Adam Oates Appreciation Thread: YES!

[BobRouse]

Ok...first off lets get this straight...OATES SUCKS! 99% of what he did here was trash and some of the worst maniacal and egotistical coaching I'd ever seen.

However...I lets not kid ourselves about one thing. And to this franchise that one thing was pretty HUGE.

He gave Alex Ovechkin his confidence back. Yes OATES was in large part responsible for that.

Remember after a subpar year and him cursing out BB the following year and then gettin a mental BEATDOWN by Hunterhockey things looked grim. So much so that talking heads and the Canadian media thought the Caps would be stupid if they didn't buy him out. This was a REAL thing.

Posters on HF routinely said "I wouldn't take him for free!" "RNH>>>>>Ovechkin AINEC!!" It was bad

Then...Oates gets hired....Ovie off to an even worse start! Body language at an all time low point. Craig Simpson, Milbury and everyone else piles on.

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2013/03/13/cbc-analyst-craig-simpson-the-caps-need-to-clean-house-toxic-alex-ovechkin-should-be-bought-out/

I remember...it was right after the holidays sometime in Jan or Feb the first year with Oates. My mom was in town and we went to Costco.

They had these framed sweet posters of various Washington DC stars...Strasburg, RGIII, Wall and Ovechkin. They were on SALE! For around $40. Ovechkin's was marked down to $15....poor Ovie

I bought it convinced that by doing so it would turn things around for him. Well for the first couple weeks he played even worse and all seemed lost. Then he had that hattrick at home vs NJ. I was at the arcade with my daughter and her friend since I couldn't bare to watch that game.

A few weeks later..he starts scoring...and scoring...and scoring...before you know it he had some of his swagger back.

Last year was a disaster by Ovie was a brightspot despite his +/- and the way Oates wanted him to play.


Now...what I'm trying to say is that we should be thankful for Oates in that regard. He had unwaivering belief in Ovechkin and kept things positive for him at a time where he REALLY needed it. Hunter and the media nearly destroyed him.

So thank you Oates for that. That and THAT ONLY!

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[Blades of Steel]

I'm thankful that Oates got himself fired so we got Trotz.

 

[HunterSThompson]

Shortest thread ever.

The 1-3-1 PP was a good addition.

 

[BobRouse]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1344353&highlight=ovechkin

This will give you a taste about the feel around Ovechkin at the time. Basically it broke down like this:

1) Core group of posters who were firm that he would never leave DC

2) Some of the core posters who wanted him gone (Fsnoles and others)

3) BTCG (who loves to pile on when the Caps play poorly) coming over and grandstanding about how Detroit>>>Caps and that Yzerman>>>Ovechkin. Notice how he hasn't been around much of late?

4) The oppossing "fans who come in peace" telling us he is toxic and that we should move him for whatever (ie scraps from their team and why it would be beneficial for us to do so)

 

[Blades of Steel]

ok that about sums it up.

I still blame Oates for losing Forsberg just as much McPhee, pretty sure that moronic decision went hand in hand.

 

[strungout]

He was -35 under Oates. - ****ing 35.

I don't credit Oates with ****.

He didn't do anything with anyone on this team to give him any appreciation. Piece of ****.

Ovie did what he can do...I don't give Oates any credit for that.

 

[BobRouse]

He was -35 under Oates. - ****ing 35.

I don't credit Oates with ****.

He didn't do anything with anyone on this team to give him any appreciation. Piece of ****.

Ovie did what he can do...I don't give Oates any credit for that.

I disagree. I didn't say that Oates' system made Ovechkin the best he can be.

What I did say is that he deserves credit for bringing Ovechkin's confidence back from the depths of despair with his positive attitude whereas Hunter essentially said he sucked and deserved less ice time than Hendricks/Beagle.

Oates absolutley deserves credit for believing in Ovechkin when things were falling apart.

 

[artilector]

Shortest thread ever.

The 1-3-1 PP was a good addition.

Yep, that's it.

 

[Blades of Steel]

Oates brought the PP, Ovechkin had the slapper to make it work on the side wall. If Ovie didn't score like he did on the PP either Oates would've been canned sooner, or Ovie would've left the Caps in some fashion I believe..

 

[BobRouse]

Do you guys not remember Ovie's body language circa 11-12? Begining of 12-13?

Do you not remember him flubbing pucks, not skating and generally looking like a shattered man?

He was vilified something fierce!

It wasn't just a matter of having him score on the PP. He had those opportunities and was missing them..breaking his stick..whiffing. His confidence was non-existant.

 

[OVs Gold Chain*]

Oates helped Ovie via the 1-3-1, that's about it.

Ovechkin is scoring goals the same way he scored them when he came into the league. Oates tried to get him to see the ice differently by playing him on his off-wing, but ultimately Ovechkin clearly grew tired of that and it showed in his play. Oates lost the team about halfway through and the end result was indicative of that. Did Oates get a raw deal by being handed one of the worst d-cores ever assembled? Of course he did.

