The Almighty Coach?!? LONG POST

[C141 Bones]

I know that many feel have strong feelings for Ferras - especially my own PM stalker "rapidrushchamps10". Trust me when I tell you that I am honored to have my own PM stalker!

You can agree with all, some or none of what I am going to express about the Coach - most of what follows is strictly my opinion along with some other forum regulars that have stated things along the same lines throughout the season.

Let me start with the off-season. A 'Dream Team" was assembled here in RC to bring the cup home - with the exception of one Joe Grimaldi. I think for the most part we accepted him as fans - but, I also think the majority of us said "What the *****.! I can also say that many of our returning players said the exact same thing. My big question is Why? What exactly was he going to bring to this team? The one that really chaps my @$$ is look at the "D" men that were available this past off-season. Well, needless to say - Coach got what he wanted and the Rush paid for it. IMO - an epic failure of decision making by the Coach.

Camp comes and goes and the decision is made to trade one Jarred Mohr - a solid "D" man that has not missed a game the past 2-years. Jarred ended the regular season with 6G/32A/+22. Must add that he threw in a couple assists tonight. Not sure what the Coach was thinking on this one as he was traded for future considerations. We all know what that means - we may have gotten anything from gas to some meal vouchers. No, not many people knew what he brought to the ice - but, those that did - cringed on this one. We lost one helluva player with some experience to boot. Trust me - he would have been a great asset on what we called a defense this season. Not the biggest blunder of the year - yet, noteworthy for the sake of this post.

As the regular season started - the injury bug hit. We all know that there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. At times it was worse than others. While many credit the coach for playing through this - I give the credit to the team for giving it everything they had and always keeping us in the game. Especially Tim and Danny who routinely stood on there heads for much, if not the entire season.

During these times - I observed a few different things. We had a rookie that was completely out of control! His actions on several occasions left an already gassed team with a short bench in "no win" situations. Why was a rookie given this leeway? He was out-of-control and instead of handling the problem immediately - Coach allowed this BS to continue. Not sure who finally reeled him in - the players as mentors or the Coach? Very debatable, but I put my money on the players.

On to the "Hudson" situation. What exactly happened? Many folks have heard things that all seem to be logical - many of them the same. What we do know is that according to the Rush - he just up and left and nobody knew anything about it. Do you as hockey fans honestly believe that? Hudson worked a deal without any member of the Rush Organization - to include the players and just left shop. When I heard that I laughed my @$$ off. It is no hidden secret that the Coach uses a bit of intimidation, embarrassment and job security to keep his players motivated. How many times since you have been a Rush fan have you heard Daniel mention a couple these tactics during the broadcast? I have heard them more than I can count over the years. Again, only my opinion - but I think his threats take a toll on people and Hudson was having none of it. Great move on his part to get himself in a better place.

Now, I get to our annual "stock show" road trip. Jan 31, to be precise - we played the Dayton Gems. We were down 3-0 in the 3rd. An Official's time-out was called. I can remember plain as day watching the Coach do absolutely nothing but stand there like he was too damn good to talk to his own team. Wasting no time at all Wray was talking to the boys and Riley had the whiteboard in his hands. Needless to say we scored 3-unanswered goals to even things up. Eventually, we took the game in a shoot-out. This game can best be remembered for the Larry Sterling misconduct penalty/melt-down. This is where I really started to wonder who exactly is running this team.

The final for this post is Vaski. I am just going to be honest and say this was by far the most arrogant and ignorant move I have seen in the organizations short history - and will continue to be! WTF was he thinking? The Coach let Mike rot roughly 2-months before he waived him. I agree that he possibly had some turnover issues - but, who the hell didn't? Do I think he was a distraction? No - I think he is a young, highly-skilled player that was left on junk shifts. Was he upset? Of course he was - and I am quite sure as time went on - he became quite unhappy about what was happening to him which I am sure had a small affect on his fellow players. The official transaction states March 13 - At this point we had 8-games left and were in the playoff hunt. Now, I know I was awe over the stupidity over this move and quite a few others spoke-up on there thoughts as well. 8 games left to let him rot a bit more and healthy scratch him during the playoffs if you want to destroy the kid more than he already was and trade him in the off-season. No - let's just flat-out waive him! Did not take long for Fort Wayne to say "He may not fit in your system - but, he sure as he!! will fit in ours." The rest is history! Vaski went to a team that knew his talent and has continued to use his talent. Although in a losing effort in Game #1 of the Conference-Finals this evening, Mike put another one home tonight. Can somebody out there give me some type of reason where I could actually look at this move as anything but arrogance and ignorance by the Coach? "Mike just did not fit in our system!" - if that was the true case, why not trade him or did it take him the entire season, minus the eight games to figure that out!? EDIT #1 - I AM WRONG IN STATING THAT COACH FERRAS IS ARROGANT AND IGNORANT. WELL, MAYBE A LITTLE ARROGANT WHICH IS A PLUS IN MY BOOK - BUT NOT IGNORANT.

