The Fire Boucher Movement

[philb613]

Did you hear this anywhere else and know it to be false or are you calling bs and saying philb613 is starting a rumour

I have friends in the organization and was told this by one of them, anyways don't need to believe me but just saying I'm now on the get rid of the coaches train.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

This is a real test for Boucher , Dorion and the rest of the coaching staff. Adversity and how they respond will ultimately make or break their careers. The reputation Ottawa once had as a great place to play is eroding quickly! A few more losses and Dorion will feel the pressure to shake things up with more trades. His reputation hangs on it!

This season will arguable break their careers. Boucher will have a hard time landing a NHL head coaching gig after this. He will either go back to Europe, maybe coach juniors or the AHL or take an assistant coaching job. Teams are going to realize he is only good for 1 season and that he isn't really flexible. Dorion will be done as a GM. He arguably wasn't even qualified for the role in the first place. He only had 2 years of experience as an assistant GM and in both season the AHL team performed poorly. He is inexperienced and better suited to being a head scout. Maybe he could get an assistant gm role but even that might be questionable. He will likely go back to being a head scout for some team.

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

I think we should keep Boucher because he knows how to effectively manage Tampa 4th Liners, which evidently is now like 40% of our team.

 

[Zorf]

Boucher won't get fired until the season ends. He's been an astute tank commander so far this season. Let's see how far he can sink this ship.


I would say that the best move for Dorion would be to let the season bottom out but not make any overly drastic player moves (ie: Hoffman). Then fire Boucher before the draft, promote Crawford, and then sign EK and Stone as quickly as possible after July 1.

Those moves alone would boost fan confidence a TON.


If, somewhere in that mix he can also trade Burrows then I would nominate Dorion for the GM of the Season award.

 

[philb613]

Boucher won't get fired until the season ends. He's been an astute tank commander so far this season. Let's see how far he can sink this ship.


I would say that the best move for Dorion would be to let the season bottom out but not make any overly drastic player moves (ie: Hoffman). Then fire Boucher before the draft, promote Crawford, and then sign EK and Stone as quickly as possible after July 1.

Those moves alone would boost fan confidence a TON.


If, somewhere in that mix he can also trade Burrows then I would nominate Dorion for the GM of the Season award.

Crawford should not be our next coach, nobody behind our bench now should be anywhere near this team next year. Need a fresh start and a coach that holds his players accountable, I'm not a huge Torts fan but at least he isn't afraid to bench a star if they're under performing, god that would be refreshing here.

 

[Zorf]

Crawford should not be our next coach, nobody behind our bench now should be anywhere near this team next year. Need a fresh start and a coach that holds his players accountable, I'm not a huge Torts fan but at least he isn't afraid to bench a star if they're under performing, god that would be refreshing here.

I get what you're saying, but at the same time, with yet another fired coach being paid, you can be sure that Melnyk will want to go with the cheapest option. And what's cheaper than a coach already on your staff?

It's basically Crawford or someone from the AHL.



I swear, if this team gets a new owner, I won't ask Santa for another Christmas gift ever again.

 

[philb613]

I get what you're saying, but at the same time, with yet another fired coach being paid, you can be sure that Melnyk will want to go with the cheapest option. And what's cheaper than a coach already on your staff?

It's basically Crawford or someone from the AHL.



I swear, if this team gets a new owner, I won't ask Santa for another Christmas gift ever again.

True, I'm on board with the ask for Santa too.

 

[coladin]

Cooper survived in Tampa. Maurice survived in Winnipeg. Leave it to Ottawa to fire their coaches whenever things get difficult.

 

[Tundraman]

I have friends in the organization and was told this by one of them, anyways don't need to believe me but just saying I'm now on the get rid of the coaches train.

