Really cannot understand the Bylsma hate

[Fordy]

I liked the idea of Letang at forward too, but it was idiotic to try it for the first time in a tie game.

 

[eXile59]

Letang at wing is a horrible idea. Letang is never going to be a 7.5 a year winger. If you want a winger then you trade him for one. You don't take him out of a position he's played his entire life.

I don't get how people think that all 5 positions are interchangeable. This isn't taking Brent Burns and putting him up front. It's taking your number 1 D-man who just invested a ton of money in to play defense.

 

[Malkinburgh]

I will continue to hate him if he plays players that should not be on the ice.
I will hate him less if Orpik, Adams and Glass are gone.

 

[Kobita]

Well see, that's the problem. There's no middle ground here. You don't have to believe everything he says to believe some things. Just because someone doesn't want him run out of town on a rail and doesn't complain about everything he does doesn't mean they don't have any problems with him whatsoever.

What would the middle ground be? People with lukewarm opinions toward Bylsma aren't really going to voice them, there's no incentive, people who care strongly about something will, they have plenty of incentive to vent their frustrations. You're complaining about basic human psychology.

As far as one side or the other being the villain...both sides make frequent passive aggressive and at times, incredibly blatant attacks on each other. If you want a middle ground, crying victim isn't the way to do it, it just sounds hypocritical.

 

[ColePens]

I liked the idea of Letang at forward too, but it was idiotic to try it for the first time in a tie game.

I'm not trying to pull the ole "have u even played this game!??!!" argument... but have you? People who think going to wing from defense because they are offensive minded are insane. It is an extremely difficult thing to do. Just because a guy is an offensive minded defender (which Tangers really isn't a full offensive minded guy), doesn't mean he understands the wing position. It's COMPLETELY different.

 

[eXile59]

I'm not trying to pull the ole "have u even played this game!??!!" argument... but have you? People who think going to wing from defense because they are offensive minded are insane. It is an extremely difficult thing to do. Just because a guy is an offensive minded defender (which Tangers really isn't a full offensive minded guy), doesn't mean he understands the wing position. It's COMPLETELY different.

Anyone who makes the argument for Letang at wing is on the same level as people who yell "SHOOT" during power plays at games in my opinion.

 

[madinsomniac]

True. I often kid on here that HCDB should just play two defensemen on the 4th line cause that's what he wants, but honestly look at Engellend, who has played forward before as an example of how a defenseman may not be as good defensively as a forward because he is playing things as he would from a different position... It can be done, but not thrown out there mid game... that's a change you would have to practice at..

No Letang is still a very valuable Defenseman when used right, you just have to find a way to maximize his talents... put him in the right position to excel... playing a cookie cutter system may not be whats best for the guy

 

[madinsomniac]

And it is odd we complain about moving iginla from left to right wing, then push for a change like Letang to wing.... I don't understand it

 

[Lomez]

And it is odd we complain about moving iginla from left to right wing, then push for a change like Letang to wing.... I don't understand it

We. We complain. We have a thought. We like Megna. We don't like Orpik. We like Despres. We think Shero is a dope. We don't like Bylsma. We're confused about Pyatt. We, we, we, all the way home.....

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

In fairness, the same can be said for the opposite side. There's been quite a few comments about how this board is unreadable or that everyone is just parroting comments, and that there's only a handful of worthwhile posters to read now. Isn't that a passive aggressive way of insulting/condescending to people they disagree with?

I certainly get a holier-than-thou vibe from a lot of folks who defend the club/Bylsma, the tone suggesting anyone who actually criticizes Bylsma is an idiot and isn't worth reading.

It seems like the cool thing to defend DB. Like only those idiots that revert to the HF hive mentality think that Db is a bad coach, and their opinions aren't worth hearing. Us knowledgeable fans know that there is nothing wrong with this team.

 

[Fordy]

I'm not trying to pull the ole "have u even played this game!??!!" argument... but have you? People who think going to wing from defense because they are offensive minded are insane. It is an extremely difficult thing to do. Just because a guy is an offensive minded defender (which Tangers really isn't a full offensive minded guy), doesn't mean he understands the wing position. It's COMPLETELY different.

I like the idea of doing it to force Letang to play better, I don't expect it to actually work.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

We. We complain. We have a thought. We like Megna. We don't like Orpik. We like Despres. We think Shero is a dope. We don't like Bylsma. We're confused about Pyatt. We, we, we, all the way home.....

We're even more confused about Nisky.

 

[TheSniper26]

It seems like the cool thing to defend DB. Like only those idiots that revert to the HF hive mentality think that Db is a bad coach, and their opinions aren't worth hearing. Us knowledgeable fans know that there is nothing wrong with this team.

I don't know how you could possibly think that. This board is dominated by negativity and cynicism. Every win is met with the usual "regular season cups!" sarcasm and every loss is met with 20 pages of people acting a little too pleased with themselves for being proven "right". Practically every thread, regardless of the topic, eventually careens it's way to being about Bylsma's ineptitude.

Compare the number of outspoken Bylsma critics to the number of defenders and you'll realize that it's not very close. And I say this as someone that is much closer to a critic than a defender. Most of the criticisms are valid but let's at least be honest about the way things are around here now. That Boston series did quite a number on this fan base.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

I don't know how you could possibly think that. This board is dominated by negativity and cynicism. Every win is met with the usual "regular season cups!" sarcasm and every loss is met with 20 pages of people acting a little too pleased with themselves for being proven "right". Practically every thread, regardless of the topic, eventually careens it's way to being about Bylsma's ineptitude.

