Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Assessing Berube

Good write up Bill.
I didn't expect much from the Flyers this year from the team on paper and their play in the preseason. I think Berube has done a great job and there needs to be player changes for him to be more effective and get his full game plan. With that being said, I don't think he's been amazing yet but he's certainly not the reason we're losing games.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Assessing Berube
- bmeltzer

the way i see it is if they had stayed w/ lavy there is a strong possibility that the team would be right around where they are now. it would be difficult for anyone to do a markedly better job with the pieces the team has and does not have; most notably, the absence of chris pronger. i think it would have been all but impossible to replace him, but i think holmgren needed to do something more than he did in order to try to compensate for that loss. i wish the chief well but until we get help on the roster the team will hover around the .500 mark plus or minus a couple games

I do not think the problem ever was with the coaching staff. it was the boobs running the show Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren. Even as a Pens fan I don't want to see the Flyers suck this bad. It takes alot of the fire out of the games.

They'll make the playoffs this

I do not think the problem ever was with the coaching staff. it was the boobs running the show Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren. Even as a Pens fan I don't want to see the Flyers suck this bad. It takes alot of the fire out of the games.
- cg17247

They don't suck, just very inconsistent.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Assessing Berube
- bmeltzer

i had serious doubts at first about berube's ability to motivate. the doubts aren't totally gone but i feel a little better about it.

the way i see it is if they had stayed w/ lavy there is a strong possibility that the team would be right around where they are now. it would be difficult for anyone to do a markedly better job with the pieces the team has and does not have; most notably, the absence of chris pronger. i think it would have been all but impossible to replace him, but i think holmgren needed to do something more than he did in order to try to compensate for that loss. i wish the chief well but until we get help on the roster the team will hover around the .500 mark plus or minus a couple games
- hogweed

The team was never prepared to start games with lavy, always down early and had to claw their way back into games.

Great points about the whole matter of needing an "outsider", whatever that is supposed to mean in 2013. I think professional sports leagues tend to be somewhat insular in nature, as a whole, so to me, an outsider would be reaching down to junior hockey or even over to Europe (as Columbus did).

Question: Would you consider when Clarkie hired Ken Hitchcock to be an "outside hire" given Hitch's previous stint here as an assistant?

i had serious doubts at first about berube's ability to motivate. the doubts aren't totally gone but i feel a little better about it.
- -davies-

I was the opposite.

I had no doubts that Chief could fire them up. What I didn't expect was for him to kinda call out guys in interviews (as Bill alluded to) after subpar performances. You'd think as an ex-player, he'd tiptoe a bit more, but he doesn't seem to (unlike Lavvy, who kinda did, IMO).

My doubts with Chief lie with tactical, in game decisions. I'd love to know how much of that he does versus what, say, John Paddock does.

They'll make the playoffs this
- LeftCoaster

I didn't think so early on, but given how bad this division is, they just might.

I was the opposite.

I had no doubts that Chief could fire them up. What I didn't expect was for him to kinda call out guys in interviews (as Bill alluded to) after subpar performances. You'd think as an ex-player, he'd tiptoe a bit more, but he doesn't seem to (unlike Lavvy, who kinda did, IMO).

My doubts with Chief lie with tactical, in game decisions. I'd love to know how much of that he does versus what, say, John Paddock does.
- johndewar

i never thought it would be a question for me when they hired him, but watching them roll over and die so many times after he took over made me very concerned.

I do not think the problem ever was with the coaching staff.
- cg17247

Well you're dead wrong.

Well you're dead wrong.
- Feanor

oh ish

Good assessment of Berube. So what is his grade. I think we have seen enough to get a good idea.

I would give him a B+. He took the worst team in the east, and made them a playoff contendor. I'm not convinced he can do any better with this roster. They just aren't exceptional in any area. We dont have a superstar goalie. Mason has been nice though. We dont have an explosive dangerous offense. And we dont have a shut-down defense. IMO they have average everything.

I don't know what it will take to make the Flyers be more discipline with penalties. It seems like they lead the league in minors every year for the last 10 years.

