Coach Discussion: Paul Maurice: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[grieves]

Stalin? The best analogy for Maurice's loyalty you could come up with is a vengeful, paranoid, murderous dictator?

Seriously?

You got me there. I don't think anyone in their right mind thinks I mean that the consequences of his actions are even near the same level. I guess that was in poor taste. My bad. I'm kind of a history buff and I say weird things sometimes.

I'm just saying there are different ways of running things and if performance output is not your measure of how to run things then you might be doing it wrong. But again, this is just what it looks like to a random spectator. I bet there are a million things to take into consideration.

("Hilariously" enough, the reason Stalin rose to power is because they gave his main political competitor, Trotsky, the wrong date for Lenin's funeral so everyone just assumed Stalin is the guy now because he was the main guy at the funeral, when even Lenin was worried about what a crazy lunatic this guy is [uneducated street gangster basically]).

 

[GaryPoppins]

I find it odd that he continues to pair Buff with Myers when down. Has that worked once, yet?

 

[pucka lucka]

Chances off the rush are heavily dependent on your transition game, and the Jets transition game hasn't been very good at all.

I see the Jets weaving through the neutral zone a fair amount, Ehlers and Perreault do it a lot, as does Little. Laine has picked up that part of his game lately as well. They typically have depth in their attack for the most part. The biggest issue is it's just not getting started cleanly. It always perplexes me why the Jets use their weak side winger so infrequently breaking out on the rush. I've seen so many teams do this effectively against us. With our speed, it should be utilized more often.

We need more puck movers like Buff and Morrissey and less luggers like Myers and Chiarot.

This team is still going to be effective off the cycle and that is important, but it needs some new wrinkles through the middle and coming over the line.

Nothing kills a speedy transition like a Myers or Chiarot having the puck.

 

[rkp]

despite all the talent this team has, the jets still seem to be an one line team....they were burnt physically against vegas and it looks like that the top line will be burnt once again come playoffs ..if we make it.

 

[Trinity]

despite all the talent this team has, the jets still seem to be an one line team....they were burnt physically against vegas and it looks like that the top line will be burnt once again come playoffs ..if we make it.

The real problem is our centre depth. We have an abundance of uber-talented wingers, but no centres to play with them.

 

[Adam da bomb]

The real problem is our centre depth. We have an abundance of uber-talented wingers, but no centres to play with them.

No centres huh. Weird I thought Little and Schief were among our best this season.

 

[ERYX]

No centres huh. Weird I thought Little and Schief were among our best this season.

Lowry hasn’t been too shabby either. I don’t think our centres have really been the issue.

And I don’t think Paul Stastny’s 0 goals and 0 assists so far in 18/19 would make a big difference if we still had him as part of our centre depth.

 

[ryerockarola]

Lowry hasn’t been too shabby either. I don’t think our centres have really been the issue.

And I don’t think Paul Stastny’s 0 goals and 0 assists so far in 18/19 would make a big difference if we still had him as part of our centre depth.

Stastny played 3 games before getting injured fwiw

 

[cheswick]

Jump on Quenville while we still can.

 

[Howard Chuck]

I actually really like Maurice as a person, and his interviews are top notch, but I really don't like some of the things that he says or does when it comes to coaching.

What did he say the other day about not coaching some players, was it four of them? I'm just going to go on record and say that there isn't one player who can't improve on the Jets, let alone four.

But more disturbing is the overall makeup of the team. To his credit he has shaken some things up, but we all know his blind spot with Wheeler, and that one decision makes the most difference to the entire team imo.

 

[surixon]

I actually really like Maurice as a person, and his interviews are top notch, but I really don't like some of the things that he says or does when it comes to coaching.

What did he say the other day about not coaching some players, was it four of them? I'm just going to go on record and say that there isn't one player who can't improve on the Jets, let alone four.

But more disturbing is the overall makeup of the team. To his credit he has shaken some things up, but we all know his blind spot with Wheeler, and that one decision makes the most difference to the entire team imo.

I agree that every player on the league needs mentoring and coachong as there are always new skills to learn and mistakes to correct.

With regards to team dynamics I think would be fascinating to see what goes on in the room behind the scenes. What are the relationships like between the coach and individual players. Are there any cliques in the room etc. Knowing this would allow us to form greater opinions on how Maurice is doing.

For all we know Maurice has had conversations with wheeler about a reduced role and he will have none of it. Not an easy situation as a coach if the leader of the room doesn't play ball. Same as with Buff/Morrissey on PP1, if the alpha in the room isn't ok with it and is unhappy then it puts pressure on the coach.

Having said that the sooner this team transitions more of ice time to its younger core the better as for the most part they are equal if not superior players to our vets now. Perhaps they need to start asserting themselves more in the room and taking more control there so that Maurice doesn't have an easy decision to make.

 

[redneckjabronie]

Jump on Quenville while we still can.

Agree 100%. Quenneville is a proven winner and can work with a talented roster.