Compare the number of outspoken Bylsma critics to the number of defenders and you'll realize that it's not very close. And I say this as someone that is much closer to a critic than a defender. Most of the criticisms are valid but let's at least be honest about the way things are around here now. That Boston series did quite a number on this fan base.

No, the Boston series just reinforced what most of the doom-sayers were already thinking after the Philadelphia debacle.

Hell, the Philadelphia debacle is what turned me against Letang, where he stupidly tried to pull a Talbot 2.0 and it backfired spectacularly.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

No, the Boston series just reinforced what most of the doom-sayers were already thinking after the Philadelphia debacle.

Hell, the Philadelphia debacle is what turned me against Letang, where he stupidly tried to pull a Talbot 2.0 and it backfired spectacularly.

Started with the Islanders series for me...

We were heavily outcoached and outplayed at times in that series. If Nabokov wasn't awful, the Isles win that series and it would've been 1993 all over again.

 

[Penguinzilla*]

Why I hate Bylsma:
1. Crosby's RWers. He thinks it's fun to handcuff the best player in the world as much as possible with the worst players he can find.
2. All defensemen eventually get worse under his "system".
3. Playoffs. Yes he "wins" but he won the Cup after only coaching a half season. Not that it's bad, but, since then, the playoffs have been a disaster.
4. Random line combinations. Constant switching players in and out.
5. Playoffs: No accountability. WHEN the Pens start to lose their cool (which is 100% predictable against teams with certain players, like Subban, Marchant, 50% of the Islanders players, etc) he can't stop it. He doesn't prepare for it.
6. Playoffs: Pens seem COMPLETELY unprepared mentally. They fall apart fast.

Other than that, I like him.

A lot of it is Shero, too. He needs to get a harder team to play against.

 

[Penguinzilla*]

And it is odd we complain about moving iginla from left to right wing, then push for a change like Letang to wing.... I don't understand it

Someone likes the idea of moving Letang to RW? If so, that's probably (I hope) .0005% of the fan base.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

Started with the Islanders series for me...

We were heavily outcoached and outplayed at times in that series. If Nabokov wasn't awful, the Isles win that series and it would've been 1993 all over again.

That's honestly why the Boston series hurts that much more.

Despite being a disorganized crap-show, we exorcised the Ghost of Volek.

And for what?

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I don't know how you could possibly think that. This board is dominated by negativity and cynicism. Every win is met with the usual "regular season cups!" sarcasm and every loss is met with 20 pages of people acting a little too pleased with themselves for being proven "right". Practically every thread, regardless of the topic, eventually careens it's way to being about Bylsma's ineptitude.

Compare the number of outspoken Bylsma critics to the number of defenders and you'll realize that it's not very close. And I say this as someone that is much closer to a critic than a defender. Most of the criticisms are valid but let's at least be honest about the way things are around here now. That Boston series did quite a number on this fan base.

I meant "the cool thing for those who defend DB".

In stead of arguing their point they just discard anything that is said against him.

 

[PensBeerGeek]

I don't think Dan Bylsma is worse than Ron Rolston...can I get infracted by the intelligensia on this board please?

 

[billybudd]

I'm not trying to pull the ole "have u even played this game!??!!" argument... but have you? People who think going to wing from defense because they are offensive minded are insane. It is an extremely difficult thing to do. Just because a guy is an offensive minded defender (which Tangers really isn't a full offensive minded guy), doesn't mean he understands the wing position. It's COMPLETELY different.

Not that I think Letang would be remotely effective as a forward, but asking a D to take a shift at wing isn't exactly asking him to memorize the Iliad backwards in the original Greek. Vast majority of d have played wing at some point in their development. Possibly every one of them.

It's the easiest job on the ice, which is why you'll see players converted from center or D to wing, but rarely from wing to something else.

That Letang had no idea what he was supposed to do as a "wing" once he got into his own zone reflects negatively on him, not Bylsma. Note that both Bortuzzo and Orpik, at times, rotated to cover the spot that Letang was supposed to be once they saw lunkhead playing the wrong position.

 

[ColePens]

A coach puts a player out there for the first time knowing that player does not know his role in that position..... but it's the player's fault? I am not sure I agree with you there. Not one bit.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

A coach puts a player out there for the first time knowing that player does not know his role in that position..... but it's the player's fault? I am not sure I agree with you there. Not one bit.

Letang is a meathead as it is. Playing him in a different position in a tie game is beyond stupid.

Did Letang screw it up? Sure he did. Did anyone here expect anything different?

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone would accuse DB of being any kind of brain surgeon himself though. He's a player's coach. A motivational kind of guy. Certainly not a system or cerebral coach (or disciplinarian).

 

[billybudd]

A coach puts a player out there for the first time knowing that player does not know his role in that position..... but it's the player's fault? I am not sure I agree with you there. Not one bit.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect a coach to predict an NHL player would be so confused about the wing position that he'd go stand directly between the two D during 4 on 4 play, whether the coach in question has used that player in that position before or not.

We're talking about a professional ice hockey player, here. That's a "2nd grade floor hockey in gym class" level of not understanding wing.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed a pro could have made the mistake that Letang did.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

That NHL player is Kris Letang and he'd already had a stupid game. I could maybe see the argument if it was one of the smarter defensemen, they might make a less glaring mistake than Letang. Who was surprised when that went wrong? Who didn't realize that Letang was playing forward and cringe? Bylsma should have had the 5 braincells required to not do that.

It should have been tried extensively in practice and then tried in a game in a low pressure situation. That never should have been tried like that but Danck Bylsadams was at work.