Time to change our coaching staff
by vinco on Feb 4, 2011 12:23 AM MST
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After losing to Minnesota playoffs are still far far away. I don`t want to act nervously. And I consider this very carefully. It`s time to change our coaching staff. We advanced to playoffs last year because nobody has seen us as contender so we could won several games at the beginning of the season. Craig Anderson had career year. Now the view is different. There are a lot of questionable decisions made by coaching staff. We mix the lines all the time so that nobody could use to each other. We put Matt Humwick in the mix despite his poor poor play. We use three undersized defensemen in our linup in one time. We send Galiardi back to LEM. We use two undersized defenseman as a pair in a game. We could not take full advantage from our players (Yip, Galiardi, Stastny). We don`t have our own identity. And we are terrible in terms of consistency both in a game time situation (we often dominate in first period and suddenly seem to get lost) and in long term (look at our win streaks, there are very very short). I think it is last bell to do something. We have a lot of talent - lot of offensive talented guys (Duchene, Stazz, Duke, Doctor, CGDS, Liles, Shattenkirk), nice shutdown staff (Radar, Gali, Winnik, Dupuis, O`Byrne) and despite missing a lot of time because of injuries we could play well and be in playoff contention. Our team is built with patience and wise so we expect the same from our coaching staff. And I think we could do this only by hire another coaching staff.
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Sacco is going to lose his job to shitty goaltending and poor defense, you can’t change out all 6 defensmen, but you can change out the coach.
Each of my replies is a work of art, each more brilliant than the last.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Feb 4, 2011 8:40 AM MST reply actions
Unfortunately I agree. The rebuild is done, We have some great talent up front that have proven (earlier) they can score, KSE won’t pony up the dough and get some top tier shut-down defensemen to keep the pucks off Andy, teams demoralized, fans are waning…first casualty will be the coaching staff. I like Sacco, but if it ain’t workin’ it’s gotta be fixed.
the rebuild is nowhere near done. we are a team still short several defensemen and with many young players who arent ready to be center stage in the NHL yet
PETER FORSBERG. WHEN
by Cole D Hamilton on Feb 4, 2011 1:43 PM MST up reply actions
How could you possibly think the team is done? The rebuild is done when you have a team competing for a division title. Yes many of the young guys played well their rookie/sophomore season, but they are also hitting slumps. Maybe if the players rebound, and continue to improve you can call the forwards “good”, but until that time they are players who overachieved their rookie years. Once they play consistent you can call them good. I have not seen one promising defender aside from shattenkirk yet, and as many agree, the Defense needs an overhaul. If Sacco would play Holos then maybe things would be a little better….don’t even get me started about the goaltending.
"I cannot really hear what Jeremy says because I've got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ear."-Patrick Roy
I must respectfully restate, the rebuild is done. The core of the team is established, if GS was still building, he’d have been more active adding pieces in the off season. He is an accountant by trade so I’ll give you he may just be acting responsible but…he is relying on attrition through poor play and retirement. Of course we draft and add pieces here and there, but the Avs have had cap $ and have done nothing to add major pieces so either A) KSE does not wish to add salary for talent (for any of several reasons), or B) They are saving the $ to retain the players they currently have, sitting on 17mil in cap space while the team is hovering at .500 isn’t a good indicator that we’re building. As far as coaching staff, I would love to see them stay but you have to look at history. When a team isn’t performing the first thing to go is coaches, I bet as much as everyone loved to see coach Q leave, the trickle of blood down your chin from biting through your lip as he hoisted the cup last year has taught us all a lesson. Sorry, My opinions, love to stir the pot, have fun.
by I am not food on Feb 4, 2011 4:57 PM MST up reply actions
inactivity wasnt a sign of being done, it was a sign of the shit market. Sherman then very aggressively went to acquire other pieces in midseason, and im sure he’ll look for more this deadline and into the summer
PETER FORSBERG. WHEN
by Cole D Hamilton on Feb 4, 2011 6:21 PM MST up reply actions
DEVILS ADVOCATE HERE!
