GDT: 4/16/19 - 7:00PM EDT - #1AT Tampa Bay @ #2WC Columbus [ECQF GAME 4]

[ultra63]

Take the emotion out of it - making knee-jerk reactions now, based on a bad 8 days in spring, only undoes the hard work management has done for the past several years

Is that you Coop?

 

[JFleegs]

Why the hell are we so dead set on keeping Stamkos? First thing I'd do is ask him to waive.

Hedman is core. Kucherov is core. Then we have a bunch of meh.

I still believe in Stammer, despite getting a lot of flak

 

[GigaChad]

Think about this: anyone of us could have been coaching the team and the results wouldn't have been worse.

 

[BoltsOfAnarchy]

Think about this: anyone of us could have been coaching the team and the results wouldn't have been worse.

I’ve seen this comment from several posters, and while I’m sure it’s in jest, it’s totally delusional. There’s nothing easy about being a head coach, of any team any sport. So much more goes into it than people see. And while it’s easy to say that bc the team was so talented that it automatically lead to wins/success, well the streets are paved with the carcasses of coaches that have come & gone despite however loaded their squad was.

 

[Sky04]

A 62-win team doesn't have passengers.

I know the immediacy of last night's result is fresh, but rather than big wide-sweeping changes, I think Tampa only needs some tweaks to move into next season.

Remember - it took Washington several years to finally figure it out in the post season

A team that just got swept and dominated sure does.

Know what it took for Washington?

A good coach.

 

[Coopers Gum]

Yeah my bad.

I meant: trade Kucherov, Stamkos, Vasilevskiy.

Buy-out Hedman.

Lol, foolish. Have a good one

I know your post was meant as hyperbole, but we DO have to make some changes. The culture in the postseason needs a change. You guys went through a slew of coaches before you got it. There are a few pieces that need to go as well -- coasters, or players that just do not fit entirely well with postseason hockey. Johnson was the hero of the past, but he doesn't quite have it anymore. Palat can go. Johnson can go. We need more grit and body mass, ala a Tom Wilson on your team.

I know everyone wants a Wilson, but there are Wilson-lite types that we could use that would turn this team's intensity up in the playoffs.

People think the Lightning are a soft team. They're still reading the 2010 playbook on them. We aren't a soft team. But I'll tell you how Columbus beat us: they skated hard, they wanted it more, and they used their bodies to shield the puck when they had it. We couldn't get a word in edgewise. We were pretty much dominated every single game by Columbus, and pretty much every single game we played against you guys last year. Shocking it went to 7.

I know there are a lot of disorganized thoughts here, so I will try to succinctly wrap it up. We need size and grit in our team. If we need to get rid of some extra weight to do it, I'm more than willing. If the coach needs to go to change the postseason strategy or culture, so be it.

 

[MattM92]

The point of that post is that overacting isn't helpful. We Caps fans have lived this. Where would the Caps have been if they blew it up after a series of failures? Your team is probably closer to success in the playoffs with small adjustments rather than big one's. Its hard. I know. Hang in there.

A 62-win team doesn't have passengers.

I know the immediacy of last night's result is fresh, but rather than big wide-sweeping changes, I think Tampa only needs some tweaks to move into next season.

Remember - it took Washington several years to finally figure it out in the post season

Washington is a good model to follow. You don't blow up the core, but you keep improving the roster piece by piece. And you also don't get scared to move on from a coach. They went through Boudreau, Hunter, and Oates before they got their guy. None of them, not even Trotz, had a longer tenure than Cooper. His firing is about 2 years overdue.

Coaches are meant to be fired. They are the most easily replaceable piece of a team and they can have some of the largest impacts, good or bad.

I really hope Brisebois pulls the trigger on this, and I hope he doesn't marry himself to Groulx.

 

[Tak7]

Washington is a good model to follow. You don't blow up the core, but you keep improving the roster piece by piece. And you also don't get scared to move on from a coach. They went through Boudreau, Hunter, and Oates before they got their guy. None of them, not even Trotz, had a longer tenure than Cooper. His firing is about 2 years overdue.

Coaches are meant to be fired. They are the most easily replaceable piece of a team and they can have some of the largest impacts, good or bad.

I really hope Brisebois pulls the trigger on this, and I hope he doesn't marry himself to Groulx.

Yep - they basically kept molding and turning over the players around their core, until they worked it out. All the while, they kept learning and growing.

The Cooper decision is going to be fascinating - I don't think the extension really matters here; it's just more money they have to pay to fire him which isn't a big deal.

