Quote That May Interest Only Me: Craig MacTavish - The Copper & Blue

Great stuff from Derek Zona over at The Copper & Blue on Craig MacTavish fitting with the Wild

The Wild have a team built for the carefully-managed matchups MacTavish likes to employ, from defensive zone horses on the blueline to a tough minutes killer in Mikko Koivu. MacTavish would take the mantle from Jacques Lemaire, something Todd Richards was unable to do, and immediately make the Wild a competitor for the Northwest Division title.

about 1 year ago nathaneide 8 comments 0 recs |

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I wouldn’t mind MacTavish, on the condition that he sports a painted on facial scar.

by unyieldingflan on May 18, 2011 11:37 AM CDT reply actions

This

by eamon17 on May 19, 2011 7:43 AM CDT up reply actions

He might not be the most popular pick,

or perhaps even the best possible pick. Still, I think he’d be a pretty decent coach for the Wild as it is currently constructed. The fact of the matter is that the Wild has not yet restructured its roster to play that more uptempo, pressure and possession game. If the Wild is looking for a more balanced approach, making the most use of the current players, a good game time coach and player motivator, MacT would be a very solid choice. If the team is still, and actually this time, committed to changing how they play and how the roster is comprised to support that play, MacT is probably not the best choice. Basically, MacT or a Hitchcock would be about winning now. A coach like Yeo would be better if the team decides to rebuild and grow.

by Krotz the Wall on May 18, 2011 11:59 AM CDT reply actions

I'd hate to pull Yeo out of Houston

Development is something that’s killed the Wild in the past. We’ve got a great thing going in Houston, I’d hate to yank the rug out from under them

by Hockeyfan_Miller on May 18, 2011 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions

MacTavish did just fine at developing young players. In the end, being forced to develop only young players was his downfall.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on May 18, 2011 10:02 PM CDT up reply actions

That isn't what I meant.

MacT places a greater emphasis on defensive schemes that Todd Richards played. Todd Richards was following the uptempo blueprint that Chuck Fletcher and Craig Leopold laid out as the vision for this team. The problem is that Leopold didn’t let Fletcher start reshaping the roster of this squad to be an uptempo, pressure sort of team. Fletcher has drafted and added assets with that blueprint in mind, but the NHL roster has only just started to turn over.

My point is that if the GM and Owner decides to rethink their scheme, settle back to a slightly more defensive approach, then you can certainly be happy with a coach like MacTavish. He’ll make good use of the team’s current talent, and get the most of the guys the Wild have. If the owner and GM are still focused on that uptempo team, they still need to turnover a large portion of the roster. In that case, MacT might not be the best option, from a scheme point of view. You’d probably want a coach that uses that scheme, is a good developer of players, and isn’t looking at a ‘win right now’ blueprint. Yeo wouldn’t be the worst candidate for that job.

by Krotz the Wall on May 19, 2011 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions