Confirmed with Link: Boucher: to return or not to return, that is the question

[Boud]

We'll have to see what kind of year Boucher has but I really think he would re-sign at the salary he's making right now or close to it. Only so many spots in this league and he just hasn't proved that he can be a successful coach. He's coached two teams in the NHL, both had a very good year and then a terrible one and both teams were coached the exact same way even though they were completely different. The exact same thing happened with SC Bern as well. Boucher just hasn't shown that he can adapt in the NHL so far and that's essentially what separates a good coach from a bad coach. You see guys like Babcock, Quenneville, Maurice that have changed a lot over the years and have adapted their style on different teams. Boucher hasn't done that yet.

This year he's lucky he has the opportunity to prove that he can change that because on other teams he would've been canned already. If he has a good year and proves that he's able of changing his style and letting the kids make mistakes then I would maybe sign him depending on who else is available.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I give Boucher credit for the good start. I am not 100% sold he has really changed in his core and I think we see that when we are in tight games protecting leads , but, a lot of new players, a few young guys, the team seems to be enthused and gelling so .. he deserves credit for some of that.

 

[alfstheman]

So with bringing up Jaros and giving Harpur more minutes what are we going to do with the current D we have? Does anyone see any trades coming soon?

Buyout for ceci?

 

[Multigrain]

I give Boucher credit for the good start. I am not 100% sold he has really changed in his core and I think we see that when we are in tight games protecting leads , but, a lot of new players, a few young guys, the team seems to be enthused and gelling so .. he deserves credit for some of that.

Yes I agree he appears to be more relaxed so far the youth movement is a nice surprise.
Come December it could be a totally different story, but right now being off to a great start
has to help!

 

[Multigrain]

I think he is working on his TOI management but that is still a work in progress and not sure if his 7 defensemen is going to work all season long.

 

[armani]

Lots of pure adrenaline and youthful enthusiasm to start the season. Only 6 games played.

Kudos to Boucher for making the most with what he has. The SOG Against is unsustainable of course, I would pump the brakes about thinking this will be the norm as opposed to a deviation. Enjoy the stretch as long as it lasts, here's hoping they can get on a streak that will see them finish better than bottom 5. Any else is super gravy.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Lots of pure adrenaline and youthful enthusiasm to start the season. Only 6 games played.

Kudos to Boucher for making the most with what he has. The SOG Against is unsustainable of course, I would pump the brakes about thinking this will be the norm as opposed to a deviation. Enjoy the stretch as long as it lasts, here's hoping they can get on a streak that will see them finish better than bottom 5. Any else is super gravy.

Boo to tempered expectations! Lets go balls deep into that pile of excitement!

...

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Boucher has been good this year. I am surprised after what I saw last season. The one knock I still have against him is that he overplays 4th liners. Paul Carey isn't part of the rebuild and he gets a call up and gets to play instead of prospects like Paul, Chlapik, Balcers, Batherson, etc. He also plays Pyatt and Pajaarvi way too much, they are getting way too much ice time for their limited skill set.

 

[NorthCoast]

I give Boucher credit for the good start. I am not 100% sold he has really changed in his core and I think we see that when we are in tight games protecting leads , but, a lot of new players, a few young guys, the team seems to be enthused and gelling so .. he deserves credit for some of that.

Agreed.

When went through my first levels of soccer coaching I remember them stating that Soccer Canada's goal at the non-competitive youth ages 6-10 was that they came, had fun, wanted to come back next year, and if they touched the ball along the way then great. The though of course being to just have fun so that when the true athletes emerged they were still in the sport.

I see this ^^^ as being his prime duty this year. Keep the kids happy, wanting to come back, and if they learn along the way then great.

It's not going to be an easy job because his defensive instincts will be weighing on him heavily once the team regresses to the mean shooting percentage or if Anderson cannot maintain a .925 sv% on 40+ shots a night.

 

[coladin]

Agreed.

When went through my first levels of soccer coaching I remember them stating that Soccer Canada's goal at the non-competitive youth ages 6-10 was that they came, had fun, wanted to come back next year, and if they touched the ball along the way then great. The though of course being to just have fun so that when the true athletes emerged they were still in the sport.

