News Article: Rishaug says Jim Johnson will not be re-signed

[48g90a138pts]

If they're getting rid of Jim Johnson, management has to get rid of Woodcroft too. That PP was down right embarrassing.

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

Getting him ready to take over for Todd the season after.

By the season after do you mean at christmas when the tire fire goes from smoulder to 5 alarm blaze?

I'm not saying MacT should be brought back either... but McLellan isn't really looking to be a winning option for this team going forward. He doesn't seem to add much at all to his teams in terms of "value added" assets in terms of roster utilization, tactics, special teams or anything else where a coach can make a difference.

By eye as well it just seems that the team does only as well as the players on the ice play. I have very rarely seen anything from McLellan which has made me think... good coaching there that helped his team win a game... whereas I have thought that several times watching opposing coaches with their tactics and strategies during games where the Oilers have lost.

Don't you remember that one time when things started to go south and Todd called a well placed time out to circle the wagons and calm things down... Oh wait, nevermind.

 

[ujju2]

One of Nicholson's job was to provide oversight from a voice that's disassociated from the good ol' days. If this report is true, and now there are corroborating reports, I suddenly have a little sympathy for Chiarelli and McLellan.

Disagree. That OBC member is likely Coffey, who I'm sure is far superior to Woodcroft and Johnson as an assistant.

 

[rboomercat90]

Alain Vigneault NHL career coaching record:

.588 regular season
.489 playoffs

Another coach who ****s the bed when it counts... basically almost the exact same numbers as McLellan and likely a sign that they lack something when it comes down to actually making a significant difference in games that matter the most.

The fact that Vigneault has been available for a week now when the team is still figuring out what to do with the coaching leads me to believe they have no interest in him.
I’m good with that. I see him as being similar to Mclellan. Needs an all star team playing well to have a chance to succeed. Doesn’t do much in game coaching other than throwing players over the boards and hoping they’re better than the other team. Not interested.

 

[rboomercat90]

Buncha retreads.

May as well add Barry Melrose, Grapes and Howie Meeker to that list.

At least if we hired Howie Meeker he’d be telling them to shoot the puck.

 

[ujju2]

Trotz coming here would mean his goalie coach Mitch Korn likely comes too. He's the best in the league.

Yup. That guy is an NHL goalie factory.

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but as a part-time Caps fan I thought Korn was "Director of Goaltending" with the Caps this reason. In fact, It's my belief that him not being the goalie coach likely had a large impact on Holtby's play this season. If Trotz were to move teams, I wouldn't be surprised to see Korn retire altogether.

 

[Del Preston]

Not anymore. Kevin Woodley reported on Gregors show that Korn semi-retired this last season, which could be a big reason why Holtby's play has dropped off.

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but as a part-time Caps fan I thought Korn was "Director of Goaltending" with the Caps this reason. In fact, It's my belief that him not being the goalie coach likely had a large impact on Holtby's play this season. If Trotz were to move teams, I wouldn't be surprised to see Korn retire altogether.

Oh, that's too bad.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Disagree. That OBC member is likely Coffey, who I'm sure is far superior to Woodcroft and Johnson as an assistant.

Coffey hasn't coached a single game in his life!!!!! How the heck would he be better than those two??? Yeah we all hate Woodcroft but you can't deny that the PP with him the year before was 5th. It was GOOD. We missed some players on our PP like Eberlazy and we had an injured Klefbom. So what if this year was just an off year and it bounces back?

 

[rboomercat90]

The biggest problem with all these OBC appointments is they come at a time when fans are so fed up with the current job holders that they say “current guy is so bad that I have no doubt OBC Guy will be better”. That’s so incredibly stupid. At least these current guys were qualified for their positions before they got them. They just weren’t good enough to succeed in them. The OBC guys were never qualified in the first place, that’s why they fail so badly. Not wanting another OBC guy isn’t the same as supporting the current guy. If the current guy sucks, by all means fire him. Just replace him with someone who has actually put in the work somewhere that’s earned an opportunity.

 

[sepHF]

Well apparently he didn't even coach the #1 unit in SJ. He just put Thornton, marleau, pavelski, couture, burns together and let them do whatever.

Thats somewhat common for coaches to do that for the PP. I'm pretty sure Quennville and Vingeault both do that as well

 

[missinthejets]

Coffey hasn't coached a single game in his life!!!!! How the heck would he be better than those two??? Yeah we all hate Woodcroft but you can't deny that the PP with him the year before was 5th. It was GOOD. We missed some players on our PP like Eberlazy and we had an injured Klefbom. So what if this year was just an off year and it bounces back?

Except all evidence points towards last year being the anomaly. The OP was poor in mclellans first season if I am not mistaken and it was bad last year until letestu was out there and it was awful this year. To me that says the PP rode an unexpected Letestu hotstreak but was otherwise useless the entire time.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Except all evidence points towards last year being the anomaly. The OP was poor in mclellans first season if I am not mistaken and it was bad last year until letestu was out there and it was awful this year. To me that says the PP rode an unexpected Letestu hotstreak but was otherwise useless the entire time.

and you think Coffey will fix that? Good luck

 

[ujju2]

Coffey hasn't coached a single game in his life!!!!! How the heck would he be better than those two??? Yeah we all hate Woodcroft but you can't deny that the PP with him the year before was 5th. It was GOOD. We missed some players on our PP like Eberlazy and we had an injured Klefbom. So what if this year was just an off year and it bounces back?

