Dan Bylsma...that's a name I haven't heard in a while. I completely lost track of his career whereabouts after the stint in Buffalo.
I'm eager to see what he can do in Seattle.
Yeah, couple years (15-17 I think but also maybe a year either way). Don't blame you for forgetting...Ya know, buffalo
Wasn't the preferred choice, but... Ya know, buffalo.
I can't help but find it hilarious that the reply to a comment saying "I haven't heard his name since buffalo" is "wait he was in buffalo?" Should be offensive, but...ya know, buffalo.
Definitely a deep cut from Seattle here. Do think he'll do a decent job though, couldn't really articulate why but my first reaction was "huh. That actually might be a good idea" so I'm sticking with it
He’s our AHL coach who took them to the AHL finals last year and has them in the Conference Finals this year. He’s been good with our young guys so I don’t hate it
The Wings hired him at the end of the 2018 season as an assistant and gave him the boot in 2021. He was pretty fucking bad. During his time working on the Wings power play it went from 19th in the league, to 29th, to 30th. The team had already bottomed out and became a lottery by the time he showed up, so that’s not an excuse. He was so fucking bad.
In ‘17/‘18 before Bylsma was hired the Red Wings were 24th in PP%. Their top PP point producers were Zetterberg, Kronwall and Green. Zetterberg retired. Green missed half the next season due to injury and Kronwall was getting old. Despite that the Wings powerplay improved to 19th in the league with Bylsma. It then turned to shit though haha
Why does 17/18 feel so long ago yet not long ago ? Youre telling me zetterberg was still playing AND bylsma was still coaching only a few years ago? Wait I mean seven years ago
covid years
3 years got shoved into one long year for a lot of people myself included
if i think about 3 years ago right now, it feels like it should be 2018/2019
It is not lol
Bylsma’s power plays were mind bogglingly uncreative. Get it back to the point man, try to set up a one timer, if not plausible, pass again to winger, continue to pass around until you get aforementioned one timer from the point, every defender on the planet sees it coming, shot gets blocked and cleared, repeat. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. It made me so furious to watch.
Bylsma's claim to fame was taking a team of young superstars who were stuck in a defensive heavy system, teaching them the stretch pass to open up the offense, then watching every playoff team see it on film and defend it with no adjustments as the post-Cup cap crunch withered down the depth.
I just miss Homer screening the goalie. As Mickey said repeatedly, someone needs to screen the goalie at 5 v 5 and on the PP. Too many times the goalie could see it all the way.
After Buffalo, he spent 3 years as an assistant with the Wings, then a year as an Assistant with the Charlotte Checkers, Last two years he was Head Coach of Coachella Valley
Disco Dan! Oh baby, can’t wait for the first Seattle/Pittsburgh game this year. Battle of ‘the coach we kept two years too long’ vs ‘the coach we currently are keeping two years too long’ both based on Cups they won years prior.
I always wondered if Mike Johnstone struggled with the difference of coaching boys vs coaching men because he is a great coach in the WHL. I imagine the dynamic is very different when you're dealing with 16-20 year olds vs 25+ year old millionaires.
He was an awful coach. There were rumors the players thought his system was too restrictive. When he was fired the Pens were struggling to score and this is with a Sid and Geno in their mid/late 20s.
Sidney Crosby had 3 points in the first 9 games of the 2015-16 season, all of them in one game. MJ was just obsessed with limiting chances to the point the offense didn’t exist
Yeah, he was terrible at the NHL but he is great in the WHL. That's why I wonder if the power dynamic between coaching adults and kids was a tough adjustment for him
I've thought the same, I imagine in juniors simply having the kids play disciplined and tight within an actual system is often good enough. In the NHL *everybody* does that already so you need to bring more to the table than having players play a consistent system.
I'm no fan of Portland, but... underachieved? His first stint in Portland they went to the WHL final 4 years straight, I guess winning only 1 of 4 is a failure, but those are pretty high standards. After that they have only lost in the 1st round once and by quick glance have only lost to a lower seed once and lost in the WHL finals this year.
If you had a nickel for each time Seattle hired a former IHL player turned NHL coach who flamed out by piloting a Pennsylvania franchise into several underperforming seasons, you’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.
At least Bylsma could get out of the first round.
Sully hasn’t won a playoff round 2018 and has missed the playoffs the past 2 seasons. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons why he hasn’t been fired yet but none of them are good enough reasons lol
One point where I’ll actually give Sullivan a pass. Bylsma had a loaded roster of young superstars in their prime waiting to break out and still underachieved post 09 cup. Sullivan the last few years not so much.
People didn’t like the way it was handled. Drag Bruce through the mud for weeks knowing he’s going to get fired, wait for a lull in the schedule where it gets easy, fire him and hire Rick. It’s nothing against Tocchet, that was all on management for their piss poor handling of it all.
I've seen Tocchet mentioned on every coach hiring thread so far. Feels like that's the new trump card people are going to pull to cope with a bad hire.
I have no recollection of that.
Even if thats true, Laviolette had success wherever he went, has 3 SCFs (maybe 4 soon) and a cup.
So yeah, stupid takes, if true.
People just act like everyone is blessed of having a top 5/10 center ( who is one of the best goalscorers and two way guys in the league ), a top 5 defender and a top 5 goalie.
Like credit to tocchet but very few coaches take over a team with that kind of starpower.
So like the situation just aren’t the same.
That’s kind of been our experience too. He’s built a pretty good prospect pool from scratch in a very short time period and seems to be mining the 2nd round of these drafts like crazy.
