FIRE TERRY MURRAY

[NullDefault]

agreed. A month ago I had written a post about how the Kings are boring.

Well at least you're not the only person to notice that, but I don't think that's any kind of consolation. I read through that post and I totally agree. They have one gear and that gear doesn't play to the team's strengths. They are still a young team and they need to be given the latitude to use their speed and skill to create chances. Rotating the same 4 lines with the same strategy IS predictable, and opposing teams will counter, as you've seen in the last couple weeks.

 

[Ho_Brah]

Well at least you're not the only person to notice that, but I don't think that's any kind of consolation. I read through that post and I totally agree. They have one gear and that gear doesn't play to the team's strengths. They are still a young team and they need to be given the latitude to use their speed and skill to create chances. Rotating the same 4 lines with the same strategy IS predictable, and opposing teams will counter, as you've seen in the last couple weeks.

One thing I’ve noticed this season is that the Kings have not figured out what type of team they have.

They have skilled players but are not considered a fast, skilled team. They have size but are not particularly physical. They play great defensively, but seem to give up prime scoring chances every other shift.

Overall, they rarely, at least the past couple weeks, make it difficult on the other team. That was the trademark under the other Coach Murrary. I would welcome him back. But please no Marc Crawford.

 

[Automattic]

agreed. A month ago I had written a post about how the Kings are boring.

Nice post. Shoulda been up here!

What a lot of people forget about Pavel,for example, and his creativity are all the little sacrifices other are making. Whether it's Hank driving (and taking a guy or two with him) and dishing to Pav or it's Holmstrom in front of the pissing off everyone not wearing red. Sometimes its Cleary driving and Franzen sniping or Helm flying and Abjeldakker banging....

The point is that everybody has to have everybodies back and be unselfish with the puck. We have the ability to get creative because of the 2 to 3 little passes made before Datsyuk dangles whoever he wants. It's the main reason we rarely have any top scorers in the league, imo. You really have to have confidence in each other and scratch each others backs.


PS - Why don't you just steal one of our assistants like your NorCal buddies did...:washing:

 

[rares]

PS - Why don't you just steal one of our assistants like your NorCal buddies did...:washing:

Hah.. unfortunately, there are more and more people calling for McLellan's head since the Sharks have pretty much tuned him out... so he might be available soon if the Sharks don't get their shit together here quick.

 

[Automattic]

Hah.. unfortunately, there are more and more people calling for McLellan's head since the Sharks have pretty much tuned him out... so he might be available soon if the Sharks don't get their shit together here quick.

Does Todd get along with his captains? That's what counts. They should be running the team as much as the coach, imo.

 

[rares]

The problem is, Captain Joey Thornton doesn't really give a damn these days... he even made some silly comments on Sunday when it was supposed to be a day off but McLellan called the boys in to practice hard for an hour after they got embarrassed by Florida on home ice the night before. He basically wasn't happy about having to practice on what was supposed to be a day off. Hah!

The sooner they put the 'C' on Clowe's jersey, the better. That guy seems to care the most out there every night.

 

[Ho_Brah]

We went through this last year, twice. Two long slumps, which required a record-setting hot streak to correct. I'm sure Terry Murray is making all sorts of changes to his game-plan, but from the outside looking in, through both slumps it looked like the strategy was to hold firm, to keep doing the things they "know" work ("shot mentality", "compete", "battle for pucks", "blue paint", "traffic", "speed on entry", "crash the net", "keep it simple"). This model is called "the system works if you actually execute it, so just do it". Close on the heels of this is, "I need more."

The players have to do what they're told. They are, after all, "character" guys who "want the right thing." The locker room is "tight." They "care about each other." When those ideals are trumpeted so often, does anyone expect the players to take a left turn when told to go right? There is no locker room leader -- or bigger-than-life personality -- on a par with (for example) Alex Ovechkin, or Chris Pronger, or Scott Neidermayer, or Scott Stevens. The Kings are, on the whole, a bunch of diligent students who want to please the teacher.

The coach has the option of continuing with the plan (which from experience he knows will not work for stretches during any given season), tweaking the plan using a method akin to reordering your letters in Scrabble in hopes of stumbling on a 50 point word, or ditching the plan entirely. I believe Terry Murray is heavily invested in his plan. It will work if only you execute it.

