Larry Hoover
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- Sep 16, 2012
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GM's on the "hot seat" (to be fired)?
- Thread starter Larry Hoover
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Sudbury should be but that wouldn't go over well at league headquarters. I'm no fan of a out of town manager even if it's a good one which he isn't imho.
Mike Oke in Peterborough is in the last year of his contract, sitting on a mountain of tradeable assets, running a team that recently came out and said they have four years left of financial reserves before they have to fold. I feel like there's no one in the CHL on more of a hot-seat than Oke.
If he autopilots the team through the trade deadline, like he has for the majority of his career in Peterborough, then he'll be gone. There's no excuse for Oke and the Petes to not be swinging for the fences in the coming weeks.
If he autopilots the team through the trade deadline, like he has for the majority of his career in Peterborough, then he'll be gone. There's no excuse for Oke and the Petes to not be swinging for the fences in the coming weeks.
Steve Staios and coach John Gruden of the Hamilton Bulldogs. The franchise is regressing again with little improvement from a year ago with its recent string of 10 losses in their last 13 games, and the team in jeopardy of losing its Memorial Cup bid in 2018 if things don't improve after Christmas. If they blow this weekend series vs. Oshawa and Missy, and the Erie series after Christmas, Gruden and Staios are likely gone.
While injuries are an issue, the team's defense and power play/penalty kill numbers stink (15th in PP, 18th in PK). They've actually regressed from last year.
The CHL is looking at this team--they will not grant a Memorial Cup to a team that doesn't project to be championship calibre next year, which this team isn't right now. They're actually likely to be sellers at the deadline instead of buyers.
And of course, the attendance issues continue to be a problem..
While injuries are an issue, the team's defense and power play/penalty kill numbers stink (15th in PP, 18th in PK). They've actually regressed from last year.
The CHL is looking at this team--they will not grant a Memorial Cup to a team that doesn't project to be championship calibre next year, which this team isn't right now. They're actually likely to be sellers at the deadline instead of buyers.
And of course, the attendance issues continue to be a problem..
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Wolfman Jack
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- Jan 19, 2009
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Would welcome Steve Staios with open arms in Sudbury! And any GM that would make 705 his hometown.
WJ
Larry Hoover
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The tough thing about Sudbury is someone making the 705 their home.
Do OHL GM's have to scout OHL prospects? If so, why would they want to live in Sudbury? Terrible for scouting purposes, no?
On the other hand, if the team trusts their head scout and gives him most of the decision-making authority, then I guess it makes sense to be local.
Also didnt Sudbury just hire a new GM recently?
Larry Hoover
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Do you really think they'd fire Staios already? Didn't he just get hired like 2 years ago? I imagine you have to give a rebuilding team at least like 4 years (get players from 16-20...a full cycle)
Larry Hoover
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Any idea what their salary is? Im curious how much OHL GM's and coaches and assistnat coahces and assistnat GMs make per year
Team's bidding for a Memorial Cup. Andlauer's not going to be patient--a 7 or 8 seed or a playoff miss will cost this team their bid and the CHL will choose Oshawa or Regina instead, two teams that project to be top tier again in 2018.
Not to mention the franchise's survival depends on a successful Memorial Cup bid, as their lease is up at FirstOntario in 2018, and low attendance numbers, poor performance on the ice, and the embarrassment of watching Belleville(where the OHL Bulldogs came from) get an AHL team while Hamilton lost one is going to make the city seethe and make it difficult for Andlauer to get another lease on Copps without him making major concessions.
There are a lot of teams in the 705 area code. Seems like a silly way to refer to Sudbury in my opinion.
digiblader: I thought I read somewhere that the announcement for the 2018 Memorial Cup will be made in 2 months. In other words, before this regular season ends and before the playoffs start. Depending on which team is hosting, it may decide the fate of the GM's/coaching staff. IMHO.
You gotta give those guys a little time to make an impact. I know Hamilton fans have been really optimistic since last year and including this year...I just don't think the roster is as good as people believe. There's some pieces, sure, but top to bottom? Competitive for the Memorial Cup this year or next? I don't see it. I'd be surprised to see them land the MC too. Population is certainly big enough. Attendance isn't great but it's not THAT far off to dismiss them. I think the issue is competitiveness and the size of that arena. If they double the attendance it's still gonna look sparse in that arena. Is the CHL really gonna want to showcase next year's MC in a building that isn't close to sold out? Not saying Gruden or Staios won't get fired at some point but it's awfully early right now and I don't think they were given much to work with.
