|
Post by sergejean on Jun 6, 2012 11:36:12 GMT -5
Nice praises fro Mike Yeo, head coach of the Minnesota Wild and former assistant coach of Michel Therrien. The interview is in French. www.lapresse.ca/sports/hockey/201206/06/01-4532177-mike-yeo-jai-tellement-appris-de-lui.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B9_sports_257_accueil_POS2He's basicall saying: - he was surprised it took so long before he got hired back in the NHL - he learned a lot from MT - MT is not getting the credit he should for being a very good tactician - He turned around the Pens, changing The structure and culture of the club - A good motivator - A good bench boss, really awake behind the bench. Recognizes the "hot" players and adjust with more ice time - Said he spoke with a majority of players who played for MT and that he was respected. He is hard on the players but he also cares for them and take good care of them. Said many former players called MT to congratulate him for his new position.
|
|
|
Post by clear observer on Jun 6, 2012 11:42:45 GMT -5
Of course there's a "chance".
I shall remain optimistic, but I'll admit I have doubts despite the passage of time since his first tenure.
I'll also add that I'll be shocked if he lasts until his contract renewal...hopefully "pleasantly shocked".
|
|
|
Post by Doc Holliday on Jun 6, 2012 11:44:29 GMT -5
One thing's for sure....he wants a bigger, tougher team. If Bergevin works as closely with his coach as he says he will...we should see that toughness evolve THIS year through acquisitions. ...Jacques Martin's comment on AC last night was pretty telling, he said the team isn't bad per say but it should get better by substracting a few players ... And then add missing elements. The whole panel laughed when he said it (and he didn't mentioned names).
|
|
|
Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jun 6, 2012 11:49:36 GMT -5
Nice praises fro Mike Yeo, head coach of the Minnesota Wild and former assistant coach of Michel Therrien. The interview is in French. www.lapresse.ca/sports/hockey/201206/06/01-4532177-mike-yeo-jai-tellement-appris-de-lui.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B9_sports_257_accueil_POS2He's basicall saying: - he was surprised it took so long before he got hired back in the NHL - he learned a lot from MT - MT is not getting the credit he should for being a very good tactician - He turned around the Pens, changing The structure and culture of the club - A good motivator - A good bench boss, really awake behind the bench. Recognizes the "hot" players and adjust with more ice time - Said he spoke with a majority of players who played for MT and that he was respected. He is hard on the players but he also cares for them and take good care of them. Said many former players called MT to congratulate him for his new position. There's a lot of really good info coming out on both sides of the fence including your post, SJ. Je vous remercie. Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Jun 6, 2012 13:06:32 GMT -5
One thing's for sure....he wants a bigger, tougher team. If Bergevin works as closely with his coach as he says he will...we should see that toughness evolve THIS year through acquisitions. ...Jacques Martin's comment on AC last night was pretty telling, he said the team isn't bad per say but it should get better by substracting a few players ... And then add missing elements. The whole panel laughed when he said it (and he didn't mentioned names). I presume they're mocking Gomez.....and Martin is a hypocrite if he joined in because Gainey, Gauthier, and he re-stocked the cupboard after those 10 UFAs were allowed to walk. Martin "had a blank slate" one article said, and had a big say in who was acquired. (What I'd really like to know is the chain of events that led to McDonagh being thrown into that deal. Obviously Gainey was okay with it. But were Gauthier and Martin on board? I can still hear Sather laughing.) And if JM thinks the club "isn't bad per se"....well, I'm doubly glad he's gone. Is he still our million dollar scout?
|
|
|
Post by Skilly on Jun 6, 2012 13:50:15 GMT -5
I can live with Therrien behind the bench ... players win games not coaches in the NHL.
|
|
|
Post by CentreHice on Jun 6, 2012 14:43:56 GMT -5
I can live with Therrien behind the bench ... players win games not coaches in the NHL. Yep, a coach can do only so much, but it's what he does with that "only so much" that's key. A good coach sets a respectful, yet strict tone/atmosphere in which those players can win those games...i.e. play as a team....and not just relying on hot goaltenders all the time. How he develops those players is also very important. Also, the ability to adapt to the game on-the-fly...match-ups...recognizing who's hot....very important in the winning of those games.
|
|
|
Post by HFTO on Jun 6, 2012 16:29:33 GMT -5
I'm doubtful...although he says all the things most of us cranky bastards have been saying for years here. To be honest many of us go off here as he does behind the bench.....that being said we are fans and off our rockers and he's the coach.
