"Complain About Maclean" Superthread (Mod Note: STOP making more Maclean threads)

[ffayyca]

Does anyone think Maclean's in game coaching is too passive? It's like he wants the players to figure things out when the game is going downhill. This is a mentally fragile team and tonight he should have done something when it's 2-1 or 3-1. A timeout could stop the momentum swing and at least get the players attention. He needs some tortorella in him, don't be afraid to rip players on the bench when they keep making the same mistakes.

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[RedSeven*]

He's a poor excuse for a coach.

Never calls a time out.
Sits cowen ten years too late.

In the game. You'd think one time when the Turris line isn't going and we are down goal so often that maybe it would be okay to put Spezza and Ryan together when there is nothing to loose.

His PP management is pathetic.

He is AWFUL.

He also pulls Anderson a goal too late today. He is a complete moron and should be fired.

People are so blinded by miraculous goaltending that won him an award for squeaking into the playoffs. Did anybody see the playoffs? We only beat montreal because of unreal/out of this world goaltending that Mac had nothing to do with.

He has been crap since his love affair with bobby butler.

 

[ffayyca]

He's a poor excuse for a coach.

Never calls a time out.
Sits cowen ten years too late.

In the game. You'd think one time when the Turris line isn't going and we are down goal so often that maybe it would be okay to put Spezza and Ryan together when there is nothing to loose.

His PP management is pathetic.

He is AWFUL.

He also pulls Anderson a goal too late today. He is a complete moron and should be fired.

People are so blinded by miraculous goaltending that won him an award for squeaking into the playoffs. Did anybody see the playoffs? We only beat montreal because of unreal/out of this world goaltending that Mac had nothing to do with.

He has been crap since his love affair with bobby butler.

Woah, didn't expect the first reply to be a bash fest.

 

[QuietOnTheFront]

Does anyone think Maclean's in game coaching is too passive? It's like he wants the players to figure things out when the game is going downhill. This is a mentally fragile team and tonight he should have done something when it's 2-1 or 3-1. A timeout could stop the momentum swing and at least get the players attention. He needs some tortorella in him, don't be afraid to rip players on the bench when they keep making the same mistakes.

There's pros and cons to having coaches like Torts. Some teams need it; usually after a coaching change where the previous coach may have been too passive. We went through something similar with Clouston. Maclean is a player's coach, in that he understands a player's mindset (what makes them tick etc.) as he was one. The players have generally responded well to that; 2 out of 3 successful years.

What pisses me off about Maclean this year is, or at least what I perceive is, his lack of knowing what he has as a team. I think his experimentation early in the year created this muddled version of the Sens. We lack chemistry, there is no cohesion between our defensive pairings outside of Meth and EK. Our forward lines are finally beginning to take shape after 20+ games into the season.

I think that last year was unfair for us as we watched a team that was playing well above their capabilities. What we had last year was a team that was decimated by injuries that played without the weight of expectation. With the talk in the offseason of us miraculously becoming contenders, I think our young team may be feeling the weight of the pressure and this is their response.

Personally I think if we had the flexibility of any other team to spend a little bit more loosely, Bryan Murray would have made a move by now. Unfortunately, I think bigger than anything, our inability to operate as anything more than a cap floor team is hurting us now and will hurt us in the future. You can put as much money into scouting as you want, but if you cannot obtain veteran pieces to help guide your young players then you won't win games in this league. It's why the Edmontons and the Islanders of this league are still struggling despite a wealth of young talent. We need better veterans than what we have on this team. Philips and Neil are great for leadership but can only play a diminished roll on the ice. What we need are players who can not only lead in the dressing room but on the ice as well. Leaders who can still make a meaningful contribution to our team.

 

[Benjamin]

He finally pulled Andy. Thats somethings.

 

[FireMelnyk]

Did he really have the wingers taking the draws for Turris and Spezza in the second, or was I seeing things at the game? Didn't see any of them getting thrown out, but the wingers were still taking them. I guess 29% in the 1st was a bit of an issue, but a Michalek loss did result directly in a goal against.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

He's building trust with his veterans so that when he eventually calls them out or doesn't play them, they know why and the respect for him and the rest of the team remains without that scuffing and stupid drama.

Plausible treatment that builds a winning and professional environment.

I'll use Anderson as an example. Like Lehner said, Anderson is the number 1 and MacLean giving him that role and opportunity because of that status he possesses and Lehner fully respects it because he KNOWS once he takes the reigns of that status, he will also be offered same treatment and that trust bond.

However, it can only be so long until you gotta cut off the dead meat and it doesn't go against MacLean's original philosophy of "Best players play."

 

[ffayyca]

He's building trust with his veterans so that when he eventually calls them out or doesn't play them, they know why and the respect for him and the rest of the team remains without that scuffing and stupid drama.

Plausible treatment that builds a winning and professional environment.

I'll use Anderson as an example. Like Lehner said, Anderson is the number 1 and MacLean giving him that role and opportunity because of that status he possesses and Lehner fully respects it because he KNOWS once he takes the reigns of that status, he will also be offered same treatment and that trust bond.