IIRC, they were promised a Memorial Cup when they moved--but with the team's performance, the CHL is risking another Hamilton Dukes situation if they award it there. The league cannot afford this to happen again--it would embarass the credibility of the CHL. The Memorial Cup will go to the team that best looks like they'll be a strong contender who won't be embarassing in the tournament in 2018--and right now, this Dogs team is looking at 2019 or later before being a contender, and that's dependent on the roster developing.
And right now, this Dogs team is going backwards--while they started strong, it mostly came from facing drained teams who had talent at NHL camps. Since then, they've dropped significantly, going 6-10 plus a few OT losses, so they're even worse than that. The power play's regressed from last year when Burnett was coaching them, (15.6% PP compared to 17% last year) and the penalty kill has regressed badly (77% vs 80.6% last year). And Staios has been with the team for 2 years..
Two years isn't long enough to truly assess a GM's ability or direction at any level unless they've been absolutely hitting home runs with every transaction or made multiple deals that are immediately recognized as disastrous. 31 games is a bit short for a coach too but that could possibly be more easily justified. Hamilton is trending upward as a whole from last year despite the sliding special teams numbers. I wasn't a huge Gruden fan but he produced decent results with what he had and the players loved him. That drop pass breakout and some of his choices for D pairings drove me nuts though.
Jacksonbobson
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I think Hamilton is a team that could win two rounds in the playoffs this year at the very least but right now are playing like a team that would be lucky to win one. With both special teams near the bottom half of the league, I don't think it's out of the question to see Gruden go (especially if the Bulldogs get bounced in round one) If Staios is satisfied with this team and doesn't make anymore moves and they continue to play poorly, it may not be too long before he goes too.
Say what you want about GM Mike Oke, the coaching staff and scouts, but I really like what I see as far as assets and team success in the near future. I think they have a real chance of having their contracts extended beyond 2017-2018.
They are in a position of strength when it comes to making trades unlike many past trades. Oke will be able to make a trade without "emptying the cupboard", thanks to the # of future picks they have + the solid group of players they have drafted the last 3 years.
I will be shocked (and disappointed) if he doesn't make a deal at the deadline. To this point in the season he was in no rush to make a deal. He's better waiting until the deadline to get a better sense of what he has (in his young guys) and waiting out the "desperate sellers" who have no hope for this season, assets they will be losing and an empty cupboard.
As far as this whole hamilton thing goes.. staios was team president last year aka year 1 and now year two Gm.. with pretty much the same roster except for 3-4 players I don't want to hear ohh he needs time to see what they have.. if you bring back 95% of ur roster u should know what you have.. staios if he doesn't make moves at the deadline he is gone by season end.. my wish is Xmas but this weekend is lasts games we play until Xmas so it won't happen.. I'll give gruden 1 more season to prove himself before we axe him.. the assists we have havnt really shown me anything either and with smith gone now he didn't do anything either when he was hear.. staios has no experience as he was a player development for maple leafs which he didn't develop any players that I remember.. team president he hasn't proved much.. I think our dogs will be another coming of the blue jays in MLB.. until they make playoffs each year the attendance won't Get better and with staios as Gm I think things will just get worse.. if he wanted to he could have made a trade by now why he hasn't I have no idea..
As far as someone's comment about 2019.. our youth will be 18-19 next season I think we will go for it next year instead of two years from now when we lose entwistle and strome as OAs
As far as someone's comment about 2019.. our youth will be 18-19 next season I think we will go for it next year instead of two years from now when we lose entwistle and strome as OAs
Larry Hoover
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- Sep 16, 2012
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Never mind which GM should go.
Branch should just retire and let the OHL and CHL find a new guy with new ideas.
A guy can only take an organization so far.
Its time.
Branch should just retire and let the OHL and CHL find a new guy with new ideas.
A guy can only take an organization so far.
Its time.
Naz
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I been saying that for years, how can Branch be allowed to do 2 jobs isn't that a conflict of interest.
Jason Ford in Barrie ? last place, 2 first picks not reporting, and all the draft picks he traded away last season, not having a great playoff last year.........might be on the Hot Seat ?
Larry Hoover
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