Curmudgeon Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Everyone knows that the year end meetings between Gillis and the Aquilinis will take place sometime Monday, and that there will be tough questions asked all round. Here are questions that Gillis will likely have to address: 1. (Obvious) Why was the President's Cup winner eliminated in five games in which they only managed eight goals? Gillis might answer that the team didn't seem able to recapture the same level of emotion and discipline they showed during last year's Cup run. Once again, a team built for speed, finesse and offence was smothered by a team that was bigger, grittier up front and by a team commitment on the part of LA that was built on a tight defensive system. The obvious question from ownership would be in two parts, "How do you account for that?" and :What is your plan to counteract it?' Gillis might suggest a number of player moves and might have to admit that the cocahing staff was at least partially responsible for not having the team properly prepared. Strike one, AV. 2. Why was the coaching staff unable to prepare the team for a series against LA? The power play died sometime in January, after the rest of the league caught on to the drop pass at centre. There was a failure to adjust the power play strategy, which was Newell Brown's responsibity. Further, AV has proven to be a fairly hands off coach, preferring to leave the leadership responsibilities to the so-called leadership group of players. This works when the team is going well. When it is not, not so much. Strike two, AV. 3. Why would we commit to another four years of a coach who has been unable to win the Stanley Cup and who may not have been willing or able to establish the kind of presence a coach should exert in the post-season? The answer is, I don't know. We could decide to not offer AV an extesnion, in which case he owes us one more year as a lame duck coach. Not a great idea, especially when there are several teams in the NHL who would gladly pay AV what he wants, with the term he wants. There seems to be no compelling reason to believe that AV will bring anything new to the table if he is retained and extended. While there is no argument with his body of work in the regular season, ownership demands playoff success, both for bragging rights and for the pure, enormous financial windfall that comes in the playoffs. Ball one, AV. 4. Are there any players in the system who might legitimately challenge for a roster spot in 2012-2013? The answer is, maybe, but it will depend on the coachng staff. Young players will make mistakes, and in a tight league, you can't afford to make too many of them. Do you use Vancouver's traditional approach and play rookies six or eight minutes a night and risk stalling thier development, or do you use the Philadelphia approach and throw them to the wolves? This coaching staff has been reluctant to play young players, so they have had to play in the AHL. Now, the AHL is a good league, but it isn't the NHL and success down there doesn't always translate. All that said, the only realistic young players who might earn a spot are probably, Schroeder, Connauton, Lack and Jensen, at least for nine games. Ryan Parent may finally get a shot, but is unlikely to make an impact. But will AV play them? His history says probably not. Strike three, AV. After the meeting Gillis will announce he is staying, that AV, Brown and Bowness will be relieved of their duties and that the search for a new coaching staff is ongoing. He will also announce that Roberto Luongo and the team have mutually agreed to move forward without each other and that he will be exploring trade options in the coming weeks. In any event, the longer it goes that we don't hear from AV, the more likely it is that he is gone. It just may be that Gillis himself has grown tired of AV's approach and is seeking a coach who will be okay with 6-5 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 1. The Canucks lost in 5 games to the Kings because the Kings were a better team at the time. Consider Kesler's lingering injury problems. Consider the long playoff run of last season. Consider the Kings scoring a lot more goals than the Canucks post-deadline. Considering Quick's performance. The Canucks scored only 8 goals because, as predicted, it was a tight series. The Blues, this 'big and tough team', is having the same problem. To me the bigger concern is why the team won the President's trophy in the first place. It's a meaningless award that most serious playoff contenders chose to avoid because they don't need the expectations that go with it. But i was never sold on this teams' playoff chances this season anyway? The odds of repeating trips to the finals in back to back seasons are slim. The only way we could do it is if we added an all-star into the lineup already filled with all-stars or if one of our entry-level contracts had an mvp-type season. 2. Fatigue. Injuries. Coaching can't really do anything to counter them. Our powerplay? Hell, we should've been happy with one that didn't give up so many short-handed goals against. Our powerplay also vanished against Boston, if you recall. Ehrhoff got hurt. Then we lost Ehrhoff. Then the Sedins slowed down. It should be quite clear why our powerplay struggles continued. Coaching could only do so much. I expect next season to have players who are prepared for a long run again. I also expect Gillis to acquire some more good players. That will help more than any ticky-tacky coaching trick could. 