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[F.Michael 4,590]

11 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Yeah coach at that level has got to be 80% just managing egos

IIRC - Hull would have his morning coffee in Bowman's office - shooting the $hit like they're ol'pals...25 min later - Bowman would be yelling at Homer, Shanny, Stevie Y, etc for some silly miscue on the ice.

[kliq 3,755]

4 hours ago, F.Michael said:

IIRC - Hull would have his morning coffee in Bowman's office - shooting the $hit like they're ol'pals...25 min later - Bowman would be yelling at Homer, Shanny, Stevie Y, etc for some silly miscue on the ice.

I think that just speaks to how good Bowman was at doing this. Truly not an easy thing to pull off, but I really do think age helps.

Edited April 5, 2019 by kliq

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Bowman got away with a lot of stuff because he won. Just because it worked for him doesn't mean it would work for anyone else

[kliq 3,755]

2 hours ago, DickieDunn said:

Bowman got away with a lot of stuff because he won. Just because it worked for him doesn't mean it would work for anyone else

I think it goes back to respect. Bowman was one of the best coaches of all time, and he had the respect of his locker room. That respect didnt come over night, but he gained it from winning, and by managing those ego's properly. Not an easy thing to accomplish.

[chaps80 1,591]

Two more years? Mannnn...

[Euro_Twins 4,476]

Babcock couldn't even get a stacked toronto team to 100 points 2 years straight, let alone past the first round of the playoffs. When can we stop acting like hes some otherworldly coach?

Our teams underperformed save for 2 years under him, they only "over performed" when our team was falling apart zetterberg was solely willing us into the playoffs.

Babs isn't a great coach, his line combos and in game adjustments are just as bad if not worse than blashill and he gets praised as almost as good as scotty?!?

Come on guys all you guys did was bash him in Detroit and praise him in toronto, get a grip!

[chaps80 1,591]

I don't see Babs getting the Leafs much further these playoffs either. Not only because of what you mentioned with his weird lines and adjustments and not playing the guys he should, but he had Andersen play 60 games. Not that should be too much for a starter, but you'd think Babs would have learned to rest him a bit more considering what happened in the playoffs last year when he looked drained and fell apart. Guess it's hard to do that when your backups are sub-par though. 

[kliq 3,755]

13 minutes ago, chaps80 said:

I don't see Babs getting the Leafs much further these playoffs either. Not only because of what you mentioned with his weird lines and adjustments and not playing the guys he should, but he had Andersen play 60 games. Not that should be too much for a starter, but you'd think Babs would have learned to rest him a bit more considering what happened in the playoffs last year when he looked drained and fell apart. Guess it's hard to do that when your backups are sub-par though. 

Looks like letting go of Curtis McElhinney was a mistake by Dubas, Sparks doesnt seem like anything special while Curtis McElhinney played well in Carolina this year, he was pretty much the starter until he went down with an injury.

[chaps80 1,591]

15 minutes ago, kliq said:

Looks like letting go of Curtis McElhinney was a mistake by Dubas, Sparks doesnt seem like anything special while Curtis McElhinney played well in Carolina this year, he was pretty much the starter until he went down with an injury.

Yep, it was a mistake, considering how solid a backup he was for them. He was going to get claimed when he hit waivers. Sparks was sent to the AHL despite signing a one year extension, and Hutchinson is the backup heading into the playoffs. Sounds like they didn't have much confidence in him bailing out Andersen if need be.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/leafs-left-no-choice-remove-sparks-lineup-playoffs-loom/

Dubas isn't well liked by Leafs fans for letting Mac go and signing Nylander to ridiculous money when he was being a little s*** and holding out.

Edited April 7, 2019 by chaps80

[Barrie 900]

Do big name coaches want to come here now? Maybe in 2 years they will. I see Blashill as a bridge coach.

21 hours ago, chaps80 said:

I don't see Babs getting the Leafs much further these playoffs either. Not only because of what you mentioned with his weird lines and adjustments and not playing the guys he should, but he had Andersen play 60 games. Not that should be too much for a starter, but you'd think Babs would have learned to rest him a bit more considering what happened in the playoffs last year when he looked drained and fell apart. Guess it's hard to do that when your backups are sub-par though. 

I agree. The Leafs defense is weak. Guys on the blueline look clueless, and are out of position a lot. I blame that on coaching.

[Dabura 12,207]

2 hours ago, Barrie said:

I agree. The Leafs defense is weak. Guys on the blueline look clueless, and are out of position a lot. I blame that on coaching.

It's easy and fun to rag on Babcock, but, to be fair, I think the problem goes beyond just the coaching.

I'd say a big part of it is the fact that the team's young leaders are mostly scoring wizards who never really had to learn the ins and outs of solid two-way hockey. Even Tavares has never been especially good on the defensive side of the puck. I know their blue line is lacking, but I think the lack of shutdown mettle in the top 6-9 forward group really exacerbates that problem. There's no Datsyuk, no Zetterberg, no Bergeron, no Kopitar. no Barkov. I might even throw Brayden Point into the conversation, as he's always been a solid two-way centerman. Basically, there's no Delta Force operator who Babcock can trust to get any and every job done. Their best shutdown guy is probably Kadri and he's behind Matthews and Tavares on the center depth chart.

That's one of the potential drawbacks of building around high-scoring lottery kids: they've always had it easy, always been able to outscore any shortcomings...and now they're in a situation where that isn't the case and there isn't much else in their game or their life experiences that they can draw on. Adversity strengthens.

 

[Euro_Twins 4,476]

Yes but they added jake muzzin, and Tavares. By all accounts they are a better team then they ever have been and they are worse than last year. Is it coaching, bad chemistry, a lack a defensive depth, or 2 way forwards? Or is it possible that Babcock isn't the greatest coach in the nhl after all?

 

Ask yourselves, would Quenville, Trotz, Cooper, or any other top tier coach be able to get a better result out of this team 4 years in? I'd bet they could, especially Trotz, who I believe to be far and away the best coach in the league. 

[Dabura 12,207]

6 hours ago, Euro_Twins said:

Yes but they added jake muzzin, and Tavares. By all accounts they are a better team then they ever have been and they are worse than last year. Is it coaching, bad chemistry, a lack a defensive depth, or 2 way forwards? Or is it possible that Babcock isn't the greatest coach in the nhl after all?

Ask yourselves, would Quenville, Trotz, Cooper, or any other top tier coach be able to get a better result out of this team 4 years in? I'd bet they could, especially Trotz, who I believe to be far and away the best coach in the league. 

I guess what I'm saying is the Leafs are sort of a flawed team. They can score in bunches, but that only gets you so far. (Not unlike the Capitals under Boudreau.) Eastern teams know what they're all about; they've watched lots of tape, they have strategies for shutting them down. The Leafs' young leaders will have to find a way to grow their games. Some of that's Babcock's responsibility and some of it's simply "losing until you know how to win."

It's possible a guy like Trotz would be getting more out of this team, but I wouldn't bet big money on it.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Babs #1 coach, miss u bb