Hitchcock

93Crazed101

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Apr 27, 2017
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Coaching has been lost in much of our discussion for the future of the Stars people often throw out "Fire Hitchcock" without providing any potential candidates.

While Hitchcock is on a long term deal, the impression that the Dallas Morning News gave me is that he could be "promoted" to an advisory role at the discrestion of the GM.

The DMN also mentioned former Rangers coach Alain Vigneault as a potential replacement, as Jim Nill tried to hire in 2013.

I also harnessed the power of large markets to see who the coaching canidates are at this time.

So what do you think we should do? If you want to rid yourself of Hitchcock who do you replace him with?

Links:
Was this season Ken Hitchcock's last? Why it may be time to replace the Stars' all-time wins leader

New York Rangers’ Head Coaching Search: Nine Potential Options
 

FirstRowUpperDeck

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May 20, 2014
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Good thread. I thought the same thing when I saw AV fired.

The problem for the Stars is they disappointed, but are still in the win now mode. If you think they are contenders with one more piece added, you keep Hitch, because changing to the third system in 3 years isn't conducive to winning. He would stay no more than two years in any case. Worst case scenario is the get far in the playoffs the next two years, but don't win, and Hitch convinces them to give him one more try.

If you think this collection of talent really is mid pack or lower (as their standings the last decade implies) and you find a right long term fit, you go for it, as Hitch is basically a lame duck. May as well start addressing the future right now.

Nill was pretty non-committal in that interview, and Heika implies Hitch doesn't get along with Spezza, so it is possible that some under the surface dissatisfaction lurks, and if uncovering that is part of Nill's team exit interviews, he might pull the plug now.
 

Troy McClure

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Nill was pretty non-committal in that interview, and Heika implies Hitch doesn't get along with Spezza, so it is possible that some under the surface dissatisfaction lurks, and if uncovering that is part of Nill's team exit interviews, he might pull the plug now.
That's what I'm curious about. What do the players think?

I can infer what they think by what I saw on the ice. This team cratered when games mattered most. They came out flat in so many of those games looking either unprepared or uninterested in the fight. The also had far more blowout losses than you'd expect from a contender. They took a whole lot of stupid penalties game after game. This didn't look like a well-coached team in the last third of the season.
 
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FirstRowUpperDeck

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I agree it is a question. On one hand, the Stars have basically been flopping for the last decade in nearly any game that mattered, and it could be Hitch just wasn't able to instill that winning attitude and overcome the loser legacy.

On the other hand, Hitch was fired mid season by the then struggling Blues, and Yeo took them to the playoffs. What was the deal with that?

And he has a history of wearing thin on players. Klingberg was said to seek out Blues players at the ASG to find out what the deal was. I think it was Modano who was asked if Hitch had changed and he laughed, no same old Hitch, etc. Basically, they say his continuous harping about what they do wrong soon goes on deaf ears.

There was no doubt they stopped playing Hitch hockey in the second half, not battling as fiercely for pucks, standing around on the power play, less fore checking, not clearing the zone with the safe play, more dump and chase, etc. So, you have to ask if they were listening and/or if he lost the team.

Like Troy, I tend to believe my eyes from what I saw on the ice that maybe he did.
 

Smelling Salt

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JQ would have been ideal, but alas he's staying with Chicago.

AV would be nice. He'd be my first choice.

Heck I wouldn't mind Guy Boucher assuming he's canned.

If the team was young and on the verge I would look at some up and coming coaching blood. But as it stands right now I'd go with a proven commodity like AV.
 

FirstRowUpperDeck

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I agree with up and coming. I loved the first time he was hired, preferring some really fresh ideas. Never saw the value in veteran coaching re-treads. But, given they feel the urge to win now (not that it took young Hitch long) they would probably go AV or someone like that. It's not like they are bad coaches. 4 years out of 5 in the PO and they are gone with one year out in the NHL. Even the first Hitch firing, they had 90 points or so, not terrible, but he got canned. But, I do remember that video of him talking to Mo and Mo just sort of shaking his head and saying, "yeah, whatever."

