Bob Hartley also had this nasty habit of destroying goaltenders, running off players, not bringing in new blood and losing the locker room. As has been said before....there's a very good reason he's no longer a coach anywhere.
its a shame Cunneyworth was fired by association..he's going to make a very good Head Coach for somebody sooner or later..hopefully he gets an interview when things settle down.
Dudleys positives throughout his career, far outweigh the negative Florida experience...even the GREATS have erred, this isnt a fail proof business...and like its been said, he's an upgrade over DW. todays a good day.
Dudleys positives throughout his career, far outweigh the negative Florida experience...even the GREATS have erred, this isnt a fail proof business...and like its been said, he's an upgrade over DW. todays a good day.
Definitely an upgrade over DW but I think DW will still have his hand in everything, which means it won't matter who they hire as coach. i wish they would have given JA his last year to show if it was him or that backstabbing control freak waddell.
Randy Cunneyworth..the time has come for him to get a head coaching gig...he's more emotional than JA and has done a great job with young guys in the past (see Buffalo prospects).
if we go outside...Ted Nolan would be interesting..he'd at least demand accountability and his teams have always been tough to play against.
One guy I think being considered is Ken Hitchcock. I would hate that but I wouldn't be surprised if Dudley interviews him.
I'm still celebrating right now! I'm extremely excited we didn't make the playoffs or sneak into the 8th seed or we would have had to put up with the jokes another year.
Missing the playoffs is like a win-win-win-win situation.
We have new GM, we fired Anderson and his goons, we are getting a new coach, and we have the 8th pick to draft Nino Gretzky!
I'm cool with this move. While perhaps firing the entire coaching staff was not the best idea (The only one who truly deserved it is Steve Weeks.), it definitely sends the message to the fans that ownership is somewhat receptive to what they've been saying for some time.
I'm not 100% confident about Dudley as the GM (Several of the guys on NHL Home Ice are of the same vein and some wonder if he's not being pushed into a job he doesn't want.).
As for a coach, let's see what Rick can come up with. It couldn't be any worse than what DW has come up with in the past. One hope is that the new coach doesn't come from the AHL.
Assistants, whatever.....
I would like to see them bring in a good goalie coach. I wonder if Pasi would be interested in the job?
One guy I think being considered is Ken Hitchcock. I would hate that but I wouldn't be surprised if Dudley interviews him.
Oh god no. I'd almost rather have Hartley or Anderson back instead of Hitchcock. Is he not regarded as having a trap type defensive scheme and favor veteran players? Sounds like the complete opposite of what our roster is composed of at the moment.
Thank God. Dudley as GM is a good move. And I didn't like ANY of our coaching staff so I am psyched. it is good that Dudley gets to handpick the new coaching staff as well.
This can only help us IMO.
And just say no to Hartley. Time to try someone new.
its a shame Cunneyworth was fired by association..he's going to make a very good Head Coach for somebody sooner or later..hopefully he gets an interview when things settle down.
I agree. He should of been given the interim job in December after the 9 game losing streak and the Thrashers could of evaluated him for a half a season to see if the team could improve with Cunneyworth in charge rather than Anderson.
Somebody that can look at the camera and speak without mumbling.
MacTavish or John Stevens or perhaps Ted Nolan, although I'd like to know why he so quickly wore out his welcome on Long Island.
NO WAY on Hitchcock. No to Michel Therrien.
Maybe Torts would be good for the younger guys. He's made Christensen into a serviceable guy and Vinny Prospal seems to love him, wonder if the last minute run in NY is enough to keep his job there.
DW was promoted because he's a very smart business man. He's well liked, personally, by the fans and also by the rest of the management team. Keeping him in the organization is certainly a good choice. It was just time for him to lose his GM abilities.
A lot of people are saying this, I'm not sure if it is entirely correct.
Letting Brunette and Savard walk was more of a business decision than a hockey one. Both produced on the ice, obviously DW thought they weren't worth what they were asking.
Fan base and attendances have gotten worse and I'm sure the team is doing pretty bad financially as a result of this. Promotion for the team has been pretty poor in Atlanta to generate interest. A lot of this surely falls back on what DW was doing as a GM and also it could be said that this area was neglected as a result of DW wearing too many hats within the organisation.
The only strength I can see with Waddell is he is a great communicater with the media, fans and internal management.
