[A] The Hot Seat: Joel Quenneville

[bookjones]

Oh shit! Wait, I totally forgot the most important thing---coming up with logical lines takes nothing but common sense that even fans can see it but it all means JACKSHIT if---in typical Hawks game fashion---that's just how they start the game technically but then The Q Random Line Generator of High Panic turns on before mid-way through the 1st. Sensible lines with potential longterm success are nothing but theory if you don't leave them the **** alone to develop some rhythm and pacing and chemistry. D'uh.

 

[CLWolf81]

Not long ago, #10 was playing center when the beloved hoisted the Cup. Okay, so he prefers to play the wing and Q will acquiesce to Sharp's desires. Shame. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Only thing is, moving Sharp to center is not a desperate measure.



XXXX-Capt Serious- Kane

XXXX-Sharp- Hossa

(ABB)- Bolland-XXXX

XXXX-Mayers-XXXX



XXXX=Fill in the blanks

ABB=Anybody But Bickell

Shouldn't any line be ABB? -.-

 

[dlrob315]

So coach Q received the "kiss of death" today?

 

[CLWolf81]

So coach Q received the "kiss of death" today?

Apparently.



Should have happened after the San Jose game.

 

[fanof19]

So coach Q received the "kiss of death" today?

Yup.

 

[R K]

http://bleacherrepor...re-mike-kitchen



Chicago Blackhawks: Why It's Time to Fire Mike Kitchen



By Jim Weihofen



(Correspondent) on February 11, 2012



Lost in the chaos of the post-Cup fire sale for the Chicago Blackhawks was the departure of assistant coach John Torchetti. With playoff heroes Antii Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd leaving town, along with fan favorites Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, Adam Burish and John Madden, fans barely took notice of Torchetti's departure.

The reasoning was solid, you'd just lost your entire third line, a very likeable defenseman, your starting goalie and a converted D-man who was skating on the first line with the most exciting young forward tandem in the league. Besides, the Hawks brought in Mike Kitchen, who had a history with vaunted head coach Joel Quenneville, so surely nothing was really the matter with this.

How wrong this would prove. Torchetti left to become an associate coach with the then-Atlanta Thrashers, joining many of the Hawks' jettisoned players. Right about then, the coaching nightmares began.

In 2010-11, the Blackhawks defense took a major step backwards. Sure, losing Brent Sopel hurt, and the regression of Nick Boynton back to his career norms didn't help, but the PK went from fourth in the league at 89.3 percent to a miserable 79.2 percent.

Who was in charge of the PK? You guessed it, Mike Kitchen.

So, for this season, Kitchen and Mike Haviland switched roles. The PK stayed awful, as the defense is arguably worse for wear this season over last, mainly due to the departure of Brian Campbell, and finding no suitable replacement, in addition to the loss of gritty penalty killers like Tomas Kopecky and Troy Brouwer.

The power play, however, now coached by Kitchen, dropped from fourth in the league at 23.5 percent under Haviland in 2010-11, to a paltry 17.9 percent this season, good for 14th in the league.

Kitchen's success as a coach has been questionable at best, as is evidenced by his time as the St. Louis Blues head coach. When Quenneville was fired towards the end of the 2003-04 season, Kitchen stepped into his spot, and got the Blues into the playoffs, losing in the first round, but still instilling some hope.

The next season in St. Louis was an utter nightmare. The Blues went from a playoff team to an awful 21-46-15 under Kitchen's reign, and with equal levels of ineptitude to start the next season, Kitchen was replaced by Andy Murray after starting the season at 7-17-4. Murray rallied the Blues to finish the season at 27-18-11, though they still missed the playoffs.

Kitchen went on to be an assistant in Florida for the next three seasons, during which time the Panthers went a total of 111-102-33, just missing a playoff spot in 2008-09. None of their seasons were very successful, and Kitchen's last in Florida saw the Panthers finish 14th in the Eastern Conference.