MT has to find any avenue he can to get the most out of what he has, get them to play and learn to adapt while still teaching without the old school rigidity. Hey I hope he's the greatest Hab coach ever but is he really the guy?
I think he is the fill in guy while MB restocks tears down and looks for expiring contracts a couple years hence.
I hope I'm wrong on this too and he can make a number of moves to push this forwards asap.
We may not like MT but he still needs a ton of players so lets see how fast this develops.
I'm real curious too see what happens this summer what the team looks like and how MT will coach...should we expect the playoffs???...hard to say, guess that depends on what blanks are filled in and if MT has changed his spots. As much as I am excited for what seems to be a whole new org....it'll still be tough to endure another year like last season or maybe two?
HFTO
|
|
|
Post by habsask on Jun 6, 2012 17:21:50 GMT -5
I voted 'No'. Just a gut feel. Bergevin may already have used up his Muligan by hiring MT. Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by UberCranky on Jun 7, 2012 12:57:27 GMT -5
It's three days later.....
Has Molson reveiled that hiring MTHead was just a prank?
|
|
|
Post by slyman on Jun 7, 2012 16:20:30 GMT -5
I actually voted 'Yes'....I am ready to give him a second chance. When you think about it, Julien got fired with two games left in the season by New Jersey and then came back a few years later to win the cup...Once Vigneault finally got re-hired in the NHL by Vancouver, he has been one of the really good coach over the last few years in the NHL....People learn as they grow older.
Why not Michel Therrien?
In any case, after the amount of times I have bitch and complained over the last few years due to the extreme disliked I had towards Gauthier and Martin, I am just glad we will finally have a coach with some emotions and have a team that will finally stop being the softest team in the league...
Good luck MT, everybody deserves a second chance in life! Go Habs Go!
|
|
|
Post by The Habitual Fan on Jun 7, 2012 17:09:55 GMT -5
Considering we easily could have been looking at this tandem could have been Mcguire/Roy im happy.
|
|
|
Post by seventeen on Jun 7, 2012 22:44:43 GMT -5
From Habsloyalist, the column sort of recaps my feelings except I disliked Therrien long before the Carolina penalty, due to player mismanagement. habsloyalist.blogspot.ca/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-11:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-11:00&max-results=8Re-Run Ten years ago, the Montreal Canadiens were a pretty bad team. Yanic Perreault was the top scorer, with just 56 points. Karl Dykhuis and Patrick Traverse took regular turns on D. Captain Saku Koivu missed all but the last three regular-season games while fighting cancer. Until the last two weeks of the schedule, it looked like the Canadiens would go a fourth consecutive year with no playoffs. I remember that desperate stretch run leading up to the 2002 post-season very well. Goaltender Jose Theodore stood on his head for the last three weeks of the season, running off seven consecutive wins that culminated in the unexpected comeback of Koivu. The captain's return sparked a rush of emotion and passionate support for the team, and even though the Canadiens barely scraped into eighth place, the stellar goaltending of Theodore and the players' new-found sense of purpose, pushed them past the first-place Bruins in the opening round.
Then came Carolina. The Habs got the split they wanted on the road against the Hurricanes. Back at the Bell Centre, they won a very tight Game Three in overtime. Game Four would set the tone for the remainder of the series. Either the Canadiens would put a stranglehold on it, pushing the Hurricanes to the brink, or they'd lose and let the 'Canes back in it. Rarely have I been as angry during a Habs game as I was that night. The Canadiens had a 3-0 lead after two and looked like they'd take the game easily. Then, at 2:40 of the third period, Stephane Quintal took a cross-checking penalty.
That wouldn't have been too bad, as the Habs had killed off four previous penalties (two of them to Quintal) earlier in the game. Unfortunately, that's when Michel Therrien decided to lose his mind. In an angry tirade to protest the call, he bellowed obscenities across the ice at referee Kerry Fraser. Fraser, not being one to sit quietly and take any crap, assessed Therrien a bench penalty for abuse of officials. The Hurricanes scored on the two-man advantage and got back into the game. That goal turned momentum entirely in their favour. They scored another halfway through the period and Erik Cole, Habs Killer, sent it to OT with 41 seconds to go. Three minutes into the extra period, Niklas Wallin, on a shot to the heart of the Habs playoff hopes, scored to tie the series. Two thumpings later, the 'Canes sent the Canadiens packing and rolled all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. For the Habs, that loss in Game Four erased the fragile confidence built by Koivu's return, Theodore's excellent play and the victory over the Bruins. I, as so many fans did, blamed Therrien. I hated him all that summer, and when he got fired the next season, I was glad.