Byfuglien, Ladd, and Hamhuis were all had in the off-season (hamhuis traded a few times b4 signing). Any could have addressed the obvious issues with soft D. It was a shallow market, but not empty. But you can’t keep waiting or the second coming of #77 to come on the market to trade for $1.57 and a Lot B parking attendant. KSE’s holding onto the purse strings tighter than a duck’s butt in water. Waiting 4-5 years for the prospects to develop while our goalies take target practice won’t work. Doesn’t make guys want to get traded here either if the teams in the basement getting ready for their breakout season. Then again…maybe the Shermanator has a master plan and is playing his cards close to the vest.
AAAAAAAnd GO!
by I am not food on Feb 4, 2011 7:18 PM MST up reply actions
I hate New Jersey
and will not tolerate you advocating for the bastards that took our hockey team away.
Because Foppa at 50% is still better than 95% of the NHL.
by Hopfenkopf on Feb 9, 2011 10:08 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Coaching staff fine
Lots of injuries can lead to trouble. Jumping on a bandwagon to mess with coaching staff can really mess up a team. This conference is very close. Give Avs a chance.
Jumping on a bandwagon to mess with coaching staff can really mess up a team.
IMO, there are two rules you follow when you hire an inexperienced coach that’s trying to build a team according to a specific vision.
1. Put experienced coaches around him to provide stable ground (like putting a rookie next to an experienced guy that can help the transition to the pros along); realise he’ll make mistakes (but then, every coach does) and allow him to grow into the role.
2. Don’t quit midway through the rebuilding process. You owe it to the coach to let him see it through. It seems to happen a lot nowadays, but coaches barely get two years to build a team and that isn’t enough. Nothing stings more than quitting on a guy before he’s realise his vision/potential, only to see him flourish elsewhere. At least give him a chance.
That said, one can see where I stand on the Sacco issue. This team is nowhere near done.
"When they should be throwing to the cutoff man, they are reading Men's Health for ab workout tips. When they should be sacrifice bunting, they are buying effeminate designer jeans. When they should be fouling off pitches, they are masturbating. Always, they are masturbating."
"God I'm excited for those two to fail miserably." - SBNation writer Andrew Sharp on Josh McDaniels and Tim Tebow.
by Tempestuous Binary on Feb 4, 2011 11:20 PM MST up reply actions
Absolutely. We aren’t in win now mode. We have a couple years til we’re a serious contender. I’ll enjoy the kool aid and watch the young guys grow into the leaders of this team. Trim some fat in the off season, address some issues, and improve over the previous season. That’s the plan and we’re stickin to it. Now hand me some more of that purple stuff.
Colin Campbell doesn't have the balls to eject Semin.
I couldnt disagree more
This coaching staff has done wonders with player development over the last year and a half and will continue to do so. Remember, we have young coaches, relatively new to the position, just like our players there is a learning curve and they’ll get through it. If you think Stewart, Duchene, Galiardi, Shattenkirk, Winnik or Oreilly would be the kind of players they are right now, with a different coaching staff? You’re sorely mistaken. You are proposing firing a coach, who was a finalist for the Jack Adams last year, because his team, with the most injuries in the league (most of which on its top 6 wingers) and losing one of its top pairing d-men (quincey) is a few points out of the playoff position. Yes, this YOUNG team, one of the youngEST teams is inconsistent. Young players generally are, its unfair to assume that after only a season and a half Matt Duchene can carry the team every night, or Chris Stewart. This team is rebuilding, the young players will continue growing and becoming more consistent but in my opinion, its a factor of experience, not coaching
PETER FORSBERG. WHEN
WRONG
I feel your pain, I really do. I’m as frustrated as any of us, and I tend to dip to the glass half empty side of things.
