Otter

[MiamiLaw]

What the hell — so everyone suddenly thinks we’re about to see some massive power-play surge? With what, exactly? It’s the same (bleep) clowns on the ice. How is a coaching change magically fixing that? You can swap the voice behind the bench all you want, but if the personnel doesn’t change, neither does the power play. This isn’t rocket science.

Power plays come down to talent and shooting — simple as that. We don’t have a true PP quarterback, and until we do, it’s not changing. Coaching isn’t the issue. Just watch the Oilers’ power play. That’s not some genius system — that’s raw, elite talent on that first unit. Until we have players like that, expecting a miracle on the PP is just wishful thinking.

I don't understand why Mailloux is not at least getting a bit of powerplay time too. Isn't offense his specialty? It can't get much worse. Why do they not try to see what they have in him?

[Jeff Goldblum]

Steve Ott is well liked around the franchise. When Kyrou and Buch suddenly turn into slugs and the team has most of its forwards injured im not sure what wizardry it would take to have a good PP. Does Ott control the PP personnel? My guess is no hes been saddled with lack of RH shots, poor talent, no chemistry not sure all this falls on him

What you dont do is continue to do the same thing over and over when your PP is completely inept. Every other team in the league has a PP that can sustain pressure. The Blues cant even get set up.

Last year they had a 22% PP, up from 18% in '23-'24 seems like its more a personnel than management issue but idk

Only difference of personnel would be a certain forward who was traded for a certain defenseman. But we don't need to open that can of worms.

[JR1]

What the hell — so everyone suddenly thinks we’re about to see some massive power-play surge? With what, exactly? It’s the same (drat) clowns on the ice. How is a coaching change magically fixing that? You can swap the voice behind the bench all you want, but if the personnel doesn’t change, neither does the power play. This isn’t rocket science.

Power plays come down to talent and shooting — simple as that. We don’t have a true PP quarterback, and until we do, it’s not changing. Coaching isn’t the issue. Just watch the Oilers’ power play. That’s not some genius system — that’s raw, elite talent on that first unit. Until we have players like that, expecting a miracle on the PP is just wishful thinking.

I don't understand why Mailloux is not at least getting a bit of powerplay time too. Isn't offense his specialty? It can't get much worse. Why do they not try to see what they have in him?

Maybe they’re afraid that he might make a mistake and try to pass through 3 defenders ala Schenn, Buch, Sunny? The coaching staff has me scratching about this among many other things. I know the owners need revenue from a playoff series but we all know there would only be 2 home games before they would be ousted. So let the guy learn on the fly, it’s not like the PP is producing anyway.

[Unfathomable]

Monty says that he will now be in charge of the PP, which ranks No. 25 in the league (16.3%).

"I'm going to take over the power play initially, probably until (the Olympic) break. Then what it does is, it means that our communication levels, when you have a smaller staff, they increase. You have to make sure we're dialing in about everything because everybody has to do a little bit more, which is good

Monty on what he wants to see from PP: "Execution and urgency -- that would be the two things. I always felt Steve Ott had a great game plan, to the point where I continually learned from him daily with every different type of scheme the other team might have. He always had an answer for how we're going to make it work. I think right now it's about execution and urgency. We've got to be getting to that net and that blue paint more often, that's all

https://x.com/i/status/2013338345682690252

[netboy65]

What the hell — so everyone suddenly thinks we’re about to see some massive power-play surge? With what, exactly? It’s the same (drat) clowns on the ice. How is a coaching change magically fixing that? You can swap the voice behind the bench all you want, but if the personnel doesn’t change, neither does the power play. This isn’t rocket science.

Power plays come down to talent and shooting — simple as that. We don’t have a true PP quarterback, and until we do, it’s not changing. Coaching isn’t the issue. Just watch the Oilers’ power play. That’s not some genius system — that’s raw, elite talent on that first unit. Until we have players like that, expecting a miracle on the PP is just wishful thinking.

Partially true. The coaching and the scheme matter quite a bit. As a matter of fact, without the elite forwards that Edm has, I’d say coaching matters even more. They have to put in the scheme to maximize what we do have.
It is on the players as well, but remember back when Keenan wouldn’t even bother practicing the power play? It suffered quite a bit and we had some pretty good talent on those teams.

[hotrivets]

Monty says that he will now be in charge of the PP, which ranks No. 25 in the league (16.3%).

"I'm going to take over the power play initially, probably until (the Olympic) break. Then what it does is, it means that our communication levels, when you have a smaller staff, they increase. You have to make sure we're dialing in about everything because everybody has to do a little bit more, which is good

Monty on what he wants to see from PP: "Execution and urgency -- that would be the two things. I always felt Steve Ott had a great game plan, to the point where I continually learned from him daily with every different type of scheme the other team might have. He always had an answer for how we're going to make it work. I think right now it's about execution and urgency. We've got to be getting to that net and that blue paint more often, that's all

https://x.com/i/status/2013338345682690252

This is not encouraging. I'm starting to think Monty does not have much to offer.

[hockey jedi]

The Blues offensive system leaves a lot to be desired. There is some very good quality players that aren't getting it done. This doesn't look like the same team as the team that played for the last two months last season. Something in the system changed. I fresh set of ideas would definitely and a different way to look at the problem could help. This year's version of the Blues is boring and predictable. It's been like that since the first game of the year and it's not because of injuries. Also, PP units can change in the middle of the year. Otter did it last spring. Badger Bob Johnson did it in the mid 80's taking an anemic power play, using tennis balls for instruction and turning it into a dangerous weapon. The talent on the Blues is there, and they are playing way below their level.

