2016-17 Blues Discussion Thread Part III

[Alklha]

or

3) Waiting for the right position to open up in the Devils' organization.

I honestly think he's just waiting for the right time and right opportunity to go "home".

Maybe. However, as soon as Brodeur retired and moved to the front office Lamoriello said he expected his stay with the Blues to be a short one, suggesting he had a place for Brodeur. They had their changes that summer and Brodeur signed his 3 year extension with the Blues.

I wouldn't be surprised if he wants his legacy as a player and legacy as an executive to be separate.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

The problem with Marty coaching is the same problem as Gretzky coaching. For a guy like Allen, who was able to play with Marty and then get to know him even more while he was in the front office, having him come down onto the ice and give some pointers isn't that big of a deal.

But for other goalies, especially young ones, it might be. I remember reading from some people that playing for Gretzky was hell, because you've got the greatest hockey player of all time, the guy that you and everyone you've ever known grew up idolizing, yelling at you because you sucked in practice. Now, Marty doesn't strike me as the hard ass Bear Bryant type, but the star power and fear of letting him down would probably be pretty hard on some guys. Goalies are head cases!

Let him be an assistant GM until he's ready for a lead gig, imo. He owes St. Louis nothing, but I'll be happy to have him around for as long as he's able and willing. Plus he gets to rake in that sweet Enterprise sponsorship cash while he's here. Not a bad deal.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Gotcha.

I guess I just kind of assumed that there would be teams interested in him for front office jobs and that if he prefers the front office to coaching he would always have those options. This does confirm that.

I will say, after letting this news stew in my head for a day, I'm starting to wonder whether Marty still wants a front office role or if he prefers coaching. As a goalie, he wanted to play every night and playing into his 40s demonstrates that he loves the game. Part of that love was almost certainly being in the locker room, being on the ice and being 'one of the guys'. You are a lot closer to that life as a coach than a member of the front office and it might just suit his personality a little better. I just read this article and it kind of confirms that theory. It might just be confirmation bias, but he certainly eludes to the fact that coaching provides a more immediate sense of reward than being in the front office.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_7e7d62aa-bd13-5b0b-b7fb-9fff1199c97e.html

Who knows, this might just be wishful thinking, but turning down an interview that could lead to a GM job may be a sign that he would rather coach. If so, holy cow did we ever hit the jackpot by signing him to his retirement contract.

From his quotes, I think he wants a front office job. It says a lot that he is willing to help the team out in coaching right now. But I think the demands of the job are quite a bit different in coaching. I bet he'd be good in coaching, but I will be pretty surprised if he goes that direction. I also think part of his influence with Allen is similar to Roy's first year in Colorado (with Bryzgalov). The awe of getting hand-on instruction from a Hall of Fame idol, with their confidence in you, I think that's got to be special for a goalie. But I also think it would wear off after a bit.

 

[Brian39]

The problem with Marty coaching is the same problem as Gretzky coaching. For a guy like Allen, who was able to play with Marty and then get to know him even more while he was in the front office, having him come down onto the ice and give some pointers isn't that big of a deal.

But for other goalies, especially young ones, it might be. I remember reading from some people that playing for Gretzky was hell, because you've got the greatest hockey player of all time, the guy that you and everyone you've ever known grew up idolizing, yelling at you because you sucked in practice. Now, Marty doesn't strike me as the hard ass Bear Bryant type, but the star power and fear of letting him down would probably be pretty hard on some guys. Goalies are head cases!

Let him be an assistant GM until he's ready for a lead gig, imo. He owes St. Louis nothing, but I'll be happy to have him around for as long as he's able and willing. Plus he gets to rake in that sweet Enterprise sponsorship cash while he's here. Not a bad deal.

Speaking as a goalie, the relationship between a goalie coach and a goalie is just fundamentally different than the relationship between a head coach and a team. They are so different that I don't think a comparison is worth drawing. I still consider every good goalie coach I have had to be a friend. I've felt that way about exactly 1 head coach and that was all the way back to the C team coach I had while I was in middle school.

As you mentioned, goalies are head cases. A goalie coach's primary job is building a relationship with the goalie. I've never met a quality goalie coach who didn't put the relationship with the goalie ahead of the technical side. By far the most important aspect of a goalie coach's job is making sure the goalie is confident. You get there by being positive, having a good relationship with the goalie and calmly providing constructive criticism/analysis. Is there a more positive or personable guy than Marty? I just don't envision Marty being a dick to any goalie that he was coaching and I have a hard time envisioning any young guy not wanting to work with him. For the record, I've never seen a goalie coach yell at a goalie for sucking at practice. On the flip side, I've never seen a head coach that didn't yell.

 

[Alklha]

The problem with Marty coaching is the same problem as Gretzky coaching. For a guy like Allen, who was able to play with Marty and then get to know him even more while he was in the front office, having him come down onto the ice and give some pointers isn't that big of a deal.

But for other goalies, especially young ones, it might be. I remember reading from some people that playing for Gretzky was hell, because you've got the greatest hockey player of all time, the guy that you and everyone you've ever known grew up idolizing, yelling at you because you sucked in practice. Now, Marty doesn't strike me as the hard ass Bear Bryant type, but the star power and fear of letting him down would probably be pretty hard on some guys. Goalies are head cases!

Let him be an assistant GM until he's ready for a lead gig, imo. He owes St. Louis nothing, but I'll be happy to have him around for as long as he's able and willing. Plus he gets to rake in that sweet Enterprise sponsorship cash while he's here. Not a bad deal.

It is difficult to draw similarities between Gretzky and Brodeur as coaches because the positions an jobs they are being asked to do are hugely different.

A goalie is aware of the fundamentals of his position and is always working on them, he'll have rough patches and go back to basics and work through it. Doesn't matter how great the goalie is, he'll have those issues. Being a great goalie doesn't mean he'll be a great coach, but he'll have the understanding to coach effectively.

Being a great player doesn't mean you understand anything about tactics. Also, when you are a great skater then so much of the game came naturally that you might not be able to articulate to a player how to improve certain aspects of their game. I would have expected Gretzky to be a mediocre coach.