Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tippet Out, Crawford In

The coaches are falling off the shelf quite quickly, as if there was an earthquake going through the NHL. The new entry is down from Dallas, as they have made a very quick coaching swap, firing Dave Tippett and installing Marc Crawford. It was a little surprising given that Tippett wasn't doing a bad job in Dallas, but the GM got his man and the Stars are going to run with it.

TeamPositionFormerNewly HiredPossible Fantasy Effects
Head CoachMike KeenanNot hiredThe firing of Keenan had it's writing on the wall in Calgary. With the lack of defensive presence, which is the Darryl Sutter quality of the Flames, the GM wants to go back to an old direction and try and be successful again with it. Candidates only include Darryl Sutter at the moment, but don't be surprised if we see someone else in the mix.
General MangerFrancois GiguereGreg ShermanA relatively new name to the game in Greg Sherman, but he has been in the Avs organization for years. With the Avalanche's recent success, or lack there of, you would almost expect to see a different direction taken by the club. Unless Sherman is coming in with some radical new ideas, we could be seeing the same ol' Avalanche in 2010.

Head CoachTony GranatoJoe SaccoHired within the organization, Sacco has worked with some of the younger minor league pros that are now on the Avalanche. His NHL playing career did span 738 games, so he should know what he's talking about, but only two seasons in the AHL may question his effect on an NHL level.
General ManagerLes Jackson/Brett HullJoe NieuwendykThe Stars will look for some savvy hockey decisions like the savvy plays that Nieuwendyk was known for on the ice in his career. Nieuwendyk's name was thrown around in Toronto for the GM job and in a couple other spots, but Dallas finally reeled him in and it could be a good fit.

Head CoachDave TippettMarc CrawfordThe Stars have installed their own preferred coach, which was Nieuwendyk's first act as GM of the team. Crawford's run and gun style of coaching should be a pretty neat fit for the Stars, who have plenty of good skating Europeans in their stable. This move certainly has the potential of being a good one for fantasy points from Dallas.
Head CoachCraig MacTavishPat QuinnWith a string of successes with young players, both at the World Juniors and the U18s, Quinn should be able to walk into Edmonton and make some of the younger kids a little bit better right away. Gagner, Cogliano, O'Sullivan, and Nilsson should all have positive effects.
General ManagerJacques MartinNot hired

Head CoachJacques MartinNot hired
General ManagerDoug RisebroughChuck FletcherFletcher becomes one of the younger NHL GM's this summer, but he comes with an extensive career already in the NHL and some pretty good bloodlines as well. He has been an assistant GM for two clubs in his career and was involved with hockey operations and scouting, so he should be in good shape to take the big role going forward. Minnesota should be in good hands.

Head CoachJacques LemaireNot hired
Head CoachBob GaineyJacques MartinMartin is a veteran coach that is starting to lean towards the puck possession game, which seems to fit right into a defense-first mentality. The team is building the bulk of it's team back up and now have a system to build around.
Head CoachBrent SutterNot hiredThe homesick Sutter stepped down from being head coach of the Devils after two seasons where he failed to reach the second round of the playoffs each season. His name will be thrown into the mix for Calgary, but it will be interesting to see what kind of coach becomes a candidate in Jersey.

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