You realize Eberle lost his PP1 spot to MARK LETESTU... you think we missed HIM?

 

[missinthejets]

and you think Coffey will fix that? Good luck

I said nothing about Coffey fixing it, simply that Woodcroft hasn't put a good PP on the ice for this team other than Mark Letestu catching lightning in a bottle for half a season. He is not the answer and should be fired and they should hire a qualified replacement for him. Can't get any worse than last in the league in PP.

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

Coffey hasn't coached a single game in his life!!!!! How the heck would he be better than those two??? Yeah we all hate Woodcroft but you can't deny that the PP with him the year before was 5th. It was GOOD. We missed some players on our PP like Eberlazy and we had an injured Klefbom. So what if this year was just an off year and it bounces back?

Last year the oil surprised everyone because they where able to stick to a plan (even a stale one), the usual approach of "just wait till they f up n fold" didn't work , This year the opposition exploited the systems not the lack of them for a change. The PP will see no uptrend any more than the dead cat bounce it took at the end of this season.

 

[McDNicks17]

By the season after do you mean at christmas when the tire fire goes from smoulder to 5 alarm blaze?

Ha! You think Katz is afraid of a little fire?

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

Ha! You think Katz is afraid of a little fire?

I'd say he is a little wary. Like the wholesale changes we saw when they won the golden ticket. There is cache in being the owner of the team that drafts mcdavid. There is far less notoriety (at least the kind katz craves) in being the owner who ruined him... I'll just pop some corn and watch the show.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

If they're getting rid of Jim Johnson, management has to get rid of Woodcroft too. That PP was down right embarrassing.

They could shuffle the chairs, most teams have 4 coaching positions now (who have an active role during the game). The head coach (general 5 on 5 strategy and bench management), associate coach (coaches right hand man & will often run the PP), defense coach (responsible for D-men & often the PK), and the 4th man coach (watches the game from above- gives little tidbits and what he's seeing in terms of the oppositions defensive deployment/strategy- also responsible for reviewing plays which might need to be challenged). I'm fine with Woodcroft being the 4th man upstairs, he has a lot of experience being the video review coach so that role would likely come naturally to him and McLellan can be comforted by his bosom buddy whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

Get a really good associate coach with prior head coaching experience, a good coach for the defense, and a quality goalie coach (this should be getting as much press as Woodcroft and Johnson) and I could see us turning things around.

 

[CupofOil]

The only defenseman who was significantly better last season was Sekera.

There's a reason so many models predicted the Oilers regression. It hit harder than expected because the defense somehow got even worse on top of Talbot regressing. The chances against were always there, Talbot was just saving a ton of them.

Oh man, that's just not true at all. I don't know how somebody could watch the defense last season and watch it this season and think that Sekera was the only one to regress. Klefbom and Larsson were light years better last season, Benning played with more confidence as well. Part of the reason why Talbot is worse this season is because the team in front of him crumbled.

 

[Hopelesslucicfan]

This is so stupid. It’s going to be used as an excuse to buy the higher ups more time.

This off season it’s the pk coach, “finally some accountability” nobodies completely satisfied but the pitchforks aren’t at their necks anymore.

Partway through the season it’s woodcroft or the goalie coach. Same process.

By January of next season the season will be lost and we’ll be in another “evaluation period” of Todd. He’ll get till the end of the year to earn the fans back on his side, will likely fail and be fired.

By the following year, Chia has lost another few huge trades, and were even worse off than we were today. This would be the year he’s fired in the offseason.

At this point the next coach and GM are going to inherit McDavid and a bunch of fourth liners, and fans are going to start doubting the coaches and the process repeats.

All the while the OBC goes completely untouched.

If you’re going to make changes, make them meaningful. Accountability doesn’t start at the assistant coaches, it starts at the top. The guys directly responsible for the decade of darkness who are still on the payroll and directly involved in hockey ops after fans were promised they weren’t.

I want Chia and tmac gone as bad as anyone, but I don’t even think that’ll change anything anymore. Not with the rest of the executives still around. This franchise is a cancer. It just keeps growing with every hire.

 

[CupofOil]

I believe the Woodcroft thing. I remember a moment when he was talking to the players and a couple just skated away not caring what he said

Yep, no question. I noticed that too.
What amazes me is that Mclellan took over the PK that many months ago but thought that Woodcroft continuing to operate the PP was ok? What does Woodcroft have on Mclellan? What's with this undying loyalty to this nobody?

 

[TB12]

Sheldon Keefe

He really might be an amazing coach, I have no idea if he is. But I would be extremely wary of hiring anyone from the Leafs organization as they always get overhyped as the next best thing...cough...Dallas Eakins...cough.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

It does not take a week to decide to renew on assistant coaches you’ve had for 3 years.

Johnson is gone. I also think discussion with Woodcroft over if would be taking the AHL HC job.

Either way I believe it is contentious and fractious between 2 groups (OBC & Mgmnt) who both have Katz’ ear.

Either way Katz has managed to build a very dysfunctional organization with 2 opinions on the way forward versus one.

All I can say to the Fire Chia crowd is be careful what you wish for.

 

[tsnTpoint]

Mclellan loves to talk post game about how so and so player needs to be held accountable.

How about Woodcroft gets held accountable for once, and by this I mean fired.

#FireWoodcroft should be its own thread.

 

[frag2]

Ha! You think Katz is afraid of a little fire?

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