some things...
Dec 4, 2002 12:23:09 GMT -5
Post by DougalMaCleod on Dec 4, 2002 12:23:09 GMT -5
Well, the sparks are flying!
Who do we blame? YES We have the right to blame somebody, we are the paying public, even if we aren't at the games.
I'd like to blame MT, he's is an idiot IMO. But unfortunately, when i think of our roster, it's not fair to blame him alone....let's go back...back in time, to when hockey people ran our beloved habs...
Our farm team and NHL team played the same game. We placed/drafted/trained our young players to fill specific positions on our team. We didn't have positions as much as we had roles...."Lambert, your jobs is to cause turnovers. Turnovers are an important part of the game. On the power play, you are to stand in front of the net, standing in front of the net is an important part of the game." And that (simplistic as it sounds) were what were expected from Lambert. If he followed these general guidelines, his position was secure. Every "position" on the team had an underlying role, like an apprentice carpenter, you were expected to fill that role. Now hockey has evolved, and other than Jacques Lemaire, who remembers this? You don't need or require 10 fifty goal scores to be successful, you need to develop your players to fill the roles that lead to a successful recipe for winning. Of coarse, the more talented the player filling that role, the more successful you're going to be, but talent alone does not win hockey games careful planning does. A winning recipe has to come from the GM and filter through to every other member of the franchise, from coach to water boy in the AHL.
Pressures: Since the world of hockey is so diverse, it's a complicated thing to convince a player he's not required to be the next Rocket, that his role is a simple worker bee. If a players falls into the worker bee category, his agent wont have the stats to make him richer beyond belief and it's the organizations responsibility to award him a fair contract. Can that be done in this day and age?
So back to our habs, we obviously have too many players to fill the same roles or only capable of filling the same roles. The players that can potentially fill other roles, are being used, and have bee being used for may years now, to fill those same roles, in fact, IMO, it's a free-for-all. "Kilger, you go out there hit people and score 30 goals, and fight, and back check, and block shots, and...and...". What? you have no points in the last 3 games? ...ride the pine....". TOO much confusion. "Kilger go out there and Hit people, cause turn overs, stand in front of the net on the power play. Do this, and you will have a spot every night and we will be happy." I personally think that Kilger needs this kind of direction, and who knows, once he fulfills this role, he may be more fitting for another role, either way, for this role he is well equipped and should blossom. At the same time, it's filling a role we desperately need filled. Ward is another player who can fill a role with this team, but we want him to score 35 goals while doing it, come on, give the guy a break. The problem isn't Ward, it's other guys,,,say Audette etc. who aren't filling their roles, so we take it out on guys like Ward. "We game him a chance and he didn't produce.." No wonder!
So, who to blame....Years of misdirection. Savard and company are now the people we must turn to correct our situation. Were we in a better position 3 years ago? Remember, this team had seasons of 500 man games lost to injury etc...? I think we might have been, if only for the reasons that Houle appeared to be getting the hang of things, remembering his heritage, and AV was far better than MT, oh, and I was never a BIG AV fan.."we out chanced them 4-2 but lost...." But still, i'd rather see him than MT.
Oh, and by the way, If I see Riberio on the point during another power play, i'm turning off the T.V.
No solutions, is Savard on the right track? I don't know yet, he has to maintain a team for ticket buyers today while building for tomorrow. He has, however, kept things dangling far too long, and he is not getting any help, IMO, from his coaches. Unlike Ottawa, where Martin seems to have a feel for players and exploit their strengths and weaknesses, which allows for a decent assessment of a player, MT has none of these qualities. He was part of the problem in the AHL, and now he's part of the problem in the NHL.
Who do we blame? YES We have the right to blame somebody, we are the paying public, even if we aren't at the games.
I'd like to blame MT, he's is an idiot IMO. But unfortunately, when i think of our roster, it's not fair to blame him alone....let's go back...back in time, to when hockey people ran our beloved habs...
Our farm team and NHL team played the same game. We placed/drafted/trained our young players to fill specific positions on our team. We didn't have positions as much as we had roles...."Lambert, your jobs is to cause turnovers. Turnovers are an important part of the game. On the power play, you are to stand in front of the net, standing in front of the net is an important part of the game." And that (simplistic as it sounds) were what were expected from Lambert. If he followed these general guidelines, his position was secure. Every "position" on the team had an underlying role, like an apprentice carpenter, you were expected to fill that role. Now hockey has evolved, and other than Jacques Lemaire, who remembers this? You don't need or require 10 fifty goal scores to be successful, you need to develop your players to fill the roles that lead to a successful recipe for winning. Of coarse, the more talented the player filling that role, the more successful you're going to be, but talent alone does not win hockey games careful planning does. A winning recipe has to come from the GM and filter through to every other member of the franchise, from coach to water boy in the AHL.
Pressures: Since the world of hockey is so diverse, it's a complicated thing to convince a player he's not required to be the next Rocket, that his role is a simple worker bee. If a players falls into the worker bee category, his agent wont have the stats to make him richer beyond belief and it's the organizations responsibility to award him a fair contract. Can that be done in this day and age?
So back to our habs, we obviously have too many players to fill the same roles or only capable of filling the same roles. The players that can potentially fill other roles, are being used, and have bee being used for may years now, to fill those same roles, in fact, IMO, it's a free-for-all. "Kilger, you go out there hit people and score 30 goals, and fight, and back check, and block shots, and...and...". What? you have no points in the last 3 games? ...ride the pine....". TOO much confusion. "Kilger go out there and Hit people, cause turn overs, stand in front of the net on the power play. Do this, and you will have a spot every night and we will be happy." I personally think that Kilger needs this kind of direction, and who knows, once he fulfills this role, he may be more fitting for another role, either way, for this role he is well equipped and should blossom. At the same time, it's filling a role we desperately need filled. Ward is another player who can fill a role with this team, but we want him to score 35 goals while doing it, come on, give the guy a break. The problem isn't Ward, it's other guys,,,say Audette etc. who aren't filling their roles, so we take it out on guys like Ward. "We game him a chance and he didn't produce.." No wonder!
So, who to blame....Years of misdirection. Savard and company are now the people we must turn to correct our situation. Were we in a better position 3 years ago? Remember, this team had seasons of 500 man games lost to injury etc...? I think we might have been, if only for the reasons that Houle appeared to be getting the hang of things, remembering his heritage, and AV was far better than MT, oh, and I was never a BIG AV fan.."we out chanced them 4-2 but lost...." But still, i'd rather see him than MT.
Oh, and by the way, If I see Riberio on the point during another power play, i'm turning off the T.V.
No solutions, is Savard on the right track? I don't know yet, he has to maintain a team for ticket buyers today while building for tomorrow. He has, however, kept things dangling far too long, and he is not getting any help, IMO, from his coaches. Unlike Ottawa, where Martin seems to have a feel for players and exploit their strengths and weaknesses, which allows for a decent assessment of a player, MT has none of these qualities. He was part of the problem in the AHL, and now he's part of the problem in the NHL.