[ManitobaBlues]

What the hell — so everyone suddenly thinks we’re about to see some massive power-play surge? With what, exactly? It’s the same (drat) clowns on the ice. How is a coaching change magically fixing that? You can swap the voice behind the bench all you want, but if the personnel doesn’t change, neither does the power play. This isn’t rocket science.

Power plays come down to talent and shooting — simple as that. We don’t have a true PP quarterback, and until we do, it’s not changing. Coaching isn’t the issue. Just watch the Oilers’ power play. That’s not some genius system — that’s raw, elite talent on that first unit. Until we have players like that, expecting a miracle on the PP is just wishful thinking.

Partially true. The coaching and the scheme matter quite a bit. As a matter of fact, without the elite forwards that Edm has, I’d say coaching matters even more. They have to put in the scheme to maximize what we do have.
It is on the players as well, but remember back when Keenan wouldn’t even bother practicing the power play? It suffered quite a bit and we had some pretty good talent on those teams.

Yeah, Keenan was a moron — but to be fair, that was a different era. Hockey just isn’t coached the same way anymore. Look at Edmonton: ranked 1st in the NHL on the power play. Colorado? Sitting around 24th, yet they’re also #1 in lowest penalty minutes taken.

Coaching can help some teams, sure, but at the end of the day it’s about moving the puck, getting it to the net, and creating chances. Talent drives power plays, not whiteboard speeches.

Now Monty’s taking direct control of it, so we’ll see. On paper, we should be good to go… but the players still have to execute

[sdaltons]

So, who replaces Ott on on the Blues?

Hopefully Bruce Cassidy so we can complete the former Bruins coach trifecta

[bluetunehead]

So, who replaces Ott on on the Blues?

Hopefully Bruce Cassidy so we can complete the former Bruins coach trifecta

Gainfully employed with Vegas.

[Harry S Deals]

So last year, still with Ott:

PPGs:
Kyrou (7)
Holloway (6)
Neighbours (6)
Sunny (4)
Thomas (3)
Buch (2)
Schenn (2)
Fowler (2)

And of course Bolduc had (7)

So did the scheme change drastically or what? Sure losing ZB hurt the PP production a bit thats no doubt but cmon does Kyrou even have 10 goals scored the whole season yet?

[sdaltons]

So, who replaces Ott on on the Blues?

Hopefully Bruce Cassidy so we can complete the former Bruins coach trifecta

Gainfully employed with Vegas.

I'm just the idea guy. Someone else will have to handle the execution.

[bluetunehead]

I'm not sure this is a demotion at all.

It could be an arranged thing for short term, could be Ott wants the experience for his own resume, could be a lot of things.

If you want to get rid of him you fire the guy. That's not what is happening.

It's definitely not a demotion. Getting head coaching experience will be good for him if he has any intentions of trying to get there at the NHL level. I'm sure he does, given how quickly and enthusiastically he jumped into coaching after retiring.

And yeah, assistant coaches and head coaches get fired on a regular basis. If they really just wanted him out he'd be out.

[MiamiLaw]

So last year, still with Ott:

PPGs:
Kyrou (7)
Holloway (6)
Neighbours (6)
Sunny (4)
Thomas (3)
Buch (2)
Schenn (2)
Fowler (2)

And of course Bolduc had (7)

So did the scheme change drastically or what? Sure losing ZB hurt the PP production a bit thats no doubt but cmon does Kyrou even have 10 goals scored the whole season yet?

I remember a lot of perimeter soft play on the powerplay last year too.

I am not saying Bolduc was a savior, but it was when he started scoring that the wins started coming. Before that, the Blues looked a lot like they do this year. Maybe having a guy in ZB's spot scoring tipped some critical balance that allowed other guys to have better matchups or something. Not sure. But removing what he brought on offense seems to have had a major effect on the powerplay particularly.

[dhsux]

I'm not sure this is a demotion at all.

It could be an arranged thing for short term, could be Ott wants the experience for his own resume, could be a lot of things.

If you want to get rid of him you fire the guy. That's not what is happening.

It's definitely not a demotion. Getting head coaching experience will be good for him if he has any intentions of trying to get there at the NHL level. I'm sure he does, given how quickly and enthusiastically he jumped into coaching after retiring.

And yeah, assistant coaches and head coaches get fired on a regular basis. If they really just wanted him out he'd be out.

JR was just on the air and was asked if it's a demotion. He mentioned a number of possibilities but ultimately said no, he did not think it was a demotion.

[TheJackBurton]

Monty says that he will now be in charge of the PP, which ranks No. 25 in the league (16.3%).

"I'm going to take over the power play initially, probably until (the Olympic) break. Then what it does is, it means that our communication levels, when you have a smaller staff, they increase. You have to make sure we're dialing in about everything because everybody has to do a little bit more, which is good

Monty on what he wants to see from PP: "Execution and urgency -- that would be the two things. I always felt Steve Ott had a great game plan, to the point where I continually learned from him daily with every different type of scheme the other team might have. He always had an answer for how we're going to make it work. I think right now it's about execution and urgency. We've got to be getting to that net and that blue paint more often, that's all

https://x.com/i/status/2013338345682690252

This is not encouraging. I'm starting to think Monty does not have much to offer.

I don't know what's bad about it. He wasn't going to throw a coach and a good friend of his under the bus.