But we are in the middle of a rebuild, and these kids will get much better as they mature. We have a good core up front, but only one future guy on D currently playing in the NHL. There’s still a ways to go, and I think Sacco and staff have done a great job so far, dealing with such a young team.
I’m in the middle on this one. I’m not as enamored of the job Sacco has done as some but I think it would be jumping the gun to make a change mid season. By the off season, though, if the team doesn’t start to play better, it’d be perfectly appropriate to look at a change. The team is capable of playing better than they are and that’s not all Sacco’s fault, but I don’t think he should be completely absolved either.
That all being said I hope the ship gets righted and talk of a coaching change come the off season is totally ridiculous.
exactly, I agree with you totally, Sacco has to adjust as a coach just like any rookie baseball hitter has to adjust after his first time though the league, you start out as a mystery but eventually everyone is breaking down tape of what you do, so then it’s up to you to adjust.
All bets are off if PF joins the team, the avs won’t squander a chance for him to get them to the playoff $$$. It’s easier to get a new coach then 4 new defensemen.
Each of my replies is a work of art, each more brilliant than the last.
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Feb 4, 2011 7:10 PM MST up reply actions
As frustrating as this team is at the moment. There is hope ahead, unlike the “season that shall not be named”. The rebuild is not over and may not be for another season or two (longer?).
- The coaching staff is as young in experience as is the players. They need to learn the game and learn to adjust.
- The Avs have the youngest team in the league.
- Most of the offense is in their second full year in the league, and any team will take a drop in production when 2 of it’s top 6 wingers go down for any length of time. (Mueller, Flash, Stewart, Jones). Still they are adapting and early in the season they were one of the top scoring offenses in the league; they still rank 4th despite the recent struggles and injuries.
- The defense is the next cog in the rebuild. It’s terrible. I imagine the Avs are just trying to shift through the pieces and trying to assess which pieces to keep. Unfortunately, this may continue into next season…Foote may retire (very probable) Hunwick/Cumiskey/Liles/Shatty, one or 2 need to go (I’d keep Liles and Shatty). Like Shatty this season I imagine a couple of guys are going to get a crash course in the NHL game.
- Goaltending. Isn’t solidified, but with the current defense and the fact that both goalies have pretty similar numbers (especially the GAA) I’m not sure you can really blame the goalies.
-Coaching staff still makes mistakes, but hopefully the continue to learn as well. If things don’t change after next season, when the organ-I-zation has shifted through the ashes of the defense, then it may be time to go another direction.
The Avs defense is "air tight"....so tight it's gasping for air and turning purple.
I would defer to Brian Engblom’s post game talk. He says that the NHL has adjusted to the Avs, and now the ASvs are in the process of adjusting back. It will take time. If Sacco continues to try the same things then maybe he should go, but I see Engblom’s POV, namely that there are a lot of good things to be seen in the game today.
I have said on a few occasions that this iust is not that good of a team. Well, they aren’t, now. I hope they can continue to learn and play their way to dominance.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
If one were to absolve Sacco of any blame for the way this team has played during this tailspin (which seemingly gets worse every passing game), you would conversely have to deny him any credit for for the successes of the young team over the past season in a half. Personally I think he does deserve credit for coaching a young team to success… and at the same time you have to look at the present situation and recognize that he’s not getting his job done.
Personally, if the poor play continues, I’d be happy to see Hartley brought back come the off season. Don’t know if things are sour between him and Lacroix… but since Lacroix doesn’t seem to be willing to look outside his inner circle to hire coaches, it may be somewhat realistic.
Major overreaction.
Sacco was hailed as a miracle worker around here just 15 or 20 games ago. In my opinion, he is a tough love coach he demands hard work and rewards it. Sometimes people need a little time and space to develop and learn from their mistakes. Sacco has more than earned a bit more time. If he hasn’t done it by the end of the season, then look for a change.