But, its a pipe dream knowing the Jets

 

[Ducky10]

I agree that every player on the league needs mentoring and coachong as there are always new skills to learn and mistakes to correct.

With regards to team dynamics I think would be fascinating to see what goes on in the room behind the scenes. What are the relationships like between the coach and individual players. Are there any cliques in the room etc. Knowing this would allow us to form greater opinions on how Maurice is doing.

For all we know Maurice has had conversations with wheeler about a reduced role and he will have none of it. Not an easy situation as a coach if the leader of the room doesn't play ball. Same as with Buff/Morrissey on PP1, if the alpha in the room isn't ok with it and is unhappy then it puts pressure on the coach.

Having said that the sooner this team transitions more of ice time to its younger core the better as for the most part they are equal if not superior players to our vets now. Perhaps they need to start asserting themselves more in the room and taking more control there so that Maurice doesn't have an easy decision to make.

Or for all we know, it's none of this. No offense but I always find it interesting that when we're assuming things we know nothing about it, it usually leans this way. Maybe some of the young guys have started to take a greater role in the room, perhaps it's Scheifele wanting him and Wheeler to stay together, it's not like he hasn't stated how much he enjoys playing with him before.

By any account we were privy to, this team was a pretty tight group last season. Stastny went on ad nauseum about how great the room was and what a great situation he was in. Not sure why so much would change in a 4 or 5 month period, with the same players essentially.

The most obvious reasoning to me is it's Maurice who insists on playing Wheeler so much, rightly or wrongly.

 

[surixon]

Or for all we know, it's none of this. No offense but I always find it interesting that when we're assuming things we know nothing about it, it usually leans this way. Maybe some of the young guys have started to take a greater role in the room, perhaps it's Scheifele wanting him and Wheeler to stay together, it's not like he hasn't stated how much he enjoys playing with him before.

By any account we were privy to, this team was a pretty tight group last season. Stastny went on ad nauseum about how great the room was and what a great situation he was in. Not sure why so much would change in a 4 or 5 month period, with the same players essentially.

The most obvious reasoning to me is it's Maurice who insists on playing Wheeler so much, rightly or wrongly.

That's very true it could be a whole bunch of things including Maurice being very stubborn.

Either way it is something that he needs to figure out.

 

[Howard Chuck]

Having said that the sooner this team transitions more of ice time to its younger core the better as for the most part they are equal if not superior players to our vets now. Perhaps they need to start asserting themselves more in the room and taking more control there so that Maurice doesn't have an easy decision to make.

Yes.... I agree. Get the young guys started taking the reins with support from the vets.

Either way it is something that he needs to figure out.

Regardless of what it is, you're correct. He needs to figure it out.

 

[Channelcat]

Jump on Quenville while we still can.

That would be so sweet.

 

[Adam da bomb]

Yet when young guys make noise so the team management changes and express their unhappiness with it we jump on them for that too.

 

[pucka lucka]

Or for all we know, it's none of this. No offense but I always find it interesting that when we're assuming things we know nothing about it, it usually leans this way. Maybe some of the young guys have started to take a greater role in the room, perhaps it's Scheifele wanting him and Wheeler to stay together, it's not like he hasn't stated how much he enjoys playing with him before.

By any account we were privy to, this team was a pretty tight group last season. Stastny went on ad nauseum about how great the room was and what a great situation he was in. Not sure why so much would change in a 4 or 5 month period, with the same players essentially.

The most obvious reasoning to me is it's Maurice who insists on playing Wheeler so much, rightly or wrongly.

When I look at what Maurice does I see way too much focus on self preservation in his decision making. That's how you stay employed at this level for as long as he has while never winning anything.

 

[Trinity]

No centres huh. Weird I thought Little and Schief were among our best this season.

I meant after Scheilefe. Little is serviceable as a 3C, but we need an upgrade at 2C if we expect to make a serious Cup run.

 

[Trinity]

When I look at what Maurice does I see way too much focus on self preservation in his decision making. That's how you stay employed at this level for as long as he has while never winning anything.

What are some examples of this "self-preservation" you speak of?

 

[paragon]

I like Maurice as a personality, but if you are ever going to fire him, it's now or never.

 

[Trinity]

I like Maurice as a personality, but if you are ever going to fire him, it's now or never.

I agree but unfortunately I don't see it happening. The bromance between Maurice and Chevy is too strong.

 

[Ducky10]

When I look at what Maurice does I see way too much focus on self preservation in his decision making. That's how you stay employed at this level for as long as he has while never winning anything.

Perhaps, I just see it as doing what he believes is the best recipe to win hockey games and not changing his belief system. He definitely has a preferred way of doing things, a number of which I disagree with. I think Maurice has stayed employed so long because he is a good guy at taking teams in transition and building a culture. This is new territory for him, having the reigns of a truly talented team, not sure whether he'll adapt enough to take it all the way.