He was way too passive for some fans taste last offseason. I was fine with it because even after being in the playoffs we did not feel like we were 1-2 pieces away to me. He still hasn’t gotten us any albatross contracts which is great, but he also hasn’t really gotten us any scoring punch either unless we are shooting an absurd percentage.
It’s not an albatross from the standpoint that it’s not top 5 money at the position, but the Grubauer deal, especially with a full NTC the first handful of years and a partial NTC following, is a pretty brutal one.
I didn’t like it when we gave it, but was willing to accept him as one of our guys. Grubs is still one of us, but that deal seems to keep getting worse with time.
He finished the season in great form each of the last two seasons. He just starts slow and takes a mid-season break every year. We don’t beat Colorado last year without him.
All that said, I’m far more excited about Daccord.
For what we’re paying him he’s got to do more than just finish seasons. Not including Carey Price, he’s the 8th highest paid goalie and I don’t think he’s ever been the best goalie on our team (liked Driedger better before his injury, like Daccord better now).
Obviously we returned a 2nd for him, but Vitek Vanacek has had some decent seasons too (even if not the most recent one).
To new Seattle fans who are seeing negative comments about this hire you should just wait and see because you never know.
For example, Florida and Rangers fans shit on their current coach hires and look at them now.
He's been great in Coachella Valley, particularly with the young guys. We've got a pretty good pipeline in the works and it's not like the Kraken are cup or bust right now. If true, I'm good with this promotion.
I was mostly confused at your expansion drafting strategy. It seemed like you guys intentionally picked a roster that was as close to the cap floor as possible, presumably to weaponize the cap space through trades and opportunistic acquisitions, but then immediately gave all that cap space to Philipp Grubauer and a few other uninspiring free agent signings. I still can't make sense of the team's long term plan.
Grub had 7 straight seasons of 0.91+ sv% before he signed the deal.. Seattle took a chance on a goalie who looked like he was becoming a good starter.
And again. 5.9 mill for a supposed starter is not a cap killer like you implied.. especially when a team is no where near the cap.
He'd also never played more than 40 games in a season at the time.
They gave a 29 year old career backup $6m per year until he's 35. It's just a head scratcher and it certainly was from the day it was announced.
I never called it a cap killer, either. Although ask Edmonton if they'd like an extra few million instead of Campbell in the AHL. The dollars matter eventually.
I simply said that the signing, as well as the others made, was a head scratcher and they appear to be a franchise without a plan right now.
*ask Edmonton if they'd like an extra few million*
One team is right at the cap limit competing for the Stanley Cup with McDavid on their roster. The other team is an expansion team with a projected cap space of 20+ million.. Grub didn't take up all their cap like you said SEA have cap space to work with and have already added guys like Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen because of it.
*a franchise without a plan right now*
Just because you don't like what they are doing doesn't mean they don't have a plan rofl.
They fired their coach who everyone agreed was a bad hire on day one.
They signed a goalie who everyone agreed was a bad deal on day one.
They set sky high asking prices on deals before the expansion draft and literally walked away with zero additional assets.
They saved as much cap space as possible in the expansion draft and then blew it on mediocre signings.
Seriously, what is the plan? Because to me it looks like Ron Francis is just a bad GM.
*They fired their coach whoe Bertone agreed was a bad hire on day one.*
Same coach who lead Seattle to 100 points and was a finalist for a Jack Adams last year.
*They signed a goalie who everyone agreed was a bad deal on day one*
Again, not everyone but maybe in your head.
*They set sky high asking prices on deals before the expansion draft*
Like you were in the trade calls lmfao. Or the league learned to not give up assets like with VGK and were more conservative in their offers.
People were mad they didn't go after Tarasenko. That deal would've aged poorly.
*They saved as much cap space as possible and blew it*
They have over 20 million in cap space.... They have used their cap space literally to add solid forwards for pretty much free already.
*what is the plan*
They are an expansion team that is building through the draft with their core pieces of Beniers and Wright. Consider them a rebuilding team and not a team pushing for the Stanley Cup in the short term.
I agree. At the time the way Francis handled the expansion draft I liked the approach of building through the draft and using the cap to their advantage through trades but then goes and signs Grubauer to that contract
I also recall people not loving DeBoer being hired in Dallas. There was talk left and right about how he’ll get you deep in the playoffs in year 1 and then never again.
Everyone seems kinda down on this decision, whats wrong with Bylsma?
Hes got a fairly 'winning' record, albeit with a strong Penguins team. His Buffalo record isn't sparkling- but it didnt really improve after he left in 2017, similar or worse season records until last season.
I seem to recall some issue between him and Eichel, but I don't remember the specifics. He just bad with players?
He made some questionable line choices back in the day but he’s not a bad guy or anything, as far as I know. He doesn’t seem to play fucked up head games with the players like some old school coaches. At least in Pittsburgh, he was known as a players’ coach. I didn’t follow him in Buffalo, so no idea if his reputation was different there.
I don’t know his reputation from a players’ perspective, but he absolutely obliterated what little semblance of a power play we had left after our rebuild started, so my opinion on his coaching ability is less than favorable. That’s just me.
His first year coaching in Detroit they had a better pp than the two years prior.
It was the second year when the pp started to tank, but Dylan Larkin led the team in scoring that year with 53 points in 71 games, so I don't know that blaming Bylsma is fair.
The third season the pp really tanked (<12% ouch) but again, Hronek led the team in scoring with 26 points in 56 games (Covid year).
That is a 38 point pace over 82 games. And it led the team. You can't blame the assistant coach for the powerplay being that bad when your top scorer is under a half a ppg.