Does he not deserve the same stability you ask for him to give his lines. The constant turmoil of the roster has to have been a challenge for him too. He’s never used it as an excuse because he doesn’t want his team to. However, I will use it for him.
Hunwick- Twice as good as Holos when seen through the (extremely) narrow lens of takeways!
THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Are we done yet?
Trade someone, yes. Fire the coaching staff (not just Sacco, but the lot?!?!?!?!?), no.
That is just dumb.
All that we need is a winning streak. See what Calgary has done? Do a trade or two, and bang: that’s us.
Except Calgary fired their GM….
The Avs defense is "air tight"....so tight it's gasping for air and turning purple.
He was "fired" the minute.....
Jay Feaster was hired. Just like Q took out Denis Savard in Chicago.
Just like in Calgary when they were in the crapper, Feaster went down, told them that no one was getting traded, and to have fun. He went in there, got rid of the white elephant in the room, chilled them out, and they started winning.
And that’s what Sherman has to do: either make the trade to releave some pressure in the dressing room so the players aren’t on pins and needles… or go in there and tell them that he believes in them and no one is getting traded.
Oh…. and remind Craig Anderson that he’s in a contract year.
I think that Sacco should go in the off season
Unless this team turns around 180 degrees for the rest of the season.
The players seem to have tuned him out and his strategies (are there any?) are not working. He got a pass last year because other teams haven’t worked him out. This season, they’ve wised up and he doesn’t have anything else up his sleeve.
His benchings and discipline do not seem to be working. Did Gali learn anything from his short spell in the AHL? Did Andy suddenly explode in form? Paging Chris Stewart, we have found a GD that used to be in the middle of your name. Do you want it back? No?
The same problems this year are the same problems last year:
Crap PK,
Crap D
Can’t clear the puck from the defensive zone,
No one in front of net
Too much fart-arsing around with the puck looking for the perfect pass
Small d-men with no presence, (trading Cohen for Hunwick was stupid)
Yes, the Avs have had a lot of injuries. Guess what? Last year, we also had a lot of injuries. Perhaps the physios and medical team should be fired too because the advice the Avs are getting seems to be wrong. Who cleared Mueller to play should be fired. Is it a coincidence that the Avs are perenially injured? Is it because of the physical, gritty way we play? No.
Do you know that the Avs are sitting in 30th place for GAA? Edmonton have only lost a couple of games more than us since Jan 1st. This is where the Avs currently are. Being compared to Edmonton. Our D has been shite since the Olympic break last year and nothing has been done to address that.
Peter Forsberg - now with added despicableness
So were people as forgiving of Granato during the season that shall not be named (to the point of calling any criticism of him “dumb” as you see here a couple of posts above)? Granato had to deal with significant injuries and a less than inspiring defensive corps as well (not to mention terrible goaltending). I’m pretty sure there wasn’t much argument amongst fans when he was fired (more relief since no one was sure if he would be fired).
The Avs are currently on as horrific a tailspin as anything that was seen during that season. Personnel and injuries are playing a part in it, just like it did during Granato’s watch. Should there be no turn around, I’m not sure what Sacco has done that would warrant different consideration than Granato received.
Granato was in his SECOND stint as a head coach for the Avs, that is why he’d get much of a pass; injuries or not.
Colorado Avalanche penalties...on a whole bunch of guys!
by Americanario on Feb 9, 2011 10:01 PM MST up reply actions
I guess I don’t see that as being significant enough to warrant such a different reaction. FWIW I’m not arguing that Granato deserved a pass. I’m also not really arguing that Sacco should be fired (now, mid season), just that he bears some culpability for the current play of the team, just as Granato did, and just as Sacco got credit for the stretches when the team has played well for him.
If this current tailspin ends up being what defines the season, first stint with the Avs or not, I’d like to see the Avs take a good hard look at making a coaching change, in addition to bolstering the roster.
by NomadJackson on Feb 9, 2011 10:48 PM MST up reply actions
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