Coach Discussion: Paul Maurice: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[tbcwpg]

So now that we have been eliminated I have to ask. Is Paul Maurice the coach to take us to the next level? Do we follow the Toronto Raptors after their great season and bite the bullet and fire him?

Absolutely not.

One team has a few years of playoff failure to fall back on. One team just had their best ever run in the playoffs.

 

[Hunter368]

Paul is not getting fired this summer, albeit part of the reason why we lost vs LV was Paul got out coached. But nevertheless he got us to the final four.....that’s damn good

 

[Duke749]

So now that we have been eliminated I have to ask. Is Paul Maurice the coach to take us to the next level? Do we follow the Toronto Raptors after their great season and bite the bullet and fire him?

Not to be an ass, but this is very shortsighted.

 

[JetBrett]

This run has raised expectations for the team going into next year now. If the Jets are struggling at the midway point of the season I think there will be lots of voices wondering if Maurice should be the one to go. Whether TNSE decides to actually pull the trigger on that is a bigger question.

 

[Channelcat]

Personally I don't think there's enough hockey acumen behind that bench. PM is good at so many aspects of being a head coach, but he's just not a technical coach. As a motivator, a communicator and a figure head, we would be hard pressed to find a better fit. Perhaps some changes are in order, even if its just the assistants. Woodcroft is our best hockey guy.

 

[surixon]

Personally I don't think there's enough hockey acumen behind that bench. PM is good at so many aspects of being a head coach, but he's just not a technical coach. As a motivator, a communicator and a figure head, we would be hard pressed to find a better fit. Perhaps some changes are in order, even if its just the assistants. Woodcroft is our best hockey guy.

I would agree with this, they need to bring in a tactician to help out with changing the game plan on the fly.

 

[Ducky10]

Hockey X's and O's isn't rocket science at the pro level, it's about making sure everyone is on the same page in whatever structure you are running. So little seperates a top coach and a bottim tier coach, way too much gets made of this.

Look at all the brilliant tacticians that have won cups over the last 15-18 years. They aren't what you would call your greatest hockey minds but people are so quick to give them credit for that, while completely forgetting how good their rosters were and well their goaltenders performed in the playoffs.

Maurice is an average coach, like most of them. His success will be determined by his players performance and their willingness to perform for him. Something that at the moment is very much working for him.

 

[DowntownBooster]

So now that we have been eliminated I have to ask. Is Paul Maurice the coach to take us to the next level? Do we follow the Toronto Raptors after their great season and bite the bullet and fire him?

I really believe that Maurice should be kept on as coach of the Jets. The team had a great season and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to continue to improve going forward. Regarding the Toronto Raptors, I think that was a short-sighted decision to fire their coach. They ran into a very good Cleveland Cavaliers team and I don't think the Raptors would have done any better with a different coach.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

None of the coaches that are left in the playoffs are tacticians

 

[tntkid]

How did Maurice not counter the trap Vegas always played in this series.

What a frustrating series to watch and quite boring watching a trap being constantly imposed on our team.

 

[raideralex99]

Even the greatest coaches lose going against a hot goalie or unlucky bounces.
Also if the refs allow one team to run interference no system is going to work.

The thing that surprised me the most was how the Jets looked like they were not ready for game 5 and that's the coach's job to have a team ready.

 

[JetsFan815]

Even the greatest coaches lose going against a hot goalie or unlucky bounces.
Also if the refs allow one team to run interference no system is going to work.

The thing that surprised me the most was how the Jets looked like they were not ready for game 5 and that's the coach's job to have a team ready.

If the players are not "ready" for an elimination game in the Western Conference finals, there is nothing a coach can do about that. It's one thing to expect that the players might need some extra motivation to play game an afternoon game 32 against the Florida Panthers on the road but one would hope that the players would be ready to go for the Western Conference finals in a do or die game.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

How did Maurice not counter the trap Vegas always played in this series.

What a frustrating series to watch and quite boring watching a trap being constantly imposed on our team.

VGK doesn't 'trap'. You're confusing neutral zone forecheck (trap) with general/offensive zone forcheck. Vegas kept forchecking even when they were up. They still carried the play for a lot of the 3rd period yesterday, Hellebuck had to make a few huge saves from cycle and ozone chances VGK generated despite having the lead and not being the desparate team. The save on Karlsson in the slot and Haula on the breakaway as examples.

They don't fall back into a trap and flip pucks out like Nashville does/did, they actually forecheck and try to breakout even if they are up. That's what makes them so damn hard to play against. They don't turtle and become passive like other teams.

 

[WickedPegJets]

Chevy (i.e. co-owners Mark Chipman and David Thomson) is loathed to fire Maurice and pay him the remaining two years left on his $1.75M annual contract extension. Of course, if the Jets don't do as well next season as this season, Maurice will likely walk the plank like his predecessor Claude Noel.

 

[WickedPegJets]

VGK doesn't 'trap'. You're confusing neutral zone forecheck (trap) with general/offensive zone forcheck. Vegas kept forchecking even when they were up. They still carried the play for a lot of the 3rd period yesterday, Hellebuck had to make a few huge saves from cycle and ozone chances VGK generated despite having the lead and not being the desparate team. The save on Karlsson in the slot and Haula on the breakaway as examples.

