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

hockeylover said:
I was curious the other day and looked up David Carle after he was raving about McKenna and holy shit has he ever been successful.

( but also Jesus Christ will I ever feel ancient if the GM and coach of the leafs are both born in 1989)
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there's always the thing where managing and motivating amateur kids trying to make the show is completely different than doing it with the best players in the world with the security of generational wealth.
 
I'm verrrry wary of coaches that get crazy hype outside the NHL. He may well be a great NHL coach, and I don't mind them going off the board, but there's zero evidence that he'll be successful.

I prefer to just trust John. Let him do his homework and he'll be able to get a better idea than any of us, especially with these unknown guys like assistant coaches or especially college coaches. We have zero information on how they'd handle an NHL bench.
 
Fake nerd went off the board in Pittsburgh and appeared to have good results with Dan Muse . I don't mind going that route if real nerd did his due diligence with Carle
 
Preston said:
I'm verrrry wary of coaches that get crazy hype outside the NHL. He may well be a great NHL coach, and I don't mind them going off the board, but there's zero evidence that he'll be successful.

I prefer to just trust John. Let him do his homework and he'll be able to get a better idea than any of us, especially with these unknown guys like assistant coaches or especially college coaches. We have zero information on how they'd handle an NHL bench.
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I guess the smart play to balance no expeience/track record at all and ooh i dont want that Lavioretread is to simply hire Bruce Cassidy
 
Preston said:
I'm verrrry wary of coaches that get crazy hype outside the NHL. He may well be a great NHL coach, and I don't mind them going off the board, but there's zero evidence that he'll be successful.

I prefer to just trust John. Let him do his homework and he'll be able to get a better idea than any of us, especially with these unknown guys like assistant coaches or especially college coaches. We have zero information on how they'd handle an NHL bench.
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I mean sure, but it’s a discussion board so we’re discussing in the meantime. Won’t be too critical of the pick unless it’s a previously demonstrated idiot (unlikely)
 
If Cassidy is all in on data, that's the best play here. Understands how to move in a real media market with expectations, has a track record of success with a cup ring, is Infact an X's and O's guy.

But yeah I'm sure his preference is to live in Edmonton in the winter so it's a long shot at best.
 
I’m on board for a coach that’s willing to let the analytics department carry the water on x and os and usage.

Don’t really care about experience or if he’s “a great motivator”.
 
Yeah I'm just saying I don't have many strong feelings about this one like I did with the gm pick unless it's laviolette or something (it won't be).

They have the nerd GM, he's gonna get a feel for which coach he believes will form the best partnership with him, the r&d team, and the sports science team, in addition to gauging how they may handle dealing with a major market. Without being in those interviews it's gonna be hard to know who that guy is. John will know. We no longer have to hope and pray for a leafs gm to accidentally make the right decision.
 
Kampf might actually be an example of data-driven decisions gone wrong. They thought his defensive nerdies meant he was something he wasn;'t.

I don't even need the coach to be some nerd, as long as he listens to the nerd. I do want the coach to be a guy who naturally feels at home in puck possession puck moving style hockey though.
 
Yeah let the nerds be nerds. Coaches need to understand hockey and how to run a bench and general managers need to be able to manage a large team and be able to process a lot of information (often conflicting) from different (or maybe even within the same!) departments in the org.

They both, however, need to use the nerds as their primary tool in every single decision they make.
 
coach needs to turns nerdy insights into player behaviour

MSL is always going on about 'how did we manage the puck tonight' which is about possession

what to do with the puck?
what to do if your team has the puck? (get into a space that gives the puck carrier options)
what to do do if the opponent has the puck (reduce their options, get puck back)
 
Preston said:
I'm verrrry wary of coaches that get crazy hype outside the NHL. He may well be a great NHL coach, and I don't mind them going off the board, but there's zero evidence that he'll be successful.

I prefer to just trust John. Let him do his homework and he'll be able to get a better idea than any of us, especially with these unknown guys like assistant coaches or especially college coaches. We have zero information on how they'd handle an NHL bench.
Click to expand...

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