Decoding a 30-minute, four-executive press conference is part panning for gold, part archeological dig, part forensic science. Identify valuable nuggets, connect pieces that fit together, & use the finished puzzle to explain a surprise coaching change and front-office shuffle. We hope we’ve done that by editing & grouping relevant soundbites.
Do Seattle Kraken executives and ownership deserve praise for decisive action regarding this week’s major off-ice changes, or should they be taken to task for panicky, knee-jerk reactions to a second consecutive non-playoff season?
Yes.
C’mon, Dreyfuss. Even IHOP doesn’t serve waffles that size.
Well, more than one thing can be true, at least in part. So let’s apply pros and cons to the axing of coach Dan Bylsma after one season, as well as the in-house promotions of Ron Francis (to team president) and Jason Botterill (to general manager). For clues, we’ll borrow heavily from Tuesday’s press conference in which Francis, Botterill, CEO Tod Leiweke and owner Samantha Holloway took part.
Laying Out The Case For Dismissing Byslma
You prepare a dinner entree, expecting to enjoy it. Upon tasting, though, it’s not exactly inedible, but the results are disappointing, unsatisfying. Sure, you could eat the rest anyway, because it’s already on your plate and you paid for it. The decisive path is not to settle for a substandard product that doesn’t measure up to better options.
That’s what the four executives believed was the case in not retaining their head coach.
Listen closely as Francis and Botterill touch on a laundry list of team deficiencies laid at Bylsma’s feet. These include defensive structure, net-front play, zero wins in the second of back-to-back games, utilizing team speed, and more.
Does Ownership Take Ownership Of Coaching Changes?
Hockey coaches aren’t plates of food. They’re living, breathing people who, unlike steak and potatoes, have the capacity to change and improve. To extend a metaphor from NFL coach Bill Parcells, the front office provided the ingredients (players). So why should blame fall solely on the chef – the head coach – who prepared the meal?
I put that question to CEO Leiweke and owner Holloway.
Modern Hockey Operations No Longer A One-Person Job
The reasons for metaphorically kicking Francis upstairs to president of hockey operations, and filling the general manager vacancy with assistant GM Botterill, are more straightforward. Francis explains it’s a league-wide trend, as the job duties in the modern-day NHL are increasingly complex. CEO Leiweke also suggested that if the Kraken hadn’t promoted Botterill, another team would have.
In Mafioso terms, Botterill is now the Don, with Francis as his consigliere. It’s a flawed metaphor, because on the org chart, the GM reports to the Prez – and because these are both upstanding citizens. Although, they have had two coaches whacked in the last 12 months. Now, the duo turns their attention to constructing a playoff-worthy roster.
“It’s not as if we’re one player away from a Stanley Cup championship,” Botterill cautioned. “We have to become a perennial playoff team first.” Still, both he and Francis detailed reasons Kraken fans should view the outlook as glass-half-full.