No doubt it's difficult. Especially with a Coach like Laviolette and the position he was in. Sitting a top player in a key situation could be putting the noose on your own neck. But that situation has changed a little now.
- MJL

If you win the game, you're a celebrated no-nonsense bench boss who holds everybody accountable.

If you lose the game, you're Torts benching/scratching Brad Richards with the season on the line, finding yourself without a job.

The gig is thankless unless you hoist the Cup, or pull a Paul MacLean.

How is Berube with his time out utilization?

I'm gonna miss the Jam....
- Jimmygrazz

shouldn't be hard. it's been missing for a long time.

You bring him back to give it a chance to change, and for adjustments to be made. I have no problems that they brought Laviolette back this Season. I think the GM has put a good roster on the ice each and every Season.
- MJL

Nah, he had that chance and he blew it. Is it fair for the GM to have specific conversations about system play and the changes he was going to make going forward? If Lava told Holmer that the plan moving forward was what were seeing the first three games, why should Holmer be cool with that?

I realize it's not quite as firewagon as it used to be, but the breakout is a major issue, the handling of the young players a major issue, the continued tolerance of the same mistakes, a major issue...were these discussions had in the offseason?

Also didn't Lava say something like "were not changing the way we play" or something like that in the offseason?

A GM should know that he has a coach that is set in his ways that have proven to be his undoing before.

If you win the game, you're a celebrated no-nonsense bench boss who holds everybody accountable.

If you lose the game, you're Torts benching/scratching Brad Richards with the season on the line, finding yourself without a job.

The gig is thankless unless you hoist the Cup, or pull a Paul MacLean.
- Tomahawk

Exactly.

Exactly -- it's a different game now than that.

Adam Oates never benched Alex Ovechkin after that weak start he had last season. Never ripped him, either. Ovechkin paid him back with an MVP season.

It's easy to bag skate guys in the AHL. This is an entirely different deal.
- AllInForFlyers

I think you can still bag skate the NHL players. I think his point was about decreasing icetime, which I agree is hard to do at this level.

find something funny?
- 2Real

no.

Berube's been a head guy (for a season, at least) in the AHL and has been an assistant for 7 years.

7 years!

John Stevens, by contrast, coached 6 years in the AHL and was an assistant before he got the head job.

I would submit that, qualification wise, Berube is every bit as qualified as John Stevens when John Stevens got his shot.

I'm guessing if Berube wasn't perceived as a meat head, the story would be "guy works his way through organization to finally realize dream of becoming a head coach".

Fact is, no one knows what kind of coach Berube will be.
- johndewar

You're right. We'll see in a while.

I'm looking for a burst of energy and a lot more hustle out of the gate. No one knows exactly how long that'll last for though. Sooner or later it has to come down to the ability of the coach to coach.

I'd much rather have gone to someone with a more successful head coaching seasoning. If I'm proven to be wrong, and I sincerely hope I am, I'll be the first to say so,

I didn't realize every 36 year old player was guaranteed to end up like Briere. Good to know.
- Feanor

Yup, all those late-30's superstars in the league who remain super-productive... Marty St. Louis and? Hmmm....

How is Berube with his time out utilization?
- funmaster18

probably better than andy reid.

Not necessarily.

Different voice, different game plan, doling out different responsibilities. A whole new attitude. A winning background. The spotlight would be squarely on the players.

What's really different now? Same voices. Perhaps a little tweaking of the game plan, and a some great sound bites.
- 77rams

It's not the same voice from the head Coach. And assistants push the message of the head coach, not their own. Now Berube gets to push his message. And a new attitude.

I think we need to wait and see what changes are made in the game plan. Hell, very few even recognized the changes Laviolette made this Season. Probably because of how they played. But the changes game plan wise were there.

And the spotlight is now clearly on the players.

(frank)ing A right. If I were Berube I'd start off today with a bag skate. I'd tell them all that the line positions are up in the air starting today. Pick lines out of a hat. Whoever is showing they want top line duties will start that way on Tuesday.

Then I'd bag skate Coburn again
- Just5

I like the idea. Like I said earlier. Would love Lappy to walk in with a real estate agent broucher, Plane ticket to adarondak, Pair of Tweezers to remove the wood from your butt, and a Flyers Jersey. Look the players in the face and say, "You will earn one of these before the end of today. Which one is up to you."

They should have went for the complete overhaul when they still had Bobrovsky. They changed gears again instead and now they are lost in ambiguity.

I think you can still bag skate the NHL players. I think his point was about decreasing icetime, which I agree is hard to do at this level.
- Hextall271

The bag skate is everybody's go-to after watching Miracle, lol.

I like the idea. Like I said earlier. Would love Lappy to walk in with a real estate agent broucher, Plane ticket to adarondak, Pair of Tweezers to remove the wood from your butt, and a Flyers Jersey. Look the players in the face and say, "You will earn one of these before the end of today. Which one is up to you."
- youarewrong

I think the tweezers would freak them out the most.. hahahah

If you win the game, you're a celebrated no-nonsense bench boss who holds everybody accountable.