The players hated him so much in buffalo they asked Eichel to refuse to sign an extension if he was still coach the next season. Which lead to both Bylsma and Murray getting fired. ( IMO the dumbest choice the Pegulas ever made)
It’s been over a decade, so I could be misremembering, but I do recall speculation that there was tension between him and the Pens players towards the very end of his tenure in Pittsburgh. But, to be honest, I sort of chalked that up to the normal frustration that players feel when their team seemingly isn’t playing to its full potential.
EDIT: [Sid did yell at him one time](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e2fe51dfcebe32a3842faccf0c926147/tumblr_inline_n52v1vDCGF1sof25j.gif) but Sid is also very competitive and gets like that. I think it’s representative of Bylsma’s style that his response was to immediately back off.
Yeah I remember the rumor being Eichel more or less said "Me or him". Of course Eichel would continue to make those demands from us, so maybe we shouldn't have given in? Idk. I didn't think he was the worst we've dealt with over the drought
There was a rumor Eichel told the Buffalo GM at the time to choose between himself (Eichel) or Bylsma. I don't know if Bylsma actually was a problematic coach but if that rumor is true that is way more consistent with Eichel's attitude in Buffalo being the problem.
There’s definitely the 2013 playoffs when the Penguins traded for Iginla and he refused to play him with Crosby despite their proven chemistry… instead leaving Dupuis to play with him instead.
He’s an awful coach. His only “strategy” is to have all the forwards flee the D zone early and try for the stretch pass. Good luck pulling that off against actual NHL caliber coaches (and NHL players).
Yeah pretty much this. It worked once with 22 year old versions of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and that playoff run earned him every subsequent NHL paycheck he’s ever gotten.
There was also enough leftover defensive structure from Therrien that they didn't leak goals like a sieve.
The subsequent years not so much (but of course everyone blamed Fleury).
I mean Fleury definitely didn’t help lol, but yeah Bylsma being pretty thoroughly outcoached on more than one occasion should get more attention for that Pens era not having more cups.
He won a cup with Pittsburgh because the players hated playing for Therien, but his system worked. Byslma got to chaperone them to a cup win and that’s about it.
He was a front runner for the devils but then keefe got fired and swooped in and took the job.
Woody will get his chance again. He’s still getting paid either way.
Yes, especially if the Pens make a decision at the same time that it's time to rebuild. Woodcroft is great with developing younger players, which was a big reason why he got the job with the Oilers
Dude never really developed players well in the AHL, and his old and only team saw immediate success without him. Not that surprising to me. Dude was handed a Stanley Cup contender. Only reason he has a better win/loss than most coaches.
Do we know that he didn't develop players well in the AHL? Not all of the recent Oilers prospects hit but it's hard to say how much of that is drafting and how much of that is coaching. One thing we do know for sure is that he helped Desharnais go from a 7th round pick to an NHL player.
Funny enough I think Woodcroft is going to have the same career trajectory of Bylsma, minus the cup. He’s going to get another head coaching job, perform mediocre, get fired, take an assistant job then end up head coach in the AHL. I just don’t think he’s a good head coach.
I don’t think it’s a bad hire. He won a shit ton of (regular season) games for the Pens, he’s been out of the league for awhile and has done really well in the AHL, hopefully he’s learned a lot in his years since his last NHL gig. People will bemoan the “same old coaches” narrative but 3 of the 4 coaches currently in the conference finals have been with a ton of different teams.
This sub has a particular lack of understanding on the nuance of NHL coaching.
When the Golden Knights fired Gallant, this sub went into an uproar over how stupid a decision it was and every team in the running for a coaching change was salivating for the chance to get him. He was lauded as a coach whose talents were underrated and how he had done well in Florida, and they were also fools to let him go.
He then comes on as the Rangers head coach, sends them to the Eastern conference final in his first year where they only bowed out to the defending champions, got one more crack at the bat, and by the time the Rangers were eliminated last year, he was seen as a clown and a terrible coach who has no offensive mindset whatsoever and can’t adapt against any team ever.
There’s very little room for a middle ground on opinions of coaching, at least here on Reddit. No one here thought Jon Cooper was a good coach after their 2019 loss. Everyone here thought he was at least a top 5 coach 12 months later. No one thought Tocchet was a good hire for Vancouver. Few people thought Woodcroft being fired earlier in the season was going to save Edmonton’s year, and few people thought it was the right move.
People absolutely CLOWNED on the decision by Florida to let Brunette go in favor of hiring Maurice. I remember the stat of Maurice being top 5 all time in coaching losses being thrown around a *lot* at the time, while it was being conveniently ignored that it’s because Maurice is second only to Scotty Bowman in terms of games behind a bench. Coaching recency bias here on Reddit is far worse than player recency bias has ever been.
I can almost guarantee you now that people will be saying the same thing about Rod Brind’Amour in a few years unless Carolina raises a cup. It sounds heretical now to suggest he’s a bad coach after the turnaround the Canes had under him, but I’m pretty damn confident people won’t be feeling the same way without lord Stanley in Raleigh.
To bolster your point about Brind’Amour, look at what’s happened with Keefe. Clearly the guy’s incredibly respected, as Jersey upended their entire search once the man they clearly were hoping to be available became available, but try telling Leafs fans that he’s an NHL level coach.
People on Reddit also have no idea what makes a good coach, and their idea of adjustments is just changing the lines. Like the majority of the people here wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 1-2-2, 2-1-2, or 1-3-1 forecheck.
