Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Coaching 'Circle'

04/18/2017 at 1:48pm EDT

from Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News,

Two months ago, Sabres captain Brian Gionta made a point to say coaching systems didn't really matter in the NHL. It was the 15-year veteran's way of saying most teams approach the game in similar fashion and, therefore, his younger teammates and others needed to stop whining about Dan Bylsma.

Gionta is an authority when it comes to systems. He had 11 coaches in his career, including two stints with Larry Robinson in New Jersey. Styles varied in terms of communication, but X's and O's were basically the same. There are no secrets in the NHL. Hockey always has been, and forever shall be, an effort sport.

Like most, the NHL is a copycat league. The shortage of original thought is one reason many of the same coaches are hired and fired every year. It's not as if they were qualified when they were hired, forgot how to coach, became unqualified in defeat, were fired and became qualified again and rehired.

NHL general managers are in the business of winning and protecting personnel decisions for the purposes of job preservation. They lean toward experience because it's an easier sell and increases chances of success. Thing is, experienced coaches usually become available because their previous teams failed.

Getting fired doesn't necessarily equate to being a bad coach – unless you're Ron Rolston, of course – or implementing a flawed system. It often means A) the general manager needed a scapegoat for a lousy roster he assembled because, heaven forbid, it's the GM's fault; B) the coach's message grew stale; C) players underachieved or, most common, D) all of the above.

Look around.

You can select any team's history and take off on a dizzying ride on the NHL's coaching merry-go-round.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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