News Article: "Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tired of getting Oilers coaches fired"

[CanadianSuperPromise]

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/n...f-getting-oilers-coaches-fired-222320141.html

By Greg Wyshynski
15 September, 2015 6:23 PM
Puck Daddy


TORONTO – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn’t think that, five years into his NHL career, he’d have more head coaches than playoff games to his credit, and yet here we are.

“This will be my fifth coach in five years,†he said, during the NHL Players Tour last week in Toronto. “It’s unfortunate. You get attached to coaches with their systems. Personally, you become friends. It’s tough to see guys go.â€

His rookie coach was Tom Renney, in 2011-12. Then came Ralph Krueger for 48 games, post lockout. Then Dallas Eakins, for part of two seasons before Todd Nelson took over last year with an assist from Craig MacTavish.

Nugent-Hopkins sees Krueger, who will coach Team Europe in the World Cup of Hockey next fall, as the one that got away.

“We all really liked Ralph,†he said. “Super intelligent guy. Really knew how to handle the players well, and we only had a short season with him. It was tough to lose him.â€

Losing coaches takes it toll on the Oilers, and not just because it’s like hitting the reset button five times in five years. Nugent-Hopkins said the players start taking it personally; that their own lack of success is the reason why this cycle has perpetuated and why good people keep losing their jobs.

“It kind of goes hand-in-hand: The worst we play as a team, the more likely the coach will be on his way out. Unfortunately that’s the way it’s been for the last four years for me,†he said.


Now comes Todd McLellan, who coached 540 games for the San Jose Sharks before a mutual parting of ways after last season, his first outside the playoffs as an NHL head coach.

“I know a few guys in San Jose, and they don’t have enough good things to say about Todd. I just heard he’s a great guy off the ice. Really good person,†he said. “Todd’s an experienced guy, coming into a younger group than he’s used to.â€

Edmonton’s preseason roster has 28 players that are 25 and younger. That includes Nugent-Hopkins, with 258 games to his credit, as well as returning core players in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov.

It also includes this guy Connor McDavid that you may have heard mentioned here or there.

Nugent-Hopkins was half-watching the NHL Draft lottery when the Oilers won it. He only realized it happened when his phone went nuclear with congratulatory, and bewildered, text messages.

Is he looking forward to having McDavid play on his wing?

“Yes!†he said, clapping his hands with a laugh, fully knowing that McDavid is destined for top line center duty.

“I think that’s where we’ll place him. I know he spent a little time on the wing in junior, but I know he’s more comfortable at center.â€

Which means that Nugent-Hopkins, who played a career-high 20:38 per game last season, will likely see a different role.“Last year my minutes were pretty high. I think they’ll come down a little now, which should help me out too. And if I can take the pressure off him a little bit, I’ll do that for sure,†he said.

Nugent-Hopkins is 22, but within the context of the Oilers he’s a veteran leader. The team captain is currently veteran defenseman Andrew Ference, but there’s speculation that the ‘C’ could be passed to Hall or Nugent-Hopkins this season.

But the center says that it doesn’t matter who wears the letter; leadership is on all of them.

“In our locker room, we’ve done a really good job of meshing everyone together: the veteran guys and the younger guys,†he said. “Whoever steps into that role, it’s not just going to be about one guy. Everyone has to step up and lead.â€

Lead, and succeed, in a way they haven’t in te previous four years of Nugent-Hopkins’s career.

“We’ve had good coaches over the years. We haven’t played well enough to keep them,†he said.

Click to read more...

 

[DipsyMcDoodles]

Never should have let go of Krueger. MacT's first move (which was to make room for Eakins) turned out to be his downfall.

 

[Soundwave]

Mac T doesn't count as a coach, c'mon.

Seemed like everyone liked Krueger, in hindsight that was mistake, but in the here and now the Eakins-Mac T crap sandwich gifted us McDavid.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Never should have let go of Krueger. MacT's first move (which was to make room for Eakins) turned out to be his downfall.

If we didn't we wouldn't have McDavid...sucks both ways.

 

[DipsyMcDoodles]

If we didn't we wouldn't have McDavid...sucks both ways.

Oh no doubt; two wasted seasons under Eakins, no matter how awful it got was worth it because we got McDavid. Regardless of the case though, it was still tough to see a stand up guy like Krueger let go because of......Ikinzom

 

[belair]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

 

[sepHF]

its very obvious that the players had a lot of respect for Ralph

 

[Mr Positive]

RNH looks very physically mature now, and he's got that burning desire to finally see some wins. This could be his break out year.

