The Pacific Division Thread

Clif said:
…this is their biggest weakness.
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We rejoiced when they fired Todd… only to find him replaced by a guy who may be more Todd than real Todd. Hiller’s obnoxious arrogance and his steadfast refusal to learn from his mistakes will eventually be his downfall.

So far this year, the players aren’t covering for Hiller’s shortcomings as they did in the previous 2 seasons. The guys on the ice are a very talented and solid team capable of overcoming bad coaching, especially last year.

They don’t look as unified right now. I think Hiller’s terrible decision making in last year’s playoffs seems to have eroded the players’ confidence/loyalty, and cost Hiller heavily in terms of credibility… as demonstrated by Foegele’s “f***ing coward”…
 
VCRW said:
We rejoiced when they fired Todd… only to find him replaced by a guy who may be more Todd than real Todd. Hiller’s obnoxious arrogance and his steadfast refusal to learn from his mistakes will eventually be his downfall.

So far this year, the players aren’t covering for Hiller’s shortcomings as they did in the previous 2 seasons. The guys on the ice are a very talented and solid team capable of overcoming bad coaching, especially last year.

They don’t look as unified right now. I think Hiller’s terrible decision making in last year’s playoffs seems to have eroded the players’ confidence/loyalty, and cost Hiller heavily in terms of credibility… as demonstrated by Foegele’s “f***ing coward”…
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It’s such unearned arrogance, too. I was among the rest who cheered McClellan’s firing because it was clearly time, but he was always a class act. Hiller not so and his behavior in the playoffs, including post game scrums, is unforgivable.

I see his firing as basically imminent. And should this team still make the playoffs, they cannot win the way he rolls lines and exhausts the team. His longest run possible is another first round exit.
 
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VCRW said:
We rejoiced when they fired Todd… only to find him replaced by a guy who may be more Todd than real Todd. Hiller’s obnoxious arrogance and his steadfast refusal to learn from his mistakes will eventually be his downfall.

So far this year, the players aren’t covering for Hiller’s shortcomings as they did in the previous 2 seasons. The guys on the ice are a very talented and solid team capable of overcoming bad coaching, especially last year.

They don’t look as unified right now. I think Hiller’s terrible decision making in last year’s playoffs seems to have eroded the players’ confidence/loyalty, and cost Hiller heavily in terms of credibility… as demonstrated by Foegele’s “f***ing coward”…
Click to expand...
It's crazy to me that a coach who handled the playoffs so poorly last season, and essentially tried to enact a cheat code using only part of the team and neglecting the rest, is still coaching this team. When Hiller came on, he seemed like a guy with a high EQ who could build the culture of the team. It seems, however, at some point his imposter syndrome caught up to him and he either lost confidence in himself, in the team, or both. The biggest problem, however, is that it was extremely visible to all.

He reminds me a lot of Sean McVay, sans the success.
 
Clif said:
I’m still mad too, bud. All the factors they could hope for to maximize their chances were there. And they simply blew it.

Playoffs are funny. The year Vegas won FL was too beat up in the Finals to be competitive. That was Edmonton’s other year to win it. No one was going to beat FL last year. But I do believe Kings could have at least reached that stage since Vegas was playing poorly and DAL was imploding and Deboer threw his goalie under the bus. Don’t know what it is but DAL has looked terrible each of the last WCF.

This year looks to be such a slog to make it I don’t know any team is going to feel come playoff time. I think SEA and ANH will fall off just because it’s generally a hard step up for non-playoff teams to take. But by some chance they don’t it’s going to be an absolute grind for all, nevermind just the Kings. I said Vegas is class of the division but Ducks have as many points in as many games and even a couple more goals scored.
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In regards to the Vegas / Ducks comparison. I will add that Vegas has been without Stone for the last 6+ games. He had been on fire scoring 11 points in just 5 games. If that team is healthy come playoffs, and Petro comes back to play. Just give them the cup already.
 
DryKing said:
It's crazy to me that a coach who handled the playoffs so poorly last season, and essentially tried to enact a cheat code using only part of the team and neglecting the rest, is still coaching this team. When Hiller came on, he seemed like a guy with a high EQ who could build the culture of the team. It seems, however, at some point his imposter syndrome caught up to him and he either lost confidence in himself, in the team, or both. The biggest problem, however, is that it was extremely visible to all.

He reminds me a lot of Sean McVay, sans the success.
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Maybe the team has lost confidence/??? in him as well. Referring back to Foegele's "freaking coward" remark from a few weeks ago.
 
symbology said:
In regards to the Vegas / Ducks comparison. I will add that Vegas has been without Stone for the last 6+ games. He had been on fire scoring 11 points in just 5 games. If that team is healthy come playoffs, and Petro comes back to play. Just give them the cup already.
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Pietrangelo is ineligible to return this season and there's a good chance he will never play in the NHL again.
 
santiclaws said:
Pietrangelo is ineligible to return this season and there's a good chance he will never play in the NHL again.
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I'd go a step further and say it would be a modern day miracle for him to return. He's leaving hockey hoping that his body heals to the point where he can function normally without the stress of playing. He's basically stopping playing in the hopes he can be a normal person for his family as he ages. I remember when he dropped during a game, and how happy I was that he was ok and returned; he's always been a great player.
 
Ice Rhino said:
I'd go a step further and say it would be a modern day miracle for him to return. He's leaving hockey hoping that his body heals to the point where he can function normally without the stress of playing. He's basically stopping playing in the hopes he can be a normal person for his family as he ages. I remember when he dropped during a game, and how happy I was that he was ok and returned; he's always been a great player.
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That's extremely sad to hear - like you said, he was a great player and left it all on the ice. I hope he heals up and is able to live a normal life.
 
hokiecat said:
Ignore the Ducks at your own risk. Q is a great coach and they are currently in first place in the Pacific. Kings will be scrapping for 3rd or the wild card spot.
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They will go as far as their goalie takes them.
Been saying on other forums that they are gonna be good.
Becket Sennecke is pretty darn good, esp right out of the draft.
 
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