A Step in the Right Direction
by Gootzman on Jun 16, 2009 12:03 PM MST
19 comments
via www.mtscentre.ca
With the rejection of Jim Balsillie by the bankruptcy court the Phoenix Coyotes have a bit of a clearer picture of their future.
While the occurrences of the ice have been dominating the headlines, an important issue that needs to be looked at is how the Phoenix Coyotes can be better on the ice and start climbing their way out of the rebuilding phase and into the contender status. There is no step by step guide to building a Stanley Cup championship team but there is a key component that is needed for this happen.
The head coach and his staff are responsible for making their team ready to go every night. Whether it is going over strategies they use, those the opponent uses, or simply working on the fundamentals of the game, a head coach needs to be able to do these things well if a team is to succeed. The coach needs to have a system that his players believe in and one the team is willing to work in.
Wayne Gretzky has been coaching the Phoenix Coyotes for 4 seasons now. He has only finished with a .500 record or better just once with the team never finishing above 4th in the Pacific division in his tenure.
I understand that Wayne Gretzky is one of, if not the, best player to ever lace up a pair of skates. However, as sports history shows, success playing on the ice, court, or field does not necessarily translate into success as a head coach.
When the Great One first became head coach, I was skeptical about the whole idea but I gave Wayne a shot. I was hoping he would prove me wrong and really become a great head coach. However, unfortunately, the situation has not improved for Phoenix and it is because Gretzky is the head coach.
If this was a team of veteran NHL players who knew their way around the NHL I would not mind having Gretzky around. However, the Phoenix Coyotes are a team with 13 players on the active roster who are 25 years of age or younger. Many of them are still learning the rigors of the NHL and need a veteran coach who knows how to teach and motivate players. They need a coach who has a system that they know forwards and backwards. When the system breaks down, they need to know what went wrong and how the system can be improved to maximize a team's chances of winning.
Wayne Gretzky has not shown anything that makes me believe that he knows what he is doing as a head coach. He has benched and scratched players who are playing well, has not improved any of the special teams over his few seasons, and has a staff with him that is not fit for the NHL. I loved Ulf Samuelsson as a player but I highly doubt he knows what he is doing with the power play which finished in 28th this past season with a success rate of just 14.5%.
The penalty kill is another story that is dark and dismal for the Phoenix Coyotes. Also finishing in 28th this past season, the PK has been absolutely dismal and led to many losses late in games when the Coyotes would take late penalties with a small lead. The Coyotes have responsible defensive players such as Martin Hanzal, Daniel Winnik, and Steven Reinprecht, but they need a system that works to combat opposing power plays.
There are some candidates out in the hockey world, such as Peter Laviolette and Mike Sullivan, but this team needs a group of leaders behind the bench who can teach and mold the young players of the organization into successful and responsible NHL players. The Coyotes do need many aspects if they want to win the Stanley Cup, but bringing in a coach who knows how to run a team properly will go a long way in bringing success now and in the future.
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Name a coach who is willing and able you think would do better with what Gretzky has to work with. Saying "Fire the coach." is as easy as it is shortsighted.
by PBJ on Jun 16, 2009 2:42 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
Anyone. Odin already mentioned Peter Laviolette and Mike Sullivan. What about Craig Mactavish? Even Mike Keenan is out there. Gretzky led a team that was in a playoff spot at the All-Star game to a team that finished 6th last. Any other coach with that kind of fall would have been canned.
A Nation of Masochists a blog dedicated to Toronto sports fans, who are continually punished but keep coming back for more.
by furcifer on Jun 16, 2009 5:47 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
I dunno...
Laviolette was where at the All Star game? Unemployed since December 3rd?
Sullivan managed an assistant gig with TB this year.
MacTavish was fired April 15th after missing the playoffs with the Oilers three years in a row.
Keenan did make it to the playoffs the last two seasons but lost in the first round both times and was fired May 29th.
So at least those potential candidates are all available.
The job posting would certainly tempt a top coach.
