Speculation: Does Travis Green become Canucks' assistant Coach next season?

[BobbyJazzLegs]

Green's next job will be head coach. Hopefully here. Next season (17-18) at the latest.

 

[JA]

I've stopped expecting too much from potential coaches.

They always begin as the savior and end as the villain. This team needs a coaching change, so Travis might be a good candidate. Willie wore out his welcome one season into his tenure. I don't expect the team to have much success with a new coach, but I'd like to see a few adjustments.

 

[orcatown]

Almost to a player, prospects have praised the way Green has helped develop them.

Don't think he takes anything but a head coaching job at the NHL level.

 

[Bgav]

Almost to a player, prospects have praised the way Green has helped develop them.

Don't think he takes anything but a head coaching job at the NHL level.

Meh doesn't matter if he's in Utica or van to start. Imo Willie will be fired half way through the year (benning will have have playoff goals next year LOL). Can't wait for green to take over, we got extremely lucky calgary and Anaheim made terrible coaching decisions

 

[wonton15]

Hopefully nobody poaches him this summer and Willie gets fired halfway through November

 

[Pip]

Excels at player development? Which players has he developed again?

I like Green. He's gotten the most that he could out of Utica, and when I listen to him in interviews I like the things he's saying. I do think he would be an upgrade on Desjardins. But, this player development thing is a misnomer.

Almost to a player, prospects have praised the way Green has helped develop them.

Don't think he takes anything but a head coaching job at the NHL level.

I think it's tough to ever really know for sure. Hockey players are always going to give credit to their coaches (and teammates, and trainers and the organization as a whole) for their success, that's just how hockey players and many athletes are as a whole. I would say that the jury is still out on Green as great player developer.

I would find it difficult to give him much (if any) credit for Markstrom or Baertschi and aside from them nobody has really gone onto do anything at the NHL level. Kenins looked promising and has regressed, same with Corrado. Was that a failure on Green or on them as prospects as maybe they were never good enough. Nobody can know for certain. Gaunce, Shinkaruk and Subban are still not NHLers yet and the improvements the former two made could be explained as natural progression from first to second year pros. The Gaunce on the wing experiment I haven't been a fan of but that could have been ordered from above so it's tough to put that solely on Green.

I think it's too early to heap praise on Green for his player development just yet. He has done a good job on making the team competitive even when this season they were woefully undermanned and not given nearly enough talent to compete.

 

[m9]

I think it's tough to ever really know for sure. Hockey players are always going to give credit to their coaches (and teammates, and trainers and the organization as a whole) for their success, that's just how hockey players and many athletes are as a whole. I would say that the jury is still out on Green as great player developer.

I would find it difficult to give him much (if any) credit for Markstrom or Baertschi and aside from them nobody has really gone onto do anything at the NHL level. Kenins looked promising and has regressed, same with Corrado. Was that a failure on Green or on them as prospects as maybe they were never good enough. Nobody can know for certain. Gaunce, Shinkaruk and Subban are still not NHLers yet and the improvements the former two made could be explained as natural progression from first to second year pros. The Gaunce on the wing experiment I haven't been a fan of but that could have been ordered from above so it's tough to put that solely on Green.

I think it's too early to heap praise on Green for his player development just yet. He has done a good job on making the team competitive even when this season they were woefully undermanned and not given nearly enough talent to compete.

Absolutely, these are my thoughts too. He gets an 'A' for making the team competitive, especially this year.

 

[biturbo19]

Doesn't really make any sense.

I'm not really a big fan of Green tbh, if he left the organization i wouldn't shed a tear. He's done well with what he's had in terms of getting results for Utica, but i think the jury is still very much out on his record as a "developmental" coach.

But even if you do really like him and expect him to be the heir apparent to WillieD sometime next year...i'd think just keeping him around the farm would be the cleaner option.

WillieD may be dumb but he's not stupid...is he really going to want to mentor his replacement like that? Recipe for a divided staff, which is bad. And frankly...why would you even want your eventual replacement mentoring under the guy whose biggest issue appears to be rooted in lack of NHL experience and wisdom (paired up with a stubborn old coach mentality)?


If/When WillieD is canned, i really don't want any of his staff to be the replacement plan. Nor would i really be happy with Green. He's had as much a veteran-heavy, experience/familiarity hierarchy sort of philosophy as WillieD by most accounts. Not a real fit for where this team is headed.

 

[oyvey]

I've stopped expecting too much from potential coaches.

They always begin as the savior and end as the villain. This team needs a coaching change, so Travis might be a good candidate. Willie wore out his welcome one season into his tenure. I don't expect the team to have much success with a new coach, but I'd like to see a few adjustments.

Same. I remember everyone acting like we'd landed some big kahuna after they introduced Willie. I'd be willing to give Green a try because I'm that sick of Willie, but a coach is a coach. It's not the end of the world we have to replace Willie with someone else.

I guess the one thing I like about Green is that it would follow the model where teams bring up the AHL coach as they're bringing up prospects so there's a level of continuity, like the Lightning did with Jon Cooper and the Canucks did with AV. Not that AV was perfect but I do think the aspect of his relationship with Burrows/Kesler/Edler/Bieksa etc. was beneficial.

 

[valkynax]

I've stopped expecting too much from potential coaches.

They always begin as the savior and end as the villain. This team needs a coaching change, so Travis might be a good candidate. Willie wore out his welcome one season into his tenure. I don't expect the team to have much success with a new coach, but I'd like to see a few adjustments.

I kinda agree.

