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Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves
- Thread starter AMC
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Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Maybe they only offered him a one year extension, and Red decided that wasn't in his interests?
I guess we'll find out who has the best sources in the near future, eh?
UncleRay
M-A-I-N-E, GooOOO, Blue!
I honestly don't understand the fascination so many hold with Montgomery coming to coach UMaine. Not going to happen. Not this coming year. Not the year after. Not 5 years from now. Someone said he's in a tough place and has little negotiating power. I very seriously disagree. He bleeped up in an extraordinarily serious way in Dallas. Everybody thought he would have to disappear from hockey for several years and then restart in some bus league somewhere. Wrong. Twenty minutes later he was hired as an assistant at St. Louis. Who is far from the dregs of the NHL - they are on a tear to make a run for the Cup. So Monty's coaching stock in the NHL is far from trashed. Memories are short where winning is concerned. Especially in pro leagues. I can see Jim as a head coach again in the NHL in a few years. With an owner who first spends some time having a serious man-to-man chat with him about his alcoholism.
Barring the NHL, college becomes far less likely because of the alcoholism issues. If he does come back to the NCAA, it won't be for a bottom-feeding program with no money for coaching salaries, no money for facilities, and no money for recruiting. As Wally pointed out, he was probably making double at DU what Gendron was at UMaine. That's a gigantic difference. The only way he ends up at Maine is through desperation, and I just don't see that possibility. His coaching abilities have been proven to be extraordinary at every level. That won't change. If he screws up again with the bottle, that will make him persona non grata at the vast majority of college campuses. Most certainly in Orono.
To make this succinct: if Monty is successful this year and next as an NHL assistant, he'll be in the NHL for the rest of his career. If he is unsuccessful, he will be a toxic potential hire at Maine, and probably at all college campuses. Monty is not coming to coach the UMaine Black Bears. Ever.
Barring the NHL, college becomes far less likely because of the alcoholism issues. If he does come back to the NCAA, it won't be for a bottom-feeding program with no money for coaching salaries, no money for facilities, and no money for recruiting. As Wally pointed out, he was probably making double at DU what Gendron was at UMaine. That's a gigantic difference. The only way he ends up at Maine is through desperation, and I just don't see that possibility. His coaching abilities have been proven to be extraordinary at every level. That won't change. If he screws up again with the bottle, that will make him persona non grata at the vast majority of college campuses. Most certainly in Orono.
To make this succinct: if Monty is successful this year and next as an NHL assistant, he'll be in the NHL for the rest of his career. If he is unsuccessful, he will be a toxic potential hire at Maine, and probably at all college campuses. Monty is not coming to coach the UMaine Black Bears. Ever.
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
The only way that happens is if Red decided to retire.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
There's a huge - HUGE - difference between being one of several assistant coaches at any NHL franchise, and the guy who's running the show. St. Loo may contend again for another deep Cup run this year, sure ... but they just won the Cup 2 years ago with Coach Berube in charge then, and in charge now. Monty is one of several assistants along for the ride, with all due respect. It's a good place for him right now, don't get me wrong. But he's not going to get any huge credit if St. Loo does again this season what they did two years ago.
Quick test - who was Scotty Bowman's assistant(s) in Montreal? Pittsburgh? Detroit??
I guarantee you, Monty gets around St. Loo without being recognized. In Orono, he'd be a celebrity (again). Not sure if it means anything to him, but it matters to some folks. Who knows?
Finally, it's kind of quaint how you think some future NHL owner/GM is going to give Monty "the talk", and how that's going to prevent a recurrence. As if it were that easy. Monty's going to have to deal with his issues, he doesn't need some billionaire to give him a high school pep talk, he knows all too well what he did to mess up. In the end, it's down to Monty to sort things out. Fingers crossed, he seems to be doing pretty well (so far). And someday, maybe he will get another shot at an NHL top job. The guy who replaced him in Dallas had a long stretch between head coaching jobs as a long-time NHL assistant, but he (Bowness) never had any time (as a player or coach) in US D-1 hockey, unlike Monty. So Monty has options other than as an NHL assistant, and as you know, it's a route he's already traveled with a high degree of success.
Ultimately, you're probably right, lots of folks come up in discussions when HC jobs open up anywhere, and only a few of the names mentioned end up in the job. Many times, it's someone not many folks have ever heard of. That could happen here too if/when Red moves on. I guess my overriding point - mine, not a UMaine diehard fan, just an interested observer - is it seems to make sense to at least explore the possibility. There's something in it both could gain from.
JMHO
AMC
Registered User
Could win more games and have more local kids at D-II.
Going D2 is absolutely not the answer.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Love all the D-2 talk. As if FCS Div. 1.5A** and the CAA isn't really a D-2 operation anyhow.
Just like how "League 1" Football (soccer) in the UK is actually their 3rd level competitive tier.
It's all branding, folks. UMaine, UNH, and everything CAA is actually D-2. It's "D-2" that's D-3.
What, wait. We have a football team? When do they play? Mike Buck still the QB?
Marketing.........please improve and expand. Maine’s had some great teams until the coaching exodus, but outside those of us active/aware fans, most would respond with my opening question.
I have to see ads on TV up here near Orono for SNHU. Is Maine running marketing ads out of state? Key ingredient is “noise”, it attracts attention. I hear crickets, with a lone occasional chirp. Up the marketing, good things tend to follow.
