Chief out in Toronto

[TheJackBurton]

Well, rumor mill is hot over at TSN, with Kris Knobloch expected to be fired by the Oilers by day's end and Bruce Cassidy replacing him. Lots of moving parts in the next few days.

Wonder if the "delay" in Knobloch's firing means they've reached out to Chief?

Berube wouldn't work there either. It's the exact same setup as Toronto, except their top two players perform in the playoffs. Their d and goalers are worse than Toronto's however.

[STL fan in MN]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

[ScalesofJustice]

No surprise. Berube can wear out his welcome pretty quickly but so do many other NHL coaches.

[BleedingBleu]

Well, rumor mill is hot over at TSN, with Kris Knobloch expected to be fired by the Oilers by day's end and Bruce Cassidy replacing him. Lots of moving parts in the next few days.

Wonder if the "delay" in Knobloch's firing means they've reached out to Chief?

[netboy65]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

[TheJackBurton]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Yes that should happen to a point, but when you have a system that has been successful why wouldn't the players buy into it?

[STL fan in MN]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Which brings me to my second point - Chief really isn’t that amazing of a coach. He’s a good rah rah guy (to the right audience) but lacks flexibility and isn’t the best with actual game strategy and in-game adjustments IMO.

[bud white]

Well, rumor mill is hot over at TSN, with Kris Knobloch expected to be fired by the Oilers by day's end and Bruce Cassidy replacing him. Lots of moving parts in the next few days.

Wonder if the "delay" in Knobloch's firing means they've reached out to Chief?

Berube wouldn't work there either. It's the exact same setup as Toronto, except their top two players perform in the playoffs. Their d and goalers are worse than Toronto's however.

Chief would certainly match the fire the McDavid brings in the room. But I don't see much of a fit either. Oil have had no depth to the roster for quite a while now. The fact that they did make it to the Finals continues to vexx me.

[netboy65]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Which brings me to my second point - Chief really isn’t that amazing of a coach. He’s a good rah rah guy (to the right audience) but lacks flexibility and isn’t the best with actual game strategy and in-game adjustments IMO.

I made that point about a month ago. He caught lightning in a bottle in ‘19, and to his credit always seemed to push the right buttons during that run, but I haven’t seen much else before or since.

[netboy65]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Yes that should happen to a point, but when you have a system that has been successful why wouldn't the players buy into it?

The system is successful because of the type of player not the other way around.

[TheJackBurton]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Which brings me to my second point - Chief really isn’t that amazing of a coach. He’s a good rah rah guy (to the right audience) but lacks flexibility and isn’t the best with actual game strategy and in-game adjustments IMO.

I made that point about a month ago. He caught lightning in a bottle in ‘19, and to his credit always seemed to push the right buttons during that run, but I haven’t seen much else before or since.

He had a winning record in Philly and do remember we were leading the league when Covid hit, and finished with a 49-22-11 record in 2022. Then the wheels fell off. He has a career .580 winning percentage.

He does need specific players to implement his system, but it's up to the GM if you are going hire the coach to get him those players and get rid of the ones who don't fit.

[netboy65]

I think it would be good for Craig to enjoy some time off, he's going to get a buttload of money for a year, enjoy the vacation and wait for the right opportunity.

Two years actually! He has 2 more years and $9M left on his contract. Toronto can get out of some of that if some other team hires him during those 2 years but there’s no way another team is paying as much as Toronto did. Pretty sure his $4.5M/year set the new bar for highest paid HC.

Personally, I always thought Chief was a bad fit in Toronto. Too many prima donnas there and I think he’d do better with a more meat and potatoes sort of team.

Or maybe the coach should adapt his style to who he’s got on the team?

Which brings me to my second point - Chief really isn’t that amazing of a coach. He’s a good rah rah guy (to the right audience) but lacks flexibility and isn’t the best with actual game strategy and in-game adjustments IMO.

I made that point about a month ago. He caught lightning in a bottle in ‘19, and to his credit always seemed to push the right buttons during that run, but I haven’t seen much else before or since.

He had a winning record in Philly and do remember we were leading the league when Covid hit, and finished with a 49-22-11 record in 2022. Then the wheels fell off. He has a career .580 winning percentage.

He does need specific players to implement his system, but it's up to the GM if you are going hire the coach to get him those players and get rid of the ones who don't fit.

Valid points, I’m just saying, ok, you didn’t get the types of players you want. Don’t force a square peg into a round hole, adapt your style to fit the strengths of the players you do have.