3. AV has done well. The players still respond. Yes, there have been playoff losses, but they're mainly due to players being injured or underperforming. Is the grass greener on the other side? Well who are we talking about? MacT? He was fired from Edmonton after losing in the finals too. And he had Chris Pronger in his prime. There are certain of AV's coaching style i don't like. The Sedins never penalty-kill when they could. Our 4th line starts in their own zone almost all the time. Our lineup isn't dynamic enough. The adjustments aren't quick enough. And he doesn't appear to try to motivate his players on the bench. But there are certain AV coaching style aspects i like. He adjusts. Whereas Crow never did. And he is a calming presense, whereas Crow amps his team up to the stupid levels that led to the Bertuzzi incident. Too. Many. Penalties. One thing about bringing in MacT is that our Wolves prospects may follow. That's how it was when AV took over in the first place. But sorry if i can't get my shorts wet for Jordan Schroeder. Poor man's Marty St. Louis? If our prayers are answered. But even he needs the weakest division in hockey to play in to be successful. 4. Speaking of bringing prospects up, remember when AV brought in Kesler, Edler, Burrows, Hansen, Raymond, Bieksa, Tanev, Schneider, etc.? He's been here for NINE seasons now. You don't last that long as a head coach if you don't give prospects a chance. With that out of the way, do we have legit guys who can come up? Yes. Of course we do. But it will depend on the players. You think our team will just put in anybody and let him go? Um, no. That's what basement teams have to do. Not us. We are in a position where we can bring in prospects at our leisure. But yes, we would also like to be able to see some prospects who actually, y'know, deserve a shot. That's where the players come in. If all these kids really work hard in the summer, then they all have a shot. That's the way it's supposed to work. In the end, losing sucks. It leads to questions. Hard questions. AV might be fired. He might be kept. I don't think it matters either way, but Gillis seems to think he is an alright coach. Perhaps he's looking at Pittsburgh and Detroit, noting that they've made no panic moves after losing in round one, and is going to stand pat. The REAL importance to me isn't coaching anyway. It's the free agency and trade market. Why should Gillis waste his time coach-hunting when there is a lineup to focus on?!? Btw. You realize that the only reason we haven't heard from any of those guys lately is because they're on vacation, right? Cheers. TOMapleLaughs (The username the cowardly beyotches at HFBoards made me change, after SIX YEARS of seeing TOMapleLaughs. F-ck HFBoards.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandboss Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 This is like reading the bible a bunch of stories and ideas takin from 50,000 other posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johntobes Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Parent was one of the Wolves worst defenseman. He'll never see time on the Canucks. Connauton will need another year so I really only see 3 with an opportunity and Corrado might see some extended time in the preseason. Corrado plays a similar game to Tanev but he's a little more offensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurf47 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Someones got it all wrong... This team belongs...and is built by MG to be an offensive focused team. AV is a defensive specialist who has adapted to the wishes of MG. Perhaps its MG who has taken the wrong path. It is he who has to answer to the teams shortcomings in the post season...its a different game come playoffs and the grinding teams are having the success.! We obviously have the team to get into the playoffs...but not the team to complete the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 This is just another fire AV thread, wrapped up in too many words to justify the OP's opinion. That you would announce conclusively that "After the meeting Gillis will announce he is staying, that AV, Brown and Bowness will be relieved of their duties..." is wishful thinking. I personally think the chances of this happening are slim to none. As to the length of time the press hasn't had access to AV as somehow corresponding to the liklihood he is gone--that's rediculous. It's been stated in the press that Gillis doesn't meet with Aquilini until this coming week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brindy Gypsy Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Ever hear of stearing the course? 29 teams don't win the Stanley Cup, does that mean 29 coaches should be fired because of lack of playoff success? I do understand AV has been around awhile and is growing stale, maybe we would be better suited for a bigger personality coach, or maybe not. I agree with AV's approach of leaving the room to the leadership group we have. That being said I think the failure of our playoffs this season falls purely on the players. At the end of the day they are the ones that determines what happens, not the coaches however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keslerian one Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I like AV but I do realize a new voice could do some good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_a_M Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Ever hear of stearing the course? 