Wild 2015-16

I guess with the situation I am just more mad at the players than anything.

But as I sit here thinking about it as an arm chair psychologist, maybe it was just human nature. Before this season they hit slumps 2 years in a row due to various reasons. Now it happens this year with goaltending and a healthy roster. And the message is the same because you have worn out every message as you tried to get out of every previous slump. Now it’s no fun to play, no matter what you do you lose and naturally you start to look for excuses internally.

Maybe it is time to let it go and look to the future.

OK, with that out of the way, I have to say my spirit is starting to be lifted. As I keep reading these stories I am finding out what a dedicated, studious and upbeat guy Torch is. Even the questions I had like why hasn’t he been a head coach or kept his interim jobs after the season have been answered.

Sometimes things have to fall apart so things fall into place.

Zen

Torch has a much better presence behind the bench that Yeo ever did. Deer in the head lights stare over the ice while drinking out of his water bottle was making me want to punch him in the throat. At the very least Torch is back there encouraging guys, praising them and actually interacting with them not standing over them like he is king of the hill. I like our new coach already, but then again you could put a sock puppet back there and I would like it better than Yeo!

As far as Haula goes, he’s been a stud most of the year. I always thought he had great potential and I knew Yeo didn’t like him. I am glad to see he broke out in spite of Yeo’s dislike. I would like to see him on the first line just to see if that will advance his game even more.

This team wasn’t broken in one game, it won’t be repaired in one game. There are no white knights riding into this mess. It will take work to straighten it out.

sticker wrote:

Torch has a much better presence behind the bench that Yeo ever did. Deer in the head lights stare over the ice while drinking out of his water bottle was making me want to punch him in the throat. At the very least Torch is back there encouraging guys, praising them and actually interacting with them not standing over them like he is king of the hill. I like our new coach already, but then again you could put a sock puppet back there and I would like it better than Yeo!

I can’t believe for a second that Yeo’s demeanor behind the bench didn’t also drive the players crazy.To me, Yeo looked more like he viewed himself as some kind of Vice President of Hockey Operations, rather than a head coach. He just looked so disconnected and disinterested with that blank cabin fever stare. That cannot has been lost of the players.

Just listening to the various interviews of players and others, the tone has now totally changed. The gosh-golly-he-was-a-great-coach crap is evaporating and not the much different view is starting to creep forward.

As I said, regardless of what happens with the team in the wins/losses department, having the door hit Yeo’s ass on the way out is a total victory in itself. It was obvious to me last season that Yeo needed to go or we would be stuck in a Groundhog Day situation for years to come. This team was winning in spite of Yeo, not because of anything he did. We need experience behind the bench with a real hockey mentality and the ability to connect with the players.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>sticker wrote:</div>
Torch has a much better presence behind the bench that Yeo ever did. Deer in the head lights stare over the ice while drinking out of his water bottle was making me want to punch him in the throat. At the very least Torch is back there encouraging guys, praising them and actually interacting with them not standing over them like he is king of the hill. I like our new coach already, but then again you could put a sock puppet back there and I would like it better than Yeo!

We need experience behind the bench with a real hockey mentality and the ability to connect with the players.

Grouse

I 1/2 agree. There is a definite need to connect with the players. Does that need to be a experienced coach? I’m not so sure. If the players respect him and will listen I’m not sure experience matters. These players know how to play the game, they just need to execute. All these veteran coaches keep getting recycled and other then Q in Chicago who has really made a difference?

For what it is worth, I don’t care who coaches as long as the players play for him.

mplspug wrote:

I would like to see him on the first line just to see if that will advance his game even more.

Delete your account

Dutchboy wrote:

All these veteran coaches keep getting recycled and other then Q in Chicago who has really made a difference?

See Barry Trotz and the Washington capitals

By the way, Trotz is a very calm coach behind the bench and drinks lots of water.

Haula on the first line.

mplspug wrote:

By the way, Trotz is a very calm coach behind the bench and drinks lots of water.

When you have Ovechkin, Backstrom and Kuznetsov, you can afford to be calm and well hydrated.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

When you have Ovechkin, Backstrom and Kuznetsov, you can afford to be calm and well hydrated.

Grouse

Add Holtby and you could probably take an in between period nap.

tegg wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
When you have Ovechkin, Backstrom and Kuznetsov, you can afford to be calm and well hydrated.

Grouse

Add Holtby and you could probably take an in between period nap.

With Holtby included you could afford to coach from a hottub with a swim-up bar and a continuous -feed margurita machine. No need to coach while all tense and whipped up.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tegg wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
When you have Ovechkin, Backstrom and Kuznetsov, you can afford to be calm and well hydrated.

Grouse

Add Holtby and you could probably take an in between period nap.

With Holtby included you could afford to coach from a hottub with a swim-up bar and a continuous -feed margurita machine. No need to coach while all tense and whipped up.

Grouse

With Holtby, Yeo could be coach.

Too soon?

You people are irrepressible. I’m going to the FloridaSportman.com, Lightning Forums and Wild.com boards.

Wild are on FIRE in Calgary. 3-0 in second. Haula scores again. 3ven a pp goal.

Grouse.

mplspug wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>
I would like to see him on the first line just to see if that will advance his game even more.

Delete your account

Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t be so dismissive. Haula and Coyle seem to be the guys really upping their game after the coaching change.

