marcaractac

This sums up with what I've been trying to say in much less words. I'm an engineer. I suck with words. I can explain the s*** out of things with drawings though

When the team gets good enough to push for the playoffs. I said in the past, Bylsma is a great coach for a young team. He came into the right situation at the right time with the Pens in 2009 IMO. He will be great for the Sabres, but I don't picture him as the guy who can put a great winning system in place.

Nope. You're just making assumptions. Picking and choosing what to respond to so you can keep a meaningless debate going. Babs got everything he could out of the team. Blash will get everything he could out of the team. Why? They are both good at what they do. They are both demanding coaches. They are both good motivators. They have both won at every level they have coached. If Blash coached the team this past season, the result may have been very similar as it was. It wouldn't be magically better because of a different coach. But the expectations will be higher this time. Blashill's job is to make sure the team meets said expectations. Which is to improve upon this year. Why is that the expectation? Because the team is more experienced. They have grown since last fall. The expectations won't be higher because he is a new coach. So no. Coaching is not incidental to the outcome. And at no point have I ever said or alluded to that. You picked that one out of thin air all on your own. Is it because of the prancing thing? (joking, by the way). The coaches job is to have a team play the way they are capable of. Babs did a great job at it, so should Blash. If Babs message was lost and the players were tuning him out, and we went and got blown out in 4 games or missed the playoffs? Yes, I'd expect a new coach to have a much bigger impact. But this is a very unique coaching change. It will be business as usually. Small changes, nothing drastic. They aren't gonna reinvent the wheel. They are make that ***** spin.

That's a whole lot of words to be putting in my mouth. It's quite clear you either don't understand a word I say, or just haven't bothered reading. Or perhaps you just like to come up with your own interpretations of what others say so you can keep arguing about it? Have fun!

The lack of scoring 5 on 5 comes from a lack of offensive defensemen. Not so much the coaching. Babs absolutely got their max potential out of them. The thing is, with the experience they've gained, that ceiling going into 15/16 rises. So that max potential is now higher than it was this year. Along with expectations.

Thank goodness. Put any potential Bylsma to Detroit stuff to rest.

Nope. I just don't tend to take such minor things so seriously. I also don't take every single word I read in my day to day life to its absolute literal meaning. Lighten up, and keep the thread on topic. Exactly

Yeah. The KHL draft is basically a "Hey it would be cool to own his rights if he ever came to play over here" type deal

No, it was just a descriptive word I used to describe someone being happy about being right lol. Nothing negative meant by it. In the end, at some point the Wings will slump (as all teams to) and some will find a way to turn it into Holland's fault for Babs leaving

There is always a strong correlation between a new coach and improved play. The key is too look at why teams usually go with a new coach. Compare it to the Wings situation, and it is completely different. The Wings were gonna be better this season whether it is Babs or Blash behind the bench. Blash is just the best option for keeping things going in the right direction with the departure of Babcock.

Not particularly, you already stated something along the lines of "when I am right" in another post I read earlier today lol. I'm also not saying Blash won't do good things. I said many times he has the makings of becoming a great NHL coach. I just think people should temper their expectations. a little. Most cases of teams suddenly surging under a new coach is when s*** has been bad with the previous coach. Usually because of a team fully buying into the new coach. I am 100% confident the team will 100% buy into Blash. The thing is, they 100% bought into Babs as well. I do expect improvement, I just don't expect a sudden cup run because of a new coach, is all. The struggle at the end of the season was something that happens to most teams. It was just ill timed. Not many teams get through the season without battling through a tough time. The team also started to play at a level in the first round we haven't seen in a long time once game 3 rolled around. Look at what Tampa has done after the first round. You have to give Babs credit (and of course the team as well) for stifling Tampa's D like they have. Not saying Blash can't do the same behind the bench. Just giving Babs his props. He has done a great job with this organization. Blash will to. Ignoring NHL experience, we are going from one really good coach to another. Both who have shown they can get the best out of players. Because of that, I'm not expected some sort of drastic improvement based 100% on coaching. Though I do expect improvement overall. In the end, I think experiences the young players have gotten will impact the team most. I have no doubt Blash will do a fine job continuing what has been started in the rebuild. No doubt there will be some minor changes to how the team plays. But he isn't gonna drastically change the makeup and play of this team. Nor will he be expected to.

I can understand that, but none of it bothers me at all. I wasn't alive for the old school rivalry, and I enjoy the hell out of the way the Blackhawks play the game. If they keep winning, then so be it. It will never take away from what the wings have done. Nobody forgets the Oilers in the 80's, or the Islanders in the 70's. I want Chicago to stay relevant so we can meet them in the finals at some point. Rating records would be broken. And the hockey on the ice would be phenomenal.

