bigbadcanucks Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 We have known for at least the past year or so that Travis Green is being viewed as a hot commodity among the next wave of NHL coaching prospects...just came across this THN article that articulates the high opinion that we share of Travis Green. Articles like this are nice, but sometimes best kept secrets (said tongue-in-cheek) are best kept as best-kept-secrets. I'm not advocating a change in head coach, but perhaps Green's time may come sooner than later. Anyways, enjoy the article... Mike Johnston firing: did Pittsburgh hire the wrong Portland coach? By: Ryan Kennedy on December 14, 2015 Filed under: AHL, Coaching, Major Junior, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks SHARE: Share on emailemail Bookmark and Share Travis Green (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images) The Mike Johnston era came to an end on the weekend, as Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford dismissed the coach after less than a season and a half of duty behind the Penguins bench. During his tenure, Johnston got Pittsburgh to the playoffs and had them in within striking distance to return this season, but a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury cannot simply vie for a spot in the post-season – it should be contending for the Stanley Cup. This was not the case during Johnston’s run and while a lot of the blame is to be shouldered by Rutherford (the Simon Despres trade, so far the Phil Kessel trade, etc.), there’s no reason a team with as much talent as Pittsburgh should have one of the worst power plays in the NHL (they currently rank 27th overall) and struggle to score. So yeah, the hiring was a bust. Perhaps the Penguins didn’t do their research deeply enough: Johnston made his name with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, but there is more to that story than what you’d glean from skimming the surface. During Johnston’s reign as Portland’s coach and GM, the Winterhawks were a potent force in major junior. In short order, he took a dead-in-the-water franchise and had the squad in the WHL final by his second full season behind the bench. Portland returned to the final the next season as well. Recruiting was a strong suit, with the team nailing its import selections (Nino Niederreiter, Sven Baertschi) and assembling an incredibly deep lineup overall. But then a scandal involving extra perks for players – an overblown scandal, if you ask me – saw Johnston suspended during the 2012-13 campaign. That’s when assistant coach Travis Green took over for the rest of the year and that’s also the year Portland won the WHL final and played for the Memorial Cup. Did the presence of future Nashville Predators defenseman Seth Jones help matters? Sure, but the Hawks were stacked in other years, too, with players such as Ryan Johansen, Ty Rattie and Derrick Pouliot. Green got Portland to the promised land and earned a new head coaching gig with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Utica for his efforts. Meanwhile, Johnston returned from his suspension the next season – and Portland lost in the final again. When Johnston came to Pittsburgh, he promised an up-tempo style for the Penguins. He said that his squad would be built for the playoffs. But no playoff team scored fewer goals than Pittsburgh last season and this year it’s been even more pop-gun. Oh, and the Pens lost in the first round to the Rangers, scoring just eight goals in five games. Green, on the other hand, is known for challenging and pushing his players. In just his second year with Utica, he got the Comets to the final of the Calder Cup, one year after they missed the playoffs. And by all accounts, he has really helped develop some of Vancouver’s most promising young talents. Should Pittsburgh have gone for Green instead? It’s not a simple binary, but they did reportedly try to get him at one point as an assistant to Johnston. Green wanted to keep his pro options open and it seems like the right move. Now, he’s one of the most hyped names for an NHL coaching job, though I have to wonder if Vancouver regards him as their ace in the hole should the Canucks ever part ways with current bench boss Willie Desjardins. Kind of like how Detroit made sure Jeff Blashill was taken care of in AHL Grand Rapids while Mike Babcock was still coaching the Red Wings. In the meantime, the Pens must look back and figure out what went wrong with the Johnston hiring. Maybe Johnston was just a really good GM in Portland and a decent junior coach. Have the Penguins had good results since Rutherford took over as GM in the summer of 2014? Hmmm…this might not be the time for that can of worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 If needed bring up/in Green/Johnston and then scout Kelowna for their coaching staff. if we're going to be developing and utilizing coaches from the minors there is literally no reason to not use the best right? Find Huska wherever he is in the AHL and bring him in or go right to the rockets and grab Ralph. Nobody and I do mean nobody in the CHL is better at finding and developing defensemen and utility players than the rockets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I think their plan might have been to groom Green this whole time. I have a feeling they won't go into the final year of Willie's contract without an extension. It's important that if Green is our guy that we don't let him get poached. He could be our next AV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Soldier Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I was operating under the assumption that TG was being given the three years as a chance to refine his techniques and experiment before being thrown into the frying pan here in Vancouver. People are worried about him getting poached but he could very well already know that he's the next guy in Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I will miss Willie's teeth gnashing and general vibratory movements behind the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 21 minutes ago, Warhippy said: If needed bring up/in Green/Johnston and then scout Kelowna for their coaching staff. if we're going to be developing and utilizing coaches from the minors there is literally no reason to not use the best right? Find Huska wherever he is in the AHL and bring him in or go right to