I see this ^^^ as being his prime duty this year. Keep the kids happy, wanting to come back, and if they learn along the way then great.

It's not going to be an easy job because his defensive instincts will be weighing on him heavily once the team regresses to the mean shooting percentage or if Anderson cannot maintain a .925 sv% on 40+ shots a night.

Hey, another soccer coach!

The save percentage is probably not sustainable, but, if they keep the shots routine-like, then he will have a higher save percentage than not. Last season Andy let in bad ones, but a lot were inexcusably easy, and some of the cuplrits behind that are not here anymore.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Agreed.

When went through my first levels of soccer coaching I remember them stating that Soccer Canada's goal at the non-competitive youth ages 6-10 was that they came, had fun, wanted to come back next year, and if they touched the ball along the way then great. The though of course being to just have fun so that when the true athletes emerged they were still in the sport.

I see this ^^^ as being his prime duty this year. Keep the kids happy, wanting to come back, and if they learn along the way then great.

It's not going to be an easy job because his defensive instincts will be weighing on him heavily once the team regresses to the mean shooting percentage or if Anderson cannot maintain a .925 sv% on 40+ shots a night.

Well, they also have to work their asses off to keep their spots, and have to show signs of development lest they find themselves off the team and out of the league.

But having fun and feeling like part of something larger is definitely a big part of the team's identity right now, and GB has identified this as being a great tool he can use to extract maximum effort and development from the players.

It's like the revelation in the workplace, happy employees, enfranchised employees, work better.

 

[coladin]

I think Guy Boucher should be on the hot seat. He is falling back on the same shit I watched last season. If you cannot get your players to outwork the other team, or at least fore check in the neutral zone to stop the f***ing parade into our zone, then this team is done. When this team was effective , it started with a relentless fore check. Now they are sitting back.

This is a coaching issue. An accountability issue. If Claude Julien can do what he is doing, then Boucher better start coaching and stop with the pom pom cheers after the game. He scratched Alzner. He scratched Shaw. He is holding players accountable. Time for Boucher to do the same.

 

[BatherSeason]

I think Guy Boucher should be on the hot seat. He is falling back on the same **** I watched last season. If you cannot get your players to outwork the other team, or at least fore check in the neutral zone to stop the ****ing parade into our zone, then this team is done. When this team was effective , it started with a relentless fore check. Now they are sitting back.

This is a coaching issue. An accountability issue. If Claude Julien can do what he is doing, then Boucher better start coaching and stop with the pom pom cheers after the game. He scratched Alzner. He scratched Shaw. He is holding players accountable. Time for Boucher to do the same.

Had a strange feeling this morning when listening to TGOR talk about Trent Mann they way they were that the org would eventually turn this into a "coaching issue" to mask the issues with the construction of the roster.

[The] media are never critical about anything with the time and then BOOM, suddenly critical of the coach. Hmmm, I wonder when the memo came out?

Blaming the coaching staff for a few weeks or months before firing them should buy them some faith with the fanbase, then Trent Mann's honeymoon period should last at least a month, hopefully enough time to prepare the fanbase for the inevitable Duchene and Stone trades.

**On cue - TSN1200 interview with Trent Mann, coaching change is coming folks!**

 

[BondraTime]

Had a strange feeling this morning when listening to TGOR talk about Trent Mann they way they were that the org would eventually turn this into a "coaching issue" to mask the issues with the construction of the roster.

[The] media are never critical about anything with the time and then BOOM, suddenly critical of the coach. Hmmm, I wonder when the memo came out?

Blaming the coaching staff for a few weeks or months before firing them should buy them some faith with the fanbase, then Trent Mann's honeymoon period should last at least a month, hopefully enough time to prepare the fanbase for the inevitable Duchene and Stone trades.

Not sure what you are arguing here...whatever it is it's terrible

Boucher has been, literally, the base of criticism for over a year. Nothing new about it whatsoever, unless you've been living under a rock.

 

[BatherSeason]

Not sure what you are arguing here...whatever it is it's terrible

Boucher has been, literally, the base of criticism for over a year. Nothing new about it whatsoever, unless you've been living under a rock.

What I am arguing is that people who never have anything negative to say about the team suddenly all have the exact same negative point of view. Coincidence?

