So is AV.Tiger wrote:Last time I looked Newell Brown was a Gillis hiring...You think AV can bypass his boss Gillis ?
You can't seriously think that a. the head coach doesn't exercise some level of control over his assistants and that b. even if he does not, if he went to the GM that he'd find out he's hamstrung trying to make coaching decisions for his own team by a coach underneath him?
While I am at it..
What colour glasses does it take to see a 25% drop in production (from their peak in 2010-11, less than 10% drop from last year) as "about 1/2"?Tiger wrote:So lets examine with something other than rose collored glasses exactly what AV has to work with ( Yeah the Dude has a point )..
a #1 line that is producing at about 1/2 what it used to...
No #2 line.. Booth, Kesler both out..
In fact at even strength their production has only decreased about 10-15% during that time. During that time games in the west have become notably tighter, we've seen suffocating defensive teams achieve great success and it's no surprise that scorers in this conference are not thriving.
The powerplay production has dropped by about half from the high water mark to this year but 2/5 of that powerplay have been removed so it's to be expected they are hampered right now..
Anyway I actually agree that the coaching staff does not have a lot to work with, they have a first line and beyond that injuries have decimated the forward group this season, couple that with the gamble Mike Gillis took down the middle and it's a pretty ugly lineup AV has to ice every night.
That being said, for the "AV's time has come" folks it's as much about a lack of success over what, seven years now as it is about a lack of success right now. Or it's about how it is time for a new voice in the room. Or it's not about results at all and they've hated AV for years.