Speculation: Head Coach Search Thread

[Static]

It ended badly but I doubt anyone looks as the Torts era there as a failure. It’s far and away the most successful six year stint in their franchise’s existence.

Sure, and I understand coaching hires are cyclical with the hard and soft approach, but it's mostly the same top players there who rebelled against tortorella like two years ago.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Sure, and I understand coaching hires are cyclical with the hard and soft approach, but it's mostly the same top players there who rebelled against tortorella like two years ago.

Not really, it’s basically just Laine. Werenski loved him and there’s been a good deal of turnover in that short time. I definitely think it’s fair to wonder how it goes with Laine but I do think there’s a major difference between a lame dog Torts and Babcock with a fresh contract.

 

[duckpuck]

I think the Modano, Chelios and especially Commodore stuff(probably Spezza too) is entirely overblown and not much of a red flag at all. In each of those instances he just didn’t rate them as players, which you should want in a coach, but people get so hyper-fixated on sentimental things. Most of them aren’t quite as bad as the Yandle thing but it’s the same sort of concept.

I think the bolded statement is just wrong in dismissing the "sentimental" things. It is fine not to like or "rate" the player. But how the coach (and GM) handle it is critical. Not just for the one player, but for all of the players. Of course other players see how Babcock mistreated respected guys like Modano and Chelios (among others) and Babcock's overall arrogance. If you think that doesn't negatively affect Babcock's ability to coach players going forward, I disagree.

 

[Kalv]

So are we going this route?

 

[squashmaple]

The Babcock hire is stupid because they already tried that exact type of coach in Torts and it flamed out badly. The personnel isn't all that different from what he was working with, why would they go back to that well?

Huh? Tortorella didn’t flame out at all. It was a mutual parting of ways as the team essentially collapsed. He wasn’t even fired.

Also, Torts and Babcock are not remotely the same. Torts is a hothead whose systems are tight and suppressive, but he would go to war for his guys. Part of his issues when he was younger was that sometimes he did. Babcock waged war on his own players with his mindgames and ego trips. Torts is a taskmaster for whom it’s “my way or the highway” and while many players don’t like that, it’s a different realm from abject bullying. I loved Torts.

 

[Terry Yake]

So are we going this route?

View attachment 714907

dear god no

 

[Anaheim4ever]

So are we going this route?

View attachment 714907

No we are gonna bring back Pete Thornton to coach the Ducks again:

He can even fill in as backup goalie !

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I think the bolded statement is just wrong in dismissing the "sentimental" things. It is fine not to like or "rate" the player. But how the coach (and GM) handle it is critical. Not just for the one player, but for all of the players. Of course other players see how Babcock mistreated respected guys like Modano and Chelios (among others) and Babcock's overall arrogance. If you think that doesn't negatively affect Babcock's ability to coach players going forward, I disagree.

I mean, maybe, but the Chelios thing happened in a year they went to game 7 of the Cup final, and even the Modano thing has been fairly blown out of proportion and mostly just been parroted by people with an axe to grind. Mostly I think it’s not going to be much of an issue and none of those certain instances were particularly egregious. Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes when you said Chelios was mistreated.

But I might see it that way because how over the top people can get over these kinds of things. The Panthers being held hostage because of Spittin Chiclets was appalling, same with people trying to cancel Rick Bowness last season.

 

[Deuce22]

I mean, maybe, but the Chelios thing happened in a year they went to game 7 of the Cup final, and even the Modano thing has been fairly blown out of proportion and mostly just been parroted by people with an axe to grind. Mostly I think it’s not going to be much of an issue and none of those certain instances were particularly egregious. Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes when you said Chelios was mistreated.

But I might see it that way because how over the top people can get over these kinds of things. The Panthers being held hostage because of Spittin Chiclets was appalling, same with people trying to cancel Rick Bowness last season.

Ducks had the nice guy for the past four seasons. Maybe Verbeek wants to bring back a red ass. Hard to judge what goes on from the outside when a couple of guys complain to the media.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Ducks had the nice guy for the past four seasons. Maybe Verbeek wants to bring back a red ass. Hard to judge what goes on from the outside when a couple of guys complain to the media.

Oh that was definitely part of why I was pretty open to hiring him, that and the parallels between Z, Datsyuk and Marner. Especially if Verbeek really believes in this McIlvane guy, I’d have no issue with a hard ass coming in for a few years to be strict and maybe create some good habits.