I sure as he!! hope that the owners are holding him accountable for his failures as the coach!

I have much more to say/add and I am sure it will come out through discussions on this wonderful forum.

As I have said many times before - let the arrows fly and throw them rocks!

[grizzly]

You make some good points. The Vaski incident was perhaps the most glaring and it certainly came back to bite us. Grimaldi is up there too. Having said that, though, nobody is perfect. I'm a huge Seahawks fan and for the entire Holmgren era I had a love/hate relationship with him as a coach. His conservative style drove me nuts, but in the end it was the most successful period in Seahawks history (which isn't saying much) and he got results. I'm in the same boat now with Carroll as coach. I hated the hiring originally, but it appears that he might be building a contender....only time will tell.

We may not all agree with everything Ferras does, but you can't argue with the fact that he helped build an expansion team from the ground up and won a championship a year later and had them on the doorstep of another one last year. The end result this year was disappointing for sure, but when you look at some other teams in the CHL, the Rush are in a MUCH better situation. You have to counter the bad you describe in your post with all of the good. I think when you do that, the good wins out easily, but that's just my opinion.

[C141 Bones]

You make some good points. The Vaski incident was perhaps the most glaring and it certainly came back to bite us. Grimaldi is up there too. Having said that, though, nobody is perfect. I'm a huge Seahawks fan and for the entire Holmgren era I had a love/hate relationship with him as a coach. His conservative style drove me nuts, but in the end it was the most successful period in Seahawks history (which isn't saying much) and he got results. I'm in the same boat now with Carroll as coach. I hated the hiring originally, but it appears that he might be building a contender....only time will tell.

We may not all agree with everything Ferras does, but you can't argue with the fact that he helped build an expansion team from the ground up and won a championship a year later and had them on the doorstep of another one last year. The end result this year was disappointing for sure, but when you look at some other teams in the CHL, the Rush are in a MUCH better situation. You have to counter the bad you describe in your post with all of the good. I think when you do that, the good wins out easily, but that's just my opinion.

That's exactly what I am looking for in replies to this. I do focus on the negatives observed - but, we all have to remember the positives. You know from prior posts and your activity that your opinion is valued. I am a Browns fan if that tells you anything about NFL frustration! Thanks for sharing and reminding that there is a positive that accompanies negatives.

[grizzly]

That's exactly what I am looking for in replies to this. I do focus on the negatives observed - but, we all have to remember the positives. You know from prior posts and your activity that your opinion is valued. I am a Browns fan if that tells you anything about NFL frustration! Thanks for sharing and reminding that there is a positive that accompanies negatives.

Well, if you're a Browns fan, then maybe you understand my feelings toward Holmgren (although he doesn't coach the Browns....yet)! If nothing else, the Seahawks now have the hippest uniforms in the league (love em or hate em). Pretty sure you'll be able to read those white and lime green numbers from space. But I digress...

[dunlop]

The coach not talking to the team during a time out happens somewhat regularly in the NHL. I watched Babcock do the same thing to the Wings just a couple weeks ago. It's sending a message.

[MavsFanJoe]

Sometimes a coach will take a timeout just to rest players instead of changing up. Sometimes the coach lets the on-ice leaders take over. Sometimes a coach is incompetent. This last statement is not applicable in the "R's" case, IMHO. A very successful franchise since inception. Much the same as my beloved Mavs, except you guys have a cup, we do not (yet).