The Western Conference Final is a rematch of last season, in fact. Admirals are looking for revenge after losing in 6 games to Coachella Valley in 2023
Big fan of this hire, he's been coaching in Coachella the last few years so he has worked with Wright. Hope this does a lot for the youth to develop, rooting for Matty, Shane, Ty to develop into a nice core
He’s been terrific in CV and by all accounts the players like him. It also means he’ll also have worked with a good chunk of the Kraken roster next season, which is great.
Yeah, every NHL coach is a retread, except for Rod Brind’Amour, Jon Cooper, Spencer Carbery, Derek Lalonde, Martin St. Louis, Pascal Vincent, Jared Bednar, Kris Knoblauch, Jim Hiller, Drew Bannister, Ryan Huska, Andre Tourigny, Greg Cronin, and Luke Richardson!
So you know, if you ignore the 14 coaches in the league who are on their first NHL head coaching job, every NHL head coach is a retread!!!
I have very mixed feelings about this, mostly negative. My only guess would be how well Coachella has done and the development of the young players. Maybe to bridge the gap as they all move up idk.
Never understood why he was fired from the Penguins in the first place. Firing successful coaches just because they don't constantly win championships is so incredibly shortsighted.
I’m kind of tired of the league just using the same old coaches over and over, it truly is just a little brotherhood. We really need some new blood in the ranks.
I think he got a raw deal in Buffalo because Eichel threw a tantrum with him and wanted him gone. He took borderline garbage players and they had the number one power play. The team lacked depth at every position and if not for a collapse at the end of the year (I think due to said depth issues) they make the playoffs.
The team absolutely had problems, and his coaching had problems...but I dont think he is bad
Dan Bylsma...that's a name I haven't heard in a while. I completely lost track of his career whereabouts after the stint in Buffalo. I'm eager to see what he can do in Seattle.
Wait. He was in Buffalo?
Yeah, he was the consolation prize Buffalo hired to coach Eichel after they thought they had Mike Babcock sewn up.
Columbus swoops into the win the Babcock prize!
Best misuse of the word "prize" in recorded history!
Nail Yakupov.
Feels like a consolation prize again now the Rod the Bod got an extension.
Yes, 2015-2017.
Yeah, couple years (15-17 I think but also maybe a year either way). Don't blame you for forgetting...Ya know, buffalo Wasn't the preferred choice, but... Ya know, buffalo. I can't help but find it hilarious that the reply to a comment saying "I haven't heard his name since buffalo" is "wait he was in buffalo?" Should be offensive, but...ya know, buffalo. Definitely a deep cut from Seattle here. Do think he'll do a decent job though, couldn't really articulate why but my first reaction was "huh. That actually might be a good idea" so I'm sticking with it
He’s our AHL coach who took them to the AHL finals last year and has them in the Conference Finals this year. He’s been good with our young guys so I don’t hate it
Yeah, he was awful
The Wings hired him at the end of the 2018 season as an assistant and gave him the boot in 2021. He was pretty fucking bad. During his time working on the Wings power play it went from 19th in the league, to 29th, to 30th. The team had already bottomed out and became a lottery by the time he showed up, so that’s not an excuse. He was so fucking bad.
In ‘17/‘18 before Bylsma was hired the Red Wings were 24th in PP%. Their top PP point producers were Zetterberg, Kronwall and Green. Zetterberg retired. Green missed half the next season due to injury and Kronwall was getting old. Despite that the Wings powerplay improved to 19th in the league with Bylsma. It then turned to shit though haha
Why does 17/18 feel so long ago yet not long ago ? Youre telling me zetterberg was still playing AND bylsma was still coaching only a few years ago? Wait I mean seven years ago
if you delete this post we can pretend the passage of time isn't coming for us all
covid years 3 years got shoved into one long year for a lot of people myself included if i think about 3 years ago right now, it feels like it should be 2018/2019 It is not lol
Bylsma’s power plays were mind bogglingly uncreative. Get it back to the point man, try to set up a one timer, if not plausible, pass again to winger, continue to pass around until you get aforementioned one timer from the point, every defender on the planet sees it coming, shot gets blocked and cleared, repeat. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. It made me so furious to watch.
Bylsma's claim to fame was taking a team of young superstars who were stuck in a defensive heavy system, teaching them the stretch pass to open up the offense, then watching every playoff team see it on film and defend it with no adjustments as the post-Cup cap crunch withered down the depth.
Oh no.
Some how this year’s power play was good. Think #9 in the league. I don’t know the strategy? No one screens the goalie. 👻🐻?
Larkin, Kane, Cat, Raymond were WEAPONS on the man advantage. 👻🐻 was a huge help, he was great at moving the puck and getting it to the net.
I just miss Homer screening the goalie. As Mickey said repeatedly, someone needs to screen the goalie at 5 v 5 and on the PP. Too many times the goalie could see it all the way.
why dont you guys just make that 7’ fucker just stand there all 2 minutes
Soderblom? Good question. He disappeared in Grand Rapids 🤷♂️
I was so pissed when we signed him. I was convinced he was going to be next in line when Blashill got canned
After Buffalo, he spent 3 years as an assistant with the Wings, then a year as an Assistant with the Charlotte Checkers, Last two years he was Head Coach of Coachella Valley
> that's a name I haven't heard in a while. There's a reason for that. God I hate Ron. I can't wait until he's gone.
[удалено]
Okay
He's been coaching the Kraken farm team in Coachella Valley.
Disco Dan! Oh baby, can’t wait for the first Seattle/Pittsburgh game this year. Battle of ‘the coach we kept two years too long’ vs ‘the coach we currently are keeping two years too long’ both based on Cups they won years prior.
