Jack Adams: It's time to start talking about it

Considering the amazing amount of pundits who had the Sens finishing dead last in the East, it's time to start seriously thinking about MacLean as a top candidate.

Other candidates:

Barry Trotz - keeping Nashville right in the thick of it

Ken Hitchcock - took St.Louis from a 9th place team, to one of the top teams in the NHL

Kevin Dineen - similar situation to Ottawa, except that Tallon brought in some talent for him to work with. Still, a top contender

Dan Bylsma - no real explanation necessary. Crosby out - Malkin plays like an MVP, but never did the Pens stray from their gameplan

Mike Babcock - year in, year out he keeps his team oiled like a high-octane engine

Glen Gulutzan - has the Stars in a playoff spot - despite losing Brad Richards to free agency

Dave Tippet - has the Yotes in a playoff spot, despite losing Bryzgalov and not having much money to work with.

John Tortorella - the Rangers play with discipline and play a tough brand of hockey - Torts has to be in the running.



What do people think will be the 3 nominees?

MacLean and Hitch gotta be the top ones for consideration.

MacLean has to be the front runner. What he did to turn around the Sens is unreal.

St.Louis was supposed to be a playoff team and they are still a playoff team.

Denean is Florida is the other consideration IMO. Torts has Lundqvist, NYR isn't any better than the Sens or about 4 or 5 other teams in the East.

I'd give it to Hithcock with MacLean a very close second. Getting the Blues to 1st place in the entire league is no easy feat. They are not just a playoff team, they are leading the league.

Big Ev wrote:I'd give it to Hithcock with MacLean a very close second. Getting the Blues to 1st place in the entire league is no easy feat. They are not just a playoff team, they are leading the league.

Wierd, I was laughed at when I said St.Louis would win their division this year.

NEELY wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I'd give it to Hithcock with MacLean a very close second. Getting the Blues to 1st place in the entire league is no easy feat. They are not just a playoff team, they are leading the league.

Wierd, I was laughed at when I said St.Louis would win their division this year.

Nobody predicted they would be winning the President's trophy.

No, that's a stretch for sure. Either way, St.Louis has had the pieces to be a top team in the league for a while now and it's not a huge stretch to say they should be competing for or winning the division they play in.

MacLean has no where near the pieces St.Louis does.

NEELY wrote:No, that's a stretch for sure. Either way, St.Louis has had the pieces to be a top team in the league for a while now and it's not a huge stretch to say they should be competing for or winning the division they play in.

MacLean has no where near the pieces St.Louis does.

I dunno. They are relying on defence and goaltending, and hard work, for the most part. David Backes is their best player. You could argue on the flip side that they have nobody close to Spezza or Karlsson, although Pietrangelo (especially) and Shattenkrik are beasts.

Anyways, at the end of the day a trophy is just a trophy. MacLean will get the recognition regardless if he wins.

In this case, I'm sure it would be a tremendous honour to be nominated. I can't imagine that PMac could have anticipated that his name would be coming up in Adams chatter.

St. Louis hasn't won the President's trophy yet. But playing Columbus six times a year doesn't hurt their chances.

wprager wrote:St. Louis hasn't won the President's trophy yet. But playing Columbus six times a year doesn't hurt their chances.

They play in the toughest division in the league. 4 out of 5 playoff teams.

Big Ev wrote:

NEELY wrote:No, that's a stretch for sure. Either way, St.Louis has had the pieces to be a top team in the league for a while now and it's not a huge stretch to say they should be competing for or winning the division they play in.

MacLean has no where near the pieces St.Louis does.

I dunno. They are relying on defence and goaltending, and hard work, for the most part. David Backes is their best player. You could argue on the flip side that they have nobody close to Spezza or Karlsson, although Pietrangelo (especially) and Shattenkrik are beasts.

Anyways, at the end of the day a trophy is just a trophy. MacLean will get the recognition regardless if he wins.

I'm just saying, Hitchcock has done a good job, he had a ton to work with though. Not 1/2 a team of rookies.

wprager wrote:St. Louis hasn't won the President's trophy yet. But playing Columbus six times a year doesn't hurt their chances.

Ha. We have Montreal and Toronto in our division. Just sayin'. Your point has some validity, but they've had to be good all the time, not just against the bottom feeders in their division.

spader wrote:

wprager wrote:St. Louis hasn't won the President's trophy yet. But playing Columbus six times a year doesn't hurt their chances.

Ha. We have Montreal and Toronto in our division. Just sayin'. Your point has some validity, but they've had to be good all the time, not just against the bottom feeders in their division.

Ottawa still has 3 games against the Habs.

Big Ev wrote:

wprager wrote:St. Louis hasn't won the President's trophy yet. But playing Columbus six times a year doesn't hurt their chances.

They play in the toughest division in the league. 4 out of 5 playoff teams.

Maybe because one of the teams is *soooo* out of the playoffs.