Still, Quenneville turned to his old friend to take Torchetti's spot. While they never missed the playoffs together, they also never even made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

With the team's struggles, and Stan Bowman's refusal to make a big move to fix the team, letting Kitchen seek greener pastures may be the only way to save this season.

I was told flat out the other night Torchetti leaving meant absolutely nothing. "He was no big loss", Even though I know for a fact, at least with some of the players, it most certainly did.



Funny it now appears in an article by someone else.

 

[fanof19]

I was told flat out the other night Torchetti leaving meant absolutely nothing. "He was no big loss", Even though I know for a fact, at least with some of the players, it most certainly did.



Funny it now appears in an article by someone else.

It absolutely meant something. and.....Torch LEFT. hmmmm wonder why? McMonkeybusiness perhaps???

 

[R K]

It absolutely meant something. and.....Torch LEFT. hmmmm wonder why? McMonkeybusiness perhaps???

I know damn well it did and said so. Appears I wasn't the only one that thought or knew that.

 

[MassHavoc]

Who told you it didn't?

 

[R K]

Who told you it didn't?

Your benovolent site leader. He demanded I tell him names of those it effected on the team, IE players. When I suggested it most certainly could help in this mess they are going through if Torch was here and or could be a difference maker.



Again it is what it is. But there's someone else that just suggested it who I seriously doubt has insight into why I suggested it.

 

[Pez68]

That's assuming Q would allow him to have any say in fixing shit.

 

[R K]

That's assuming Q would allow him to have any say in fixing shit.

Which was why I said he was gone. He was opinionated. Changed things on his own. You think Kitchen does.



Either way it was a valid point and he did make a difference in several areas. When you aren't a Yes Mam in this organization, at no matter what level, you aren't in this organization.

 

[BigPete]

I was told flat out the other night Torchetti leaving meant absolutely nothing. "He was no big loss", Even though I know for a fact, at least with some of the players, it most certainly did.



Funny it now appears in an article by someone else.

Yeah I brought that up recently...granted it was in my typical passive aggressive way but I did it for a reason.

 

[Pez68]

Which was why I said he was gone. He was opinionated. Changed things on his own. You think Kitchen does.



Either way it was a valid point and he did make a difference in several areas. When you aren't a Yes Mam in this organization, at no matter what level, you aren't in this organization.

I have no doubt that is true. I couldn't imagine being involved in this organization.

 

[R K]

Yeah I brought that up recently...granted it was in my typical passive aggressive way but I did it for a reason.

It is what it is. You remove all the people that have an opinion, and you have a few people running things. On both the operations and business sides. That's what they want and they have gotten it. A lot of good people have left just because of it.



Wonder why Burke was so fast to grab Dudley and put him in his organization. I didn't just pull it out of my ass when I said it. I NEVER usually do that. If you want my knowledge it'll be somewhere else.

 

[BigPete]

Ron, some people don't have your access or years of experience watching this team at camps, practices, and games. Just saying.

 

[R K]

Ron, some people don't have your access or years of experience watching this team at camps, practices, and games. Just saying.

But those that do, I expect more from, other than what I got for the suggestion.



This team was helped by character, not only from the team on the ice, but the operations side and coaching side. Torch was part of that character. When you have people like Dudley, architect in TWO Stanley Cup teams and players such as Brouwer and Campbell saying things as they did, at some point you have to sit back and think about what they said, and why.



I still totally believe the talent on this CURRENT team can over come the Bullshit, but part of me asks the question, will they. When you have a player saying that the organization in a horrible market is more fun to play for than Chicago, and you ask the question, why?



Not a good way to retain certain players when they go UFA in a few years. Just sayin!

 

[the canadian dream]

Soooooo by bowman endorcing the coach while you all hate him just lends more proof to my theory that stan sucks.





I win.



You lose



stus a fucktard





but most importantly....i win

 

[Pez68]

That's the kiss of death for most coaches.

 

[the canadian dream]

That's actually true pez. But this bowman ee are talking about.