We near the halfway mark of the 2015/16 NHL season, and there have already been two coaching changes. Are more on the way in the near-future? Let us look and be the judge:
Well, Bruce Boudreau took this team all the way to the Stanley Cup semis last year. They gave Chicago all they could handle, losing 5-3 in game seven. Expectations were high, especially with the addition of Kevin Bieksa, a real character player. The Ducks also added former Ottawa coach Paul MacLean to the coaching staff. The team has stumbled out of the gate this season, and now sits in last place. That usually is a sign. And MacLean, despite leaving the Sens under a bit of a cloud, is an head coach masquerading as an assistant coach. You see where this is heading?
However, I'm a little iffy on Boudreau going. He's a good coach, number one. Player's coaches, like Bruce, don't get fired. Maybe he had his problems in Washington, but he's been a great success his first two seasons in Anaheim. And, while they are in last place, the number eight spot is well within range. The Ducks currently are just five points back of the Colorado Avalanch, who I feel are over-achieving and due to fall back (Pardon the pun). And the Ducks also have two games in hand. Another team that is within reach are the San Jose Sharks. They're in seventh place, but have only 36 points to the Ducks' 30. While Calgary is also in the playoff hunt (Along with some of the other teams between ninth and fourteenth), I think Anaheim has the best chance to climb.
There has been positives through all this. John Gibson, in only his third season in the NHL, has proven to be a great backup. This season, his surprising 1.97 goals-against-average is second in the league. And he's proving that he can take the ball and run with it as the starter, if needs be. Boudreau's Boys have given up just 85 goals so far this season. Just seven teams have surrendered fewer. Now if the offence (Dead last, by the way) can just get going.
Verdict: It will all depend on the next five to ten games, but if Bruce can get 'em back to ninth place or higher, the team will probably have a great second half. If not, look for a change. And I'm going to predict who takes over if Bruce goes: Paul MacLean!
Ah, no problem. 9-0-0 to start. And smooth sailing like last year for Michelle Therrien and co. But not so fast. Injuries and a lack of scoring (PK Subban is stuck on one goal this season) brought the Canadians down to earth with a thud. Montreal is still in first place in the Atlantic, but four teams are nipping at their heels. The Canadians have 43 points.
But really, as was proved last year, the Habs are vulnerable without Carey Price in goal. Montreal may have been guilty of over-playing him last year (66 games) and in some seasons before. Montreal has been forced to use Mike Condon and Dustin Torkarski in net in his absence. Kinda of like Wayne Thomas and Bunny Larocque filling in for Ken Dryden when the tall goalie held out in 1973/74. Both goalies the Canadians currently have are very good, but are in no position to play this much this early. The Habs are also missing other players, most notably Brendan Gallagher.
But the great start to the season, and the fact that they are in first place, plus Price is due back in January, means better times are ahead. They key for Montreal will be fending off the teams that are within striking distance. Their offence has dried up (Due in part to Gallagher going down) and they are having to pull out wins out of the hat. It's a rough spot to be in. Montreal needs to not fall back on that, as the year before it caught up to them in the playoffs.
Verdict: This one could go either way. When you hit a rough patch in Montreal, there are no excuses. Therrien is a great coach. Could the Habs do better with another coach? Possibly. It's eerie in the sense that he coached the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2008/09, and was fired when the Pens went into a slump. The Pittsburgh ultimately won the Stanley Cup that year. Could it happen this year? This is obviously a "Wait-And-See" situation. The problems here (Some of them, at least) are out of Therrien's hands. My feeling is that he stays. Gotta remember, there has been an improvement in several other teams in the Eastern Conference this year (More on that, later), so even with a healthy squad, it won't be smooth sailing for Montreal (Despite that impressive start) from here on in. If the Habs miss the playoffs, however, he's a goner.
So MacLean goes. Cameron takes over. Hammond gets hot. Playoffs. The rest, as they say, is history.
Not so fast, again.
While it might seem all is well in the nation's capital, am I (And how about you) seeing unsettling developments? Wasn't it right around this time last year that the Senators made the coaching change? There are signs afoot of the Sens getting away from their coach.
True, Ottawa is in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 40 points 17-12-6 (Compared to 14-14-6 in 2014/15), but what about the Sens team themselves? Relying on goaltending (And an injury to last season's surprising crease star hasn't helped) isn't going to be enough with this team.