“Come coach a team in limbo. Will the NHL let us spend much above the cap minimum for UFAs? How can our GM make a deal when he doesn’t know what contracts we can afford? What an exciting challenge! Don’t forget you’ll have a front row seat for the auction in September too!”
But if you say so, “anyone” would be better.
by PBJ on Jun 17, 2009 2:55 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
sorry, PBJ,
but….have you been to many coyote games the last four years? i have…season ticket holder, 205 i18/19….i talk to a lot of people out on the patio before the game and during intermissions(yeah, i’m a smoker and i gotta get my fix…) there was a lot of criticism in the early stages, but a lot of us took a “wait and see” attitude and were willing to give him a break…but as time has gone on, it just has not gotten any better…gootzman made a number of good points that i happen to agree with…he missed the line change thingy which is a pet peeve of mine and others that i met that have played or coached hockey…have ya noticed you haven’t gotten a lot of support here for your position…i’m not sayin’ you’re wrong, but i see it differently…gretzky just doesn’t have coaching chops and the overall coaching staff leaves something to be desired…look at the pk/pp numbers, look at the faceoff percentage….why can’t a guy that scored more points on the power play than most players score in their career teach it?? these are skilled hockey players, but my wife, who does not know that much about technical points in the game, will turn to me and say something like “how come the other team is so organized and together and the yotes look like a chinese fire drill”???? coaching..
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 17, 2009 3:27 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Interesting reply. Thanks for that.
Just a few things, though.
Could you expand on,“…i’m not sayin’ your wrong,…”? Curious, is all.
Also, took your advice and looked at the PK/PP numbers and faceoff percentages.
Found that the Coyotes PK was 76.8% this season with 5 SHG while the Wings PK was 78.3% this season with 6 SHG. Not too many Lidstroms, Datsyuks, Zetterbergs, Rafalskis or Kronvalls on the Coyotes. Not saying think about firing Babcock obviously, just saying stats are sort of a flexible thing.
But consider “…with what Gretzky has to work with.”, right, both on the PK and the PP as well on faceoffs, you know?
The thing is that if with just the first part of the ownership/bankruptcy saga over the Coyotes “…have a bit clearer picture of their future…” there’s certainly no clear picture of what money they have to spend on UFAs so is it reasonable to think new talent is on the way? Man, the only thing on the calendar besides the draft next week is the auction in September. Right in the middle of training camp. Great situation to pitch to a new head coach, for sure.
So isn’t "Saying ‘Fire the coach…shortsighted.’ "?
Great writin’ style there, fellow fan. Good to talk hockey with you. Why “golden bear” — golf, college team?
(P.S. If Scotty Bowman turned to you and said what your wife said that would be one thing, but if she doesn’t know much about the technical side of the game…? Just razin’ on you there, dude — hockey’s sacred for sure, but “the wife” is in another dimension altogether, this everyone knows.)
by PBJ on Jun 18, 2009 1:20 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
goldenbear64
Cal, fall 64 spring 65….yeah, mario savio, sit-ins, ad hoc commitees, going to class with the sweet smell of tear gas in the air….timothy leary passing out lsd(when it was still legal)….yeah, those were the days…point was that if the wife with her lack of knowledge on the technical side of hockey could see what just about everyone else in the arena could see, then it was pretty obvious…as far as the pp and pk, it’s pretty well sucked since the lockout(last four years…who’s the coach?) even though we got jovo to quarterback it(and don’t even get me started on THAT one…right, odie?) the point is that we have good players that if taught a system could be able to execute that system…i keep yelling “refuse the penalty” cause it rarely does us any good, particularly at significant points of the game. coaching involves installing systems, teaching the players to execute that system, teaching and improving the players skills, correcting errors, motivation, organitzation and preparation…all of the above have been lacking… other than doaner(who plays his guts out) and the new guys(particularly lombo, scottie and prucha) the skills a lot of the players showed in october were the same they showed in april…WTF? the same mistakes were made on a regular basis…coaching also involves discipline, and maybe sometimes sitting a player down when they are not performing(jovo, anyone?). klee and zmik were bright spots on the blueline, boeds, tiki, hanzal, and even the old dog rhino showed good things, lisin(backcheck, enver backcheck) showed mad offensive skills… the goalie mismanagement…just think back…telly sitting till he rusted, sending bryz out against chicago, back to backs….woeful…why send a goalie out against a team that owns him and is in his head…just bad decisions all around…gretzky going on tv the day before a game and lauding the other team and telling how the yotes are gonna have to step up to compete with them…and then they come out flat…and truthfully, now, with the record he has over the last two years(i’ll give him the first two….the team really sucked bad) would he still be coaching if it was another team with another owner? no way…woulda been fired long ago….yeah, given the circumstances, it might be hard to lure another coach to phoenix…but i guarantee that any new owner may not wait til november to clean house….regardless if sully is GMDM’s brother in law…lol…the “i’m not sayin’ your wrong” line…not saying you are, and gretz may become the reincarnacion of scotty bowman…but it’s not lookin’ good….
