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Is Carlyle’s number up?
January 23rd, 2009, 10:37 am · 17 Comments · posted by Mark Whicker, ocregister.com
I haven’t heard one peep about whether Randy Carlyle is entering his final days or weeks as the Ducks coach.
Nor do I think he should be the main blame target for this long outbreak of mediocrity. The Ducks have been plagued by vacations, injuries, suspensions and just lackluster play over the past season and a half. In spurts they still remember how they did it in 2007.
But just take a glance at the All-Star break standings.
There are our heroes, in 8th place in the West. They have 51 points (as do sixth-seeded Edmonton and seventh-seeded Vancouver) and are 22 behind San Jose.
They’re also two behind Phoenix and two ahead of Columbus. That’s with a roster that features Ryan Getzlaf, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Corey Perry, Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer and occasionally Teemu Selanne.
They have a minus-one goal differential. They have played 49 games and won 23. And that’s not the worst of it. Those 49 games are the most in the Western Conference. Everyone else has games in hand, opportunities to win while the Ducks sit idle.
The Ducks are two points ahead of a Minnesota team that has only played 46 games. Therefore, the Wild could win those three games and be four points ahead of Anaheim.
And, oh yeah, 18 of the Ducks’ remaining 33 are on the road.
The NHL is a cyclical place right now. Ottawa and Pittsburgh, the past two Eastern champions, are nowhere. Dallas, which got to the Western finals last year, is worse off than the Ducks.
But the NHL also goes through coaches like chum. Carlyle is in a more precarious spot than many other coaches who have been asked to surrender their parking spot.
This is Carlyle’s fourth season. That’s a lot of meetings, practices, morning skates. He’s generally been good about sensing when to turn off the brimstone, about knowing the temperament of his town, but he is without doubt a hard driver.
It was Brian Burke’s belief that, no matter how good the coach is, his message eventually turns into a drone. “Like living next to the airport,” he said. “Somebody will say, ‘How can you stand living next to these planes?’ and you’ll say, ‘What planes?’ You tune it out.”
I’m not saying there’s going to be a press conference over the weekend. General manager Bob Murray is close with Carlyle. There is no heir apparent for Carlyle’s job that I’m aware of. Scotty Bowman probably isn’t available.
All I’m saying is that if you read that Carlyle has become the ex-coach of the Ducks, don’t treat it like an earthquake.
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17 Comments
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I agree. They tuned him out before the season started. Most of these guys have been with him for his entire run with the Ducks. It is time for a change and if things keep going down the drain, more changes should come. I’m talking about roster changes. The Ducks may be a big time “seller” this trade deadline.
Well… I really have to agree with what Burkie said, about tuning him out. but at the same time, after 4 years, shouldnt there be major respect, so much so that you DONT tune him out. Whatever, all I know is, at the this point, I think a new coach and Chris Pronger gone, may not be a bad move. But while there at that, they should maybe think about Giguere, Pahlson, Morrison and Moen. We could get some killer young guys for them, and REALLY have a team in only 2 or 3 years. With the way Ryan, Perry, Getzlaf, Hiller, Festerling and all the others youngsters are doing, I think it may be the best option at this point, considering this All Star roster we have right now is not performing, and getting a little worse as time goes by from the Glory Days.
With the way he’s shaken the lines up, it’s obvious Carlyle is feeling some heat. The Ducks are supposed to be a veteran team, and I don’t know if it’s the veterans that have tuned him out.
If I were to make a change to shake the team up, I’d trade Scott Niedermayer. Two reasons: 1) part fo the blame has to fall on the captain if a team isn’t responding to the coach; 2) he’s unrestricted this summer. He and his brother to Vancouver for Edler, Kesler, and several picks.
Babcocks message still seems to be getting across in Detroit…with the same coaching tenure.
^^^but detroit has soo much talent that they can get away with it. dont fire carlye…. yet. instead make some trades. hopefully once selanne comes back they can turn it around. injuries have killed anaheim this season. there are a bunch of UFA’s this season. anaheim needs to keep pahlsson and hopefully find a way to re-sign beauchemin even though he will probably test the market.
Its not the coach that is skating at half speed. I’d leave the younger guys up from the Chops and send the Veterans down. How long do you think they’d stay there before starting to do what they are paid to do? Keep the coach and dump the guys who are riding the large pay check.
Carlyle is partly at fault for bad coaching, but the ultimate blame lies with the players. I’m baffled when the Ducks are trailing by 1 or two late in the game and I keep seing Parros and Pahlsson on the ice. If I’m GM, the solution is to get rid of some dead weight. Kunitz, Moen, Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer and possibly Perry would all be available for the right price. I’m sick to death of seeing Perry take dumb penalties one after the other. He’s undisciplined and not worth the sporadic production you get out of him. If they decide to move guys, they need to get a player in return that is as good or better. None of this trading core players for 5th or 6th round draft picks. That’s just stupid.
Trade Perry??? No way. He and Getzlaf are the core of the club. I’d trade Giguerre if we could get a 2nd line offensive player back and a backup. Then put Hillier as the starter. Also dump Moen or Rob Niedermayer and promote Drew Miller to take their spot on the checking(shadow)line. When/If Teemu comes back they could still be dangerous.
