News Article: Rishaug says Jim Johnson will not be re-signed

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Nothing wrong with making a point. Doesn't bother me.

Problem is he makes the exact same point daily about 40 - 50 times as each thread is converted to a Fire Chia thread/rant.

And he still does not get the point of this thread or several others he has posted in today.

 

[guymez]

If you were talking about a string of games, then you could put it on the players. What we saw this year was a coaching staff refusing to make personnel or systems changes. I could be wrong, but is there a single example of this coaching staff making a timely adjustment to systems or personnel to attempt to fix areas of concern for the team?

Disagree.
What I saw more than anything else is a coaching staff with limited options and a team on the ice that was making junior mistakes night in and night out.
It was a complete contrast from the previous season which was rock solid defensively.

I saw too much laziness from players like Draisaitl, Maroon, Lucic, Kassian, Slepyshev, Cagguila (I could go on and on)
That is not on the coaching staff IMO....its on the players.

Its also on Chiarelli for not addressing the obvious defence and backup goaltending issue to start the year.

There is a lot to look at before the coaching get scrutinized IMO.

 

[Soundwave]

Disagree.
What I saw more than anything else is a coaching staff with limited options and a team on the ice that was making junior mistakes night in and night out.
It was a complete contrast from the previous season which was rock solid defensively.

I saw too much laziness from players like Draisaitl, Maroon, Lucic, Kassian, Slepyshev, Cagguila (I could go on and on)
That is not on the coaching staff IMO....its on the players.

Its also on Chiarelli for not addressing the obvious defence and backup goaltending issue to start the year.

There is a lot to look at before the coaching get scrutinized IMO.

Slow team is slow.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Todd's side is in favour of keeping Todd. Pretty sure Chia/Nicholson wants Todd but new assistants. OBC wants new HC and new assistants. Todd wants everything the same.

Todd, but with new assistants, I would be OK with. He took a competently constructed roster to within 1 game of the West final.

Johnson SHOULD BE gone. The worst PK in NHL history on home ice shouldn’t be coaching the penalty kill. The PK wasn’t very good last year either. In his three years handling PK duties, we finished 18th, 17th, and 25th. Maybe with him it’s more of a ‘your body of work sucks’ than anything else.

That said, Woodcroft shouldn’t be employed anymore either. The 31st best PP coach - that happens to have McDavid on it - should be gone. Maybe they’re holding onto the fact that the powerplay did have one year of good results - Woodcroft’s PP was 18th in 15-16 and 5th in 16-17.

What I don’t understand is how a powerplay with largely the same personnel coached by the same guy went from 5th best to DFL. That is what doesn’t compute for me. Woodcroft didn’t become incompetent overnight. McDavid, Draisaitl, et al didn’t become stupid or lazy hockey players overnight either. So what changed there?

Chiarelli should be gone. He absolutely bungled the three big trades he made (Reinhart, Hall, and Eberle) and got terrible value for Maroon. His free agent signings have been terrible as well, by and large. He has a few minor wins on his resume at this point, but that and above average drafting shouldn’t save him. IMO.

 

[Lord Quas]

Disagree.
What I saw more than anything else is a coaching staff with limited options and a team on the ice that was making junior mistakes night in and night out.
It was a complete contrast from the previous season which was rock solid defensively.

I saw too much laziness from players like Draisaitl, Maroon, Lucic, Kassian, Slepyshev, Cagguila (I could go on and on)
That is not on the coaching staff IMO....its on the players.

Its also on Chiarelli for not addressing the obvious defence and backup goaltending issue to start the year.

There is a lot to look at before the coaching get scrutinized IMO.

Maybe we will have to agree to disagree on this.


So the options were limited ~ there were still many options the coaching staff refused to try. If I may try to bend your mind with a few questions.

When did the coach try the option of playing RNH with McDavid?

Was glueing a struggling Lucic to McDavid the best option?

How often did the coach make an in game adjustment to take advantage of the opposition (as opposed to moving a winger because they were “going good”)

And, last one, for Maroon, Lucic, Kassian ~ when they were lazy or struggling, when was the option used to put them on a line that dumps and chases? (For these players, and probably for a lot of others. Simplifying the game, and/or creating opportunities for them to have success is a good way to turn around confidence/attitude/effort.)

I feel this staff coaches their system and is unable to adapt. When your roster is healthy and being lead by superstars that’s fine. However, even then they are doing little to get the most out of the team or the individuals, (because the other team can watch games and games and games of the teams system getting shut down).

 

[syz]

It was a complete contrast from the previous season which was rock solid defensively.

Sometimes I wonder what games people watched last year.

The only thing that was "rock solid" was Talbot.

 

[DavidHasselhoffsFist]

Woodcroft need to go as well

I don’t know for certain but he strikes me as a Yes Man and I don’t think it’s helpful to Todd when their team isn’t performing. Like players I think Todd would benefit (as would the whole team) from a assistant that could challenge him from time to time. A complete pipe dream for me would be for Katz to throw all kinds of money at Lidstrom

 

[Del Preston]

 

[guymez]

Sometimes I wonder what games people watched last year.