I'm not the one who questioned your original post. I tend to believe the Karlsson influence on certain decisions I'm sure he has Dorion's ear as he did with Bryan Murray and Boucher knows which side his bread is buttered on. As captain he is a main go-between the players and coach but the stuff about the other guys I really don't know. Anything is possible. Maybe someone overheard Boucher explaining a play to Dumont or Burrows and he/they offered up a suggestion. It could have been misunderstood as Boucher seeking advice. I'm open to just about anything about the team these days.

 

[Karl Prime]

Cooper survived in Tampa. Maurice survived in Winnipeg. Leave it to Ottawa to fire their coaches whenever things get difficult.

Tampa had Stamkos coming back. Winnipeg has a great team and had a down season. We don't have a great team and it's clear as day that Boucher isn't changing.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I think that it may not just be as simple as playing the best person available...J.O could also be an investment into future UFA signings. I read on here that he has games played bonuses built into his contract, now imagine you are a UFA and you sign in Ottawa and you are benched and miss out on a lot of extra cash even though you had this conversation before signing with the team about role and expectations. I bet that you would not be singing the team's praises at all across the league. There are a lot of close relationships between players and the Union. To us, this is just hockey but for the players, its a job, now imagine one section of your business promises something to try and bring you over and when you get there all you get is the shaft...it does not build trust between employee-employer. This type of situation can be money in the bank in future negotiations for trying to sign someone else...as we have a positive history on how we treat our UFA signings.
Obviously recruiting someone to Ottawa is just that much harder now for a whole host of other issues but at least next season players wouldn't be able to say that we were not good for our word. Something that maybe was lacking since the Alfie break down.

I could be reaching...I know that, but it helps to give the ice time a bit more off ice logic.

I can see what you're saying...but...would you want to play for an organization where guys who are barely NHLers are given primo icetime because management is afraid of said player saying bad things about the team? Players are dumb, but they aren't stupid. Oduya is barely an NHLer, and definitely should not be playing so many games. Players want to win and play on a team with the best roster. Being stuck on a pairing with an anchor will hurt you when you're up for your next contract.

 

[BatherSeason]

Cooper survived in Tampa. Maurice survived in Winnipeg. Leave it to Ottawa to fire their coaches whenever things get difficult.

I have no idea how anyone can follow this team and watch this team play hockey on a nightly basis and not think a coaching change is necessary.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Tortorella won a cup and had multiple success's with more than one organization for longer tenures than one season. Boucher's systems is old opposite way the NHL is trending. That wasnt Tortorellas issue, he was an attacking system when no one attacked. I dont see Boucher getting another shot unless he shows the ability to adapt and change, which he clearly hasnt shown this season.

Tortorella on the Rangers system was "put all 5 guys in front of Lundqvist and block shots." You want to talk boring? Torts Rags were an extremely boring team.

 

[Micklebot]

Tampa had Stamkos coming back. Winnipeg has a great team and had a down season. We don't have a great team and it's clear as day that Boucher isn't changing.

So your suggesting the issue with Ottawa is on ice personnel? I don't get it. If Cooper and Maurice survived not because they are good, because they had good players, and Ottawa lacks the good players to be comparable to Winnipeg or Tampa, then how does it follow that Boucher should be fired?

We may not have a Stamkos coming back, but hopefully we'll have a healthy Karlsson and potentially a Dahlin. Could those pieces not help right the ship?

I have my issues with Boucher, he's far from perfect, but he's also not, imo, why we are so bad this year. A better coach might have us higher in the standings, but with the goaltending we've been getting and the level of play Karlsson has been at, we'd still be missing the playoffs even if we had Scotty Bowman as our bench boss.

My hope is that Boucher learns from this experience,

 

[CTC]

I can see what you're saying...but...would you want to play for an organization where guys who are barely NHLers are given primo icetime because management is afraid of said player saying bad things about the team? Players are dumb, but they aren't stupid. Oduya is barely an NHLer, and definitely should not be playing so many games. Players want to win and play on a team with the best roster. Being stuck on a pairing with an anchor will hurt you when you're up for your next contract.

