Ken Hitchcock Fired by Columbus

[skatingtripods]

A little late for this move.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/02/ja ... cock.shtml

Claude Noel will be the interim coach.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

They drug this out waaaaaaaay too long. This moved could've been made by the 1st of the year.

[jack_tors]

A little late for this move.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/02/ja ... cock.shtml

Claude Noel will be the interim coach.

I must confess ST, I havent been following hockey much this season due to being a newly wed, new dog, etc.. Care to elaborate further on why you think the move should have come sooner?

[skatingtripods]

A little late for this move.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/02/ja ... cock.shtml

Claude Noel will be the interim coach.

I must confess ST, I havent been following hockey much this season due to being a newly wed, new dog, etc.. Care to elaborate further on why you think the move should have come sooner?

First off, the development of Steve Mason, Kris Russell, Nikita Filatov, Derick Brassard, and Jake Voracek is the most important thing to this franchise right now. All of that was stunted under Hitchcock. He began using Mathieu Garon a lot more when Mason struggled. I have no issue with that, but it is a situation Mason needs to play through and grow through.

Kris Russell needs to be allowed to go out there and make mistakes. Fedor Tyutin and Mike Commodore have been awful all year long. Russell needs some room to be creative and generate offense, as he is the only defenseman who can.

Nikita Filatov is in the KHL because he wouldn't play Hitchcock's game. Hitchcock was a great pre-lockout coach. In the changed game, he cannot grasp the differences. Filatov is what he is. The most talented player on the team, but can't play a lick of defense. As he sees more ice time, he'll learn. I'm of the belief that you have to earn ice time, but you don't play on the 4th line with grinders when you see the ice. That just nullifies his creativity and playmaking ability.

Same with Brassard. Brassard got demoted to playing with stiffs like Jared Boll, Alexandre Picard, and Andrew Murray. He can't generate offense with those guys. And of course he's going to look bad. Brassard was -4 last game against Colorado on a line with Raffi Torres and Jake Voracek. Those nights will happen. What matters is how you learn from it. Hitchcock demotes young players rather than help them learn from it.

Fact is, Hitchcock was like Wedge. Wedge rarely put players in situations to be productive. Hitch did the same thing. Giving Filatov and Brassard ice time on the 4th line is a joke. You have to put them with skill players because that's what they are. You think Rick Nash would score 30 goals playing with Sami Pahlsson and Fredrik Modin? No chance.

Hitchcock is a defensive-minded coach in a game that is offensive-minded. Only the Devils can continue to play this way because they have Brodeur. You notice Zach Parise is still near the league leaders in points. It can be done, but not with Columbus's roster.

I expect Scott Arniel, coach of the Manitoba Moose, or Kevin Dineen, coach of Portland in the AHL, to be selected as the new bench boss right after their teams are done in the AHL playoffs.

[jack_tors]

A little late for this move.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/02/ja ... cock.shtml

Claude Noel will be the interim coach.

I must confess ST, I havent been following hockey much this season due to being a newly wed, new dog, etc.. Care to elaborate further on why you think the move should have come sooner?

First off, the development of Steve Mason, Kris Russell, Nikita Filatov, Derick Brassard, and Jake Voracek is the most important thing to this franchise right now. All of that was stunted under Hitchcock. He began using Mathieu Garon a lot more when Mason struggled. I have no issue with that, but it is a situation Mason needs to play through and grow through.

Kris Russell needs to be allowed to go out there and make mistakes. Fedor Tyutin and Mike Commodore have been awful all year long. Russell needs some room to be creative and generate offense, as he is the only defenseman who can.

Nikita Filatov is in the KHL because he wouldn't play Hitchcock's game. Hitchcock was a great pre-lockout coach. In the changed game, he cannot grasp the differences. Filatov is what he is. The most talented player on the team, but can't play a lick of defense. As he sees more ice time, he'll learn. I'm of the belief that you have to earn ice time, but you don't play on the 4th line with grinders when you see the ice. That just nullifies his creativity and playmaking ability.

Same with Brassard. Brassard got demoted to playing with stiffs like Jared Boll, Alexandre Picard, and Andrew Murray. He can't generate offense with those guys. And of course he's going to look bad. Brassard was -4 last game against Colorado on a line with Raffi Torres and Jake Voracek. Those nights will happen. What matters is how you learn from it. Hitchcock demotes young players rather than help them learn from it.

Fact is, Hitchcock was like Wedge. Wedge rarely put players in situations to be productive. Hitch did the same thing. Giving Filatov and Brassard ice time on the 4th line is a joke. You have to put them with skill players because that's what they are. You think Rick Nash would score 30 goals playing with Sami Pahlsson and Fredrik Modin? No chance.

Hitchcock is a defensive-minded coach in a game that is offensive-minded. Only the Devils can continue to play this way because they have Brodeur. You notice Zach Parise is still near the league leaders in points. It can be done, but not with Columbus's roster.

I expect Scott Arniel, coach of the Manitoba Moose, or Kevin Dineen, coach of Portland in the AHL, to be selected as the new bench boss right after their teams are done in the AHL playoffs.

I appreciate the background ST! Solid as ever.

[skatingtripods]

Claude Noel is 1-0!