TrueBlueGED

Two decades ago! With Hasek!

I have no confidence in either Hutton or Ullmark to be NHL starters. However, Lehner falling off a cliff in the Bylsma to Housley transition then finding redemption in the Housley to Trotz transition gives me hope a different coach will help.

We really don't, though. The only young players we had in critical positions were Dahlin and Mittelstadt.

Another thing with Q...has he ever had a team that underachieved? Maybe Eleven is right and he can't get more out of his teams than they are capable of (which I disagree with because I still don't know how they won that 3rd Cup), but he also doesn't get less. That's not nothin'.

This is as persuasive of an argument as we're likely to have in this thread. Same could be said of Trotz. He seemed to have capped out in Nashville, goes to Washington and they're the same as ever...then they go and win a Cup. Then he takes the Isles from worst to first (not literally worst to first, but whatever) after they lose their best player for nothing. Again, Boudreau has success everywhere, even if it comes without a Cup. And he's done it with rosters that had very different makeups. I'm a fan. Edit: If nothing else, with Boudreau here, I wouldn't have to see constant whining from fans about how the coach doesn't show any emotion.

I definitely understand this, and I'd usually be in the same spot. One of the big reasons I'm not is because winning in Chicago isn't the totality of his resume. He was a winner long before Chicago residents remembered they had a hockey team, even if he didn't have a Cup at that point.

A lot of players don't sign new contracts in February and still stay in the same place. This isn't unusual. I don't think it's automatic he stays, but I'm not using the calendar to cause panic for myself either. We're an attractive spot for him to be.

I was just scoffing at the notion it was pure puck luck. While things certainly regress towards the expected, xG is still based on a distribution. The Sabres results weren't so far off that as to be shocking. There was more to it than just luck, such as system and usage. This is Housley's second year in a row where the goaltending was atrocious. Yet somehow Lehner is a Vezina candidate in a different system, and was (shootouts aside) perfectly serviceable under Bylsma. If you're a coach with a team consistently looking like an outlier on xG, there are probably some other underlying factors at work.

First, I was a Ruff fan, just didn't think he was the right guy to run a rebuild. Anyway, he did not consistently make deep playoff runs without all-star talent. Can you name a head coach in the last 5 years who has consistently gone deep without talent that you think would justify it?

Indeed. I hope 1) Richards actually knows this and isn't simply making an educated guess, and 2) it's not too little too late.

To paraphrase Mike Babcock when he almost cried after Toronto won the lottery...you need players, man. Find me a coach who has had a long run of success and deep playoff runs without an all-star laden roster.

No, he was killed by believing that reliance on puck luck would lead to wins so long as the volume was sufficient. In other words, he fundamentally misunderstood the statistical arguments being placed before him.

All the more reason it was imperative to move on from Housley in search of someone better, even if you thought Housley *might* be okay with the right roster. We can't be playing checkers while everyone else (other than Ottawa) plays chess.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

No. He tried to tighten the reigns defensively his final year in Washington, but it's absolutely not his calling card.

Right. Our high danger percentage was poop, which is part of the reason our PDO was so low and nobody could score regularly. Right. Our high danger percentage was poop, which is part of the reason our PDO was so low and nobody could score regularly.

No, that was Dale Hunter.

He wins freaking everywhere he goes with vastly different rosters. Sure he hasn't had a ton of success, but neither did Trotz until he went to Washington.

It ain't over till it's over! Get on the phone Botts!

Q is my top choice, even if that looks quite unlikely at this point. Also sign me up for Boudreau if he gets canned. Other than that, I'm not sure there are any retread names out there I'm really interested in. Other than those two, I'm on board with taking a swing at the "next one" like Keefe or Knoblauch (sp?); would also be okay, but not enthusiastic with, Taylor.

That was only an issue within the last year or two, though. For example, he had no issue giving a prime role to Saad when he was young, or to DeBrincat.

Or, he was just an 18 year old in a league that typically chews up and spits out defensemen that young. If Dahlin is still making the same mistakes with over 400 games played, then we can talk.

What WC said. I think there has to be some difference between expecting patience and thinking your boss is just fine with torpedoing down the standings.

The team isn't that young, though. The top of the roster is in its prime, there are vets sprinkled throughout, and Dahlin is so otherworldly I honestly don't think it matters. I'm fine with a vet coach like Q or Boudreau (if fired), and would be enthusiastic. But I also don't think the roster justifies excluding someone like Keefe.

Gotta wonder how long Marty was holding that in.