 

[Roof Daddy]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

I don't think it was a lack of system, I just think it was a system too complicated for the group he had. Petry was the most exposed from the games I remember. A lot of man to man where teams that could cycle well would confuse defenders if they had to switch. Hossa just owned us. I also remember the 6-0 loss to Nashville where their forechecking and puck pressure hemmed us in all game. We barely got it past center the entire game. Still, the guy's rapport with the players was phenomenal. He had much less at his disposal. This was still the Tambo years where we weren't really allowed to acquire assets, only sell them off. When was there a "Perron" type trade during Ralph's tenure?

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

How good can systems get with minimal practice and preparation? I mean I could understand if he had an offseason but nope and I could understand if there wasn't a game nearly every 2nd day and adequate practice time in between.


I think he went with "good enough" and quite frankly considering the line up we had, it was good enough. We fire a coach with the only year we went up in the standings. Nice MacT.


Anyway I think Mclellan is of the same mold so that's good. Great communicator.

 

[MarkGio]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

Krugs also had the worst roster of all coaches

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

Krugs also had the worst roster of all coaches

And the toughest schedule. He had zero games against the Eastern Conference.

 

[Digger12]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

Agreed. I always thought that he was a great fit as an assistant coach, but as a head coach he was out of his league. That said, he didn't deserve the shoddy firing that MacT gave him.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Krueger is a well-respected person because he is such a good speaker. Hell, he wrote a book on motivational speaking. But I vividly remember a complete lack of a system in his games and really poor line matching. He may have been a hell of a players' coach, but when it came to strategy, he seemed like an amateur.

Zero line matching and did not understand offensive zone systems. We were outshot every single game by a wide margin. People forget how good Dubnyk was that year for us.

 

[Soundwave]

Renney was a solid coach. RNH and Eberle played their best under him.

 

[Digger12]

And the toughest schedule. He had zero games against the Eastern Conference.

Yeah, but you can say that about every other team in the Western Conference that year as well. To me this isn't a valid argument in his favour.

 

[iCanada]

Agreed. I always thought that he was a great fit as an assistant coach, but as a head coach he was out of his league. That said, he didn't deserve the shoddy firing that MacT gave him.

He was a great fit as a head coach, are you kidding? If we played against the east that year in half the games life normal, we would have made the playoffs.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

Yeah, but you can say that about every other team in the Western Conference that year as well. To me this isn't a valid argument in his favour.

Did every other western coaching staff have to start from scratch?

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

Zero line matching and did not understand offensive zone systems. We were outshot every single game by a wide margin. People forget how good Dubnyk was that year for us.

You act as if the line matching issue was happening every moment.

Oh and line match with what? 2/4 of the lines? Because half the team was complete garbage.

 

[Mr Positive]

And the toughest schedule. He had zero games against the Eastern Conference.

also, as bad as the team under Eakins, he actually had a decent record against the East, and he was last place in the league with a 5 point cushion when Nelson came in.

 

[JordanGalhanth]

Renney was a solid coach. RNH and Eberle played their best under him.

Oooooooh please no. I regretted the Renney hiring from day one and I still regret it now. He did some good things with international and junior teams, but was a total underachiever as a coach at the NHL level - particularly in playoffs.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

You act as if the line matching issue was happening every moment.

Oh and line match with what? 2/4 of the lines? Because half the team was complete garbage.

What are you on about? He didn't understand how to utilize our strengths in the defensive end, nor did he attempt to match up our best defensive line to face the top lines of other teams.

I don't care if you don't have a team to play with. You should still coach what you have.

Krueger was capable of inspiring his players to play to the level that they did, buts not qualified to head coach a team. He was and always will be a great assistant coach.

Dubnyk was one of our better players that season.

I don't understand how anyone could argue this?

Oh,

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

Yet another reason MacT is a complete moron. Still can't believe he's Chia's #2 man.

 

[Soundwave]

Oooooooh please no. I regretted the Renney hiring from day one and I still regret it now. He did some good things with international and junior teams, but was a total underachiever as a coach at the NHL level - particularly in playoffs.

Every rookie played well under him, even Paajarvi, and the Oilers improved 12 points in Renney's two years here. We were going in the right direction under him.

Partly why I'm happy to have McLellan, enough with the rookie coaches, we have enough young players without needing a coach who's trying to figure things out too.

 

[Digger12]

He was a great fit as a head coach, are you kidding? If we played against the east that year in half the games life normal, we would have made the playoffs.

No, we wouldn't. Every other Western team would've had half their games against that supposedly weak sister Eastern conference as well, so their points would've been similarly padded going by this logic, thus negating whatever gains made by the Oilers.