It is clear both on ice (and off, thanks to Epix) the team buys into Trotz with a palpable amount of respect. It's respect that Trotz has earned, both through his many years of experience and respectful manner in which he deals with the players. Ovechkin is probably the biggest indicator of it. Not a single coach before Trotz has ever been able to get Ovie to buy into playing responsibly and not floating up ice at every opportunity.

 

[Ajax1995]

Shortest thread ever.

The 1-3-1 PP was a good addition.

Honestly I don't see it as all that different from the PP Boudreau ran. The positioning of Green and Ovechkin are a little different but everyone's role is exactly the same IMO.

 

[Roughing]

I appreciate that Oates is gone.

 

[foundhockey]

I appreciate that Oates understood Ovie in a way other coaches couldn't because Ovie and Oates are both star hockey players. How that understanding played into their coach/player relationship probably had upsides.

 

[BobRouse]

Look..overall the guy was a complete buffoon and we all saw that. Probably the worst coach the Caps have ever had and thats saying alot since we had Cassidy at one point.

But am I the only one that saw a clear benefit on Ovechkin's confidence? I remember back then a monster backlash against Ovie and his play was simply not good. He was flubbing shots, missing one timers, turning it over and generally looked like a beaten man with coaches, pundits and everyone else taking shots at him.

I don't believe for one second that was lost on Ovie. After Oates was fired didn't Ovie refer to him and thank him when accepting the Richard trophy?

99% of the stuff that Oates did was horrible. But I definitely give him credit for making Ovechkin believe again and its no guarantee another coach or Ovie himself could have done that.

Ovechkin went through a pretty bad 2.5 year stretch where it was consistently declining in stats, play and confidence.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

I appreciate Oates, because he makes me appreciate Barry Trotz even more then I normally would.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I appreciate Oates, because he makes me appreciate Barry Trotz even more then I normally would.

This. I appreciate Oates making me a better coach. I learned valuable lessons watching him suck eggs.

 

[ChibiPooky]

I wonder if Oates made Holtby change his stick curve.

 

[g00n]

Look..overall the guy was a complete buffoon and we all saw that. Probably the worst coach the Caps have ever had and thats saying alot since we had Cassidy at one point.

But am I the only one that saw a clear benefit on Ovechkin's confidence? I remember back then a monster backlash against Ovie and his play was simply not good. He was flubbing shots, missing one timers, turning it over and generally looked like a beaten man with coaches, pundits and everyone else taking shots at him.

I don't believe for one second that was lost on Ovie. After Oates was fired didn't Ovie refer to him and thank him when accepting the Richard trophy?

99% of the stuff that Oates did was horrible. But I definitely give him credit for making Ovechkin believe again and its no guarantee another coach or Ovie himself could have done that.

Ovechkin went through a pretty bad 2.5 year stretch where it was consistently declining in stats, play and confidence.

I don't believe this was a function of any kind of genius on Oates' part. Ovechkin was coming off of a stint with a highly defense-minded coach in Hunter and Oates' "Ole'" defensive philosophy was a total reversal from that. So you can credit Oates with Ovie's horrible plus/minus, at least, and a better attitude in being released from the burden of PLAYING DEFENSE. Yet somehow, the even strength boost to offense you might expect from t his shift in focus wasn't really there.

Additionally, Oates approached players based on his own preferences from when HE was a player. As a star forward he was partial to other star forwards. Again, this wasn't any special bit of coaching magic on his part, it's just that he related more to Ovie and Ovie to him. He didn't, for example, tailor his methods to also improve most of the OTHER players on the team.

Lastly, it was more about the PP turret than anything else. Ovie's even strength goals were probably split between the right and left side, and half of his goals came with the man advantage on the left. Oates created a PP machine but did nothing to really help Ovechkin regain his previous ES form (the 50% PPG under Oates was the highest % of total goals on the PP of Ovie's career).

So no, I don't credit Oates with anything other than wasting 2 years of everyone's time.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Sorry no appreciation from me for Oates. The only appreciation I have for him is the 97-98 season and the 98 playoffs as a player. Other than that, his coaching is one of the worst I've seen in hockey. I know why NJD fans warned us when the hire was made and I initially supported the it. I think the recent NJD cup appearance aided in that role along with remembering his player days as a playmaker and Faceoff guy. Remember when he wanted to get Lecavlier? Two years wasted after some playoff progress under Hunter. Ovechkin was due to score regardless of who was coaching. He might be a decent assistant for some team, but so glad he isn't the Caps problem anymore.

 

[Calicaps]

EDIT: What Roughing said.

 

[PuckBuddy]

It took a year, but Oates' coaching is finally benefiting the Caps.

The 1-3-1 PP was a good addition.

Blaine Forsythe appreciation thread.

 

[SimplySensational]

Ovechkin had a massive goal scoring streak to drag the Capitals into the playoffs at the end of 2012.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Hall wouldn't be the same without him.

 

[Calicaps]

Hall wouldn't be the same without him.