However, it can only be so long until you gotta cut off the dead meat and it doesn't go against MacLean's original philosophy of "Best players play."

That's all fine and dandy, but the lack of action to stop a collapse is puzzling. Is a timeout so precious that he has to wait for the last minute? I seriously think a timeout or pulling Andy early might gave us a point tonight.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Wish he was more like Torts. I was watching the Canucks broadcast, and it showed him reaming players out on the bench when they made a glaring mistake. Say what you will about the effectiveness of that style of coaching, but I will say Torts screaming in your ear provides a pretty damn good incentive to not make any more mistakes.

Too much passiveness, too much unaccountability from MacLean. Says best players play but then keeps Cowen in for every game but this last one, keeps Anderson as the #1 despite putting up the worst performances night in and night out compared to any goaltender in the NHL, etc... etc...

When you look at him on the bench, he doesn't look nearly as upset as he should be when we play like garbage, and it translates to the players not being as pissed off as well. As a head coach he needs to instil some discipline on this team, night in and night out he has to motivate this team to come out flying and take the play to the opposition. I haven't seen that yet from him this year. We're a budget team that has overachieved the past couple years because the team worked their butts off and surprised the opposition with their competitiveness. MacLean deserves huge amounts of credit for the way he handled the team the past couple years, but has frankly been disappointing this year.

 

[supsens]

He's building trust with his veterans so that when he eventually calls them out or doesn't play them, they know why and the respect for him and the rest of the team remains without that scuffing and stupid drama.

Plausible treatment that builds a winning and professional environment.

I'll use Anderson as an example. Like Lehner said, Anderson is the number 1 and MacLean giving him that role and opportunity because of that status he possesses and Lehner fully respects it because he KNOWS once he takes the reigns of that status, he will also be offered same treatment and that trust bond.

However, it can only be so long until you gotta cut off the dead meat and it doesn't go against MacLean's original philosophy of "Best players play."

Could be he isn't allowed to make Lehner the guy because of the RFA status on the way. budget!! budget!! or could be Lehner is a dick of a guy and isn't a team player. Or he could be lazy and not do what is asked of him.
Many things could be going on

 

[QuietOnTheFront]

That's all fine and dandy, but the lack of action to stop a collapse is puzzling. Is a timeout so precious that he has to wait for the last minute? I seriously think a timeout or pulling Andy early might gave us a point tonight.

I think that one time out would not have saved this game tonight.. We are what Maclean says we are, "an inconsistent team." We played an excellent first period, came out flat in the second. The Hyde to our Jekyll..

You act as if a time out guarantees to right any ship.. I don't see it changing anything. Could he have pulled Anderson sooner? Yes. Could he have started Lehner instead on a back to back? Yes. But those are my opinions. Maclean obviously has more in mind in the message he's trying to send his team. If we had a knee jerk reactionist like Torts at this point, our team would collapse. I get the sense that Maclean is trying to instil that he has faith that this team is a winner and that the struggle is internal and not of substance. His decisions highlight his faith in his team. It's his angle.

 

[Iconoclast]

Trade Maclean and Greening for Torts and Tanev.

 

[Benjamin]

Wish he was more like Torts. I was watching the Canucks broadcast, and it showed him reaming players out on the bench when they made a glaring mistake. Say what you will about the effectiveness of that style of coaching, but I will say Torts screaming in your ear provides a pretty damn good incentive to not make any more mistakes.

Too much passiveness, too much unaccountability from MacLean. Says best players play but then keeps Cowen in for every game but this last one, keeps Anderson as the #1 despite putting up the worst performances night in and night out compared to any goaltender in the NHL, etc... etc...

When you look at him on the bench, he doesn't look nearly as upset as he should be when we play like garbage, and it translates to the players not being as pissed off as well. As a head coach he needs to instil some discipline on this team, night in and night out he has to motivate this team to come out flying and take the play to the opposition. I haven't seen that yet from him this year. We're a budget team that has overachieved the past couple years because the team worked their butts off and surprised the opposition with their competitiveness. MacLean deserves huge amounts of credit for the way he handled the team the past couple years, but has frankly been disappointing this year.

Torts doesn't work on everyone.

Personally, I would just try ignoring him if thats how I got treated and I'd be playing not to make mistakes instead just playing naturally. I'd end up playing worse solely because of him.

 

[QuietOnTheFront]

Could be he isn't allowed to make Lehner the guy because of the RFA status on the way. budget!! budget!! or could be Lehner is a dick of a guy and isn't a team player. Or he could be lazy and not do what is asked of him.
Many things could be going on

To me it is these types of speculations with no foundation that we should be avoiding.

And the budget goes in the same respect to Anderson too.. He's on a modest contract, if he played to his numbers last year he'd receive a healthy raise in a year. Where does that fit in our budget? Most coaches play to win with what they have, its one thing that they have control over. I'm sure Maclean doesn't base his decisions off of our internal budget because Melnyk has a gun to his head telling him not to play Lehner.

