistakes- so he was dropped to the 4th line and as a young player that isn't that bad, it just shows how tough it is to be a 1st liner in the NHL. No doubt Jensen is taking this all in, like Kassian, and will improve because he has the willingness to do so. I would hardly call that "destructive behavior". Anyways, it is easier to fire the coach than trade away numerous players on the team with NTC's. Unless Linden surprises me- we'll see.

lol it would be and completely stupid at the same time- they have such a good team. LA arn't slouches either.

LA all the way baby

lol key word being might

Would love to see what sort of draft list Benning has with the Bruins. His expertise is exactly what the team needs to re-tool going forward. If Torts goes, I wonder if Adam Oates will get an interview? Imagine: Linden/Benning/Oates. Would be great to see three former NHL'rs direct this team moving forward

Man LA is a fun team to watch. Perfect mix of skill, bump, and speed.

This has been a really good series so far. And MacKinnon is a beast.

I can see why some MMA heads don't like it because it lacks that gladiator factor that UFC has, although MMA like boxing has tons of precision and technique too

I didn't realize Broner is fighting on the Mayweather/Maidana card coming up. Should be an entertaining night

Yeah I think he will have a solid year next season barring injuries.

I've been all for re-tooling the roster in line with Torts vision of hockey, but if Linden/new GM want to go with a guy like Trotz I wouldn't be against the decision- he is a very good coach at using his teams effectively much like Tippet has done in PHX. Only problem is I'd hate to see another year of the same team with a new coach- the Canucks roster needs a major shake up either way.

A lot of contention on this board (the way I'm understanding it) with Torts has been his emphasis on blocking shots for various reasons (e.g. effects on player health, less supposed "puck preassure", it being a less effective defensive strategy, etc.). I understand the reasoning, and to an extent agree with some of it. I'm not exactly sure what the irrelevant claims I made specifically to the topic at hand, are-I'm merely talking about it in the context of Torts systems and in a larger scope, the importance of it in terms of playing sound, defensive hockey. If you could point where exactly the straw man is committed I would appreciate it because so far no one has.

You don't get into shooting lanes and not block shots. That has been my point the entire time. People who think you should do that and not block shots just watch hockey and don't play it. As I've said before, Torts systems emphasize puck pressure from the half boards down based on zone positioning. The caveat is that if a pass gets back to the blue line, the wingers have a bit further to get out there to challenge the shot. If that happens, Torts thinks the obvious thing to do is to challenge the shooter/block the shot. No surprise that the Rangers are pretty good at it with AV given all the time Torts spent getting his players to work on it.

Not surprised by this sort of crap. Well what was your point then? You said: So what exactly do you mean by "effective defensive hockey"? What systems are you specifically talking about? Please enlighten us as to how hockey should be played.

Totally. Malinaggi is essentially an outside fighter and he let Porter close the gap way too easily, and couldn't back Porter off him. Yeah I read that too- Broner always the cocky entertainer. Still, I think he is slick boxer but has a ways to go.

Your right, Torts wants the wingers to cover the half boards and slot areas of the ice more so than the blue line, because those tend to be where the better scoring chances are created/taken. If the puck gets back to the blue line then the wingers have to come out and challenge/block the shot. Alot of playoff teams right now are playing closer to the goalie and doing the same thing. CHI though seems to be keeping their wingers closer to the blue line, but I think they have to play effectively against a slower STL

Sure, you can construe stats to fit the argument you want to make, but you missed the context of my point. AV said himself that blocking shots are a fundamental part of hockey, and that it is no surprise that winning teams know how to do it. Just because TOR wasn't exactly a playoff team this season doesn't mean they should give up blocking shots. They might have to play better defensive hockey in their own zone to minimize shots taken, yes, but that doesn't entail they should stop blocking shots. In other words, people shouldn't look at blocking shots out of context or heap all this criticism on Torts because he thinks that getting into shooting lanes to negate scoring chances is good, fundamental hockey. People who criticize him for that obviously don't play hockey. Do you?

he has one of the best backhand's I've seen in a long time. Guy can pretty much roof it whenever he wants.

I agree. I think he has the foundation to be a solid NHL'r as he continues to physically mature (the kid is only 17, just wait till he hits his mid 20's!), and work on other aspects of his game to be a better all around player. He seems to have a very nonchalant cockiness too which I find pretty funny. Casually skaiting by and high 5ing the other team made me laugh.

but alot of people here on CDC think it is one of the main reasons Torts should be fired

Rangers blocked 28 shots the other nights vs Philly. Here's what AV had to say:

Virtanen reminds me so much of Corey Perry, and that is darn good in my books. Him and Kassian are exactly what the team needs

Niemi AND Quick overrated? I was just thinking to myself watching the game tonight how clutch those two are. But what a difference a sub-par Quick is for LA

wah oh