Lombardi has the option of addressing the troops (a coupon that can be played maybe once every couple of years), giving entertaining but inscrutable interviews (he is in a way the Alan Greenspan of hockey GMs), talking to the coaches (oh, how I would love to be a fly on the wall of those meetings), or making personnel moves. The only actual option he has is to let his personnel do what they were hired to do (I mean players and coaches), or to change personnel. In the past, he's been able to play the "we're ahead of schedule" card, but the trading for Richards, signing of Doughty and spending to the cap ceiling effectively put an end to that. I don't think I've heard him say we're ahead of schedule for months now. Which means, somewhere in the schedule, there is a line in the sand, beyond which Lombardi is going to be forced to make personnel changes or risk taking the fall himself.

This morning I was enjoying the fantasy of Lombardi firing the entire staff and hiring Randy Carlysle. There's something delicious about watching the Ducks have to continue to pay Carlysle to beat them over and over from the other bench. But Lombardi is stubborn in a mostly admirable way, and in this case I can imagine him hanging on to Terry Murray to Lombardi's own detriment.

And if there's a trade? I would say Anze Kopitar, Richards, Gagne, Doughty, Jonathan Quick and Rob Scuderi are safe. Dustins Brown and Penner are not, for different reasons. These are two players I really like. But Penner is expendable and Brown is "the" leader on a team that has leadership issues. So how safe can he be? I also wouldn't be surprised to see Jarret Stoll moved. As for Jack Johnson, I am pretty sure Lombardi will hang onto him, because his upside is so big (and I think he likes JJ's fire; I suspect Lombardi likes a guy who pushes back), but of all the Kings not named Kopitar, Richards or Doughty, it's JJ who is the easiest to imagine other GMs taking as the big piece in a Big Trade. If I had to bet, I would say Johnson will stay, and I hope he does. But I bet there are going to be some interesting phone calls for a few weeks here.

Me, I'd rather just get a new coach who can make better use of the tools we have.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

They just made some huge moves over the summer, I don't know if the shock of another big trade is what they need. I think you are right on with Murray. Sometimes the swift kick in the pants of a coach firing is good for a team that is struggling.

 

[Automattic]

This morning I was enjoying the fantasy of Lombardi firing the entire staff and hiring Randy Carlysle. There's something delicious about watching the Ducks have to continue to pay Carlysle to beat them over and over from the other bench.

lol Awesomeness.



You're probably on the right track with a coaching change. When a team falters that is picked by many to be way higher in the standings, it's usually leadership, chemistry, or injuries, imo.

 

[dash]

Kings just lost to the Stars whose goalie made his first NHL start tonight. It's time to can Terry Murray.

 

[davnlaguna]

Maybe 4 games on the road will help
I am waiting to the All Star break before slashing my wrist, but I have been pricing razors

 

[Ho_Brah]

Maybe 4 games on the road will help
I am waiting to the All Star break before slashing my wrist, but I have been pricing razors

if this trip goes badly (badly meaning that they don’t win at least 3 of the 4), I don’t see any way he is still behind the bench for those back-to-back games against San Jose and Anaheim right before the Christmas break.

Besides, the season is almost half over now. Divisions are starting to appear between contenders and pretenders. The Kings are 13 points behind Minnesota now. They are probably not making that up.

The only reason things don’t look absolutely terrible is that the Pacific is unexpectedly soft this season. Put the Kings in any other division in hockey and it would be looking like time to write this season off.

Can’t wait much longer. How far below .500 does Lombardi think the team can drop before the season is not salvageable?

 

[Ho_Brah]

Kings getting ready to make a change?

Kings close to firing Coach Terry Murray - latimes.com

Besides firing Murray..what options do we really have? (1) do nothing, wait for the ship to turn around on its own. (2) fire the coach or coaches. (3) make a big trade to shake things up.

The first option, I think, would result in Lombardi getting fired. Unless of course the team makes a miraculous turnaround pretty much ASAP.

The second option is the clear winner. For all the obvious reasons, combined with what I'm about to say about option 3.