 

[Spez]

Yeah Torts is so great. If he's so great then why are the canucks out of a playoff spot despite their taelnt? If he's so great then why did he get fired in New York and had a mediocre track record with them? Why did a torts coached team barely get past us and the caps 2 seasons ago? Fact is a torts type coach has a small shelf life. You can't always yell constantly otherwise players start to tune you out. Happened to a lot of coaches over the years. We saw it with guys like Torts, Clouston and Mike Keenan.

 

[The Fuhr*]

Yeah Torts is so great. If he's so great then why are the canucks out of a playoff spot despite their taelnt? If he's so great then why did he get fired in New York and had a mediocre track record with them? Why did a torts coached team barely get past us and the caps 2 seasons ago? Fact is a torts type coach has a small shelf life. You can't always yell constantly otherwise players start to tune you out. Happened to a lot of coaches over the years. We saw it with guys like Torts, Clouston and Mike Keenan.

If the Canucks were in the East they would be 4th... West is deep
His record as coach of the Rangers 171-124-29
He has 423 career wins
He has won a cup

Torts is one of the best coaches in the game

 

[GrantLemons]

I feel like Maclean was an excellent coach with Alfredsson around. It's like Alfredsson led by example enough that on most nights, he himself would get the team ready and motivated to play, and take some of that burden away from Maclean.

The way the team is now, I feel like a Torts type coach would be better suited for it.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Torts schtick gets old after a year or two. He's a giant baby, it's funny to see him mentioned when no one could stand his antics here in the playoffs.

Maclean is facing some adversity and some people want him fired already. It's such an ignorant attempt at a solution.

I keep forgetting though that if maclean just read these boards to make coaching decisions we'd be awesome.

 

[benjiv1]

MacLean is very old-school style coach.

He is trying to let his players play their way out of their funk. (A very Scotty Bowman/Babcock mentality)


Which is why we are still seeing Michalek on the top line, Anderson getting starts, and Cowen only sitting now.

We're used to coaches that hit the panic button too soon.

MacLean has made mistakes, but he's trying to get our best players playing their best. Anderson isn't going to get better by riding the pine, same with Spezza and Michalek.

IMO the team needs a mid level trade to rock the boat.

 

[Spez]

At the end of the day if they miss the playoffs they still miss. You can't say if we played in the east we'd be in the playoffs as an excuse. They've actually looked bad against a lot of the top teams in the west. He won a cup yes but that doesn't mean he is this almighty great coach.

You bring up his record with the rangers but as you know Fuhr, regular season record means jack. Here's his body of work in New York:

09- Got hired mid-season, took the team to the playoffs where they choked. I don't care if you are the underdog, anytime you go up 3-1 in a series and lose it's a choke job. He allowed Avery to become a distraction and got himself suspended in game 5 for the water bottle incident. It was against the caps but you can't tell me the rangers should not have won being up 3-1 with the King in net. They got blown out in games 5 and 6 which shows the team was not prepared.

10- Had a huge swoon down the stretch leading to a do or die shootout with the flyers. Torts team got horribly outplayed vs philly and Lunqdvist was the only reason they even had a chance. They end up losing and missing the playoffs.

11- Started strong and then once again had a huge swoon. Only made the playoffs because Carolina choked vs Tampa. Promptly got waxed by the caps and there was a game where the rangers were up 3-0 and decided to sit back and that cost them the series ultimately.

12- Finished 1st in the east and actually made good progress. However, they played a stupid system that would not win a cup. You can't tell me Fuhr that they would have needed 7 games to beat us and the caps playing that dumb system. They were lucky to get past both teams. Devils ended up exposing them in the CF. The only season though you can say Torts did a great job with the rangers.

13- Needed a late push to make the playoffs after stumbling. Won the first round due to the caps choking DNA and Lundqvist standing tall in games 6 and 7. Got exposed big time by the Bruins and they weren't even competitive vs the bruins. Only reason they didn't get swept was Rask stinking in game 4.

This team doesn't need a Torts coach. They need a Martin assistant plain and simple or a Lemaire type assistant to help teach them better D. If someone gets axed it will be Reeds/Cameron likely.

 

[dpw]

Yeah Torts is so great. If he's so great then why are the canucks out of a playoff spot despite their taelnt? If he's so great then why did he get fired in New York and had a mediocre track record with them? Why did a torts coached team barely get past us and the caps 2 seasons ago? Fact is a torts type coach has a small shelf life. You can't always yell constantly otherwise players start to tune you out. Happened to a lot of coaches over the years. We saw it with guys like Torts, Clouston and Mike Keenan.

Perfect fit for Ottawa.

 

[Indrew]

The grass isn't always greening you fools.

 

[Tampacuseforever]

Am I really reading we need Torts as coach

 

[4thlineduster]

What really leaves me scratching my head about Mac is the PP.

He puts in Turris on the point for a game and we find success....next game it's right back to Phillips and EK. A few games later after the PP is struggling he puts Zibby on the point for PP and we find success. Next game right back to Phillips and EK and PP struggles again.

You make a change...find something that works...then change back to what doesn't......not sure what's going through his head this season.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Torts doesn't work on everyone.

Personally, I would just try ignoring him if thats how I got treated and I'd be playing not to make mistakes instead just playing naturally. I'd end up playing worse solely because of him.

Which is what everyone on the Lightning, and then Rangers, did.