Confirmed with Link: Hartford Wolfpack fire HC Keith McCambridge

[Bluenote13]

JD turned down outside management jobs for years and years before Larry Pleau lured him in to the Blues job. JD fired Pleau eventually, replaced him with Armstrong who has been there ever since and is considered one of the NHL's better GM's the last few years.

 

[nyr2k2]

Revitalized two fledgling organizations

I like JD, but:

1) St. Louis wasn't a fledgling organization, they were founded in the 60's
2) He took over in St. Louis right after their incredible run of playoff appearances ended
3) He missed the playoffs in 4 of 6 seasons in St. Louis, and only won one round
4) Columbus missed the playoffs three of his first four years, and lost in the first round three of their four appearances
5) They only finished above 7th one time and their average finish was 9th

JD has done an okay job. I think he did a much better job getting Columbus turned around, given that they had only made the playoffs once before he came. But I don't know about revitalizing or anything. I'd say Columbus has been a bit of a perennial disappointment, and St. Louis has been a mixed bag both under JD and since he has left.

 

[eco's bones]

Before 2017 when the Rangers decided the draft was important again the Rangers had been depleting the overall organizational talent level to feed the NHL team. And then that started to blow up but anyway 2017 is the year the Rangers started seriously restocking their development pool again but the problem is (at least as far as the AHL eam is concerned) most of our best prospects weren't in Hartford last year. They were either up with the Rangers or they were in European or College leagues. That should change in the next year or two. There should be more quantity and quality going into Hartford. Rangers would help themselves though by having a couple or three very very good AHL vets to help them along. Fogarty might be one of them and Bigras could be another but I still think they need to use another contract or two on high level AHL players.

As far as who is going to coach them---that's going to be important too but there are any number of excellent coaches. One guy I would like is Scott Sandelin---whether Sandelin would be interested though I don't know and the other thing is I think an NHL team will eventually offer him a head coaching job anyway. The AHL might not be in his plans.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Before 2017 when the Rangers decided the draft was important again the Rangers had been depleting the overall organizational talent level to feed the NHL team. And then that started to blow up but anyway 2017 is the year the Rangers started seriously restocking their development pool again but the problem is (at least as far as the AHL eam is concerned) most of our best prospects weren't in Hartford last year. They were either up with the Rangers or they were in European or College leagues. That should change in the next year or two. There should be more quantity and quality going into Hartford. Rangers would help themselves though by having a couple or three very very good AHL vets to help them along. Fogarty might be one of them and Bigras could be another but I still think they need to use another contract or two on high level AHL players.

As far as who is going to coach them---that's going to be important too but there are any number of excellent coaches. One guy I would like is Scott Sandelin---whether Sandelin would be interested though I don't know and the other thing is I think an NHL team will eventually offer him a head coaching job anyway. The AHL might not be in his plans.

People always make excuses for poor coaches and poor management. Always the players and never a coach. If we had a good coaching staff in Hartford our prospects would have been a lot better by now.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

People always make excuses for poor coaches and poor management. Always the players and never a coach. If we had a good coaching staff in Hartford our prospects would have been a lot better by now.

If we hadn't traded all our first rounders away it would have helped too.

 

[Tawnos]

People always make excuses for poor coaches and poor management. Always the players and never a coach. If we had a good coaching staff in Hartford our prospects would have been a lot better by now.

The fan base has turned on the last 3 coaches they fired at the NHL level and everyone HATED Gernander.

Basically, you're wrong as usual.

 

[nyr2k2]

People always make excuses for poor coaches and poor management. Always the players and never a coach. If we had a good coaching staff in Hartford our prospects would have been a lot better by now.

Everyone hated Ken Gernander, the previous coach, and most were turning on McCambridge as well. Sooo...

The only prospect I really blamed in Hartford was Andersson, and that's because I think he went back down with a poor attitude. I was also critical of Butler, who was terrible, but laid a good bit of the blame there on McCambridge--just like with Gernander, I expect the coach to get the most out of the 4A guys and not let them suck and just coast along.

Also, EVERYONE was done with AV. Most everyone was done with Torts, and the same for Renney. Some of the guys like Muckler and Low, or Trots, even Iron Mike...people hated them. I don't know where you're getting this idea that people only blame players and not the coaches from. It's not based in reality. And even though the second half of Slats' tenure was arguably pretty good, lots of people really hated the guy for the early part of his tenure.

 

[Off Sides]

I like JD, but:

1) St. Louis wasn't a fledgling organization, they were founded in the 60's
2) He took over in St. Louis right after their incredible run of playoff appearances ended
3) He missed the playoffs in 4 of 6 seasons in St. Louis, and only won one round
4) Columbus missed the playoffs three of his first four years, and lost in the first round three of their four appearances
5) They only finished above 7th one time and their average finish was 9th

JD has done an okay job. I think he did a much better job getting Columbus turned around, given that they had only made the playoffs once before he came. But I don't know about revitalizing or anything. I'd say Columbus has been a bit of a perennial disappointment, and St. Louis has been a mixed bag both under JD and since he has left.