You have also proven my point, when the team does finally fire Boucher, most fans will be content and the org will have bought themselves some goodwill with the fanbase, or at least that's what they think.

 

[coladin]

Not sure what you are arguing here...whatever it is it's terrible

Boucher has been, literally, the base of criticism for over a year. Nothing new about it whatsoever, unless you've been living under a rock.

Back on topic. I get the 11-7 bit to an extent. It would be good for the young guys to ease their way into the NHL. But Wolanin was hopelessly overmatched last night. Imagine if he was in the top 6? I don't likt the usage of McCormick as he makes things happen as far as providing a forecheck. Formenton has shown enough to get PP time last night FFS. If not last night, when?

Most of all, the same positive message when Julien is cracking the whip. I know what he is trying to do, but it has to hurt his credibility . He cannot coach trying to appease the pending UFAs.

 

[BatherSeason]

I don't likt the usage of McCormick as he makes things happen as far as providing a forecheck

Would much prefer more Max and less Pyatt/Paajarvi

 

[Answer]

I don't really feel like this is a rebuild year. Boucher is not a coach for rebuilding

If we are rebuilding then let Chlapik, Wolanin, White and Formenton develop properly this year, so by the end of this year or the next season, we can slowly integrate Batherson, Brown and Balcers into the team, as well.

 

[coladin]

Would much prefer more Max and less Pyatt/Paajarvi

We don't have any players like Max and need some edge in the lineup. Pyatt has been terrible, which even for him, is saying something. Paajarvi has been reasonable

 

[coladin]

I don't really feel like this is a rebuild year. Boucher is not a coach for rebuilding

If we are rebuilding then let Chlapik, Wolanin, White and Formenton develop properly this year, so by the end of this year or the next season, we can slowly integrate Batherson, Brown and Balcers into the team, as well.

Wolanin looked way over his head last night. Understandable I guess.

 

[Answer]

Wolanin looked way over his head last night. Understandable I guess.

Right now I don't see any direction where are going into, honestly

A rebuild means a complete reset. New players to a new system

Right now since Thachuk is out, we are basically just developing Lajoie, and to some extend Formenton?

Chabot and White don't even count. White literally played in our playoff run, and that's almost 2 years ago. He should be a regular by now, logging in important minutes

Having fodders like Smith, Pyatt and Paajarvi in the lineup is one thing, playing them over some of the younger guys is just atrocious in a rebuild year.

 

[Ice-Tray]

White is still very much raw and we are witnessing him getting more responsibility, that is until w our centre depth died and he had to take up the 3rd line position, which in itself is a responsibility due to injury. Chabot is being relied on as a number 1 guy for the first time and is doing well as a kid. Lajoie and Formenton are getting stone cold rookie treatment as they are brand new.

We have four guys in the line up that are getting development time, two one year advanced over the next two. These are 4 core guys at this point. Add in an obvious BT and we have 5 kids that are getting major development focus on the team.

How many more layers can we reasonably add to the roster? I mean we also have Jaros who needs sheltering and has a ton of promise, and then there are guys like Harpur and Wolanin who show signs of being players, and then showing that they need time to develop.

We can't have a team full of guys who need sheltering nd development, there just aren't; enough coaches and veteran mentors to help them all. You want to add Brown, Chlapik, Batherson, and Balls into the mix as well? Who is going to role model, who is going to coach, who is going to take the hard minutes so that guys can adjust?

We need these kids coming in in waves, the first wave was White, Chabot, and Harpur now we have BT, Formenton, Jaros, and Wolanin. Next will be Chlapik, Balls, and Bath. In waves, one after another. But no rushing since we need to give each wave the attention it needs to flourish.

 

[slamigo]

I’m not sure how folks are expecting this team to win. This isn’t a winning roster. It just isn’t. There are some nice pieces to build with but there is no way this team finishes higher than 20th this year.
Can’t blame Boucher for the roster.

 

[Larionov]

Boucher is a dead man walking if the team struggles through November. He is in the last year of his contract, and his replacement is right on the bench. Firing Boucher and hiring Crow as the interim HC is an easy way to provide a temporary spark and buy a reprieve from the fans and media. It wouldn't be fair given the lineup, but you can still see it happening quite easily.