This could be the exact reason why EK gets paired with him haha.

 

[coladin]

I have no idea how anyone can follow this team and watch this team play hockey on a nightly basis and not think a coaching change is necessary.

Easy. because it doesn't work long term. And it hasn't here. I have no idea how anyone can follow this team and watch this team play hockey on a nightly basis and think firing the coach is always a solution. Have you not noticed that in the last ten years we have been through a lot of coaches. How has it worked out?

Winnipeg got the message. Coach isn't going anywhere. Tampa got the message. Coach isn't going anywhere. So you better play how he wants you to play.

It worked last year and for whatever reason, the players are not willing to play that way and they are losing. It is up to the players to play as the coach wants them to play. if not, they will be moved instead. But I wouldn't expect many of another generation to understand that . The easy way out rules these days.

 

[HSF]

Ya i dont think firing Boucher is the key here

Has he been stubborn in certain situations? sure he has but he is also an excellent coach and hockey guy. I think he is the type of guy who can adapt and bring something new next year

 

[BatherSeason]

Ya i dont think firing Boucher is the key here

Has he been stubborn in certain situations? sure he has but he is also an excellent coach and hockey guy. I think he is the type of guy who can adapt and bring something new next year

Hasn't adapted to anything this year. How can we expect him to adjust next year?

 

[krapsik]

I think he is the type of guy who can adapt and bring something new next year

More Swiss league players ?

 

[HSF]

Hasn't adapted to anything this year. How can we expect him to adjust next year?

its hard to adapt your team when your franchise player has looked pedestrian and goaltending has been below avg

i think everyone just needs a reset

 

[topshelf15]

Who are we replacing him with again????KK ,or somebody else willing to work on the cheap???To get something good we need the money to make that happen ,we dont have it with el cheapo running the show

 

[slamigo]

He is a good hockey mind and he's under contract. Rather than fire him, simply explain to him that the team needs a new direction, new aggressive style of play and to start mentoring the young players. If he refuses to adapt the system and work under those parameters, then he will have to go.

But the days of clogging the neutral zone and stifling talent have got to end.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He is a good hockey mind and he's under contract. Rather than fire him, simply explain to him that the team needs a new direction, new aggressive style of play and to start mentoring the young players. If he refuses to adapt the system and work under those parameters, then he will have to go.

But the days of clogging the neutral zone and stifling talent have got to end.

The team should have mutliple (2, 3, or 4) systems... Boucher's 1-3-1 trap can still be in the tool box... they need to be on the same page ... and should be able to switch between systems mid game ; They can have more or less aggressive variations on a system as well.

IMO if a system takes so long to learn and indoctrinate players .. it is likely too finely grained

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Ya i dont think firing Boucher is the key here

Has he been stubborn in certain situations? sure he has but he is also an excellent coach and hockey guy. I think he is the type of guy who can adapt and bring something new next year

Excellent coach isn't the first thing that comes to my mind when talking about Boucher

 

[Korpse]

The team should have mutliple (2, 3, or 4) systems... Boucher's 1-3-1 trap can still be in the tool box... they need to be on the same page ... and should be able to switch between systems mid game ; They can have more or less aggressive variations on a system as well.

IMO if a system takes so long to learn and indoctrinate players .. it is likely too finely grained

They do and always have. The 1-3-1 gets a lot of attention because of what happened in Tampa but to me whats been happening in Ottawa has been more of 1-2-2 with a defensemen stepping up at the blue line and the forward dropping back. They have ran with the 1-3-1 at times but it's less often than people think, theres times where it's a 1-1-3. There's time's where they have ran with a 2-3 forecheck and also a 2-1-2. A lot of depends on opponent, venue and score. The idea that boucher hasn't been adaptive and stubborn in regards to neutral zone systems has always been a lie but there's only been one system that has gotten any attention.