Well, I think one postseason award is decided

[TehDoak]

Laviolette in Carolina is winning the Jack Adams. As bad as everyone thought Buffalo was going to be before the season, everyone thought Carolina would be worse. 1st in the league, 13 wins this month. And we have to play them 3 times before the end of the season. No matter how Buffalo finishes this year, they may have to play Ottawa or Carolina in the 2nd round.

[Weezel RX7]

Laviolette inherited his team...Ruff coached his

[Moon Man]

Originally Posted by Weezel RX7

Laviolette inherited his team...Ruff coached his

Good call... but will the majority of hockey broadcasters feel the same way?

If by seasons end things have progressed as they have so far, they may be overwhelmed by a teams respective finish in the standings rather than the thought and effort to improve them.

[signalIInoise]

Lindy's done a fantastic job this season, and everyone knows that. It'd be nice to have the award, but on the upside, I have no problems with Carolina getting the Jack Adams curse.

[Hooey]

There's still a lot of hockey to play.

[Chainshot]

The Canes do NOT play Paul Maurice's system any longer however. Laviolette has them playing an up-tempo speed and puck-control game that is about as far from PM's trap-ee-ness as can be. Ruff's adapted (though the defense mindset is still there and more evident as the games progress), but Laviolette has as well. He, Ruff and Renney have all done very well with what the pundits claimed were also ran lineups. The teams they "inherited" were predicted to be cellar dwellars en masse, so whatever they have done has been noteworthy. That Laviolette has also foster the offensive explosion from Staal and found a way to re-kindle Brindy's "A" game is nearly worth the award just as coaching accomplishments.

[jBuds]

Originally Posted by Chainshot

The Canes do NOT play Paul Maurice's system any longer however. Laviolette has them playing an up-tempo speed and puck-control game that is about as far from PM's trap-ee-ness as can be. Ruff's adapted (though the defense mindset is still there and more evident as the games progress), but Laviolette has as well. He, Ruff and Renney have all done very well with what the pundits claimed were also ran lineups. The teams they "inherited" were predicted to be cellar dwellars en masse, so whatever they have done has been noteworthy. That Laviolette has also foster the offensive explosion from Staal and found a way to re-kindle Brindy's "A" game is nearly worth the award just as coaching accomplishments.

Laviolette stunned me with this one, too. I didn't expect Rod Brindy to do ANYTHING this year, and he's playing some of his best hockey.

But then again, if the award was based on the scrutiny of coaches changing players' attitudes and game habits, Lindy would take it down in a heartbeat.

Tim Connolly? Career year
Paul Gaustad? Who?
Jason Pominville? Who? On pace for a 30 goal season.
Toni Lydman? Just a throwaway from Calgary? Top D-Man
Teppo Numminen? Team leader in assists
Brian Campbell? Career year


I think that Ruff not only has less to work with, he also has built this team exactly to his liking, and that's worked out pretty effectively. Personally, I think that if you inherit a guy like Eric Staal, you'd have to be a fool to not make it work

[eyeisnikk]

as i recall... from most of the publications and also SOME of our loyal fans... we were going to be 3rd to last in the east... or something like that... not even close to making the playoffs... I myself never got on the hate regier bandwagon.... over the summer.... but we all make mistakes...

[Briere03]

Not to mention the fact that our best player has only played 24 games.

[Chainshot]

Originally Posted by Briere03

Not to mention the fact that our best player has only played 24 games.

Miller's only played in 23....

[Crazy Tasty]

Originally Posted by Chainshot

Miller's only played in 23....

You beat me to it Chain... I was just trying to find exactly how many he has played...