The real problem with the Sens is the players themselves. They'd got talent, but they don't put their minds to being their best, game in game out. Maybe they think that Craig Anderson will cover all their mistakes, or that another strong finish with make it look like it was a great season in '15/16 (Was it really? Beginning to end? No.). I don't know.
There was the game against Florida on December 9th (A win, mind you), where Mike Hoffman was kicked off the top line...Then went out and scored the game-winning goal. Wait, a minute, isn't Hoffman second on the team in scoring? Why is he being demoted? You figure it out, I can't.
Their effort against Montreal on December the 12th was enough to reveal that the players and coach aren't on the same page. Now, really, 27 shots on goal in the first period? What? Anderson was so disgusted, he did everything but break his stick. Sure gave it his all, though. The Habs got ahead 3-0 in the second before Ottawa finally woke up. Too late, of course. Cameron, after, wasn't doing much talking. Not that he needed to.
The Sens played again in Florida on the 22nd. The team was hopelessly outplayed. When it was over, the Panthers had 40 shots on goal. The Senators, 16. Anderson kept them in the game, and a third period goal by Mark Stone was much needed. Hoffman had one shot on goal in 18 minutes of play. Oh, by the way, it went to a shootout and Florida won, 2-1. Hoffman's playing time is dropping, Despite 17 goals in just 31 games so far this season. There has to be an issue here.
Verdict: Dave Cameron is the fifth coach Ottawa has since 2005/6, or eleventh since 2003/04. Coaches do not last in Ottawa, plain and simple. But all the coaches they've had since that time have been good coaches, but the team seems to not listen to what's being said. While the Sens are good this year, they'd got to be careful. They hit a bad patch of ice in December of last season. When will it happen this year? If it happens in January, Cameron is gone. And given the expectations of last year, should it happen at any point from here on in during Dave's tenure, consider him gone.
References
Anaheim
Well, Bruce Boudreau took this team all the way to the Stanley Cup semis last year. They gave Chicago all they could handle, losing 5-3 in game seven. Expectations were high, especially with the addition of Kevin Bieksa, a real character player. The Ducks also added former Ottawa coach Paul MacLean to the coaching staff. The team has stumbled out of the gate this season, and now sits in last place. That usually is a sign. And MacLean, despite leaving the Sens under a bit of a cloud, is an head coach masquerading as an assistant coach. You see where this is heading?
However, I'm a little iffy on Boudreau going. He's a good coach, number one. Player's coaches, like Bruce, don't get fired. Maybe he had his problems in Washington, but he's been a great success his first two seasons in Anaheim. And, while they are in last place, the number eight spot is well within range. The Ducks currently are just five points back of the Colorado Avalanch, who I feel are over-achieving and due to fall back (Pardon the pun). And the Ducks also have two games in hand. Another team that is within reach are the San Jose Sharks. They're in seventh place, but have only 36 points to the Ducks' 30. While Calgary is also in the playoff hunt (Along with some of the other teams between ninth and fourteenth), I think Anaheim has the best chance to climb.
There has been positives through all this. John Gibson, in only his third season in the NHL, has proven to be a great backup. This season, his surprising 1.97 goals-against-average is second in the league. And he's proving that he can take the ball and run with it as the starter, if needs be. Boudreau's Boys have given up just 85 goals so far this season. Just seven teams have surrendered fewer. Now if the offence (Dead last, by the way) can just get going.
Verdict: It will all depend on the next five to ten games, but if Bruce can get 'em back to ninth place or higher, the team will probably have a great second half. If not, look for a change. And I'm going to predict who takes over if Bruce goes: Paul MacLean!
Montreal
Ah, no problem. 9-0-0 to start. And smooth sailing like last year for Michelle Therrien and co. But not so fast. Injuries and a lack of scoring (PK Subban is stuck on one goal this season) brought the Canadians down to earth with a thud. Montreal is still in first place in the Atlantic, but four teams are nipping at their heels. The Canadians have 43 points.
But really, as was proved last year, the Habs are vulnerable without Carey Price in goal. Montreal may have been guilty of over-playing him last year (66 games) and in some seasons before. Montreal has been forced to use Mike Condon and Dustin Torkarski in net in his absence. Kinda of like Wayne Thomas and Bunny Larocque filling in for Ken Dryden when the tall goalie held out in 1973/74. Both goalies the Canadians currently have are very good, but are in no position to play this much this early. The Habs are also missing other players, most notably Brendan Gallagher.