They say all coaches eventually get tuned out, typically in about 3 years. It makes Ruff's tenure in Buffalo and even his 4 years here pretty remarkable.
 

Troy McClure

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I agree with up and coming. I loved the first time he was hired, preferring some really fresh ideas. Never saw the value in veteran coaching re-treads. But, given they feel the urge to win now (not that it took young Hitch long) they would probably go AV or someone like that. It's not like they are bad coaches. 4 years out of 5 in the PO and they are gone with one year out in the NHL. Even the first Hitch firing, they had 90 points or so, not terrible, but he got canned. But, I do remember that video of him talking to Mo and Mo just sort of shaking his head and saying, "yeah, whatever."

They say all coaches eventually get tuned out, typically in about 3 years. It makes Ruff's tenure in Buffalo and even his 4 years here pretty remarkable.
Ruff should have been fired by Christmas last season. I don't know what the holdup was. It was either Nill being excessively cautious or Gaglardi being cheap.
 
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jballa95

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Aug 18, 2013
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My issue is Hitch's stubbornness to adapt. Teams started to get a read on Dallas and their breakouts and Hitch never changed the system and only harped about how the team has to stick with the system/plan. That's fine when its a one off or two off loss, but you could see the tide turning halfway through the season, sticking to the system clearly wasn't working, but he nonetheless insisted the system wasn't the problem. Just pure stubbornness all year. One of my least favorite seasons to watch this season, boring hockey + losing hockey = not fun. Atleast Radulov was a breath of fresh air through out the season.
Also, Hitch got on my nerves and I don't even know the guy. Think about how guys like Honka or Smith feel. Make Hitch an advisor, he's probably better suited for it.
 

FirstRowUpperDeck

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Ruff should have been fired by Christmas last season. I don't know what the holdup was. It was either Nill being excessively cautious or Gaglardi being cheap.

Nill said he thought Lindy deserved a chance to see what he could do once the full lineup returned to the ice, since there were so many injuries. He didn't do enough.....
 

WhoahNow

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Are Sutter's and Vignault's coaching styles really that much different from Hitch's, are they not super defensive as well? Genuinely asking, as I didn't watch too much of Cal/LA or NYR to dissect their systems.

Also how does Keef like his teams to play?

Gallant really did seem like wouldve been a perfect fit.
 
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jballa95

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Vignault's coaching style is more up-pace than Hitch or Sutter. Sutter's press conferences would be entertaining to watch though. Here's a taste
 

________

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Vigneault would be a horrible option for the Stars. Sutter is basically a better version of Hitchcock, so he wouldn't be that much better, they need someone who is going to develop the younger players the team has in the organization. It's the only way this team will be consistently good.

There's a huge organization failure at developing players, so players leave and look better. They let players leave for basically nothing, they don't sell high on players, they barely give players a chance. It's more then just drafting, they can't get figure out how to get the most out of the players they draft. This needs to be fixed right away.
Then they would have more pieces to trade.

The team drafts players to fit a skilled, speed game, so they go hire a coach like Hitchcock who coaches the complete opposite of that. While Vigneault's coaching does fit that, he's not a good coaching option. It would be a lot like bringing back Ruff.
 

Satan

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Are Sutter's and Vignault's coaching styles really that much different from Hitch's, are they not super defensive as well? Genuinely asking, as I didn't watch too much of Cal/LA or NYR to dissect their systems.

Also how does Keef like his teams to play?

Gallant really did seem like wouldve been a perfect fit.

Gallant made played Derek MacKenzie like 13 mins a night.

He's no different from Hitch.
 