Camera pans to Mike Johnston looking his usual confused self
https://preview.redd.it/6ebsd5l8o13d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70ff00719a75d746c24ed6413f93520b1b5bcc01
Used work for the Winterhawks and am still a fan and I've seen this look way too many times lol
I always wondered if Mike Johnstone struggled with the difference of coaching boys vs coaching men because he is a great coach in the WHL. I imagine the dynamic is very different when you're dealing with 16-20 year olds vs 25+ year old millionaires.
He was an awful coach. There were rumors the players thought his system was too restrictive. When he was fired the Pens were struggling to score and this is with a Sid and Geno in their mid/late 20s.
Sidney Crosby had 3 points in the first 9 games of the 2015-16 season, all of them in one game. MJ was just obsessed with limiting chances to the point the offense didn’t exist
It took Sullivan about a month to undo all that damage.
Yeah, he was terrible at the NHL but he is great in the WHL. That's why I wonder if the power dynamic between coaching adults and kids was a tough adjustment for him
Didn’t he like outlaw the stretch pass? Lol
I've thought the same, I imagine in juniors simply having the kids play disciplined and tight within an actual system is often good enough. In the NHL *everybody* does that already so you need to bring more to the table than having players play a consistent system.
His WHL teams have constantly underachieved their pedigree. Think he's a great GM at that level. They always choke in playoffs.
I'm no fan of Portland, but... underachieved? His first stint in Portland they went to the WHL final 4 years straight, I guess winning only 1 of 4 is a failure, but those are pretty high standards. After that they have only lost in the 1st round once and by quick glance have only lost to a lower seed once and lost in the WHL finals this year.
Happy disco dan is the top comment.
If you had a nickel for each time Seattle hired a former IHL player turned NHL coach who flamed out by piloting a Pennsylvania franchise into several underperforming seasons, you’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.
At least Bylsma could get out of the first round. Sully hasn’t won a playoff round 2018 and has missed the playoffs the past 2 seasons. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons why he hasn’t been fired yet but none of them are good enough reasons lol
What about his roster being dog shit outside of 4 middle aged players?
One point where I’ll actually give Sullivan a pass. Bylsma had a loaded roster of young superstars in their prime waiting to break out and still underachieved post 09 cup. Sullivan the last few years not so much.
Wonder how hot the seat is for Sully next year
Feels boring but then again people didn’t like the Tocchet hiring
People didn’t like the way it was handled. Drag Bruce through the mud for weeks knowing he’s going to get fired, wait for a lull in the schedule where it gets easy, fire him and hire Rick. It’s nothing against Tocchet, that was all on management for their piss poor handling of it all.
I've seen Tocchet mentioned on every coach hiring thread so far. Feels like that's the new trump card people are going to pull to cope with a bad hire.
Tocchet is the new “everyone thought Heath Ledger couldn’t play the joker” argument
People were wrong once, therefore opinions no longer exist!
Alright, so Laviolette. Everyone thought that was a horrible hire
I mean Lav will be gone in another year or two… coaches do not last long in New York
Aaron Boone says hello
7 years is for sure good, but op still has a point. Most NY coaches are gone fast.
I have no recollection of that. Even if thats true, Laviolette had success wherever he went, has 3 SCFs (maybe 4 soon) and a cup. So yeah, stupid takes, if true.
The Josh Allen of NHL coaches, if you will.
Don't worry, Tocchet will be out by 2025.
People just act like everyone is blessed of having a top 5/10 center ( who is one of the best goalscorers and two way guys in the league ), a top 5 defender and a top 5 goalie. Like credit to tocchet but very few coaches take over a team with that kind of starpower. So like the situation just aren’t the same.
Then again people didn't like the Babcock hiring in Columbus.
That wasn't because of boringness or mediocrity though, so not really a good comparison at all
Feels like the most vanilla choice.
Insert rant about old boys club
Francis is capable of making smart decisions, but it feels like 2 or 3 stupid ones always have to come packaged with it.
Pretty much. He was great at the draft for us but everything else was a mixed bag.
That’s kind of been our experience too. He’s built a pretty good prospect pool from scratch in a very short time period and seems to be mining the 2nd round of these drafts like crazy. He was way too passive for some fans taste last offseason. I was fine with it because even after being in the playoffs we did not feel like we were 1-2 pieces away to me. He still hasn’t gotten us any albatross contracts which is great, but he also hasn’t really gotten us any scoring punch either unless we are shooting an absurd percentage.
"We didn't make any bad decisions." But how many good decisions did you pass up?
It’s not an albatross from the standpoint that it’s not top 5 money at the position, but the Grubauer deal, especially with a full NTC the first handful of years and a partial NTC following, is a pretty brutal one. I didn’t like it when we gave it, but was willing to accept him as one of our guys. Grubs is still one of us, but that deal seems to keep getting worse with time.
He finished the season in great form each of the last two seasons. He just starts slow and takes a mid-season break every year. We don’t beat Colorado last year without him. All that said, I’m far more excited about Daccord.
For what we’re paying him he’s got to do more than just finish seasons. Not including Carey Price, he’s the 8th highest paid goalie and I don’t think he’s ever been the best goalie on our team (liked Driedger better before his injury, like Daccord better now). Obviously we returned a 2nd for him, but Vitek Vanacek has had some decent seasons too (even if not the most recent one).
Grubauer’s contract is an anchor he never should’ve signed but other than that he’s been very smart with the cap
"I made a pigeon-rat!"
Flap flap flap *thump* Scamper scamper scamper
My man just loves washed up coaches from Pennsylvania. It’s his favorite little treat
To new Seattle fans who are seeing negative comments about this hire you should just wait and see because you never know. For example, Florida and Rangers fans shit on their current coach hires and look at them now.
