• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

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

Once again tapping into the fountain of loserville that is the 2010’s San Jose Sharks is concerning. Nothing against Pavelski but haven’t we seen enough from that org already?

None of the names out there are great.
 
Pavelski is kinda the anti Thornton/Marleau though. Guys that coasted on skill.

He had none. He was small and slow and a 7th round pick and put up a 500 goal 1000 point career because of his hard work and hockey iq. All the reports on him was that he was like another coach when he was playing.

He’s interesting for sure.

A massive risk though.
 
Woodcroft is a pure x and o/analytics guy with a ton of experience and a pretty solid, though short record.

Eakins is a motivation/analytics guy with a poor record.

Roy just wins, but he seems more old school than anyone else on the list.

Interested in what names we don’t know yet,
 
leafman101 said:
Woodcroft is a pure x and o/analytics guy with a ton of experience and a pretty solid, though short record.

Eakins is a motivation/analytics guy with a poor record.

Roy just wins, but he seems more old school than anyone else on the list.

Interested in what names we don’t know yet,
Click to expand...
I don’t want to defend Eakins but the guy was pre McDavid Oilers and a shit Duck team. If ever anyone warrants another chance it could be this guy. I wouldn’t be angry if my team interviewed him, but I think Pavelski and Woodcroft are better candidates. Roy , worse
 
Coach isn't just behind the bench in my mind, he's responsible for being the face of the entire hockey "program". An inexperienced coach, albeit an ex-player, seems risky there. Bring him in as a well-paid assistant and let him cut his teeth for a season or two behind a guys like Woodcroft.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
I don’t want to defend Eakins but the guy was pre McDavid Oilers and a shit Duck team. If ever anyone warrants another chance it could be this guy. I wouldn’t be angry if my team interviewed him, but I think Pavelski and Woodcroft are better candidates. Roy , worse
Click to expand...


Ok, so I’m fully willing to concede that there is a legitimate argument to be made that Eakins was handed some bad rosters.

But at the end of the day, who gives a shit? The next coach the Leafs hire is going to get handed potentially the remainder of this team's championship window, and maybe the remainder of Auston Matthews' Leaf career, if things go badly enough in the next year or two. And it'd be insane to hand that opportunity to a 60 year-old who's head coached 404 career NHL games and won 34% of them.

If he "warrants" another chance, let him get it somewhere with lower stakes.
 
I think Woodcroft best candidate that we’ve heard so far. I could be convinced that Eakins is what we’re looking for in a candidate that hasn’t gotten a quality roster.

Bruce Cassidy probably the safest name out there.

Problem I have with Pavelski is he hasn’t coached. Coaching his kids youth team doesn’t count. And being an advisor at UofWisconsin isn’t head coaching experience.
 
LeafGm said:
Ok, so I’m fully willing to concede that there is a legitimate argument to be made that Eakins was handed some bad rosters.

But at the end of the day, who gives a shit? The next coach the Leafs hire is going to get handed potentially the remainder of this team's championship window, and maybe the remainder of Auston Matthews' Leaf career, if things go badly enough in the next year or two. And it'd be insane to hand that opportunity to a 60 year-old who's head coached 404 career NHL games and won 34% of them.

If he "warrants" another chance, let him get it somewhere with lower stakes.
Click to expand...
To be clear i dont think the Leafs should hire him, but he belongs in a better bucket than the classic old retread
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top