I'm not sure that is exactly fair.

The Blues when JD arrived had an old roster that was on the downswing, no matter who they hired they were in for missing the playoffs. If anything he did pretty well rebuilding the Blues. Petro, Perron, Backlund, etc.

Columbus was directionless before he arrived and they are not really in a hugely popular market for the players. Nash, Johansen wanted out and likely would have wanted out no matter JD or not.

 

[eco's bones]

People always make excuses for poor coaches and poor management. Always the players and never a coach. If we had a good coaching staff in Hartford our prospects would have been a lot better by now.

Gernander FWIW had passed his sell by date long before he was finally canned. But seriously I thought McCambridge was at least okay. He didn't have a lot to work with. Schneider and Holland were both very good AHL players but they both got traded. Those trades left a major hole in their offense. There were lots of call ups. Hartford had 4 for real good prospects last year Georgiev, Andersson, Hajek and Lindgren--two of those Georgiev and Andersson spent more time with the Rangers than they did with the Pack. If the Rangers had been deeper they probably would have had Andersson all year. They probably would have had Howden and Chytil at least for a good part of the season too and maybe Nieves as well. If they did that would have made some difference.

The five straight years of not having a 1st matters. If you don't have the talent you're not going to be a good team--a coach can only take a team so far. There were stretches in which McCambridge had a half dozen or more ECHL call ups in his lineup every night. The tail end of the season they had Halverson and Huska (fresh out of college) as their goaltenders. Hartford wasn't going to go far like that.

 

[nyr2k2]

I'm not sure that is exactly fair.

The Blues when JD arrived had an old roster that was on the downswing, no matter who they hired they were in for missing the playoffs. If anything he did pretty well rebuilding the Blues. Petro, Perron, Backlund, etc.

Columbus was directionless before he arrived and they are not really in a hugely popular market for the players. Nash, Johansen wanted out and likely would have wanted out no matter JD or not.

It's not totally fair to him. My point, overall, is that I don't think he has done anything exceptional. I don't see the Blues and certainly not the Jackets after what will likely happen to them as being on the cusp of a Cup. He has done okay. I don't see anything exceptional. Ola's comment about "What has he done other than..." was an overly-harsh assessment, but I think it's a fair question to ask of those that are so effusive in their praise of the guy, or so eager to get him here.

I would be fine with JD because I think, overall, he's fine. I would want him to not get too involved in what Gorton is doing, because right now I like what Gorton is doing. If he's going to come here and be super-involved and hands-on then I'd rather find someone that wants less control, or give the job to Gorton if he wants it.

 

[cwede]

i want a guy Quinn's age or younger,
a guy building his career with an eye on the NHL
a Jon Cooper, Pete DeBoer, Jared Bednar type trajectory
maybe he doesn't make HC w NYR,
but builds his resume delivering AHL success and rookies who are closer to NHL-ready

(mentioned here before) i would really like the guy coaching Charlotte AHL, Mike Velucchi, if he would leave Carolina
might need to also get some titles from Drury, like HWP GM, he's earned that ..
Elite Prospects - Mike Vellucci Team Staff Profile
i had read his contract(s) are expiring
market the boatload of talent we are bringing in, the challange, the resources and bring him on

[ADDED - just noticed on that page, he played his only 2 NHL games for the Whalers!]

 

[Off Sides]

It's not totally fair to him. My point, overall, is that I don't think he has done anything exceptional. I don't see the Blues and certainly not the Jackets after what will likely happen to them as being on the cusp of a Cup. He has done okay. I don't see anything exceptional. Ola's comment about "What has he done other than..." was an overly-harsh assessment, but I think it's a fair question to ask of those that are so effusive in their praise of the guy, or so eager to get him here.

I would be fine with JD because I think, overall, he's fine. I would want him to not get too involved in what Gorton is doing, because right now I like what Gorton is doing. If he's going to come here and be super-involved and hands-on then I'd rather find someone that wants less control, or give the job to Gorton if he wants it.

I too would not say exceptional, yet I do think some of what he did with the Blues is still paying off, Columbus I think mistakes were made, just not sure I'm chalking all that up to him.

I would be fine with them just letting Gorton be both GM and President, yet if they are going to hire someone, JD seems like a good candidate to me. Not because of his broadcasting, or history with the Rangers, yet I'd be lying if I said that did not play a part, but more because I don't think his ideas would be all that different than what the Rangers are up to as is.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

(mentioned here before) i would really like the guy coaching Charlotte AHL, Mike Velucchi, if he would leave Carolina
might need to also get some titles from Drury, like HWP GM, he's earned that ..
Elite Prospects - Mike Vellucci Team Staff Profile
i had read his contract(s) are expiring
market the boatload of talent we are bringing in, the challange, the resources and bring him on

[ADDED - just noticed on that page, he played his only 2 NHL games for the Whalers!]