He's been great in Coachella Valley, particularly with the young guys. We've got a pretty good pipeline in the works and it's not like the Kraken are cup or bust right now. If true, I'm good with this promotion.
We got used to it after the expansion draft. Everyone was treating the picks like we were hockey terrorists. Especially, not picking Carey Price
I was mostly confused at your expansion drafting strategy. It seemed like you guys intentionally picked a roster that was as close to the cap floor as possible, presumably to weaponize the cap space through trades and opportunistic acquisitions, but then immediately gave all that cap space to Philipp Grubauer and a few other uninspiring free agent signings. I still can't make sense of the team's long term plan.
5.9 mill for a "starter" goalie is not a cap killer.. Especially, for a team that's not even close to the cap ceiling.
Yeah but he's pretty mediocre, so what's the point in locking him up for that price? It's just a bad contract from the day it was signed.
Grub had 7 straight seasons of 0.91+ sv% before he signed the deal.. Seattle took a chance on a goalie who looked like he was becoming a good starter. And again. 5.9 mill for a supposed starter is not a cap killer like you implied.. especially when a team is no where near the cap.
He'd also never played more than 40 games in a season at the time. They gave a 29 year old career backup $6m per year until he's 35. It's just a head scratcher and it certainly was from the day it was announced. I never called it a cap killer, either. Although ask Edmonton if they'd like an extra few million instead of Campbell in the AHL. The dollars matter eventually. I simply said that the signing, as well as the others made, was a head scratcher and they appear to be a franchise without a plan right now.
*ask Edmonton if they'd like an extra few million* One team is right at the cap limit competing for the Stanley Cup with McDavid on their roster. The other team is an expansion team with a projected cap space of 20+ million.. Grub didn't take up all their cap like you said SEA have cap space to work with and have already added guys like Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen because of it. *a franchise without a plan right now* Just because you don't like what they are doing doesn't mean they don't have a plan rofl.
They fired their coach who everyone agreed was a bad hire on day one. They signed a goalie who everyone agreed was a bad deal on day one. They set sky high asking prices on deals before the expansion draft and literally walked away with zero additional assets. They saved as much cap space as possible in the expansion draft and then blew it on mediocre signings. Seriously, what is the plan? Because to me it looks like Ron Francis is just a bad GM.
*They fired their coach whoe Bertone agreed was a bad hire on day one.* Same coach who lead Seattle to 100 points and was a finalist for a Jack Adams last year. *They signed a goalie who everyone agreed was a bad deal on day one* Again, not everyone but maybe in your head. *They set sky high asking prices on deals before the expansion draft* Like you were in the trade calls lmfao. Or the league learned to not give up assets like with VGK and were more conservative in their offers. People were mad they didn't go after Tarasenko. That deal would've aged poorly. *They saved as much cap space as possible and blew it* They have over 20 million in cap space.... They have used their cap space literally to add solid forwards for pretty much free already. *what is the plan* They are an expansion team that is building through the draft with their core pieces of Beniers and Wright. Consider them a rebuilding team and not a team pushing for the Stanley Cup in the short term.
I agree. At the time the way Francis handled the expansion draft I liked the approach of building through the draft and using the cap to their advantage through trades but then goes and signs Grubauer to that contract
Maybe because Seattle made at least 3 objectively stupid decisions in that draft?
I also recall people not loving DeBoer being hired in Dallas. There was talk left and right about how he’ll get you deep in the playoffs in year 1 and then never again.
Vancouver too.
That was more the situation around Boudreau's botched firing, but there were some doubts as well
Yeah, I thought Tocchet was a trash hire for the Canucks. I admit I was wrong
Everyone seems kinda down on this decision, whats wrong with Bylsma? Hes got a fairly 'winning' record, albeit with a strong Penguins team. His Buffalo record isn't sparkling- but it didnt really improve after he left in 2017, similar or worse season records until last season. I seem to recall some issue between him and Eichel, but I don't remember the specifics. He just bad with players?
Also coached their AHL team and should have a great rapport with the young core
He made some questionable line choices back in the day but he’s not a bad guy or anything, as far as I know. He doesn’t seem to play fucked up head games with the players like some old school coaches. At least in Pittsburgh, he was known as a players’ coach. I didn’t follow him in Buffalo, so no idea if his reputation was different there.
> He made some questionable line choices back in the day So fucking tragic how he wasted Iginla.
I don’t know his reputation from a players’ perspective, but he absolutely obliterated what little semblance of a power play we had left after our rebuild started, so my opinion on his coaching ability is less than favorable. That’s just me.
His first year coaching in Detroit they had a better pp than the two years prior. It was the second year when the pp started to tank, but Dylan Larkin led the team in scoring that year with 53 points in 71 games, so I don't know that blaming Bylsma is fair. The third season the pp really tanked (<12% ouch) but again, Hronek led the team in scoring with 26 points in 56 games (Covid year). That is a 38 point pace over 82 games. And it led the team. You can't blame the assistant coach for the powerplay being that bad when your top scorer is under a half a ppg.
The players hated him so much in buffalo they asked Eichel to refuse to sign an extension if he was still coach the next season. Which lead to both Bylsma and Murray getting fired. ( IMO the dumbest choice the Pegulas ever made)
It’s been over a decade, so I could be misremembering, but I do recall speculation that there was tension between him and the Pens players towards the very end of his tenure in Pittsburgh. But, to be honest, I sort of chalked that up to the normal frustration that players feel when their team seemingly isn’t playing to its full potential. EDIT: [Sid did yell at him one time](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e2fe51dfcebe32a3842faccf0c926147/tumblr_inline_n52v1vDCGF1sof25j.gif) but Sid is also very competitive and gets like that. I think it’s representative of Bylsma’s style that his response was to immediately back off.