Marketing.........please improve and expand. Maine’s had some great teams until the coaching exodus, but outside those of us active/aware fans, most would respond with my opening question.
I have to see ads on TV up here near Orono for SNHU. Is Maine running marketing ads out of state? Key ingredient is “noise”, it attracts attention. I hear crickets, with a lone occasional chirp. Up the marketing, good things tend to follow.
Fishman'81
Black Bear since D-2
Football has been far better than hockey lately, but, yeah.
Maine sports are pretty-much bankrupt anymore. Our last best hope was womens' hoops, which won the RS, both games vs. Stony Brook in the RS, and had it all negated by a single game yesterday.
The conference tournaments AQ's are a continuing farce. Beyond stupid.
Except as I pointed out, and as simple research backs up, he wasn't...
There is no more pitiful or pathetic contributor to Maine and UNH's simultaneous downfall than the number of fans, coaches and administrators trying to convince themselves, and everyone else, they can't have and don't deserve success. Its understandable from coaches and admin; they're trying to avoid accountability. From fans, Ill never understand it...
If Montgomery wants to be an NHL coach again, he's proven to himself that he can launch directly from a successful collegiate performance to an NHL bench.
Why the fascination from others? Because whoever hires him will compete for National Championships. And the fanbase won't be subjected to woe is us BS about facilities and salary and recruiting budgets. Denver has a lot of nice qualities, none were the reason behind Montgomery's success there. Montgomery was successful because he demanded it from himself and others and believed in what he could do for the program and for top talent.
It sure seems to me that you could count on one hand the people at UNH and UM, who actually believe in their own programs these days. That's why both are dead in the water - not their situations, but their reactions to their situations...
But hey, fingers crossed Maine talks themselves out of it and never even asks! I'd hate to see you leave UNH behind, and a good way to be successful is to never even try...!
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Sean Pickett
2009 NCAA Champions
If Coach Gendron has indeed been retained then he must have able to sell the idea that he is working on the Sandelin Plan for Maine, if only he has another season to prove it. Of the 16 programs I've researched so far only Coach Sandelin has been able to execute the plan (hence its name) and only a handful of other coaches with losing records have made it past an eighth season and none of them were successful.
BC: 3-1; Kelley, Ceglarski, Cedorchuk, York
BU: 4-0-1; Cleverly, Kelley, Parker, Quinn, O'Connell
CT: 1-1; Kirtland, Marshall
UML: 1-0; Bazin
UNH: 1-3; Petroski, Martin, Umile, Souza
NU: 1-3; Gallagher, Bell, Madigan
PC: 1-1; Lamoriello, Army
CC: 1-3; Frasca, Sauer, Bertsch, Owens
DU: 0-0-1; Carle
MIA: 1-0-1; Blasi, Bergeron
UMD: 0-4; Eddolls, Romano, Shercliffe, Sertich
I have very limited information on assistant coaches, sorry.
Sean
Really? Mr. Sean Pickett? BTW, this is the first time since the downgrade that I went to quote multiple posts, only to find the option missing, so I had to do a work around. Anyways, I was busy the past few days creating charts for state COVID numbers, but I finished that and I'm back working on coaching records. Of the 16 programs I have researched back to WWII there have been 100 head coaches who coached for 2 or more seasons. Of those 33 coached for their alma mater: 14 were good to excellent coaches, 16 were mediocre to poor coaches and three (Coaches O'Connell, Carle and Bergeron) are current head coaches who have been coaching their alma mater for 3 season or less. Here is the compete list by school:
BC: 3-1; Kelley, Ceglarski, Cedorchuk, York
BU: 4-0-1; Cleverly, Kelley, Parker, Quinn, O'Connell
CT: 1-1; Kirtland, Marshall
UML: 1-0; Bazin
UNH: 1-3; Petroski, Martin, Umile, Souza
NU: 1-3; Gallagher, Bell, Madigan
PC: 1-1; Lamoriello, Army
CC: 1-3; Frasca, Sauer, Bertsch, Owens
DU: 0-0-1; Carle
MIA: 1-0-1; Blasi, Bergeron
UMD: 0-4; Eddolls, Romano, Shercliffe, Sertich
I have very limited information on assistant coaches, sorry.
Sean
walrus
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Maine passed on Jimmy once because of off ice incidents. He added to those incidents which got him let go from a NHL team. So why would Maine fans expect UMaine to hire him now? I don't see any Maine fans posting here that wouldn't want Jimmy as head coach. I've already mentioned that I would buy season tickets again if they hired him. Until we know what happens with Red its all speculation anyway
FLHockeyMom
New member
Unless I'm misreading the study question for analysis, doesn't Danton Cole at MSU qualify?
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
It's the offseason, Wally. Speculation is what we're left with in the offseason. And Red's deal is up.
I seem to remember Bobby Corkum being a popular option with some of you guys last time around. I think he spent a few years with the Islanders as an assistant when Capuano was running the show down there. What's he doing these days, and is he an option?
Sean Pickett
2009 NCAA Champions
As I said, I've only researched 16 programs so far and MSU isn't one of them. I apologize for taking too long.
Sean
FLHockeyMom
New member
As I said, I've only researched 16 programs so far and MSU isn't one of them. I apologize for taking too long.
Sean
No, MY apologies. Clearly my reading comprehension is faulty. Carry on.
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