They don't fall back into a trap and flip pucks out like Nashville does/did, they actually forecheck and try to breakout even if they are up. That's what makes them so damn hard to play against. They don't turtle and become passive like other teams.

It's killing Montreal Canadiens fans that GM Marc Bergevin was pondering whether to hire Gerald Gallant (a former assistant coach with Les Habs) or Claude Julien and decided against Gallant because although he has French ancestry, like Coach Q and Peter Laviolette, he is unable to speak French.

There was a story about when Gallant was with a group of Habs assistants when assistant coach J.J. Dagenault intentionally spoke in French so Gallant couldn't understand him.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

It's killing Montreal Canadiens fans that GM Marc Bergevin was pondering whether to hire Gerald Gallant (a former assistant coach with Les Habs) or Claude Julien and decided against Gallant because although he has French ancestry, like Coach Q and Peter Laviolette, he is unable to speak French.

There was a story about when Gallant was with a group of Habs assistants when assistant coach J.J. Dagenault intentionally spoke in French so Gallant couldn't understand him.

Montreal is a trash organization? News at 11

 

[WickedPegJets]

If the players are not "ready" for an elimination game in the Western Conference finals, there is nothing a coach can do about that. It's one thing to expect that the players might need some extra motivation to play game an afternoon game 32 against the Florida Panthers on the road but one would hope that the players would be ready to go for the Western Conference finals in a do or die game.

Self-motivation is the key, however Captain Blake Wheeler bore some responsibility if he felt the team needed a kick in the butt pep talk. I remember Sid the Kid's Pens were down 3 games to 2 against Mike Babcock's Red Wings going into Game 6 at the Igloo when owner Mario Lemieux entered the dressing room and gave the players an inspirational speech. The Pens won that night and two nights later, they defeated the Red Wings in the Joe Louis Arena for Crosby's first Stanley Cup ring.

 

[WickedPegJets]

VGK doesn't 'trap'. You're confusing neutral zone forecheck (trap) with general/offensive zone forcheck. Vegas kept forchecking even when they were up. They still carried the play for a lot of the 3rd period yesterday, Hellebuck had to make a few huge saves from cycle and ozone chances VGK generated despite having the lead and not being the desparate team. The save on Karlsson in the slot and Haula on the breakaway as examples.

They don't fall back into a trap and flip pucks out like Nashville does/did, they actually forecheck and try to breakout even if they are up. That's what makes them so damn hard to play against. They don't turtle and become passive like other teams.

Need for Speed is what the new NHL is all about. Speed on the forecheck and if you can pounce on the turnovers and score consistently, you'll always make the playoffs and will advance far in the playoffs.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

So now that we have been eliminated I have to ask. Is Paul Maurice the coach to take us to the next level? Do we follow the Toronto Raptors after their great season and bite the bullet and fire him?

No. Absolutely no chance.

Maurice doesn't have a leash anymore, of any length - assuming he ever did have one.

 

[WickedPegJets]

Three candidates for GM of the year: McPhee, Chevy and Yzerman. If the Lightning beat the Golden Knights for the Stanley Cup, will Stevie Y win the award? Or should McPhee win regardless of the outcome?

 

[IceNeophyte]

Maurice is a good coach. I personally think it would be shortsighted to fire him even if the Jets get a slow start next season. See Gallant, Panthers.

 

[cbcwpg]

Three candidates for GM of the year: McPhee, Chevy and Yzerman. If the Lightning beat the Golden Knights for the Stanley Cup, will Stevie Y win the award? Or should McPhee win regardless of the outcome?

These awards are voted on before the playoffs start. They are based on the regular season only and have nothing to do with the playoffs. As a result McPhee should win.

 

[WickedPegJets]

No. Absolutely no chance.

Maurice doesn't have a leash anymore, of any length - assuming he ever did have one.

Bruce Boudreau has never made it to the Conference Final with so many attempts yet he doesn't get fired often. Paul Maurice was playing with house money when the Jets beat the favoured Preds.

 

[Jets4Life]

Chevy (i.e. co-owners Mark Chipman and David Thomson) is loathed to fire Maurice and pay him the remaining two years left on his $1.75M annual contract extension. Of course, if the Jets don't do as well next season as this season, Maurice will likely walk the plank like his predecessor Claude Noel.

Can you please provide a link to how much Maurice makes, and how long his extension is, since I know of no one who is privy to this information. Thanks.

 

[scelaton]

This run has raised expectations for the team going into next year now. If the Jets are struggling at the midway point of the season I think there will be lots of voices wondering if Maurice should be the one to go. Whether TNSE decides to actually pull the trigger on that is a bigger question.

Every time we lose a game I hear those voices

None of the coaches that are left in the playoffs are tacticians

Yup. We just got beaten by a coach who is anything but a tactician, who had been fired himself by a management that likely felt he wasn't tactical enough.... and all of a sudden we need a chess-player coach to win...?

Maurice took the team further than anyone realistically expected this year. This thread needs to fired, not Maurice.