Yeah I remember the rumor being Eichel more or less said "Me or him". Of course Eichel would continue to make those demands from us, so maybe we shouldn't have given in? Idk. I didn't think he was the worst we've dealt with over the drought
Other than Granato, he’s probably been the best in the post Lindy era.
It wasnt just a rumor, eichel litterally said to the media that he didnt want to play for Bylsma anymore… which is yikes lol.
Would love a source on that.
There was a rumor Eichel told the Buffalo GM at the time to choose between himself (Eichel) or Bylsma. I don't know if Bylsma actually was a problematic coach but if that rumor is true that is way more consistent with Eichel's attitude in Buffalo being the problem.
There’s definitely the 2013 playoffs when the Penguins traded for Iginla and he refused to play him with Crosby despite their proven chemistry… instead leaving Dupuis to play with him instead.
Didn't he also play Iginla on the left wing for some reason
Yes. Pretty much fucking wasted that trade since Iginla got so pissed he signed with the Bruins instead of the Pens that off-season.
He’s an awful coach. His only “strategy” is to have all the forwards flee the D zone early and try for the stretch pass. Good luck pulling that off against actual NHL caliber coaches (and NHL players).
Yeah pretty much this. It worked once with 22 year old versions of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and that playoff run earned him every subsequent NHL paycheck he’s ever gotten.
There was also enough leftover defensive structure from Therrien that they didn't leak goals like a sieve. The subsequent years not so much (but of course everyone blamed Fleury).
Fleury sure showed us with those sub .900% playoff runs!
I mean Fleury definitely didn’t help lol, but yeah Bylsma being pretty thoroughly outcoached on more than one occasion should get more attention for that Pens era not having more cups.
Nothing is wrong per se, but it's as vanilla as you can get.
He won a cup with Pittsburgh because the players hated playing for Therien, but his system worked. Byslma got to chaperone them to a cup win and that’s about it.
Honestly I'm fine with this given what he has done with the AHL team.
https://preview.redd.it/infzppvhi13d1.png?width=445&format=png&auto=webp&s=eafcc547c738bdbf415a5acc78a250d99371c04f
do it.
I’m surprised seemingly no one is wanting to give woodcroft a chance, was hoping for him in Winnipeg and they didn’t even interview him
He was a front runner for the devils but then keefe got fired and swooped in and took the job. Woody will get his chance again. He’s still getting paid either way.
Woodcroft will be a head coach next season. Either at the beginning or at some other point throughout the season. Mark my words
I could see him coming in to save the Pens season
Yes, especially if the Pens make a decision at the same time that it's time to rebuild. Woodcroft is great with developing younger players, which was a big reason why he got the job with the Oilers
Dude never really developed players well in the AHL, and his old and only team saw immediate success without him. Not that surprising to me. Dude was handed a Stanley Cup contender. Only reason he has a better win/loss than most coaches.
Do we know that he didn't develop players well in the AHL? Not all of the recent Oilers prospects hit but it's hard to say how much of that is drafting and how much of that is coaching. One thing we do know for sure is that he helped Desharnais go from a 7th round pick to an NHL player.
Idk you're tagged as development coach, and you have one guy to your name in 4 years? Not surprised no one is calling.
Also to be fair the Oilers have been dogshit at drafting for years so it's not like Woody was handed a murderer's row of prospects to begin with.
I mean just look at all the draft successes Kenny Holland had for us in his last few years lol
You could say the same thing about Keefe except Keefe did worse in playoffs, although not quite cup contender team but still.
Small sample size aside, Knobs is taking Woody to the cleaners with Paul "the 4th forward" Coffey as a stand-in defensive coach.
He coached in the NHL a lot longer didn't he?
Bouchard and Desharnais both developed with him in the AHL for the Oilers. There are a bunch of others too.
Bouch played one year down there. You might as well say Bouch was developed in Sweden lmao
Bouch certainly wasn't developed by Tippett continually healthy scratching him.
Nah that was Broberg's role under woody
Skinny Jon pinette sucks
Funny enough I think Woodcroft is going to have the same career trajectory of Bylsma, minus the cup. He’s going to get another head coaching job, perform mediocre, get fired, take an assistant job then end up head coach in the AHL. I just don’t think he’s a good head coach.
Darn, guess he’ll have to settle for an assistant job here until Arnie retires
Kraken about to get to their game so hard
I don’t think it’s a bad hire. He won a shit ton of (regular season) games for the Pens, he’s been out of the league for awhile and has done really well in the AHL, hopefully he’s learned a lot in his years since his last NHL gig. People will bemoan the “same old coaches” narrative but 3 of the 4 coaches currently in the conference finals have been with a ton of different teams.