I do, however, see that our problem really isn't just WD. One can only do so much with the cards given, and it's a **** hand to say the least. And I sense that WD's ice time and his outrageous bromance for Dorsett Sbisa Bartkowski and Linden "I can play like a AHL 4th liner" Vey could be due to management request or something. I mean, we put a lot of faith in these idiots who wouldn't get picked up for free, management need to make them look good to make themselves look good.

With our management and ownership doing such a sh!t job, we can have coach Q and Babcock here together and this will still be a bottom 5 team. Unless our management and ownership see the error of their ways - which will probably happen when mankind established 4 to 5 colonies on Mars and had perfected the warp drive.

 

[biturbo19]

Same. I remember everyone acting like we'd landed some big kahuna after they introduced Willie. I'd be willing to give Green a try because I'm that sick of Willie, but a coach is a coach. It's not the end of the world we have to replace Willie with someone else.

I guess the one thing I like about Green is that it would follow the model where teams bring up the AHL coach as they're bringing up prospects so there's a level of continuity, like the Lightning did with Jon Cooper and the Canucks did with AV. Not that AV was perfect but I do think the aspect of his relationship with Burrows/Kesler/Edler/Bieksa etc. was beneficial.

What prospects though?

Hutton, our emerging Top-4 defenceman who spent the entire year in the NHL and outscored anyone else on our blueline...was apparently not even good enough to slot in for Green's Comets last year. McCann much the same. Virtanen a few games but behind Green's AHL vets and crew he was familiar with.

It's partly an organizational issue, in that our pipeline is completely bare from the Gillis era in terms of meaningful future contributors playing on the farm. But there's really nothing meaningful for Green to even "grow with". And that's not even considering that he's far from proven in even developing young players at the AHL level, period.


I really don't think there's anything to suggest he'd do any better, or be any less veteran-reliant than WillieD at this point.

 

[Jyrki21]

Same. I remember everyone acting like we'd landed some big kahuna after they introduced Willie.

I think that was really just because he was the consensus top name to fill one of the vacancies available in 2014. We were pleased to "win" this competition cry. In objective terms, I think no one hailed Desjardins as any sort of visionary (cf. Dallas Eakins), but acknowledged that he had a strong track record at other levels.

Really now, if Willie's a net negative, it doesn't really matter who the replacement is if he's anywhere near neutral. (Different for a pro-tank outlook, obviously.)

 

[fancouver]

If you look at Utica's roster and see how they went to the final, I think that's pretty impressive. Mind you, Markstrom was lights out, but the coach still gets credit here. They still have to play a particular system for the rest of the 22 players so that Markstrom can actually succeed.

What Green did in the playoffs reminded me of what AV did in 2007 playoffs. He'll definitely get a job in the NHL by next year.

 

[Cupless44]

What prospects though?

Hutton, our emerging Top-4 defenceman who spent the entire year in the NHL and outscored anyone else on our blueline...was apparently not even good enough to slot in for Green's Comets last year. McCann much the same. Virtanen a few games but behind Green's AHL vets and crew he was familiar with.

It's partly an organizational issue, in that our pipeline is completely bare from the Gillis era in terms of meaningful future contributors playing on the farm. But there's really nothing meaningful for Green to even "grow with". And that's not even considering that he's far from proven in even developing young players at the AHL level, period.


I really don't think there's anything to suggest he'd do any better, or be any less veteran-reliant than WillieD at this point.

Sven Baertschi. His game was in tatters before Green got him going in Utica.

 

[Pip]

If you look at Utica's roster and see how they went to the final, I think that's pretty impressive. Mind you, Markstrom was lights out, but the coach still gets credit here. They still have to play a particular system for the rest of the 22 players so that Markstrom can actually succeed.

What Green did in the playoffs reminded me of what AV did in 2007 playoffs. He'll definitely get a job in the NHL by next year.

That team that went to the finals looked strong to me. Very vet heavy as well.

 

[D0ctorCool]

I'm indifferent to Travis Green. Not terribly bothered if we keep him or lose him. I don't think he's gonna be the next big thing as an NHL coach.

 

[biturbo19]

Sven Baertschi. His game was in tatters before Green got him going in Utica.

That's one obvious success story. With a guy he'd had previous experience with. Same as WillieD is criticized for, in favouring "his guys".

And even then, Baertschi was hardly prepared for the NHL when he left Green's program in Utica. It took half a season and some harsh treatment and outright benchings from WillieD for Sven to finally "get it" and start to break out and look like a legitimate NHL Top-6 Forward.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Why not? Then he can replace Desjardins.

 

[me2]

Not that I care about Willie or his feelings but it would be an uneasy situation having his future replacement breathing down his neck. A functional organization would keep these guys seperated if Willie's job is on the line. If it isn't on the line... well that's another situation altogether and very troubling.

Yep. It would be crazy to put them together.

 

[LeftCoast]

With the Flames about to name Gulutzen as head coach, there will be an opening for a HC. If there is any doubt within the organization about Willie, it would also be helpful to have an assistant who could step in if Willie is fired. Also if the Canucks want to keep Travis Green in the organization this might be a way to do it. I don't know which is considered more of a stepping stone - HC of Utica or AC of the Canucks.

 

[Grazzy]

With the Flames about to name Gulutzen as head coach, there will be an opening for a HC. If there is any doubt within the organization about Willie, it would also be helpful to have an assistant who could step in if Willie is fired. Also if the Canucks want to keep Travis Green in the organization this might be a way to do it. I don't know which is considered more of a stepping stone - HC of Utica or AC of the Canucks.

He's already said he prefers the HC position in Utica.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Locking this thread for now.