BfantZ

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Jun 22, 2017
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Sutter is kind of a Lindy ruff / Hitchcock hybrid . not boring Hockey but also not stupid high risk high reward hockey. He has a more comfident , cool , calm approach similar to ruff that I think the guys would resond better too . LA has always been very tough to play against . 2 cups in 6 years . Seems he’s done a pretty good job with some of there young guys too .
 

Benneguin

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I don’t know who all is available but I would target a coach with a good track record with offensively talented defensemen. We need someone who can speak Klingberg, Honka and Miro. Getting the most out of them is key to being a real contender. A couple that come to mind, Todd Reirden (Caps assistant coach) and Guy Boucher.
 

txomisc

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there are some positives to Hitch. Seguin and Klingberg became better all around players and hopefully will continue to build on it in the future. It didn't look like a lot of the other guys really got on board with things though and thats unfortunate.
 

Azzuri

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Feb 6, 2017
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I've been following Freidman's podcast for a while now, and its become obvious he has a fairly good connection with Jim Nill. He mentions a lot of things that go through Nill's mind. I think he has a fairly good connection inside the Dallas organization.

Therefore when we have 3 things come out in 31 thoughts, we can get a glimpse into the early thoughts of the organization during the post-season analysis:

7. We could get a clearer picture of Dallas’s future by the end of the week. Head coach Ken Hitchcock is getting points for Seguin’s excellent season and taking a historically bad penalty kill from 73.9 in 2016-17 to fourth in the NHL on March 12, when Ben Bishop’s injury wrecked his season. But, they did miss the playoffs and changes are coming.

The Stars had 244 power plays (20th in the NHL) and were short-handed 281 times, second-most to Nashville. That’s not a good ratio, especially for a team with such firepower. At the all-star break, they were eighth in the NHL with three goals per 60 minutes. They simply stopped scoring and finished 18th. I also heard a very interesting stat: they led the league in both icings and offsides. Hitchcock signed a one-year deal to coach with a consulting role to follow. The Stars are expected to look for a new backup for Bishop. The bigger question is if they choose other repairs internally, making 2017 third-overall pick Miro Heiskanen and potential returnee Valeri Nichushkin their top off-season acquisitions.

8. With Seguin a year away from unrestricted free agency, 2018-19 is going to be a very big season for Jamie Benn. He finished with eight goals and 10 points in the last five games, but Dallas was pretty much done by that point. Benn hasn’t been the same since an outstanding 2015-16 that made him a Hart finalist. They need him to get back to that level. How to get him back there will be an important internal conversation.

31 Thoughts: This might be the most difficult NHL Awards race ever - Sportsnet.ca

Here is Shaprio from his Athletic piece on break up day:

The owner is angry, the general manager and coach aren't on the same page, and the roster either needs to re-tooled or revamped to one that actually puts younger players in a position to succeed.

So the Stars' first big decision comes with the man behind the bench. It's always been well known that Hitchcock has a shelf life with certain teams, he has his own ways and they must be followed, and maybe that shelf life as an NHL coach has already been met.

Nill was asked whether Hitchcock would be back next season, and he was non-committal. It will be an important point of discussion in the weeks to come.

Frankly, it wouldn't make sense to have Hitchcock back next season. No matter what you think about his coaching style, it's become abundantly clear that he and Nill aren't on the same page and that's a recipe for disaster if allowed to cook any further.

Stars clean out lockers before before potentially tumultuous...

My take away is that Hitch is done. We're starting to hear the spin already about how slow the team was, how there needs to be accountability for the collapse. That maybe he isn't the guy for the future, etc.
 
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Azzuri

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Feb 6, 2017
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Friedman also speculated AV to Dallas in his recent podcast. I think there's a lot of fire out there that Hitch won't be back.
 

AveryStar4Eva

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Aug 28, 2014
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Hoping Hitch is gone, but not likely the Sutter/AV options. If there is a Gallant clone out there that is who we need. Someone who can incourage possession, high danger shots, and solid defensive positioning for the whole team.
 

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