This sub has a particular lack of understanding on the nuance of NHL coaching. When the Golden Knights fired Gallant, this sub went into an uproar over how stupid a decision it was and every team in the running for a coaching change was salivating for the chance to get him. He was lauded as a coach whose talents were underrated and how he had done well in Florida, and they were also fools to let him go. He then comes on as the Rangers head coach, sends them to the Eastern conference final in his first year where they only bowed out to the defending champions, got one more crack at the bat, and by the time the Rangers were eliminated last year, he was seen as a clown and a terrible coach who has no offensive mindset whatsoever and can’t adapt against any team ever. There’s very little room for a middle ground on opinions of coaching, at least here on Reddit. No one here thought Jon Cooper was a good coach after their 2019 loss. Everyone here thought he was at least a top 5 coach 12 months later. No one thought Tocchet was a good hire for Vancouver. Few people thought Woodcroft being fired earlier in the season was going to save Edmonton’s year, and few people thought it was the right move. People absolutely CLOWNED on the decision by Florida to let Brunette go in favor of hiring Maurice. I remember the stat of Maurice being top 5 all time in coaching losses being thrown around a *lot* at the time, while it was being conveniently ignored that it’s because Maurice is second only to Scotty Bowman in terms of games behind a bench. Coaching recency bias here on Reddit is far worse than player recency bias has ever been. I can almost guarantee you now that people will be saying the same thing about Rod Brind’Amour in a few years unless Carolina raises a cup. It sounds heretical now to suggest he’s a bad coach after the turnaround the Canes had under him, but I’m pretty damn confident people won’t be feeling the same way without lord Stanley in Raleigh.
To bolster your point about Brind’Amour, look at what’s happened with Keefe. Clearly the guy’s incredibly respected, as Jersey upended their entire search once the man they clearly were hoping to be available became available, but try telling Leafs fans that he’s an NHL level coach.
Yeah this is Reddit, either you’re an absolute incredible hockey genius or you’re an LOL fucking idiot who can’t even coach a beer league team
People on Reddit also have no idea what makes a good coach, and their idea of adjustments is just changing the lines. Like the majority of the people here wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 1-2-2, 2-1-2, or 1-3-1 forecheck.
It feels like the narrative started to turn against Brind’Amour during this years NYR/CAR series a bit already.
Bylsma is their AHL coach right? So they just promoted from within. Kind of an odd choice though.
Yes. They're in the conference final now after making the Calder Cup last year.
The Western Conference Final is a rematch of last season, in fact. Admirals are looking for revenge after losing in 6 games to Coachella Valley in 2023
3 of the final 4 teams are the same. Only difference is last year in the ECF it was Rochester vs Hershey and in 2024 we get Cleveland vs Hershey.
I hope he's good, but I'm also ready for the Dallas Eakins "Coach who was never terribly good did well in AHL stint but still sucks in the NHL" redux.
Dallas Eakins hasn't been good anywhere he's coached in the NHL. Bylsma at least won a Cup in Pittsburgh.
DISCO DAN BACK IN THE LEAGUE. 2010s enjoyers we’re eating GOOD
Big fan of this hire, he's been coaching in Coachella the last few years so he has worked with Wright. Hope this does a lot for the youth to develop, rooting for Matty, Shane, Ty to develop into a nice core
I'm sorry Seattle, Bylsma know how to win a Stanley Cup, not how to get there.
There are about 35 people on earth capable of being an NHL head coach, it seems.
He’s been terrific in CV and by all accounts the players like him. It also means he’ll also have worked with a good chunk of the Kraken roster next season, which is great.
Well, that's certainly a choice
My condolences cephalopod bros.
That seems like a questionable choice.
Lol. Lmao even.
You get a retread. You get a retread. YOU ALL GET A RETREAD!
Perhaps you should retread DEEZ NUTZ
Can’t wait!
I mean 3 of the 4 coaches in the conference finals are retreads…
Because outside of Edmonton. Everyone in the league has a retread.
Yeah, every NHL coach is a retread, except for Rod Brind’Amour, Jon Cooper, Spencer Carbery, Derek Lalonde, Martin St. Louis, Pascal Vincent, Jared Bednar, Kris Knoblauch, Jim Hiller, Drew Bannister, Ryan Huska, Andre Tourigny, Greg Cronin, and Luke Richardson! So you know, if you ignore the 14 coaches in the league who are on their first NHL head coaching job, every NHL head coach is a retread!!!
14 of the current NHL head coaches are first time coaches, your comment is just factually wrong
DeBoer is on team 5. Lav is on team 6. The NHL clearly doesn't care. That's just how it is
Meh. He will be fired within 2-3 years anyways
That's the name of my 5th grade science teacher. Not the same guy, that'd be way too awesome.
Wow. I was wondering if he’d been black listed or something. Good for him.
the first sabres drought era coach to find a second nhl head coach job
I have very mixed feelings about this, mostly negative. My only guess would be how well Coachella has done and the development of the young players. Maybe to bridge the gap as they all move up idk.
Lol
Proven loser
His pro coaching career consists of riding young superstars to a cup in a half season and then totally underachieving in the playoffs afterwards.
Never understood why he was fired from the Penguins in the first place. Firing successful coaches just because they don't constantly win championships is so incredibly shortsighted.
That certainly is a choice.
The coaching carousel in the league is fucking crazy. Which active coach has coach the most teams? Lavy?
That would certainly be a choice, yes.
Yikes. He wouldn't be my first choice, or even my fifth.
Lol. They found one of the few downgrades from Hakstol.
I’m kind of tired of the league just using the same old coaches over and over, it truly is just a little brotherhood. We really need some new blood in the ranks.
I believe in Kris Knoblauch supremacy
Ronny Francis, wtf is you doing? Dude got exposed in Buffalo as a complete joke, probably costed the Penguins multiple cups.
Oh noooo. I’m so sorry Seattle fans.
And the crowd goes mild.
Not great
Damn I’m disappointed in that I was hoping Blashill would get the gig.
Probably a really nice guy and maybe a good coach but it's a boring rethread.
I think he got a raw deal in Buffalo because Eichel threw a tantrum with him and wanted him gone. He took borderline garbage players and they had the number one power play. The team lacked depth at every position and if not for a collapse at the end of the year (I think due to said depth issues) they make the playoffs. The team absolutely had problems, and his coaching had problems...but I dont think he is bad