Originally posted by JayJayDean...and Paul Kariya's going to Edmonton, San Jose, NASHVILLE?!?!
I read this on friday and I thought I had entered Bizarro World. The Preds made a big splash and will be a better team than in 03/04. And they'll be fun to watch too.
Anybody know anything about the Ducks new coach, Carlyle? I liked Babcock when he was the coach and read that he spurned the Ducks offer to return as coach. I guess the Wings job is more prestigious but I was wondering why he turned down the Ducks offer too.
He turned down the Ducks offer because he and Burke wouldn't get along at all and it could only end with him leaving. They have totally different styles and I guess he figured it would be better to leave on his own terms before the season rather than try to find work mid-way through with whichever losing team dumped their coach too.
Randy Carlyle is a former Norris Trophy winning defenseman who played with Washington and Toronto, but spent most of his career in Winnipeg. He's had coaching/General Manager stints with the Manitoba Moose of the IHL and now AHL, as well as a year or two as an assistant coach in Buffalo with the Sabres. He's a no-frills, no-nonsense coach who gets his players to compete hard every night, and has no qualms about benching those who don't. He has them do what it takes to win, and has enjoyed success with the Moose as a result, especially this last year where they went deep into the playoffs.
As for Mike Babcock, he preaches a defense-first outlook that took the Ducks to the Cup Final two seasons ago, whereas Brian Burke prefers a more open offensive style of play, and will be trying to stock the team with players who fit that mold (like Scott Niedermayer). That's why there would be a clash between Burke and Babcock, and why Babcock chose to go elsewhere.
What makes me very, very happy is the fact that the Flames brought in some help for Jarome Iginla in Tony Amonte & Darren McCarty.
First Line: Iginla, Steve Reinprecht & Daymond Langkow Second Line: McCarty, Donovan & Marcus Nilson Third Line: Amonte, Matt Lombardi & Chuck Kobasew Checkers: Some combination of Chris Simon, Stephane Yelle, Jason Wiemer, Lynn Loyns & rookie Eric Nystrom (if he makes the team)
As much as I hated the Rangers (as a huge Bruins fan) back then, I have always been a big Richter fan as long as he wasn't playing the Bruins. I loved his style of goaltending. Congratulations to him, he deserved it.