If they cntinue to fade at the deadline then deal Pahlsson, Pronger, Scotty Niedermayer or Morrison for picks and prospects.
I think Brian Burke was overrated as a GM. I’m grateful we won the cup, but other than Pronger, he didn’t do much. Although I liked bringing in Scotty and dumping Fedorov. Perry and Getzy were already drafted. I knew not signing Penner and signing Bertuzzi was a mistake. Penner was the perfect fit for Perry and Getz.
I think that they have three issues:
1. They badly miss Beauchemain and Selanne, and their replacements really can’t play at a high level. Kevin Lowe was right in that Burkie left the cupboard somewhat bare for Murray and Carlyle as they’ve got nothing to backfill for the injuries. There have six all star players - Gelzlaff, Perry, Selanne, Ryan, R Niedermeyer and Pronger, and the rest are marginal at best. Morrison been a disaster, and the checking line rarely scores and doesn’t stop anybody else from scoring,. The other four D are really 6th or 7th D on a good team.
2. Their goaltending has been poor, and the need Giggy to play far better.
3. Team discipline sucks, as they take far too many stupid penalties at inopportune times. Perry can be an all star if he stops taking such terrible penalties, as he isn’t intimidating anyone right now. This is a coaching issue, as frequent offenders need to sit more often to drive the point home.
They need a goalie and perhaps should have tried to get Garon from the Oilers, and they need to upgrade their checking line, as the present guys aren’t getting it done. Finally, and most importantly, they need to acquire some talented youth in trades or as free agents, as there isn’t much in the current prospect pipeline.
Charlie is right on, although I think Giguere has been affected by exterior things. As for Crossy, saying Burke didn’t do much except get S. Niedermayer and Pronger is like saying Brad Pitt hasn’t had much luck with women except for Jennifer and Angelina.
Got to agree with Charlie as well on the D. Niedermayer and Pronger are legitimate #1 & 2 d-men. Unfortunately, we have to put Hedican, Festerling and any other rookie in #3 & 4 positions that they are clearly not capable of filling at this point. Without injuries, the defense would have been fine with Beauchemin and Huskins playing those minutes.
Also, discipline is fine yet we must improve the PK. Without an effective PK, we have to rely too much on the PP and 5-on-5 scoring.
Important stat PK% (rank)
2007 - 85.1 (5th best)
2008 - 83.1 (12th best)
2009 to date - 81.0 (16th best)
If this pace keeps up, we’ll all be frustrated and looking at a few vets gone at the trade deadline. Ownership can’t keep spending right up to the cap without better results.
I don’t believe the team has tuned Carlyle out. He has tuned them out. He is a one track coach. What worked to win the Stanley Cup simply doesn’t work in the subsequent seasons. The whole league is aware that the Ducks waste more time on the ice than just about any other team. They simply play an unproductive style game after game and their tactics are cast in stone. They resemble the Philistines throwing themselves against the fortress because they don’t have any imagination. When they do play a good game it’s because they use the neutral zone to their advantage and they check on offense and defense. The Ducks spend more time behind the opponents goal than they ever do in front. There is a tremendous about of labor involved in Ducks hockey with very little to show for it. Bobby Ryan and Scott Niedermayer exemplify the style and tactics of a successful franchis. Carlyle should also stop “tweaking” the lines. Years ago we had famous lines and they remained together except for injuries. I’m sure some of the players are dispirited about being forced to play in such an unproductive manner. They can, and will, play for Carlyle if he would change his tactics. I’m fairly sure that it’s not the man they dislike - it’s the tactics.
Good one Mark, but you have to admit you don’t have to be a genius to know that Scotty and Prongs would help your club. Every GM knew that, but I give Bukie credit for those moves. But you have to agree with me on Penner over Bertuzzi. Penner isn’t doing a lot with the Oilers but he was the perfect wing for Getzys line and I’d rather overpay for a winger on the upside of his career than a winger on the downside (Bertuzzi).
Edmonton signed Penner as a free agent with a poison-pill contract that, had the Ducks matched it, would have forced them to get rid of some other key guys, too. Burke knew how much he would miss Penner. That’s why he got so angry at Kevin Lowe. Then he signed Bertuzzi to replace him. It was one of Burke’s moves from the heart that did not work out, but at least he was trying to win last year. People who know much more about hockey than me say Burke’s real mistake was not getting more from St. Louis for McDonald. From the ‘06 season they have lost Lupul, Penner and McDonald, and that’s hurt their offense.
Their problems start with Carlyle sticking with the wrong goalie. Giggy is past his prime. I’ve seen faster lateral movement on Dancing With The Stars. Burke has assembled a team that skates too slowly and has poor hands. That leads to bed penalties aNd not being able to finish scoring chances. Their attack is always peripheral. It’s been maddening.
Scotty and Pronger aren’t helping the Ducks this season. Pronger is a cheap shot artist who gets penalties at the worst possible time, and Neidermayer couldn’t look less inspired.
Yeah I have to agree with the article, that after awhile the message is lost, as we can clearly see. The Ducks need someone that can reactivate them and motivate. Hey John Tortorella not doing anything!