NHL 2017-2018

[StCapps]

It can't really be down to Gerry Gallant tho, I mean, all the coaches say the same things, I'm sure Babcock says "no matter what the score just keep playing the same way" and so on and so forth, but the players on this team, the castoffs of the league with the chips on their shoulders, they are driving this bus, I'm not sure it would matter that much who was the coach, because this team is highly motivated internally, I think Gallant is riding their wave rather than vice versa.

Coaching is kind of a scam, it's mostly handwaving, the players either do it or they don't, if they don't, there's not much the coach can do about it.

Motivation is not the only thing a coach does and neither are line combinations. A scam, nah, some people just put too much on the coach, but coaching matters. Though I would agree that Gallant is riding the teams wave more than vice versa.

[Smitty-48]

It can't really be down to Gerry Gallant tho, I mean, all the coaches say the same things, I'm sure Babcock says "no matter what the score just keep playing the same way" and so on and so forth, but the players on this team, the castoffs of the league with the chips on their shoulders, they are driving this bus, I'm not sure it would matter that much who was the coach, because this team is highly motivated internally, I think Gallant is riding their wave rather than vice versa.

Coaching is kind of a scam, it's mostly handwaving, the players either do it or they don't, if they don't, there's not much the coach can do about it.

Motivation is not the only thing a coach does and neither are line combinations. A scam, nah, some people just put too much on the coach, but coaching matters. But I would agree that Gallant is riding the teams wave more than vice versa.

I don't think the coaches matter so much at the pro level, or rather, they're all pretty much the same, so it doesn't really matter which one you go with, and no matter who you go with, they all lose the room eventually, when they inevitably get on the players nerves, basically prearranged scapegoats hired to be fired when the jig is up.

[StCapps]

I don't think the coaches matter so much at the pro level, or rather, they're all pretty much the same, so it doesn't really matter which one you go with, and no matter who you go with, they lose the room eventually, when they inevitably get on the players nerves, basically prearranged scapegoats hired to be fired eventually.

They do tend to be prearranged scapegoats but not buying the all coaches are the same conclusion. I mean it makes no sense that it would matter less on the pro level, if anything it matters more.

[Smitty-48]

It's like last year Bednar was the goat and this year he's the star, but it's basically the same team, minus one Duchene cancer, plus one MacKinnon on an MVP tear. I'm pretty sure he isn't doing anything differently, MacKinnon has simply taken the bull by the horns.

[Smitty-48]

mean it makes no sense that it would matter less on the pro level, if anything it matters more.

Nah, the players at this level have been coached to the absurd, they know everything, they don't need to be told what to do, they're either up for it or they ain't, and it's the leaders in the room, the star players on the team, who decide whether the team sinks or swims, it's not like Team Canada couldn't win the gold without Mike Babcock, you could be the coach of Team Canada, and Sidney Crosby would run the room for you just like he does for Babcock.

[StCapps]

It's like last year Bednar was the goat and this year he's the star, but it's basically the same team, minus one Duchene cancer, plus one MacKinnon on an MVP tear. I'm pretty sure he isn't doing anything differently, MacKinnon has simply taken the bull by the horns.

True but I don't think it would be fair to say any NHL coach could be coaching the Avs with equal success right now, that's just a bridge too far. Is coaching overrated by many a sports fan, absolutely, is it irrelevant, fuck no.

[Smitty-48]

It's like last year Bednar was the goat and this year he's the star, but it's basically the same team, minus one Duchene cancer, plus one MacKinnon on an MVP tear. I'm pretty sure he isn't doing anything differently, MacKinnon has simply taken the bull by the horns.

True but I don't think it would be fair to say any NHL coach could be coaching the Avs with equal success right now, that's just a bridge too far. Is coaching overrated by many a sports fan, absolutely, is it irrelevant, fuck no.

Irrelevant is a bridge too far, which is why I say "mostly handwaving", there has to be someone to run the day to day operation, but I don't buy that Bednar somehow pushed some button and all of a sudden MacKinnon went on a tear, I think the GM got Duchene out of the way, and MacKinnon was embarassed by last year, so now he's highly motivated to take the bull by the horns, and the rest of the team is following his lead.

[StCapps]

It's like last year Bednar was the goat and this year he's the star, but it's basically the same team, minus one Duchene cancer, plus one MacKinnon on an MVP tear. I'm pretty sure he isn't doing anything differently, MacKinnon has simply taken the bull by the horns.

True but I don't think it would be fair to say any NHL coach could be coaching the Avs with equal success right now, that's just a bridge too far. Is coaching overrated by many a sports fan, absolutely, is it irrelevant, fuck no.

Irrelevant is a bridge too far, which is why I say "mostly handwaving", there has to be someone to run the day to day operation, but I don't buy that Bednar somehow pushed some button and all of a sudden MacKinnon went on a tear, I think the GM got Duchene out of the way, and MacKinnon was embarassed by last year, so now he's highly motivated to take the bull by the horns, and the rest of the team is following his lead.

Well your analysis of how much Bednar has to do with the Avs turn around compared to MacKinnon is spot on. I just think the coaching is "mostly handwaving" is a little over-embellishment in response to the legions of fans who think coaching makes and breaks who wins every game, I find them annoying too, so I get the desire to counter their silly narrative in colorful fashion, I'm just saying.

[Smitty-48]

True but I don't think it would be fair to say any NHL coach could be coaching the Avs with equal success right now, that's just a bridge too far. Is coaching overrated by many a sports fan, absolutely, is it irrelevant, fuck no.

Irrelevant is a bridge too far, which is why I say "mostly handwaving", there has to be someone to run the day to day operation, but I don't buy that Bednar somehow pushed some button and all of a sudden MacKinnon went on a tear, I think the GM got Duchene out of the way, and MacKinnon was embarassed by last year, so now he's highly motivated to take the bull by the horns, and the rest of the team is following his lead.

Well your analysis of how much Bednar has to do with the Avs turn around is spot on. I just think the coaching is "mostly handwaving" is a little over-embellishment in response to the legions of fans who think coaching makes and breaks who wins every game, I find them annoying too, so I get the desire to counter their silly narrative.

Well, like I say, irrelevant is a bridge too far, but they are interchangeable, so which one is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, they all say the same things, they are use the same systems, they all run the teams pretty much the same, so you do need an NHL caliber coach, which is mostly about juice, they have to have the juice to be accepted by NHL players, but the ones that have the juice, don't really have some sort of secret sauce which the other coaches don't have, you're really at the mercy of the GM and the point in the cycle that the team is in, the team is either well constructed and highly motivated, or its not, if its not, doesn't really matter which coach you throw in there, at least until that coach gets the team he wants from the GM, Babcock is coaching the Leafs exactly as he coaches Team Canada, but it's having no discernible effect, because they ain't Team Canada no matter how he tries to slice it.

[Smitty-48]

It's like what's the difference between Ottawa this year and Ottawa last year? Is it something Boucher is doing differently, or is it just the goalie having a bad year and Karlsson's ankle?