I think the Flyers needed a coaching change and getting rid of Lavy was a good idea. The Flyers didn't have the right players to play his up-tempo game plan. He wanted the defense to bring up the puck and hit the wingers in full stride. Unfortunately the Flyers defense was filled with big, slow defenseman, instead of smooth skating D-men that had great first passes. It was like asking home run hitters to bunt and punch and Judy hitters to swing for the fences. The breakdown of his system created too many odd man chances. Lavy should have made adjustments in his game plan, but he refused to budge and it cost him his job. Berube's game plan better suits the talent he has on the ice. Hopefully the Flyers put a little more effort into team defense and things may work out? The goaltending this year has improved, too. It seems weird to watch a Flyers game and not be overly concerned about our goaltending situation....

Dupuis likely out for season. tough break for the Beaks

I don't know what it will take to make the Flyers be more discipline with penalties. It seems like they lead the league in minors every year for the last 10 years.
- PhillySportsGuy

Part of the problem is the guys that always take penalities dont have to kill them. Hartnell, Schenn, Simmonds, Rinaldo (until recently).

I think the Flyers needed a coaching change and getting rid of Lavy was a good idea. The Flyers didn't have the right players to play his up-tempo game plan. He wanted the defense to bring up the puck and hit the wingers in full stride. Unfortunately the Flyers defense was filled with big, slow defenseman, instead of smooth skating D-men that had great first passes. It was like asking home run hitters to bunt and punch and Judy hitters to swing for the fences. The breakdown of his system created too many odd man chances. Lavy should have made adjustments in his game plan, but he refused to budge and it cost him his job. Berube's game plan better suits the talent he has on the ice. Hopefully the Flyers put a little more effort into team defense and things may work out? The goaltending this year has improved, too. It seems weird to watch a Flyers game and not be overly concerned about our goaltending situation....
- Thors-Hammer

This is a very good point. But another reason he needed to lose his job is because he lost the players. Players being over-weight and not working is a huge indication the coach lost his impact on the team.

Part of the problem is the guys that always take penalities dont have to kill them. Hartnell, Schenn, Simmonds, Rinaldo (until recently).
- youarewrong

John Wooden always said the bench is a coaches most useful punishment

Dupuis likely out for season. tough break for the Beaks
- wilsonecho91

awww ain't that just too bad

This is a very good point. But another reason he needed to lose his job is because he lost the players. Players being over-weight and not working is a huge indication the coach lost his impact on the team.
- youarewrong

I agree. I think the team just totally tuned Lavi out. His system wasn't helping, but the team developed terrible habits of standing around and waiting. No NHL system requires players to stand and wait for the puck to come to them.

I was the opposite.

I had no doubts that Chief could fire them up. What I didn't expect was for him to kinda call out guys in interviews (as Bill alluded to) after subpar performances. You'd think as an ex-player, he'd tiptoe a bit more, but he doesn't seem to (unlike Lavvy, who kinda did, IMO).

My doubts with Chief lie with tactical, in game decisions. I'd love to know how much of that he does versus what, say, John Paddock does.
- johndewar

My feeling was that Homer, knowing his time was coming to an end, wanted to give a good friend and a good organizational soldier a shot.

Though the team had fared better since Berube took over, they still are far from fundamentally sound. And all the extra skating, and all the blunt sound bites to the press unfortunately won't eliminate that.

I'm not sure if many quality "outside" coaches would've considered the Flyers as an ideal situation anyway after Lava was cut loose. Once this year is over (assuming the team doesn't go far in the PO's), Mr. Snyder will give Homer a new title and hand the reigns over to Hextall. Ron will most likely want to hire his own coach.

I was initially skeptical but I think Chief has done a very good job.
He is using the players he has, to their best advantage, for the most part.

This team doesn't have the puck carrying skill and speed to play a press offense all the time. Getting a forward to stay high in the zone has helped defensively, although they won't score as much. The team they have can make life difficult for the opponents by winning the neutral zone and transitioning to offense off turnovers. They have given up fewer odd man chances, although that is increasing a bit lately.

I also like how he rotates the goalies better then the way Lavi did it.