The only thing that was "rock solid" was Talbot.

Nonsense. The team played much better in front of Talbot last season.
Much better.
I dont think that could have been any more obvious.

 

[Spawn]

Stauffer maybe sort of kinda hinted at that in his show this afternoon. It was a bit difficult to understand what he was hinting at but he mentioned that Johnson had been a head coach in the AHL and Ian Herbers had been a head coach in the AHL but that Woodcroft hadn't. And then started talking about how sometimes teams move guys around in the organization to give them opportunities.

Or some such nonsense.

Who knows. If it did happen, wouldn't it be nice to see the Oilers once again displaying the incredible talent of interviewing absolutely no one for a vacancy before handing the job to the first guy they think of.

 

[McDNicks17]

Getting him ready to take over for Todd the season after.

 

[Del Preston]

This is just getting crazy. The organization is a mess.

 

[syz]

Nonsense. The team played much better in front of Talbot last season.
Much better.
I dont think that could have been any more obvious.

The only defenseman who was significantly better last season was Sekera.

There's a reason so many models predicted the Oilers regression. It hit harder than expected because the defense somehow got even worse on top of Talbot regressing. The chances against were always there, Talbot was just saving a ton of them.

 

[rboomercat90]

Starting to get the feeling it’s going to be a while yet before the coaching situation is settled.

 

[Spawn]

Starting to get the feeling it’s going to be a while yet before the coaching situation is settled.

I wouldn't be surprised if it took until after the playoffs. Hell, when McLellan was first hired it was more than a month before we found out who his assistants were going to be.

 

[Del Preston]

Starting to get the feeling it’s going to be a while yet before the coaching situation is settled.

I think we'll have to wait until at least the second round of the playoffs.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

The only defenseman who was significantly better last season was Sekera.

There's a reason so many models predicted the Oilers regression. It hit harder than expected because the defense somehow got even worse on top of Talbot regressing. The chances against were always there, Talbot was just saving a ton of them.

did they also predict Klefbom regressing?

and lots of media members had the Oilers winning not only the west...but the Cup

not too many predicted major regression...especially here on HF

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Nonsense. The team played much better in front of Talbot last season.
Much better.
I dont think that could have been any more obvious.

exactly..Talbot wasn't even top 25 in ES save %

he was solid, but so was the Oilers D...mostly cause it stayed healthy

 

[Del Preston]

Written by Kurt Leavins.

- believes McLellan will be the head coach next season
- has also heard Johnson is out and has already been released from his position
- knows for a fact McLellan took over the PK in late January or early February
- believes there was a communication problem between the players and Woodcroft
- unsure how strong the Woodcroft/Bakersfield speculation is
- it's believed Herbers has an option at the U of A
- uncertain about the future of goalie coach Dustin Schwartz
- thinks Chiarelli is waiting to see what happens with other coaches around the league

 

[bobbythebrain]

I believe the Woodcroft thing. I remember a moment when he was talking to the players and a couple just skated away not caring what he said

 

[nexttothemoon]

Todd McLellan career coaching record:

.597 regular season
.493 playoffs

He shits the bed when the games really matter and it's really on the line.

Craig MacTavish career coaching record:

.537 regular season
.528 playoffs

He seems pretty consistent (slightly above average) even when the games really matter the most.



I'm not saying MacT should be brought back either... but McLellan isn't really looking to be a winning option for this team going forward. He doesn't seem to add much at all to his teams in terms of "value added" assets in terms of roster utilization, tactics, special teams or anything else where a coach can make a difference.

By eye as well it just seems that the team does only as well as the players on the ice play. I have very rarely seen anything from McLellan which has made me think... good coaching there that helped his team win a game... whereas I have thought that several times watching opposing coaches with their tactics and strategies during games where the Oilers have lost.

 

[Seedling]

They should just fire all three of them. They are not as good as some think. Go get AV and pay him whatever the hell it takes to get him here.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Written by Kurt Leavins.

- believes McLellan will be the head coach next season
- has also heard Johnson is out and has already been released from his position
- knows for a fact McLellan took over the PK in late January or early February
- believes there was a communication problem between the players and Woodcroft
- unsure how strong the Woodcroft/Bakersfield speculation is
- it's believed Herbers has an option at the UofA
- uncertain about the future for goalie coach Dustin Schwartz
- thinks Chiarelli is waiting to see what happens with other coaches around the league

who's Kurt Leavins?

 

[Del Preston]

- knows for a fact McLellan took over the PK in late January or early February

I'll guess Johnson lost the PK after it went 1-for-4 in the blowout loss vs Buffalo on January 23 (Game #48).

With Johnson (first 48 games)
Overall: 110-for-154 (71.4%), 31st overall
At Home: 39-for-72 (54.2%), 31st overall

With McLellan (last 34 games)
Overall: 78-for-91 (85.7%), 2nd overall
At Home: 38-for-45 (84.4%), 8th overall

who's Kurt Leavins?

Writer for Staples' blog.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Hockey writer for Staples' blog.

does he have credible sources?
I've never heard of the guy