The old toy wasn't donated. He left. It was out of Holland's control. He wasn't forced out to be replaced. Blash is a guy Babcock hired. Babcock pretty well groomed him. The Babcock stamp of approval on Blash is what keeps me at ease about our coaching situation. The Pens were s***ting the bed when they fired Therrien and brought in Bylsma. That was 100% a case of exactly what I was talking about. A struggling team bringing in a fresh face is always a great thing in the short term. Like I said, the true test of Blash will be beyond this upcoming season. Babs kept this team competitive and working hard for ten years. Even through a rebuild. Only great coaches do that. People keep pointing to early playoff exits as concrete evidence of Babcock some how not being one of the best coaches in the world. While conveniently overlooking the youth on the roster having yet how to learn how to win. Screw the year we lost to Chicago in round 2. That was a shortened season. Weird things happened. The Leafs made the playoffs for god sake. The Tampa series was the first real playoff lesson for the youth on this team. That is when they finally started to get better every playoff game. That would have continued going into next season with Babcock, and it will continue going into next season without Babcock. When the team does better next year, it won;t be because of a magical coaching change. Like I said, a new voice only makes an immediate positive impact when the ship is sinking. Not when a team is already on the rise anyway. We are well aware you are gonna prance around about how "right" you are about Babcock holding this team back when the Wings improve upon things next season. But most of us will also know there is so much more to the story than a coach. The team has made strides in becoming better this past season. Babcock had a huge part in that, whether you agree with it or not. Blashill will do a fine job carrying that torch. But he isn't gonna be setting the world on fire like some of you expect.

I think there is no harm in being excited. It's something new. Sure there is a small chance it can be really bad. But in the end, even if Babs stayed, he wasn't gonna coach forever. The team is about as best suited to replace a coach as a team can possibly be. I agree that keeping Babs would have been the best option. But he is gone. I'm not gonna dwell on it. Just gonna be excited to see what Blash can do. He may be option B, but he is a damn fine option B.

His voice is literally identical to Babcock's. Realgud.

These are also always situations where the teams fired previous coaches due to being in a tail spin. That was not the case with Babs and Detroit. The team wasn't s***ting the bed or badly under performing. At worst they played to their potential. If Blash can have them continue playing to their potential, great! But he isn't gonna suddenly turn them into a cup winning team. It will take more than just coaching to do that. We had a coach that could get the job done before. I also feel like we still will going forward. With Babs coaching this team, they were never at any point out-coached. Out played? Overmatched? Sure. Come up short? Sure. But never out coached. If anything the Wings at times overachieved with the help of Babs doing the outchoaching. Q had no answers for Babs when we went up 3-1 on Chicago a couple years back. It was Chicago taking their game and deeper roster to that next level that allowed them to come back. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited for the Blashill era. I'll also miss Babs being around. But I have no doubts Blash can become a great NHL coach. But people just need to keep expectations in check. The team should improve next year based on experience alone. Blash just needs to have them playing the way they can to reach that. Blash vs Babs is something that can only be judged after a few seasons. Not just one. I have no doubt the team will buy in to the new coach. But it's not like they were tuning Babs out. This team worked their asses off for Babs. They made mistakes, they've at times struggled, but they've always played hard. We've been lucky to have Babs for 10 years, and we are lucky to have a guy like Blashill groomed to take the reigns. Reasons like this are just one of many at why Holland is great at what he does.

The thing is, the Hawks are basically playing with four dmen. I want them to win because there is no way they can have enough gas for the finals.

I agree with everything except for Montreal not having weaknesses. Their team is full of weaknesses, that were disguised by an MVP season from their goalie. Little scoring depth, garbage down the middle, and one of their two best dman is showing his age, while the other is just as likely to cost his team a game then he is to win them one because of his antics. The east is definitely getting better though. It's also great to see speed and skill becoming more important than big bodied wear and tear.

You lost me at #1.

Maybe the 2015 playoffs of s***ty goalies will raise Jimmy's trade value.

If a GM comes in to a successful franchise and maintains success, they deserve credit. 100%. A few careless moves and the core of a great team can fall apart. If a GM comes into a mess and can't show any progress after a 2-3 years (even improving at the AHL level is a start), they are at fault. It's a case of if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. If a GM comes into a success and turns it into a mess, well, that speaks for itself.

The conference finals is potential two games away from Stanley Cup finals ratings death.

All teams score fluke goals. Part of the game.

I see it s teams being that good they got this far despite poor goaltending. It's insane. 3/4 goalies left are so capable of s***ting the bed any given night. Makes me thankful for the tandem we have.

I want a tired Blackhawk team to win the series, with the east taking the final. If the Blackhawk go the distance and lose, they'll be that less likely to win it all next year due to all the hockey they've been playing.