the rockets and grab Ralph. Nobody and I do mean nobody in the CHL is better at finding and developing defensemen and utility players than the rockets That's an interesting approach...ground------>up. One thing for sure, Kelowna is a defencemen factory, so having guys that are able to scout and source young d-men with NHL potential would be something the Canucks could use in their organization (or could have used while Gillis/Eric Crawford/Ron Delorme were running the drafting process). Only apprehension is that success at junior and AHL doesn't always translate into success at the NHL leve...but you never til you try. As much as you want to remove risk, a lot of what goes on in the NHL is still trial and error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 8 minutes ago, Winter Soldier said: I was operating under the assumption that TG was being given the three years as a chance to refine his techniques and experiment before being thrown into the frying pan here in Vancouver. People are worried about him getting poached but he could very well already know that he's the next guy in Vancouver. Hope you're right...based on his Mem Cup run, Calder Cup run, keeping the Comets in the hunt with a revolving door roster, and seemingly developing kids like Shink, Gaunce, etc. the "right way", it would be a shame to lose Green if TL/JB/WD had the right succession plan for the coaching regime in place. In his sound bites, he already sounds like an NHL coach...maybe he's already ready for prime time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 12 minutes ago, Winter Soldier said: I was operating under the assumption that TG was being given the three years as a chance to refine his techniques and experiment before being thrown into the frying pan here in Vancouver. People are worried about him getting poached but he could very well already know that he's the next guy in Vancouver. It makes sense if that's the case. I think Linden has seen how well this method worked with AV. He coached guys on the Moose and then transitioned with them into the NHL. Having Green as our coach with young guys that he's already familiar with would make the transition easier. The players would already know what to expect from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleboy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 So if someone else hires him do we get a second round pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyWhites44 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Other teams inquiring about Travis Green must get permission from Vancouver first. If Benning and co say No, then its end of story. This reminds me of red wings coach Jeff Blashill, tons of teams asked and Ken Holland just straight up said no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me_ Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 10 minutes ago, BettyWhites44 said: Other teams inquiring about Travis Green must get permission from Vancouver first. If Benning and co say No, then its end of story. This reminds me of red wings coach Jeff Blashill, tons of teams asked and Ken Holland just straight up said no. ...and now Babcock is a Leafs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyWhites44 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 4 minutes ago, Me_ said: ...and now Babcock is a Leafs. 7 years - 50 million if anyone wants to pay WD that, they can have him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANUCK-EXPRESS Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Won't be surprised to see Green with Canucks in 3-5 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 3 minutes ago, CANUCK-EXPRESS said: Won't be surprised to see Green with Canucks in 3-5 years I don't think you'll have to wait that long at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 i suspect that after Willie has had another 2-3 years here there would be "riots" if he decided to leave. We HAVE a great coach and if we keep Green for another 6 years then I have no doubt he will be Willies successor (not replacement.) Willie will be 60 in February and I reckon we can keep him here until he retires. Maybe Green will be up as his assistant in 2-3 years but the way Willie is coaching here I doubt if TL and JB will want him to leave for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Karlsson Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 26 minutes ago, CANUCK-EXPRESS said: Won't be surprised to see Green with Canucks in 3-5 years There's no way he stays in the AHL for 3 years. I think we could see him as early as next season if we don't want to lose him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 4 minutes ago, Erik Karlsson said: There's no way he stays in the AHL for 3 years. I think we could see him as early as next season if we don't want to lose him. Where the hell is the logic in that? What has Green done? Is this another ludicrous CDC "if it's new it has to be better" brainfart? If he can't stick, why should we care? I always thought it was just kids who wanted the toy someone else wanted - not because it was better but because the other kid wanted it. The guy is 44 years old, if he cant't wait till he is 49 then tough sh-t imo. We have the guy we want unfortunately he is coaching with the equivalent of one arm tied behind his back - it's called TRANSITION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Soldier Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 36 minutes ago, Erik Karlsson said: There's no way he stays in the AHL for 3 years. I think we could see him as early as next season if we don't want to lose him. Lose him? Teams have to be granted permission by the Canucks to approach him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homersexual Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 5 minutes ago, Winter Soldier said: Lose him? Teams have to be granted permission by the Canucks to approach him. Normally, teams won't block a chance for a AHL head coach to be a NHL head coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Soldier Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Just now, homersexual said: Normally, teams won't block a chance for a AHL head coach to be a NHL head coach. Unless they've already told him "in a few years we want you to be our guy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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