The third option: imagine Lombardi pulls off a big trade for a scoring somebody-or-other. Some big pieces will be sacrificed to make that happen. Who would that be? If we're lucky, it would be somebodies like Jarret Stoll or Matt Greene. If we're slightly less lucky, maybe we also lose someone like Jonathan Bernier, maybe Alec Martinez, maybe Kyle Clifford. More than likely, though, it would involve someone big, because teams aren't likely to cough up their big stars to a struggling team that has no leverage, without getting something delicious in return. Certain players are untouchable, but I would not put Brown or Jack Johnson on that untouchable list. I said this in yesterday's post. Brown is the captain on a team with leadership issues. And JJ, well, he's just a very attractive piece for a lot of opposing GMs.

I would hate to lose either of those guys. But I find it hard to imagine a big trade that doesn't involve one of them. Under these conditions.

Now:

Say Lombardi bites the bullet and deals some fan favorites away in exchange for a Big Gun. Say it's Zach Parise. Or Rick Nash. Or whoever your favorite superstar is. The Kings added Penner at the deadline, a guy who has scored 20-30 goals a year basically his entire career. Now he's virtually useless. Lombardi traded for Mike Richards, and signed Simon Gagne. They're both playing their asses off, or were, in the case of Richards. And the result is? The Kings suck. Alex Frolov was a 30 goal-scorer before Terry Murray got ahold of him. Teddy Purcell, Matt Moulson, Brian Boyle, all filled the net once they escaped his evil clutches.

Why does anyone think adding another Big Piece is going to make any difference? Since they're all asked to do the same thing, play the same way, and their numbers all plummet? Is anyone going to feel better with Zach Parise instead of Dustin Brown, if Terry Murray is still the coach?

I didn't think so.

 

[pixburgher66]

Once again as it seems in the NHL, the easier option, and the one that *tends* to work, is firing the coach. Rough job.

EDIT: Unless your Lindy Ruff...ironic.

 

[mattola]

Report: Kings to fire Murray this week? - NHL.com - News

 

[dash]

Interesting stuff from Rich Hammond regarding Darryl Sutter:

From what I’ve come to understand, the Kings don’t see Stevens as their long-term coach. Keep an eye on the whereabouts of Darryl Sutter in the next few days. Dean Lombardi is very close with Sutter and, as GM in San Jose, hired Sutter in 1997. Sutter left the coaching ranks after the 2005-06 season, as he went from coach/GM to GM, and he left that role last December. I’ll never forget the exchange I had with Lombardi, at the press conference to announce his hiring as Kings’ GM in 2006. It went like this…

Question: “In terms of qualities, what will you be looking for in a coach?”

Lombardi: “Darryl.”

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

Whatever the Kings do, DO NOT remove the interim tag on John Stevens. DO NOT let him become your permanent coach.

 

[Ho_Brah]

Really liked Murray...

but I feel relieved…and excited we may turn this around in time.

I lost a lot of respect after the benching of Quick. That was the worst moment of the season so far for me and the end of him as coach in my mind.

Tons of talk about Sutter. Don’t know him well enough to comment. Would be unusual, I’d suspect, for a coach to be hired by a GM after he was fired by him.

Also a watershed moment for Dustin Brown. If this firing was on the players, it’s on the captain the most. I suspect his time as leader is up but I sure hope he says a King. If anyone could accept that demotion, it’s Brownie.

Just got home from work. I need to let this all soak in for a moment.

 

[davnlaguna]

I don't think Brown will lose a letter. He is thought well as a leader on the Kings and in the league, despite what we see.

 

[Ho_Brah]

Interesting stuff from Rich Hammond regarding Darryl Sutter:

From what I’ve come to understand, the Kings don’t see Stevens as their long-term coach. Keep an eye on the whereabouts of Darryl Sutter in the next few days. Dean Lombardi is very close with Sutter and, as GM in San Jose, hired Sutter in 1997. Sutter left the coaching ranks after the 2005-06 season, as he went from coach/GM to GM, and he left that role last December. I’ll never forget the exchange I had with Lombardi, at the press conference to announce his hiring as Kings’ GM in 2006. It went like this…

Question: “In terms of qualities, what will you be looking for in a coach?”

Lombardi: “Darryl.”

you think its a good idea?