Is it weird that I don't think he will be fired? Just get the sense that Brisebois will side with patience.

 

[MattM92]

Yep - they basically kept molding and turning over the players around their core, until they worked it out. All the while, they kept learning and growing.

The Cooper decision is going to be fascinating - I don't think the extension really matters here; it's just more money they have to pay to fire him which isn't a big deal.

Is it weird that I don't think he will be fired? Just get the sense that Brisebois will side with patience.

Right or wrong, it's going to be really hard to sell a quiet off season to this fanbase.

 

[Sky04]

Torts is a good coach. People just constantly crap on him because of his stint in Vancouver like Western Canada is the center of the universe or something.

No, he was crapped on because he was awful in Vancouver, he was basically the Jon Cooper of the New York Rangers as well. What he's done is he's learned from his mistakes and adapted from his experiences, that's a lesson Cooper might learn in a couple years.

 

[Hoek]

I don't think we have to get rid of Stamkos. He just needs to be replaced as leader. He can keep the C if need be but we need a more vocal and driven guy who everyone realizes is the real leader. Much like Marty was compared to Vinny.

 

[Tak7]

Right or wrong, it's going to be really hard to sell a quiet off season to this fanbase.

Yeah, I can totally appreciate and understand that.

As a neutral fan I've enjoyed seeing Tampa get swept, but on a personal note I can't imagine how hard it is getting hyped for playoff hockey (especially after that regular season), only to see it end so abruptly and harshly.

Good luck moving forward. My sense is that this will be the low point of a much more enjoyable Tampa story to reflect on several years from now.

 

[txpd]

Yep - they basically kept molding and turning over the players around their core, until they worked it out. All the while, they kept learning and growing.

The Cooper decision is going to be fascinating - I don't think the extension really matters here; it's just more money they have to pay to fire him which isn't a big deal.

Is it weird that I don't think he will be fired? Just get the sense that Brisebois will side with patience.

My gut feeling is that they don't fire Cooper. That the team has a pretty typical offseason. Next season the team just wont be mentally prepared to play. Not recovered from the defeat yet. They will struggle and then Cooper will get fired.

 

[God King Fudge]

I will not watch this team while Cooper is the coach. That's where I'm at right now.

 

[The Macho King]

Coop (most likely) is not getting fired. Vinik isn't going to throw money away right after signing him, and based on reports of what AV got, I doubt Cooper's contract is much below 5 a year.

I do hope his leash is *very* short though.

 

[Sky04]

Coop (most likely) is not getting fired. Vinik isn't going to throw money away right after signing him, and based on reports of what AV got, I doubt Cooper's contract is much below 5 a year.

I do hope his leash is *very* short though.

I'm curious how this team starts next season, are they going to mope and sulk like they did in 2016?

As fans it's fine to "not get excited for the regular season" but can't excuse the guys getting paid.

 

[Bolt 45]

Man the grin and embrace from Kucherov with Panarin and Bobrovsky doesn't sit well with me. Like hugging two buddies and not really caring you got swept after the year you just had. Pretty weak.

I don't ever watch the handshake when we lose for that reason. Nothing good can come out of it.

 

[Sky04]

I don't ever watch the handshake when we lose for that reason. Nothing good can come out of it.

I just watched the handshake, Panarin absolutely laughing and grinning at every lightning player as he shakes the hand is the best part, they should be laughed at.

 

[Bolt 45]

I just watched the handshake, Panarin absolutely laughing and grinning at every lightning player as he shakes the hand is the best part, they should be laughed at.

Disgusting. I'll take your word for it.

 

[JoVel]

 

[God King Fudge]

 

[bukwas]

Honestly a bit bummed to see the Bolts out. They're an excellent team and provided many a neutral fan with some great entertainment this season.
A painful but valuable lesson that will serve them well in seasons to come.

 

[LightningStrikes]

I just watched the handshake, Panarin absolutely laughing and grinning at every lightning player as he shakes the hand is the best part, they should be laughed at.

Too bad Hedman wasn’t out there for the handshake. With his “up 2-0 in a series - how did that turn out for you” yapping at the CBJ bench late in game 2.

 

[Bolt 45]

Too bad Hedman wasn’t out there for the handshake. With his “up 2-0 in a series - how did that turn out for you” yapping at the CBJ bench late in game 2.

That was so sad on so many levels.

 

[T REX]

We are soft. I don't know how you claim otherwise.