29 teams don't win the Stanley Cup, does that mean 29 coaches should be fired because of lack of playoff success? I do understand AV has been around awhile and is growing stale, maybe we would be better suited for a bigger personality coach, or maybe not. I agree with AV's approach of leaving the room to the leadership group we have. That being said I think the failure of our playoffs this season falls purely on the players. At the end of the day they are the ones that determines what happens, not the coaches however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Guy Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 baseball fans shouldn't comment about hockey... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Who really knows what goes on behind closed doors and what is talked about. All just pure speculation on what might be said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgore Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 1. The Canucks lost in 5 games to the Kings because the Kings were a better team at the time. Consider Kesler's lingering injury problems. Consider the long playoff run of last season. Consider the Kings scoring a lot more goals than the Canucks post-deadline. Considering Quick's performance. ............ 2. Fatigue. Injuries. Coaching can't really do anything to counter them. Our powerplay? Hell, we should've been happy with one that didn't give up so many short-handed goals against. Our powerplay also vanished against Boston, if you recall. Ehrhoff got hurt. Then we lost Ehrhoff. Then the Sedins slowed down. It should be quite clear why our powerplay struggles continued. Coaching could only do so much. I expect next season to have players who are prepared for a long run again. I also expect Gillis to acquire some more good players. That will help more than any ticky-tacky coaching trick could. 3. AV has done well. The players still respond. Yes, there have been playoff losses, but they're mainly due to players being injured or underperforming. ........................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwarrior Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 ok. fire AV, who do you replace him with? realisticly, is mac t the long term replacement? i dont think so. if theres a better replacement for AV, id like to hear it. odds are he'll be here till he dosent want to be, or untill a better coach becomes available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 coach v was awfull late in the year The way I see is that AV bears a lot of the fault for a lot of that. Why did he keep Kesler's minutes up high even after Kesler injured his shoulder in February? Why wouldn't he reduce his minutes and play Cody more? "OH NO, we can't possibly reduce Kesler's minutes for Cody, the player who just won rookie of the month and our 4th leading scorer, that would be so unfair to Ryan" Even if Kesler was not playing through a new injury on top of recovering from surgery last Summer, why not reduce Keslers minutes and play the 3rd line more, with the understanding that Kes's minutes would increase at the start of the playoffs, just in order to keep him fresher? AV has a very black and white ranking on his pet players and his dogs. So much so that it is hurting the team and the development of young players. His treatment of Hodgson resulted in too much bad blood to repair it and forced Gillis to trade away his first trade pick that everyone agreed was a steal at #10. No, Hodgson wouldn't have won the Cup for us all by himself, but you can't say it is out of the realm of possibilities that he wouldn't have have scored or set up a clutch goal or two in those first 3 games, which is all we needed. And with Daniel coming back....who knows? I just hope he doesn't poison the waters with a young Kassian. AV also had almost 20 mean nothing games at the end of the season to experiment and solidify our lines. Even after Daniels injury threw a wrench in there, he was playing Ebbet and Raymond with Henrik. And then quickly began switching everything around in Game 1. But I disagree with the OP in that I think AV will stay. For some reason Gillis is enamored with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Doctor Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 The Bruins were out in the first round too! It's not a coincidence. Let's get ready for next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 TL;DR :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 There is no right choice really. AV is a great coach his record speaks for itself. You keep him and view this year as a learning event that should make the team stronger. OR you think that the team needs another perspective and you don't bring him back. Either is a smart choice. None of us are insiders so we can't really make the call based on the information we have. I don't buy the longer it goes on thing - They are obviously taking a long step back - there is no rush at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneypuckOverlord Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 All I have to say we did much beter against the Kings then the Blues did. I'm not saying this because of we beat em once, they didn't beat em. There were times, were we Quick had to play on top of head. Tonight St.Louis only had 23 shots??? for real? I'm ok with A.V staying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegionOfDoom Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Back to back president trophys, and made the owners thick doe last season....... Doubt there going to give up on this team so soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resdog Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Back to back president trophys, and made the owners thick doe last season....... Doubt there going to give up on this team so soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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