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The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds

zeke said:
Dom's secret sauce is that he was the first public nerd to accept that actual goals matter too (and usage), and blended goals and expected goals and usage to create imo the best public system.
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As an aside, it bugs me that he stopped publishing player cards for The Athletic (I think he admitted that he’s just too lazy?)
 
zeke said:
I think Chayka and Carle would largely be in line with each other on what kinds of players they want to add/remove.
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This would easily be all sorted out in the interview process.

Even if I didn’t want to give a noob the job, I’d still pick his brain during an interview or two. Might uncover something solid and at the very least build a Rolodex for the future
 
CH1 said:
As an aside, it bugs me that he stopped publishing player cards for The Athletic (I think he admitted that he’s just too lazy?)
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His cards kinda stunk - they just show the total for this year, not the actual forward looking rating which is the only number i need.

But he ended up just letting this guy do it for him....and he does it better because it's always updated: https://hockeystatcards.com/?year=20252026&type=3
 
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Preston said:
Does he pass the lof looks test?
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Yeah, he looks capable.

I question the youth and lack of experience though. The new guy needs to have the credibility to channel the power to push our guys to the next level. I don't know if a guy with zero NHL experience can do it, though I wouldn't be against it if they decide he can.
 
Doesn’t
Push our guys to the next level = dig in?

Just surround your guys with better guys and devise a plan that showcases the roster's strengths
 
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Nah. Push is how you motivate your guys to want to get better. Mental prep.

Dig in is standing around like a concussed moron just telling players to try harder. Big difference.

Reminds me of a guy we play street hockey with. He's constantly yelling at his teammates to "steal it!" "get it!" "run!!" "pass it!" - as though they don't know and aren't already trying to. It's the Biff method.
 
CH1 said:
I never coached Auston Matthews so genuinely curious if he needs to be pushed
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I've always been of the mind that elite athletes don't get there without the work ethic to match as a general rule. A coaches job isn't to push them, it's to maximize the work the athlete is already putting in through system, deployment, etc.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
Push is the wrong word.

Elevate.
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Ok...because I was gonna say motivation is probably not even 10% of a coach's job at the NHL level. But the media loves that angle because it's a movie trope that everyone from a 5 year old kid to a 95 yr old granny can grasp
 
zeke said:
a guy that scores 69 goals and leads all nhl forwards in blocked shots by a country mile since he entered the league doesn't need to be pushed.
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maybe give him more offensive zone time? delegate some of his shutown duties to your Scott Laughton, perhaps?
 
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