(I preface my comment by saying that i was and still am in favor of firing Yeo…)
Sorry but Torch coming in and the Wild winning two straight is shameful for these players. He has been here two games and that is hardly enough time to make a ton of changes. Line changes yes but heck Yeo was doing that. Same players on the ice. The difference is they decided that a fresh coach gave them permission to give a damn. They could have done this 3 weeks ago but they chose not to. Says a lot about professional sports players. Like i said the Wild WILL get one of those WC spots. They always do. Yeo wasn’t the main problem. The players were but you can’t fire the team…RR

biggill wrote:

With Holtby, Yeo could be coach.

Too soon?

OH heck no it’s not too soon at all

Haula again got the team going. Laugh all you want, but put him on the first line and maybe you get 2 goals and an assist. Reward the guys that are giving it their all, unlike Yeo who played his favorites no matter how bad they were slumping.

As far as the players being ashamed of themselves… maybe, just maybe Yeo was holding them back. All he wanted was strong defense. Torch might have said get out there and show me what you have. He does that before the first game and they come out flying. I think it has everything to do with Yeo.

Let’s not get too excited, they have just beat 2 bad teams with another on the schedule tonight… They have looked like a much better team, but there’s a reason why the Canucks and Flames are near the bottom of the league…

It was bound to happen at some point. The slump these guys were in was of epic proportions. It was probably harder to lose that many games in a row than to rattle off 5 or 6 straight.
They started out a bit slow last night, but got it going which was nice to see. Haula and Coyle have honestly been carrying this team for several games now. Coyle is only a couple goals shy of the team lead. This is the growth we were hoping for from him. I honestly never thought he would lead the team in scoring, but I for sure thought he would be a 25 goal scorer consistently.
Its nice to see Zucker get one. Hopefully that gets him going.
It will be a tougher test tonight I think being a back to back, but the boys have to be feeling a bit better about their game and hopefully they come out with a 3 game winning streak and trounce the Blackhawks on Sunday.

biggill wrote:

With Holtby, Yeo could be coach.

Too soon?

Now THAT was funny.

Ok, I think everybody gets that this western Canada swing means we’re playing against some not so great teams.

Here’s the point I see in the last two wins that encourages me: The Wild are winning, the WAY we should be winning against teams like this. That’s the bottom line.

Yes, yes, yes, everybody gets that two wins is just two wins, blah, blah, all kinds of obligatory qualifiers here.

There, now that we got that out of the way, I was out front by over a year calling for Yeo to go, so now that Yeozie is Gonzie, here’s what I’m seeing as emerging evidence that Yeo WAS a big part of the problem.

1. Yeah, two wins is just two wins. However! When’s the last time that we strong together two ROAD wins under Yeo? Ummm, the correct answer would be that it hasn’t happened this season period. Until Torch took over 2 games ago that is.

2. Line combos. The difference in coaching approach is obvious when you look at the line combos. Is it working? It sure as hell LOOKS to me like it’s working and I’m not just talking about from a W/L point of view. Just look at the pace, the shots, the opportunities, and who’s playing much better.

I mean, guys, even Pomminville has scored since Yeo left. To me that’s a clear sign the even God wanted Yeo to go.

3. Power play. Watch some recordings of PPs from the Yeo era and then watch the last 2 games.

It looks to me at least like there’s been an emphasis on driving toward the net and getting bodies in the way on a much greater frequency. Look at last night’s PP goal. Suter totally muffs a shot from the point. Does it matter? Hell no because the goaltender is has a total wall of Wild players and D-players in front of him and he can’t see 2 feet.

You don’t need a 300 MPH slapshot when you’ve got that much screening. Even Suter can score on the PP now.

So two games is just two games. I guess we have to keep playing that song for–well–I don’t know how long.

But I’m still where I was, Yeo is gone and that’s a good thing because that was Step 1 that had to happen if the Wild are going to break out of this “marginal playoff team with tanking tendencies” rut.

Grouse

Grouse you put none of this on the players? C’mon man…

Now that everyone is back on the Wild Bandwagon. You should get in touch with me to buy my tickets for the alumni and stadium series game for this weekend. What an opportunity to go with good seats for face value.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

So two games is just two games. I guess we have to keep playing that song for–well–I don’t know how long.

Until tonight when it becomes 3 games in.

mplspug wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
So two games is just two games. I guess we have to keep playing that song for–well–I don’t know how long.

Until tonight when it becomes 3 games in.

Really? So after tonight we can all officially NOT be starting every sentence with, “Well, it’s only been three games…” Thanks for letting us know.

I was beginning to think there was some kind of “30 game barrier” or something.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
So two games is just two games. I guess we have to keep playing that song for–well–I don’t know how long.

Until tonight when it becomes 3 games in.

Really? So after tonight we can all officially NOT be starting every sentence with, “Well, it’s only been three games…” Thanks for letting us know.

I was beginning to think there was some kind of “30 game barrier” or something.

Grouse

if the 3 games were against teams in the top half of the league I think we could. Win tonight and Sunday against the hawks and I will be impressed.

I’ve consistently said I’ll start seeing what happens after the first 3 games. Historically teams always respond to a coaching change for a period of time.

I like Torch, I’m still a little sour on the players.

Could Prosser suck more? Two assists for him tonight so far, only problem they were assists for the oilers.

Prosser should not see many more games once Scandela and Brodin are back. Reilly is going to stick.

I know it’s only been 3 games but…

Pominville and Grandlund have scored. In the same game. Yeah.

4-2 in second.

Grouse

Vanek too. How often could you expect that.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I know it’s only been 3 games but…

Pominville and Grandlund have scored. In the same game. Yeah.

4-2 in second.

Grouse