 

[Gliff]

Ducks had the nice guy for the past four seasons. Maybe Verbeek wants to bring back a red ass. Hard to judge what goes on from the outside when a couple of guys complain to the media.

The team wasn’t bad because he was a nice guy. It’s because he is not an NHL caliber coach.

 

[Deuce22]

The team wasn’t bad because he was a nice guy. It’s because he is not an NHL caliber coach.

Correct, wasn't saying that. GM's have a tendency to hire the opposite of what wasn't working.

 

[nbducksfan19]

What this team needs is serious improvements in defensive structure. I’m trying to think of “nice guy” coaches who excel at that.

 

[robbieboy3686]

What this team needs is serious improvements in defensive structure. I’m trying to think of “nice guy” coaches who excel at that.

Still thinking right? I don’t think they exist either.

 

[Mr Rogers]

I think the Canucks had an awful PK with Green. Man, im really curious to see how Babcock does with CBJ - I think he might’ve been exactly what this team needed.

 

[pbgoalie]

We were bad
But assuming Eakins is a “players coach” in two years of misery, the team mostly played hard throughout. Usually a players coach has the team lay down and just coast when they lose the team. They were badly coached, but don’t seem like a team that needs a hard a$$.

They need a strong fundamental coach to start developing and building

 

[Anaheim4ever]

We were bad
But assuming Eakins is a “players coach” in two years of misery, the team mostly played hard throughout. Usually a players coach has the team lay down and just coast when they lose the team. They were badly coached, but don’t seem like a team that needs a hard a$$.

They need a strong fundamental coach to start developing and building

Thats why I mentioned bringing back Boudreau, he's balanced in that he's not an overly favorable players coach who is uber positive like Eakins but he also isn't a hard ass either like Carlyle/Torts/Babcock and he's a guy who can get them to play a system that works. We don't have to worry about Game 7's any time soon. He wasn't kicked out of Anaheim because the players hated him or thought his system was stupid (remember when Lindholm indirectly implied Carlyles system was stupid lol ?)

 

[Ducks]

I fully support Boudreau coming back not because he'll help win some regular season games or the players like him, but because those movie reviews were awesome.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I fully support Boudreau coming back not because he'll help win some regular season games or the players like him, but because those movie reviews were awesome.

Boudreau also boosts the local revenue of donut shops and taco restaurants.
I do like how Lindholm and Vatanen had their best Ducks seasons under him. Lindholms first 2 years he was more active offensively.

 

[Terry Yake]

boudreau seems like the guy you bring in when you're ready to take that next step and contend for the playoffs. this team isn't even close to that yet

 

[duckpuck]

boudreau seems like the guy you bring in when you're ready to take that next step and contend for the playoffs. this team isn't even close to that yet

Respect and really like boudreau, both in terms of his personality and as a coach. Rooting for him to win a cup. He's 68. He's not right for this ducks team.

 

[duckpuck]

I mean, maybe, but the Chelios thing happened in a year they went to game 7 of the Cup final, and even the Modano thing has been fairly blown out of proportion and mostly just been parroted by people with an axe to grind. Mostly I think it’s not going to be much of an issue and none of those certain instances were particularly egregious. Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes when you said Chelios was mistreated.

But I might see it that way because how over the top people can get over these kinds of things. The Panthers being held hostage because of Spittin Chiclets was appalling, same with people trying to cancel Rick Bowness last season.

I think you're missing my point. Mostly it doesn't matter what we think. What do players think? It sure seems like he left his last two positions with a lot of players thinking he was a complete jerk. And his arrogance is pretty obvious to anyone watching him.

Mike Babcock pushes back on coaching controversies, says 'smell test doesn't add up' | Sporting News

www.sportingnews.com

I tend to be a bit old school. I have some appreciation for the babcocks of the world, at least in terms of being a bit of a hard ass. He needs to be the coach - not their friend.

But the world has changed. You can't coach the young guys (who are now super rich and can leave early via UFA) the same way they were treated 20+ years ago. Across all major sports, a big part of the coach's job is managing egos, getting buy in from Vets, and reaching/teaching the younger generation. Babcock seems to be a failure (or least not good) on all of those fronts.

I'm fine with the ducks hiring a more demanding coach. Just think Babcock is not the right guy.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

We were bad
But assuming Eakins is a “players coach” in two years of misery, the team mostly played hard throughout. Usually a players coach has the team lay down and just coast when they lose the team. They were badly coached, but don’t seem like a team that needs a hard a$$.