If you lose the game, you're Torts benching/scratching Brad Richards with the season on the line, finding yourself without a job.

The gig is thankless unless you hoist the Cup, or pull a Paul MacLean.
- Tomahawk

Berube is going to have some space from management to crack the whip. In the end, winning is everything of course. But right now, Berube is going to get a long leash to do it his way for a while, before he gets to a point that Tortorella was at.

Because they want to play, and want to win. No player wants to sit or be embarrased by a benching. I don't think the Flyers players were going through the motions. There's a difference between playing hard, and maximizing your effort level, and matching and exceeding your opponents compete level. There's an extra gear that is in there. When the opponent raises it's game, you need to respond.
- MJL

It works with some players... Dustin Penner could care less if he plays 25-mins a game or not at all... he's still going to have a great time w/ the boys after the game.

The bag skate is everybody's go-to after watching Miracle, lol.
- Tomahawk

Yep.. At least I want to see the team start playing like they care as much as we do. Holy God they've been vanilla to watch since last year's beginning.

What happened to the fire we saw which got them through Pittsburgh in the first round of 2012?

no.
- hammarby31

carry on then

carry on then
- 2Real

gym time. later, wayne.

Nah, he had that chance and he blew it. Is it fair for the GM to have specific conversations about system play and the changes he was going to make going forward? If Lava told Holmer that the plan moving forward was what were seeing the first three games, why should Holmer be cool with that?

I realize it's not quite as firewagon as it used to be, but the breakout is a major issue, the handling of the young players a major issue, the continued tolerance of the same mistakes, a major issue...were these discussions had in the offseason?

Also didn't Lava say something like "were not changing the way we play" or something like that in the offseason?

A GM should know that he has a coach that is set in his ways that have proven to be his undoing before.
- Just5

One, I didn't state that Holmgren should be cool with the early results.

And secondly, Laviolette made significant changes from the way they played last year systems wise. It just wasn't executed very well, nor was the compete level there that it needs to succeed.

Laviolette was fired more for the lack of compete then he was for systems issues in my opinion.

It works with some players... Dustin Penner could care less if he plays 25-mins a game or not at all... he's still going to have a great time w/ the boys after the game.
- Tomahawk

Then you weed those players out. Which is part of the process.

Yep.. At least I want to see the team start playing like they care as much as we do. Holy God they've been vanilla to watch since last year's beginning.

What happened to the fire we saw which got them through Pittsburgh in the first round of 2012?
- Hextall271

I think Boudreau said it in the first HBO 24/7... all his friends call him up after a loss and tell him to "skate 'em till they puke!" after that movie came out.

Been thinking about this a lot today, and this would be my suggestion for going forward from here. I would look to move Coburn. At times he can play really well, but he continues to have long stretches where his play is simply weak and uninspired. It happened under Stevens, it happened under Lavy and it will happen if not right away at some point, under Berube.

If Calgary is really looking for help on D, then offer Coburn for Glencross and a 2nd. Dmen are at a premium so it may be a doable deal. I would even settle for Glencross and a 3rd to get the deal done. Glencross would be a great 2nd/3rd line wing.

Now a lot of people seem to want to write off both B. Schenn and Couturier. Before you do, I think B. Schenn should go back to playing center (his natural position) and Couturier should at least get a chance to play with some better wingers. So, if you make the Coburn trade, I would try the following lines:

Hartnell-Lacavalier-Giroux
Giroux has shown the ability to play the wing and Lacavalier can bring to this line what it has been missing since Jagr left. Plus it allows for Voracek to help another line, which brings me to
Simmonds-Schenn-Voracek
Simmonds and Voracek have shown nice chemisty on the pp and this line would be a very good mix of speed, skill and grit.
Glencross-Couturier-Read
Finally Coots gets to play with skill on both of his wings. Read and Glencross should mesh with him nicely.
Talbot-Hall-Rinaldo
Perfectly adequate 4th line.

On D I would have:
Timonen-Schenn
Streit-Mezaros
Grossmann-Gus

Timonen and Schenn were pretty effective last year and should be fine together. Mezaros played well in the past with Carle and since Carle's game is similar in some respects to Streits it's worth a shot. And finally Grossmann and Gus is a nice mix of size and grit with speed and skill. When it's time to shorten the bench and go into shut down mode late in a game, they could go with.
Timonen-Schenn
Grossmann-Mezaros
and the other 2 could be spotted in for offensive zone faceoffs. Also if Gus continues to develop/improve he could push Mezaros and move up on the depth chart.

Either way, more changes than just a new head coach are needed, so why not give it a shot?
- BiggE

I was thinking the same thing, I think Giroux would be great on the wing!

I was thinking the same thing, I think Giroux would be great on the wing!

- Streit2ThePoint

I mean, he is a winger after all. It takes away some of his time/space and ability to create to either side, but it does solve the logjam in the middle. Schenn and Couturier need to be in the middle of the ice, IMO.