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 18, 2009 6:03 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
you're preachin'
to the choir, bro….i been sayin’ for two years now gretzky needs to go…moving from player status to a short time in the front office to head coach….puleeeez…been a sports freak for lo these many years and have never seen that work….a,j, hinch of the dbacks is another prime example…ya gotta pay your dues, learn systems that work, learn to motivate, learn to make adjustments on the fly…..so many things to learn, and maybe he knows them and doesn’t know how to articulate them…but too many times in the past we have seen gretzky get outcoached…a game in chicago comes to mind when they changed their spacing at the point and gretz had no counter and no response…WTF!!!! you cannot have a team constantly coming out flat in the first period, not making adjustments in the second, and then trying to crank it up in the third when we’re already 2-3 goals down…no goalie has improved with fuhr as coach…ulf…great guy, great player, and the d on a nightly basis kept making the same mistakes…that’s what coaching is about….correcting mistakes, putting a system in place, making players accountable…great one on one plays are exciting BUT THEY RARELY WIN HOCKEY GAMES!!!!!!! although that goal by doaner with blake draped over his back is an exception…but overall gretzky is just not cutting it….friends who go to practices comment on a regular basis about how disjointed they are and how much preparation for that nights opponent was lacking….given his record, gretzky would have been fired last year if he weren’t a part owner….for chrissakes, the pens were defending cup runner-ups and fired their coach in midseason…
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 16, 2009 4:13 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
and don't even
get me started on the incessant line changes and gretzkys “a forward is a forward and should be able to play any position with any two other forwards”…i call bullshit on that….how many linemates did gretzky have total in edmonton???? i’m sorry, pbj, but space does not allow for the number of coaches that could do a better job…hell, i’m still ticked the yotes fired francis…
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 16, 2009 4:16 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I completely agree
I thought it was a bogus PR stunt when they made him the coach in the first place. Then the idiotic talking heads up here with their eyes still focused on his playing career were talking about him as coach of the year and coach of Team Canada.
4 playoff-less seasons and a stunning collapse this year means he’s got to turn the reins over to someone else. They’ll probably move him laterally into another position out of respect.
Question for you Odin: How much of the ridiculous salary Gretzky is making is strictly for coaching and not for his “other duties”?
A Nation of Masochists a blog dedicated to Toronto sports fans, who are continually punished but keep coming back for more.
by furcifer on Jun 16, 2009 5:50 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
Not sure of exact numbers...
But I believe 2 million is for coaching and 6 million is for being Director of Hockey Operations.
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by Travis Hair on Jun 16, 2009 6:47 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Dave Tippett, anyone?
