His overbearing temper may work for a while on the younger players, but the more exprerianced players like Forsberg won't stand for it and will continue to play the way they play irregardless of his taskmaster ways. He was fired for a reason and now he is going to take a team from the depths? Prediction? Fired again.
Coaches typically follow this arc: * Season 1 is the honeymoon. New coach replacing disliked old coach is a breath of fresh air for players, who play better, no matter what the coach actually brings to the table. * Season 2 is the relationship. Some conflicts, some good times. Results vary depending on the players and coach's abilities. * Season 3 is the breakup. Players are tired of coach's methods, they start dragging their feet to get him fired. If they're lucky, they succeed during the season. If not, coach is fired at the end of a disappointing season. A new coach is brought in, and the arc begins anew. So Hitchcock will get better results than Gallant. But man, can he stop saying awful things like this: "They've got people like Sergei Fedorov, Adam Foote and Fredrik Modin who know what it takes to win." Fredrik Modin knows what it takes to win? Puh-leeze. One Cup ring does not make a proven winner.
After being fired from Philly, I figured we'd be seeing him back next season in the Western League coaching major junior again. Shows what I know, huh?
I still miss Hitch coaching the Stars. He led them to their only Stanley Cup win and was terrific in the media. He also seemed to have such a deft touch handling the team I was stunned they canned him.
So by your scale, qbert72, is Lindy Ruff the equivalent of one of those old 50th anniversary couples you see in the occassional human interest piece on the news?