They need a strong fundamental coach to start developing and building

Sometimes, there's a case that talent matters more. We didn't win the cup until we acquired another HOF defenseman in Pronger.

In tracking the team meticulously for the past few years, our defense relied on talent being on the ice. When the trio of Fowler, Lindholm, and Manson were healthy, then our GAA would drop. When one or more are missing, then our GAA would rise.

We can look at Lindholm's past two seasons, one with Anaheim and one with Boston. With Anaheim, I discovered that Lindholm saves the Ducks about one GAA. With Boston, their GAA was reduced about one GAA. Similarly, this occurrence is seen on the PK.

Let's look at the PK efficiency between the past two seasons to identify talent matters.

Ducks	2021-22	Special	Teams
Game Set	Games	PPG	PPO	PP Eff		PK GA	TSH	PK Eff
1 to 33	33	23	90	25.6%		12	85	85.9%
34 to 62	29	19	85	22.4%		17	89	80.9%
63 to 82	20	6	44	13.6%		14	50	72.0%

• Game Set details:
  • 1-33: Fowler, Lindholm, and Manson are healthy.
  • 34-62: Fowler missed 4 games, Lindholm missed 2 games, and Manson missed 17 games.
  • 63-82: Lindholm and Manson traded away.

Ducks	2022-23	Special	Teams
Game Set	Games	PPG	PPO	PP Eff		PK GA	TSH	PK Eff
Total	82	36	229	15.7%		78	280	72.1%

Stothers handled the defense and PK unit for both seasons. Anaheim doesn't have NHL quality depth when injuries hit our top-end talents. Without higher end talent, you get mediocre production. After the 2021-22 TDL and this past season, our PK stunk. We didn't replace the defensive talents of Lindholm and Manson.

Since we're built from the net out from the previous regime, gutting the defense and not replacing the talent loss will lead to grim results.

Under Verbeek, he's collecting bigger, physical forwards and added more talent to the blue line via the draft, traded prospects, or UDFAs. This should give the roster more balance into the future.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I think you're missing my point. Mostly it doesn't matter what we think. What do players think? It sure seems like he left his last two positions with a lot of players thinking he was a complete jerk. And his arrogance is pretty obvious to anyone watching him.

Mike Babcock pushes back on coaching controversies, says 'smell test doesn't add up' | Sporting News

www.sportingnews.com

I tend to be a bit old school. I have some appreciation for the babcocks of the world, at least in terms of being a bit of a hard ass. He needs to be the coach - not their friend.

But the world has changed. You can't coach the young guys (who are now super rich and can leave early via UFA) the same way they were treated 20+ years ago. Across all major sports, a big part of the coach's job is managing egos, getting buy in from Vets, and reaching/teaching the younger generation. Babcock seems to be a failure (or least not good) on all of those fronts.

I'm fine with the ducks hiring a more demanding coach. Just think Babcock is not the right guy.

I don’t think I am. Like I said, the Chelios thing happened in a year where they went the distance. Even if players didn’t like it, it clearly didn’t seem to really hurt them. I even concede that it possibly could, just that I don’t think it has or will in most cases.

And I kind of think the discourse about the world changing and every team needing a new type of coach is overblown too. It’s been said for like a decade but the best coach in the game is someone who doesn’t get along with his players at all and yet it worked out pretty well. Managing egos has been a thing forever, as well. I think bad coaches who had no tools but to yell have been weeded out but ultimately it’s the demanding types who are your best bet.

Also, hard disagree at Babcock being a failure at those aspects. You can’t get the results he did with Team Canada without managing egos well and getting people to buy in, and his track record with young players gets really overlooked for some reason. Not even just Toronto, he had all those players in Detroit from young ages aside from like Lidstrom and it went pretty well. Even guys like Nyquist and Tatar looked like eventual studs under him and then they both flopped after he left.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

TSN this AM are definitely pushing the narrative of Patrick Roy being back behind an NHL bench next season.

I certainly don't think there is any doubt about his ability to relate to or work with young talent after watching him interact with his junior players. They appeared well organized and competitive top to bottom, definitely didn't win by simply having the most talent.

Perhaps the coach selection process has been delayed by wanting to let him finish his season before interviewing. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's in the mix.