As a Dallas-area resident about to relocate to the PHX area, I was excited to see Balsilly’s bid shot down. Dave Tippett got a raw deal from the Stars, in my opinion. The guy can coach. Last season he had to deal with a psychopath for about 1/3 of the year, had injuries to practically every key player, and still almost got them into the playoffs. Tip has developed young talent…Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Steve Ott (yes an irritant, but a career year last year), Matt Niskanen. With the core of youngsters the Coyotes have, improvement would be a lock.
by TXNoles85 on Jun 16, 2009 8:43 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I support this choice. Tippett is out there and available so the Coyotes should make their position available for him in the most media-friendly way. After all, firing Gretzky will instantly make the Coyotes the most hated team in Canada, if they aren’t already.
by HockeyJoe on Jun 17, 2009 12:06 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Nah… I think they get the fact, for the most part, that Gretzky hasn’t been that great of a coach. love for the guy will only take you so far without wins. Reports are already saying he’d have some sort of role with the team, but probably not behind the bench or director of hockey ops like he is now.
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by Travis Hair on Jun 17, 2009 9:38 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Bingo, OM, I was just about to type as much. Canadians are pretty indifferent to Gretzky’s non-playing career. Had this happened right after the 2002 Olympics, there might have been some reaction, but I think most Canadian fans have come to terms with Gretzky’s off-ice feet of clay.
Hockey Joe, I don’t have any sense that Canadians hate the Coyotes. A lot of them don’t have much use for Gary Bettman, and there’s certainly some anti-Americanism tied up in all of this crap, but I don’t think people will hate the Coyotes. They’ll likely go back to not paying any attention at all, unless the team gets good. Dave Tippett would be a good choice to get that part of the process in gear, for all the reasons TXNoles85 mentioned. He also got the boot because his goalie fell off the face of the earth, which wasn’t his fault at all. He and Don Maloney would make a good management foundation for the franchise.
by Robert Cleave on Jun 17, 2009 10:00 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
As a long time lurker for “Howling”, it’s good to see you guys talking hockey again…next to draft talk and free agent talk, I can’t think of anything better to talk about off season than whether or not to fire the coach, even if the coach is The-Best-Player-Ever.
I guess it’s not really surprising,though…Howe, Orr and Hull had better sense than to get into coaching (though I think Hull might have been a player-coach for the WHA Jets)…Esposito and Rocket Richard were dismal behind the bench…even in other sports, it’s rare to have a superstar turn out to be a good coach or manager (e.g. Ted Williams in baseball and Bill Russell’s later jobs in basketball).
My question is, who makes the call? Does Gretzky fire himself?
by tbell61 on Jun 17, 2009 5:14 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
THe new owner would either have to buy him out or get him to agree to step aside.
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by Travis Hair on Jun 17, 2009 9:38 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
thats the problem....
he keeps talking about how great it is to be coaching and how much he enjoys it and can’t see himself doing anything else…scary, scary thought….
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 17, 2009 9:10 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
Food for Thought
I haven’t been following the yotes since TGO started coaching. I have seen his improvements as a coach and we are a better hockey team then we were when he started. The problem is we didn’t improve that much. I can see the coyotes making a playoff run next year. I don’t think Gretz has enough to make it pass the first round. He is just too inexperienced to make a deep playoff run. He needs to be a coach in the AHL or assistant coach to learn the roaps before becoming a full time coach. Gretz was a great player but sent a lot of time on the ice not on the bench. I don’t think he had to analyze his opponents or try to exploit their weaknesses because he was an average player. Also being as talented as he was he elevated those around him making them better players. Not to mention having the name that he did I would have defenses double teaming him opening up other players, kinda like Ovetchkin does today. Being the The Great One does have its disadvantages. Add to the fact that he jumped right into coaching the NHL with no coaching experience prior and we wonder why the Coyotes struggle. It is better to get a coach with a good track record to get us deep into the playoffs and save the team then to keep Gretzski’s coaching experiment going.
by GalenYote on Jun 18, 2009 6:41 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
i think, in so
many words, i have been saying the same thing for the last two years…galenyote, you been readin’ some of my old posts on gretzky?lol…yeah, agree completely
who will rid me of this damn priest?
by goldenbear64 on Jun 19, 2009 8:50 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
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