News Article: Leblanc: Reboot, not rebuild

[strizzy16]

Marketing is still little to nonexistent. Is that director job still open? I've only seen FSAZ promos this year.

You should apply. It doesnt take much marketing knowledge/experience to do better than what they're doing now. The best things that they're doing are the impromptu fun player videos, like yandle and murphy trying canadian snacks. let's get some real commercials on the air, not just the FSAZ ones of mcconnell and nash spouting obvious-isms, and push the youth and energy of some of the up and coming guys

 

[Thor Savage]

Yeah;

It's more or less semantics to try to cast something as "rebuild", "reboot", "retool". I don't think the casual fan base would be happy if everyone knows that we are going into multi-season door-mat status. Maybe that works for Edmon/Buff, I doubt too many non-hockey hotbeds in N. Amer.

I don't care what they call it, I just want it to be successful.

 

[cobra427]

At the beginning of the year, of course management is going to say they expect to make the playoffs. What else are they going to say? Realistically, if you asked DM/Tip/Ownership, if you had to bet a 100k, would the team make the playoffs? I think that realistically, they all knew it was a long shot. They were hoping, ok maybe praying, Smith would be lights out, Bods would score 40 goals, Hanzal would not get hurt, etc...

Of course they are going to say next year we expect to make the playoffs. Again, what are they suppose to say? As for a retool or rebuild, what is the difference? This is all marketing speak, and that is all it is.

Ownership/DM/Tip are all staying. They will trade/wave anyone over 30 other than those they can't, Doan/Smith. They will keep Yandle/Hanzal/Bods/OEL/Domi/this years first, unless a deal blows them away, that is the core. They likely keep Stone/murphy/Gormley/Reider/Vitale but anyone else could be had in a decent trade that fills a need. Everyone else can be cut/traded/waved, whatever.

Vermette/Z/erat are all gone by the TDL to highest bidder with youngest assets.

That is the plan.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

Who would have thought the minority owner is acting as the mouthpiece for the franchise?

 

[TheLegend]

who would have thought the minority owner is acting as the mouthpiece for the franchise?

 

[Mosby]

Who would have thought the minority owner is acting as the mouthpiece for the franchise?

He's still the President/CEO.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

Cool and hopefully he can give us a more reasonable message.

He's still the President/CEO.

Ewwwwwwww

 

[MIGs Dog]

Reboot/Rebuild? Parsing.

Hopefully there is a big difference between reboot and rebuild. If I reboot my PC I'm just restarting without changing any hardware/software. Rebuild of course means changing out parts. We need to change out parts (quite a few), not just to go again with the same team.

 

[SniperHF]

Hopefully there is a big difference between reboot and rebuild. If I reboot my PC I'm just restarting without changing any hardware/software. Rebuild of course means changing out parts. We need to change out parts (quite a few), not just to go again with the same team.

There is a big difference. But the amount of control you have in that difference is minimal. Couple of prospects don't hit and Smith stinks it up for 3 months again next season and this becomes a full on rebuild whether they call it that or not. The rest is just asset management.

They will attempt to "reboot" knowing full well it could lead to a "rebuild". The question is do they attempt to maximize value on pieces like Yandle/Hanzal now or wait till the "reboot" potentially fails. They appear to be choosing the later.

 

[Desert Ice 11]

How the hell do you "reboot" a hockey team? ... Spin tactic fail if you ask me

 

[The Grocery Stick]

How the hell do you "reboot" a hockey team? ... Spin tactic fail if you ask me

Try turning it off and on again?

 

[SniperHF]

How the hell do you "reboot" a hockey team? ... Spin tactic fail if you ask me

Smith was hurt guise, that Ribiero guy sucked so we cut him things will be better pack mentality etc, 2 points, Doan was sick.



Basically we have seen this show before.

 

[Llewzaher]

Funny, Maloney says this is not a short term fix , that we need to be patient. Leblanc says this is short term fix and will be in the playoff next year

 

[The Grocery Stick]

Funny, Maloney says this is not a short term fix , that we need to be patient. Leblanc says this is short term fix and will be in the playoff next year

Yet another disconnect between operations and marketing.

 

[TheLegend]

Funny, Maloney says this is not a short term fix , that we need to be patient. Leblanc says this is short term fix and will be in the playoff next year

Maloney was referring to no earth shaking changes this year. LeBlanc was referring to next year. Two ways of saying the same thing.

 

[Plub]

Maloney was referring to no earth shaking changes this year. LeBlanc was referring to next year. Two ways of saying the same thing.

Then I hope everyone is prepared to be a bottom 5 team again.