But the great start to the season, and the fact that they are in first place, plus Price is due back in January, means better times are ahead. They key for Montreal will be fending off the teams that are within striking distance. Their offence has dried up (Due in part to Gallagher going down) and they are having to pull out wins out of the hat. It's a rough spot to be in. Montreal needs to not fall back on that, as the year before it caught up to them in the playoffs.
Verdict: This one could go either way. When you hit a rough patch in Montreal, there are no excuses. Therrien is a great coach. Could the Habs do better with another coach? Possibly. It's eerie in the sense that he coached the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2008/09, and was fired when the Pens went into a slump. The Pittsburgh ultimately won the Stanley Cup that year. Could it happen this year? This is obviously a "Wait-And-See" situation. The problems here (Some of them, at least) are out of Therrien's hands. My feeling is that he stays. Gotta remember, there has been an improvement in several other teams in the Eastern Conference this year (More on that, later), so even with a healthy squad, it won't be smooth sailing for Montreal (Despite that impressive start) from here on in. If the Habs miss the playoffs, however, he's a goner.
Ottawa
So MacLean goes. Cameron takes over. Hammond gets hot. Playoffs. The rest, as they say, is history.
Not so fast, again.
While it might seem all is well in the nation's capital, am I (And how about you) seeing unsettling developments? Wasn't it right around this time last year that the Senators made the coaching change? There are signs afoot of the Sens getting away from their coach.
True, Ottawa is in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 40 points 17-12-6 (Compared to 14-14-6 in 2014/15), but what about the Sens team themselves? Relying on goaltending (And an injury to last season's surprising crease star hasn't helped) isn't going to be enough with this team.
The real problem with the Sens is the players themselves. They'd got talent, but they don't put their minds to being their best, game in game out. Maybe they think that Craig Anderson will cover all their mistakes, or that another strong finish with make it look like it was a great season in '15/16 (Was it really? Beginning to end? No.). I don't know.
There was the game against Florida on December 9th (A win, mind you), where Mike Hoffman was kicked off the top line...Then went out and scored the game-winning goal. Wait, a minute, isn't Hoffman second on the team in scoring? Why is he being demoted? You figure it out, I can't.
Their effort against Montreal on December the 12th was enough to reveal that the players and coach aren't on the same page. Now, really, 27 shots on goal in the first period? What? Anderson was so disgusted, he did everything but break his stick. Sure gave it his all, though. The Habs got ahead 3-0 in the second before Ottawa finally woke up. Too late, of course. Cameron, after, wasn't doing much talking. Not that he needed to.
The Sens played again in Florida on the 22nd. The team was hopelessly outplayed. When it was over, the Panthers had 40 shots on goal. The Senators, 16. Anderson kept them in the game, and a third period goal by Mark Stone was much needed. Hoffman had one shot on goal in 18 minutes of play. Oh, by the way, it went to a shootout and Florida won, 2-1. Hoffman's playing time is dropping, Despite 17 goals in just 31 games so far this season. There has to be an issue here.
Verdict: Dave Cameron is the fifth coach Ottawa has since 2005/6, or eleventh since 2003/04. Coaches do not last in Ottawa, plain and simple. But all the coaches they've had since that time have been good coaches, but the team seems to not listen to what's being said. While the Sens are good this year, they'd got to be careful. They hit a bad patch of ice in December of last season. When will it happen this year? If it happens in January, Cameron is gone. And given the expectations of last year, should it happen at any point from here on in during Dave's tenure, consider him gone.
References
“Official Site of the National Hockey League” NHL.com.
National Hockey League.
Web. 23 Dec. 2015. <https://www.nhl.com>.
Postmedia News. “Mike Hoffman Stays Hot for Ottawa Senators with Game-Winning Goal against Florida Panthers.” National Post, Postmedia Network Inc, 9 Dec. 2015, <nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-hoffman-stays-hot-for-ottawa-senators-with-game-winning-goal-against-florida-panthers>.
Sports Reference LLC. "(title of a particular
page or blank for general citation)." Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey
Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 23 Dec. 2017.
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