"Well, I think it's absurd. This guy has coached over 1,000 games in the NHL. Did he suddenly forget how to coach? I can tell you this, there will be numerous, multiple player changes before the coaching staff would even be looked at, let alone considered. The players are at fault here. We're not getting it done. It's not the coaching staff. It's the players not executing."
about 1 month ago
James Mirtle
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peace of mind
glad to see there’s a plan.
"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky
by Karina on Oct 14, 2009 1:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Scratching Nik Hagman is unforgivable. You just don’t do that.
BTW, if Wilson doesn’t like Haggy, the Stars would be VERY happy to take him off his hands :)
Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/SLStarsFan
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Oct 14, 2009 2:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Nah
It’s more a case of Hagman admitting he played horribly against the Rangers, and Wilson then sitting him to both help get his mind right so he can come back strong next game and to use as an example to the rest of the team that anyone can be scratched if the team’s play doesn’t markedly improve. Wilson also knows Hagman won’t whine and complain about it either which helps a lot.
Being a Leaf fan here requires one to be sufficiently lubricated... and truculent!
by stucky on Oct 14, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, he's coached a thousand games...
.. but he’s been below .500 6 times in 15 years and missed the playoffs 7 times, so it’s not like the guy is awesome.
Ron Wilson’s career resume is taking talented teams and getting less out of them. Now he’s discovered a way to get less talent out of a no-talent club… which, I suppose, he ought to be applauded for.
Honestly, I hope Burke welds himself to Ron Wilson. It will be entertaining watching them both fail spectacularly.
by HockeyinHD on Oct 14, 2009 5:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Thing is, I’ve got a Wikipedia button on my favourites toolbar right beside From The Rink…
Looks like Wilson’s first three sub .500 years were as the coach of the expansion Mighty Ducks. As I recall, that was not a ‘talented team’. Then in the fourth year he made the playoffs – I’m pretty sure that’s damn quick for an expansion team. Then, the season after he left, the Ducks dropped 20 points and missed the playoffs again.
Then he took a Capitals team that was fourth in the Eastern Conference (and missed the playoffs the season before he got there) to the Stanley Cup Finals. That doesn’t really sound like ‘getting less’ out of them.
San Jose improved by 31 points his first full season there, and went from fifth to first in the Pacific. In his four full seasons in San Jose, he took them to at least the second round all four times. Yeah, there are no Cups there, but it’s still better than an awful lot of teams. They lost in the first round last year, so evidently Wilson wasn’t the only one getting ‘less’ out of their talent.
So: taking out three expansion years, Wilson has two and a half ‘below .500’ seasons out of his last 11.5 years as head coach. One of those was last year’s talentless Leafs. Over those years he’s won his division as many times as he’s missed the playoffs. He’s made it past the first round 6 times.
How many other coaches have a record like that? Not Lemaire, or Martin, or Ruff, Trotz, Maurice or Crawford. Hitchcock does, but he hasn’t won a series since the lockout.
I've been looking at the sky
by Back In Black on Oct 14, 2009 9:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good call!
It’s amazing how many people within the media criticized the way Wilson handled Marleau 2 seasons ago only to applaud McClellan for handling Marleau the same way. When Wilson wanted Marleau stripped of the captaincy it was how could you? But now it’s O.K….but with that said Wilson has always impressed me as a coach for his team always looked prepared regardless of talent. Even in those expansion years in Anaheim they were always a tough team to beat as there were always hard on the body and in the corners and made it tough on opponents.
The problem lies with Burke wanting the Leafs to resemble the Charleston Chiefs and be beligerent, truculent, and pugnacious without the talent surrounding them nor the personel. Wilson wants them to play one way, the GM wants to play another and that’s what’s ailing this team to go along with Burke’s ascertion that the Leafs guaratee to make the playoffs.
Really? How many teams can enter the season and guarantee themselves a playoff spot? What Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, and Boston in the East with Chicago, San Jose, and Detroit in the West and that’s all. It was proposterous to think the Leafs were in that group as the team actually thrived last year with no expectations and played under Wilson’s system.
Playoffs inToronto is something special (eventhough I live in Ottawa) but for them to achieve playoff status they have to play the way their coach wants them to play and the GM just do his job and provide the coach with the best players available. In all, Burkie shut up and let Wilson do his job instead of being the Wizard of Oz.
It's never about the eventual destination, but rather the long journey and its challenging obstacles that are presented and what it takes to overcome them, that makes the taste of success all the more worthwhile!!!
by hawks61 on Oct 14, 2009 11:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
'(eventhough I live in Ottawa'
Thanks, I now completely understand all of your posts.
by Godd Till on Oct 15, 2009 10:39 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
TILL 1 - hawks61 0
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
by PPP on Oct 15, 2009 10:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wrong
hawks61 5, TILL and the rest of Leafs nation 0.
It's never about the eventual destination, but rather the long journey and its challenging obstacles that are presented and what it takes to overcome them, that makes the taste of success all the more worthwhile!!!
by hawks61 on Oct 16, 2009 11:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
How many teams can enter the season and guarantee themselves a playoff spot?
I can’t find one instance of Brian Burke guaranteeing the Leafs will make the playoffs this year. In fact, he’s categorically denied it several times stating that the postseason is simply the team’s goal. Could you share your inside source?
by Pat Verbeek on Oct 16, 2009 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
well he did say his goal was to make the playoffs, but thats as good as a guarentee to his detractors
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 19, 2009 5:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
O/U when Wilson will be fired?
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
by 49er16 on Oct 14, 2009 7:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
About the same...
as the two guys in your signature. Not real soon.
by bison on Oct 14, 2009 11:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well played.
And no, Wilson isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Brian Burke may be crazy sometimes, but he’s not reckless and he’s certainly not dumb.
by Afino on Oct 15, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
He does have four years left on his contract.
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
by James Mirtle on Oct 15, 2009 12:00 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Burke's comments...
Another high profile Canadian GM said that hiring his coach was the best decision he’d made as a GM.
Two months later, said GM was coaching the team.
Just saying.
by Exit716 on Oct 14, 2009 8:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Those Canadians can’t be trusted!
by Pat Verbeek on Oct 16, 2009 4:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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