"The Young and the Restless" from thehockeywriters.com

[dasnut]

http://thehockeywriters.com/the-young-and-the-restless-blue-jackets-hitchcock-seek-common-ground/

Saw this posted by someone on puckrakers, thought everyone on CBJ247 should read it.  I have tried to remain silent during these tough times as I truly don't know what the problem is with this team.  But this article has definitely added some interesting insight to our teams problems.  If Hitch can't adjust for these new times, then I believe he does need to go.  Unfortunately, we do not make these decisions.  Mike Priest, Scott Howson and Co. need to read an article like this to realize that Hitch needs to adjust and adjust quickly to help this team take the next step from the solid foundation he has created here in Cbus.  Will he adjust? I'm not so certain he will, for his coaching history proves he has not changed his style of coaching.  If he wants to have any type of successful career from now moving forward he must adjust his style/belief/philosophy or whatever you want to call it, because his point is obviously not getting across and we the fans are seriously suffering from it.

[gregin120]

It's a very thought-provoking article.  I referenced it in my latest Matters of Weight post.

[puckhogg]

great article......a must read.....

[dasnut]

It's a very thought-provoking article.  I referenced it in my latest Matters of Weight post.

Yes, I saw that (yet again great job by the way), just thought this article in itself could create an insightful and lengthy conversation as to the hopes of the future of this organization.  I know there is already topics discussing the firing of Hitch, what's wrong with the team, etc. but this article was so well written, I felt it necessary to create a topic specifically for what was written and in hopes to gather a worthy conversation on it.

[puckhogg]

i don't claim to have any inside information ( unlike fly and his buddy eklund ) but i have wondered for weeks if hitch has lost the room...after reading this i am reminded of the old yogi berra line....deja vu all over again....you know scotty is not happy with the way filatov was handled and with his latest " i support hitch " comments, you have to wonder if that is the kiss of death....

this article is very thought provoking and IF everything the writer says is true of what happened in philly and dallas , you really have to wonder.....

but all of this goes away with a 4 game winning streak....

[bring back danny]

i don't claim to have any inside information ( unlike fly and his buddy eklund ) but i have wondered for weeks if hitch has lost the room...after reading this i am reminded of the old yogi berra line....deja vu all over again....you know scotty is not happy with the way filatov was handled and with his latest " i support hitch " comments, you have to wonder if that is the kiss of death....

this article is very thought provoking and IF everything the writer says is true of what happened in philly and dallas , you really have to wonder.....

but all of this goes away with a 4 game winning streak....

Which put guys like me in a weird position... I want to root for my jackets, but if they keep losing in my view it's better for the long-term..hm...

Thanks for posting OP. I agree, great read.

[firefly118]

Nicely written article, very nicely constructed, thorough in completion, and possibly the dumbest thing I have ever read!  Excuses!  A hall of fame coach with a PROVEN way to play, who has won it all and went to the playoffs many, many times!  And he is the reason guys can't play defense?  Guess what, we have how many coaches here?  Have we ever won a cup, HELL NO!  Have we ever went to the playoffs, HELL....wait a minute, yeah, once, by KEN HITCHCOCK!

You can bring in any other coach EVER and this team is not going to compete at that level!  I know we all have opinions, and I don't know that mine is right, but I will take the side I am on!  I guess my question is this, and I know we want to believe the guys WE HAVE are the best (Brass, Filatov, Mason), but what have they done, what accomplishments do they have, do they compare to players at the to 20 level of their position?  The word "prospect" is very exciting, but very dangerous, it breeds hope and beliefs that this person is somebody, when in fact the higher % of time they don't produce!  I am not saying our coach is the best in the league, but he has accomplished some things, and I bet if you changed about 2 or 3 pieces (big pieces) he could compete, but its all about PERSONNEL!

I leave you with this, when we had previous coaches, and right before this one, we said the very same things!  Change coaches, they have lost the team, etc and we get a proven coach who ever body goes bonkers over, and rightly so, he led us to the playoffs! Now its off with his head and look elswhere, do you really think it will make us winners, do you think another coach would have got us to the playoffs last year?

[bring back danny]

My reply to Jeff:

Jeff,

I don’t understand how you can detail one-by-one the argument that Hitch Hockey probably doesn’t work long-term in the new NHL and subsequently conclude “…You don’t jettison a future Hall of Fame coach based upon a couple of losing streaks.”

As you articulately illustrated a mere paragraph prior, firing Hitch would NOT be a knee-jerk reaction based on a few bad weeks. There is a fundamental flaw in his approach in addition to the fact that this young squad is the polar-opposite of what Hitch traditionally wins with.

I thought you did a magnificent job detailing the problems, then rendered it moot by not having the stones to take a chance and pull the trigger. Sadly, I suspect Howson et al will do much the same.

[puckhogg]

fly what you say is all true.....just scary that history looks to be repeating itself for the third time...

[alxzanki]

Nice find Dasnut 

This article really speaks volume when guys like Modano said that no one would stand up to Hitch once the veterans where all gone from Dallas.

And really I think its up to Hitch to adjust and not the players, his system just isnt ''new NHL'' proof.

[puckhogg]

Nice find Dasnut 

greg in 120 had it in his article before it was posted here( just wanted to give proper credit )

[alxzanki]

greg in 120 had it in his article before it was posted here( just wanted to give proper credit )

And my rep has to take a hit because ...............

[gregin120]

Thanks puck but I don't care about the credit.  I just want people to read the article.  It provides a perspective on things that I haven't read anywhere else.  It truly is thought-provoking as I stated above.  

Remember in October when we were scoring goals and winning?  There were some wild, high scoring games.  We scored a lot of goals, and we gave up a lot of goals, but we were winning.  And it was fun to watch.  Some people, like George Matthews when I interviewed him, call this the "new NHL".  The rule changes that were made a few years back were supposed to bring about more scoring and they did.  So when we were scoring lots of goals in October and the early part of November, and off to the best start in franchise history, was Hitchcock happy?  No.  He kept saying that our record was better than the way we were playing.  What he should have said is that our record was better than the way we were playing "Hitchcock hockey."  Big difference.  I would gladly take high-scoring, wild games that we have a chance to win over the low-scoring, Hitch-hockey snoozefests that we don't seem to have a chance to win, or the one-sided blowouts where we utterly fail at Hitch-hockey.  At least when we failed at playing the "new NHL" style it was entertaining.

[CanadianJacketsFan]

And my rep has to take a hit because ...............

Don't worry Alex, I don't even have to come on this site for a day and my rep get's bumped.

On the article, it basically sums up everything that everyone has been saying on this site for the past month or two. If we can turn this team around and keep Hitch I would be ecstatic, however if things continue the way they are I don't see us keeping him. He is a great teacher of the game there is no question about that.

We need personnel, we just aren't in a position to achieve what needs to be achieved.

[VAJacketsFan]

About this whole "Hitchcock hockey style" everyone seems so fond of...last time I checked wasn't it the job of a good coach to find a system that will work best with the strengths and weaknesses of the players he has, and not force players to play in a system where there weaknesses are over burdened?

Look at it like college football....do you think a triple option coach could just go to any school and have them run that offense and it work?  There is no doubt when run properly it can win you games, but not everyone can run it, coach needs to find something new to fit his players.

Same goes with "Hitchcock hockey".  There is no doubt when run properly it can win you games, but not everyone can run it......you see where this is going?

Good coaches are not stubborn about the style of play their team uses....they are stubborn about finding a good scheme to match his players...just look at Pittsburgh last year.....of course, that took a new coach....