 

[XX]

They will attempt the quick turnaround if they get McDavid. I imagine they'll take a longer term approach if they don't. The former approach is completely bat**** insane, and ultimately not needed if attendance is fine or even trending upwards this year.

Whatever. Coordinate the message better.

 

[Rink Rage]

Another reason why I want McDavid. I am so far from sold on the idea that Coyotes are safe from relocating 3-4 years from now.

 

[Rink Rage]

And just a thought. I know anybody can play coach GM, but don't you guys feel this rebuilding process should have started a full year earlier? This is why I feel that way.

For years, this franchise put everything on the line to make the playoffs, regardless of whatever longterm repercussions to ice on product. Doing that cause the only future team would have would be elsewhere in in QC, WPG, or wherever they could have gone. Or at least, that's how I would feel what would have happened if the Coyotes would have missed the playoffs one of those years.

Anyway though, when it comes to building a franchise basic GMing 101 is when you have an expiring UFA you either do one of the following, sign the asset or trade the asset for pieces that help you in the future. During that span, the Coyotes kept keeping those assets and then during the off-season they would walk away for nothing. And of course when ever a franchise fails at that aspect of the game it sets you back. So for years the franchise kept setting itself back like it kept doing. Combine that with, even though they had the success Tippett got out of them, I'm unsure as to how talented those teams actually were to begin with.

So for years, this team that really wasn't that talented to begin, kept letting assets go for nothing.
So to ask what is in a way an unfair question cause Don Maloney can't see the future and neither can we. Do believe as soon as this team got the ownership, that Maloney should have done everything he could to get this team into a rebuilding mode?

 

[XX]

Do believe as soon as this team got the ownership, that Maloney should have done everything he could to get this team into a rebuilding mode?

Yes. He should have torched the roster down to the bare minimum, because it offers the brightest future for the team on and off the ice. Instead, we're stuck with this dawdling, and trying to have his cake and eat it too. Total love in with scrubs and Tippett while claiming the team is going to get better and younger. Saying he wants to bring in young assets but no major trade chips are on the table.

Don Maloney has zero ambition post Jokinen. He always takes the path of least resistance. It's like he's haunted by his stint with the Islanders. It's like Dave Tippett is coaching for a job despite having a five year contract in his pocket. They refuse to call it what it is.

Meanwhile, Calgary, Columbus, Buffalo etc... have all called their teams what they are, and moved on.

**** me if he still has only traded Vermette and Z heading into camp next season.

 

[Mosby]

Do believe as soon as this team got the ownership, that Maloney should have done everything he could to get this team into a rebuilding mode?

He's said this himself when Barroway joined the ownership, if we're to assuming that Gosbee & Co. was a bit of a placeholder.

For the past four or five years -- especially when the team was still owned by the NHL -- life in the desert was about survival, the here and now.

"It was like, 'Don't worry about tomorrow. Just try and eke out whatever we can eke out and try to get to the playoffs,'" Maloney said. "Now what's happened with Andy and the [ownership] group is, 'Let's take a step back. Let's take the long-term view. How do we get to the place where the L.A. Kings are, or the Chicago Blackhawks or the Anaheim Ducks?' A lot of that is being a little more patient; we're going to have to work some younger people into our system."

 

[Rink Rage]

What article is that from?

 

[KG]

I don't get what's so controversial about some of management's comments. Apparently, to some people, anything other than saying "We're tanking for McDavid", is not good enough. Honestly, I'm not surprised that they thought we might be a playoff team because A) it's their job to present a positive face and B) If Mike Smith hadn't been utter garbage, it's not out of line to think we might be in the race. Obviously, we'd bounce out of the first round but even 2 or 3 playoff games brings in a lot of revenue for the owners and indirect benefits by creating a buzz around the valley.

 

[Mosby]

What article is that from?

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/1...s-hitting-reset-trade-deadline-selling-assets

 

[TheLegend]

I don't get what's so controversial about some of management's comments. Apparently, to some people, anything other than saying "We're tanking for McDavid", is not good enough. Honestly, I'm not surprised that they thought we might be a playoff team because A) it's their job to present a positive face and B) If Mike Smith hadn't been utter garbage, it's not out of line to think we might be in the race. Obviously, we'd bounce out of the first round but even 2 or 3 playoff games brings in a lot of revenue for the owners and indirect benefits by creating a buzz around the valley.

XX made an excellent point about the need for coordinating the messages coming from everyone. Both quotes from Maloney and LeBlanc should have been phrased to where it left no doubt everyone is on the same page.

To answer part B.... Smith's play the first half of this year was atrocious in respect with what was expected, but so was the play in front of him. We've had the impression that we were stacked to the gills with all these young D-men and they would come up and step right in... but it didn't happen.