That's why I decided to take a day to absorb this hiring before immediately condemning it, as my instinct demanded. A day later, I still don't like the hiring much. History, when made, can't be rewritten. However, the beauty of sport is that there's always another season, another game, another period, and each of those "anothers" gives a team a chance to make new history. While I strongly feel the choice of coach doesn't match the fresh, new feeling we were getting from the front-office revamp, he is the coach.
Marc Bergevin has decided to go the Therrien route, so we, as fans, either throw in the towel based on history and condemn the G.M.'s first big move, or we get behind it and give it a chance. I don't really feel like giving it a chance, but that choice is more palatable than looking at a fresh new season with instant pessimism. So, with that in mind, I will wait until the Canadiens are 20 games into the new season before I say anything else about Michel Therrien. Perhaps Bergevin is smarter and more hopeful than most of us. And, perhaps, Therrien really has learned from the mistakes in his past and has developed into the kind of coach who won't ruin P.K.Subban or divide the team when it most needs unification.
It's wrong to judge a person based on a temper tantrum ten years in the past, even if that moment cost his team dearly. I'll have more to say around mid-November. Until then, Therrien has a better cast than he had in his first go-round in Montreal. It's up to him to prove he's got the tools and the smarts to handle it.
|
|
|
Post by blny on Jun 8, 2012 4:42:48 GMT -5
MMMmmmmmm spam.
|
|
|
Post by UberCranky on Jun 8, 2012 5:18:49 GMT -5
Mmmmmm........another BAN.
All these a-holes are managing to do is add notches to our ban buttons. Nobody actually gives a crap about their crap.
|
|
|
Post by Willie Dog on Jun 8, 2012 6:35:26 GMT -5
While he wasn’t my “favorite candidate” I am more than willing to get behind Michel 100% and see the positives. The more I read about Therrien, the more I listen to him, the more I think he can provide something. Deep down I feel what this team has been lacking a lot of, is a sense of pride, a sense of urgency, a hunger to be the best. Through the years a complacent feeling hit this team and ego talk have prevailed (player X not liking player Y, clique A doesn’t like clique B, or player Z is not contributing but let’s play him anyway because he makes x amount of dollars or players being allowed to go through season long slumps…). Lots of stories, lots of excuses, lots of talks, not much result. We did have a “cerebral” coach in Martin, famous for being a strategic full-proof system coach and all but at the end of the day it only produced a bland team with no identity and no guts. My expectations of Michel is that he will work at another level, beyond the Xs and Os and line construction, I believe this team badly needs a restored pride, accountability and a got shot of testosterone. I don’t expect it to be pretty every night, but I’d like for it to be exciting and for us to shake off that “easiest team in the league to play against” tag. Those are my realistic expectations… …on AC last night Therrien said we need to get bigger, we need to get tougher and we need commitment. Talk is cheap. Sure. But while Therrien might be a lot of things, a bullSaperlipopetteter he isn’t. …oh…and 25th coach for the 25th cup, that sounds just about right doesn’t it. Excellent post Doc. It will also be dependent on who he chooses as his assistants. If he chooses Larry and a guy like Veilleux, then I will be thrilled, but I expect him to choose people he knows and is comfortable with. I also like the fact that MB and MT will meet regularly and often. I am hoping he brings in a puck possession style of game, which we are better built for, than a dump and chase.
|
|
|
Post by Willie Dog on Jun 8, 2012 6:41:47 GMT -5
...Jacques Martin's comment on AC last night was pretty telling, he said the team isn't bad per say but it should get better by substracting a few players ... And then add missing elements. The whole panel laughed when he said it (and he didn't mentioned names). I presume they're mocking Gomez.....and Martin is a hypocrite if he joined in because Gainey, Gauthier, and he re-stocked the cupboard after those 10 UFAs were allowed to walk. Martin "had a blank slate" one article said, and had a big say in who was acquired. (What I'd really like to know is the chain of events that led to McDonagh being thrown into that deal. Obviously Gainey was okay with it. But were Gauthier and Martin on board? I can still hear Sather laughing.) And if JM thinks the club "isn't bad per se"....well, I'm doubly glad he's gone. Is he still our million dollar scout? From what I have read, PG had no use for McDonough... he saw him in 1 game and didn't like him... 1 game!!