I'm surprised Vellucci doesn't get a NHL shot. IIRC, every team he's ever coached in the OHL and AHL have made the playoffs. I realize that sometimes that's not as big a deal in the OHL, but I think most of the time his team was 1st or 2nd place in the West so it wasn't like they just squeaked by. The guy has done a great job in Charlotte, not just with winning success, but developing guys. In addition to the Checker's coach, he's also an Assistant GM and Director of Hockey Operations in Carolina...so he's got more responsibility than just AHL coach already in Carolina.

Freidman or LeBrun or one of those guys tweeted a couple months (or maybe weeks, I can't remember) ago that they speculated that Vellucci won't be back in Charlotte next year. None of us know what to think of that (if it's even true).

Will he get an NHL HC gig somewhere else?
Waddell was said to be a 1 year stop-gap GM, so will Vellucci take over that role as a full time GM? (I think he said he prefers to coach).
Will they give him an Assistant Coach job with the Canes?
Will he move elsewhere in a lateral (or different) role?

All of us Canes fans don't want to lose him, but I think his ties were more to Karmanos (Compuware and Plymouth) and Francis, so this might just be idle speculation or not. Who knows. He'd be a great add to the NYR org, but I'd absolutely hate it as a Metro competitor.

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

Just hire Dave Hakstol and be done with it

 

[Tawnos]

Just hire Dave Hakstol and be done with it

What's with the impatience?

 

[Gospel of Prospal]

What's with the impatience?

Because no one knows if we'll live to see tomorrow!

 

[Tawnos]

Because no one knows if we'll live to see tomorrow!

 

[Savant]

I am of the general thought that whomever the AHL coach is, needs to be picked by Quinn to implement the same system that is Quinn himself is playing. The transition from AHL to NHL needs to be seamless, and that's how to build a strong organization. Indo not know who that would be, but philosophically, everyone needs to be on the same page.

 

[Ola]

Revitalized two fledgling organizations

Are you kidding me? They have been rebuilding for 20 years — TWENTY YEARS — and have what, won one PO series? They have an extremely deep roster and struggle to get into the POs and once there they suck tremendously. Now they have traded away futures and nobody want to be there.

That guy have been prez for a team that hired John Tortorella as a coach in the mid 2010s. What the heck?

Davidson was a central person here in NY when we tried to play 80s hockey during the trapping era, did he ever say anything else than ‘oh baby what a save’?

It’s inexcusable. If we hire this clown we will get what we deserve.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Walrus McClean would be an awesome choice.

 

[bobbop]

Here a name to keep in mind.

Scott Allen.

Allen was the defense/penalty killing coach for the Coyotes this year. Arizona ranked sixth in the NHL in goals allowed and had the best penalty killing unit in the league. For some unknown reason it appears he is being replaced by Phil Housley.

Perhaps he already as a gig lined up somewhere else.

 

[Kaapo Hollweg]

Filip Pesan from Extraliga? He was at training camp last year.

Hi. I am new here, although I have been following the forums for a while without an account.

Filip Pešán is off the market for quite a while. He only recently (a couple of weeks ago) accepted the position which could be translated as "chief coach of Czech hockey" for the lack of a better English term. It is more of a managerial position, being in charge of the youth development program as well as national teams in all age categories (U18, U20.... including the men's national team).

Hopefully, he will be able to turn things around and save the Czech hockey from its ongoing downfall to mediocrity and get us back up there where we used to be around 2000. That might just be wishful thinking, but it's basically his job going forward and such are the expectations. Understandably, this is supposed to be a long-term commitment ( his predecessor was on the job for 9 straight years).

In addition to all that, he will also be the head coach of the men's national team beginning with the 2020-21 season (not sure for how long though).

All things considered, he won't be going over to America anytime soon, unless something really unexpected happens.

In regards to Lakatoš (as he was mentioned in this thread), we lost the rights for him anyway, but I do not see him turning it around to be an NHL-caliber player. From what I understand, the talent is there, but the work ethic and attitude not so much. This has been such a problem with him that he has even struggled to keep the Extraliga roster spot in Liberec as he was sent down to the minors in each season of his professional career, including this year when he played 2 games in the second league. And his production has been getting worse rather than better each season after we drafted him. He has now signed a contract with another Extraliga club Vítkovice, but my bet is that his decline is going to continue. Certainly not gonna lose any sleep over the fact that we did not offer him ELC.

So this is my little insight as someone from the the Czech Republic