Earlier this season, when the Mavs were going through some serious home-ice doldrums. There were some players that went unsigned and many were fan favorites. The Mavs' management spent some real $$$ against the salary cap to sign Thinel and McGrane. These decisions, at the time, did not appear to be wise. There were several "fans" calling for Hillman's head. I understand your frustration, but as a fan, we will never know the entire, full thought process behind personnel decisions. If I had that kind of knowledge and ability I would not be a fan, but I would be wearing the suit and pacing behind the bench each game. Also, we traded away a very good back up goaltender to FTW because we had 3 quality netminders on the roster. Well, then it turns out Lavente Szuper had ideas of returning back to the Russian premier league, leaving us with untested rookies and playing Charlie Effinger to near death (thank goodness he's an outstanding athlete and willing to play every day). Yeah, some decisions come back to bit you in the bum, but maybe Vaskivuo was a cancer in the locker room. Who knows.

About you comment on future considerations. I have it from very reliable sources that future considerations range from everything to another player to cash (meal vouchers? -- I like that).

Keep the faith. You guys have a great organization and will always be contenders. That is, unless things really go the heck and you, and us down here in Missouri also, end up like the Thunder for the two or three seasons that preceded this season.

[tpshlfpnutbutr&jelly]

I agree with MFJ in the fact the the Rush have had great success from day one. I realize once the championship is won by a team nothing less is good enough ..i get it ..however IMHO the Rush are a solid franchise.
One never knows why a leader does some of the things he does but for sure he believes its for a reason and in his mind a good one..this is why he was hired and given the trust to run the bench. Every leader knows if he/she is successful all is genius ..and all is questioned even if its a few steps short of the day before. Life is a test of our character more than our abilities. The Rush are a success.

[C141 Bones]

tpshlfpb&j and MavsFanJoe-

Thanks for the responses on this topic. Your opinions as hockey fans of another team really make you completely unbiased in your views. I wrote this monster of a post because of the things I have viewed over this past season. The Rush are and have been a success and nothing can take that away other than the organization themselves. I did not write this to place all blame on the coach - but, somebody has got to be responsible for both the good and bad. If I tried to write the positive/negative post - you may not be done reading it yet. Thanks and good luck to you in your quest for the cup!

[Bobcat9]

I am pretty sure the Coach is responsible for both the good and bad? I have to ask, how many coaches would we have had by now if we canned every coach that has not met the expectations of a some over these last few years? I expect it would be like a revolving door if we were under that type of management. We had a good season, sure we fell short of expectations. Not the end of the world.

[C141 Bones]

I am pretty sure the Coach is responsible for both the good and bad? I have to ask, how many coaches would we have had by now if we canned every coach that has not met the expectations of a some over these last few years? I expect it would be like a revolving door if we were under that type of management. We had a good season, sure we fell short of expectations. Not the end of the world.

Without a doubt we would go through several a season. Managing the IR, the revolving door of players in-and-out all took a toll on our team this year and I am damn proud that they were able to work through that. I think our initial expectations of the post-season were met by making it. Once there, I agree that we fell short. One thing that was not mentioned in my initial "book" of a post was that at times - we would abandon what worked one night to the next once are guys were healthy. The line-changes I could follow at times and could not even come close the next. This included the series with the K's. Our defense was talented and if you looked at the stat sheet - they produced. However, outside of individual talent - they never seemed to get on the same sheet of music. This seemed to be the case the entire 2nd half of the season and into the post-season. It just never seemed to be addressed. We were not physical, the turnovers were terrible usually resulting in a goal or Tim/Danny bailing them out - and the momentary lapses where it looked like we were observing our opponent out-work usually leading to goals against. IMO, we were much better than how we played on the "D". I also think that with the amount of talent we had - they had to be coached a certain way. Having 8 cup-winners on a team - they had tasted it and wanted to taste it again. Perhaps it was as some have said - we had too much talent, if that's possible. I am not sure that we were ever able to get to that point of taking the individual strengths of our players and utilizing them correctly. The biggest one that comes to mind is Kyrzakos and the PP. When healthy, he should have never been left out our PP. That was one of his greatest assets - yet, even when healthy - he was left out a good part of the time.