|
|
|
Post by Forum Ghost on Jun 8, 2012 15:57:05 GMT -5
Cook: Therrien returns to pressure cooker with CanadiensIt is the toughest job in sports. Tougher than managing the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Tougher than coaching football at Notre Dame or Alabama. Tougher than coaching basketball at Duke or Kentucky. — Good luck to Michel Therrien, the not-so-new coach of the Montreal Canadiens. "I know the market. I know the expectations," Therrien said over the telephone this week. Therrien is from Montreal. He coached the Canadiens for parts of three seasons from 2000-03. He moved back to Montreal last summer from Pittsburgh and did broadcasting work for French television. No one knows the market or the expectations better than Therrien. Good luck wishes still are in order. Therrien takes over a Montreal club that finished 28th out of 30 National Hockey League teams this past season. He must please a demanding fan base that isn't happy with anything less than the Stanley Cup. The fans are especially angry now because their team was so bad and because management had the nerve to finish the season with an interim coach -- Randy Cunneyworth -- who doesn't speak French. That won't be a problem for Therrien. That's something, right? Don't get the wrong idea. I think Therrien was a great hire. He did strong work when he coached the Pittsburgh Penguins, taking over a team that was in disarray in December 2005 and leading it to the Cup final in June 2008. He still might be coach if star defenseman Sergei Gonchar hadn't missed the first half of the 2008-09 season with a shoulder injury. Therrien was fired in February 2009 with the Penguins in 10th place, five points out of a playoff spot. Dan Bylsma took over and led the team to the Cup championship. Therrien deserved another chance. He came close to getting the job in New Jersey and Minnesota. "I was always optimistic and always had faith," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself." Therrien talked of "good chemistry" with Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin. The two met three times in the past few weeks, finalizing a deal Sunday night during a barbecue at Therrien's home. Therrien has a three-year contract. He beat out Marc Crawford, who won the Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, for the job. Not all of Montreal has reached out to embrace Therrien. According to the newspapers, fans aren't thrilled about bringing back a guy who failed the first time. Therrien is one of nine men who failed as the Montreal coach since Jacques Demers led the Canadiens to the Cup in 1993. Therrien pointed out it's a much different Canadiens team now. There's new ownership. Only one Montreal player -- defenseman Andrei Markov -- played for him the first time. Most of all, Therrien said, he's a new man. "I was 38 then. I'm a different guy. I'm a better coach now. I've learned so much. That's a big plus for me." Working in Montreal television should help Therrien do a better job of communicating in two languages with fans and media. That's a must in Montreal. As far as coaching, Therrien seems willing to soften his edges just a bit when it comes to dealing with his players. He has a reputation of being a tough guy. That goes back to the first time he coached the Canadiens, but it was magnified early in his time with the Penguins. Remember his infamous rant in January 2006 when he called their defensemen "soft" and accused them of trying to be the worst defensive corps in the league? "I don't like that reputation. I don't like hearing that I'm so tough. I don't believe that," Therrien said. "I want my players to be successful. I want to get the most out of them. I'm demanding on work ethic. I'm demanding on fitness. I'm demanding on a huge commitment. I'm demanding on discipline on and off the ice. I don't want guys to be afraid of that. That's the only way you can improve. That's the only way you can be successful." I did say soften the edges just a little bit, remember? Therrien is going to be his own man and do things his way. He would be a fool to try to be somebody he isn't. Therrien's way worked for the Penguins for a long time. "I had to change the culture there," he said. "I tried to bring work ethic and structure to the young guys that we had. I feel very good about where that team was when I came to Pittsburgh and where it is today." Therrien said the first thing on his to-do list with the Canadiens is to reach out to captain Brian Gionta. He long has believed the coach-captain relationship is the most important in hockey. It's no surprise he became close to Sidney Crosby after making him the youngest captain in NHL history with the Penguins. He said Crosby was one of the first people to contact him to congratulate him on his new gig. "He was pleased for me." It says something about Therrien and his image that players such as Crosby, Max Talbot and Rob Scuderi were quick to call him and say thanks after the Penguins won the Cup in 2009.Therrien didn't make any predictions this week, but he had a couple when he did his first interview not long after the Penguins made that run in '09. "I'm more convinced than ever that my recipe is good. I know I will coach again. I know I will win a Cup." I don't know Montreal or the expectations nearly as well as Therrien, but I'll offer a little advice anyway: Win that Cup quickly. www.therepublic.com/view/story/hkn-therrien/hkn-therrien
|
|