The Curious Case of Scott Howson
by Andy Newman on Dec 19, 2011 6:19 PM EST
Email
PrintScott Howson has probably made more bold moves than many would give him credit for. This off-season, he all but bet his career on Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski bringing legitimate hockey to Columbus. So far, that hasn't panned out, but according to Howson, "Coaching is not an issue..."
Excuse me?
Joe Yerdon of NBC Sports' ProHockeyTalk thinks Howson is delusional, and I can't disagree.
It’s noble that Howson is believing in his coach and his team to get things turned around enough to challenge for the postseason, but last year’s Devils were in a similar position (20 points in 33 games, 18 points out of eighth) and while they threatened to make the playoffs with an incredible run, they fell short in the end.
So let me get this straight. Howson puts together a group of players that he believes are fit to compete for the playoffs. Ownership is on board and they allow Howson to spend more money than ever before - currently sitting at just below a $62 million cap hit, or 13th in the league. The 13th highest payroll for the worst team in the league. OK...
Then there's Scott Arniel, the coach that was hired by Howson after he let Ken Hitchcock go. Arniel has led his team to a 9-20-4 record. Coaches with records that poor get fired. In fact, as Aaron Portzline points out:
Six NHL coaches have been fired already this season, all of them with clubs ahead of the Blue Jackets in the standings and three of them with winning records at the time of the firing.
So what's the deal? The players aren't playing to their potential, that's obvious. Surely there has to be some element of poor coaching, there's not much else that can explain the late game collapses this team suffers from. But if the coach isn't the problem and the players aren't playing, isn't it on the man who put the players in place? At the very least, shouldn't Howson be more aggressive in trying to deal some of these players to address the problems?
Howson's heroic act of standing behind his coach and players that are being overpaid to play at a level just above AHL-caliber hockey might make for a heartwarming story, but it may be doing more harm to this franchise than any Doug MacLean ego trip. Howson standing pat while his team is on track to get the number 1 overall pick next year isn't doing anyone any bit of good. Well, unless he really likes next year's top prospect.
The case of rushing prospects has always been a concern in years past. Due to a lack of depth, a player like John Moore has played 22 games and tallied just 1 goal with a -6 rating. What exactly is this doing to his development? I'm just hoping Ryan Johansen's raw talent allows him to overcome his surroundings. I have to wonder, though - if a first round pick in Derick Brassard isn't doing the right things in practice or in games to deserve suiting up, what kind of example does that set for Johansen or Moore?
And hasn't that been this team's problem all along?
29 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I think its time to fire Arniel and hire a PROVEN coach. I think Carlyle would be a great choice.
I think its also time to hire a proven GM. Someone who has had success in the past. How nice would Tallon of been? Done wonders in Florida and built a Stanley Cup winning team in Chicago.
I don't disagree that Arniel should go...
…but the Jackets HAD a proven coach: Hitch. Granted, the team didn’t win (enough) with this proven coach, so where does that leave this franchise?
What would a Carlyle or a Crawford or a Jacques Martin bring to the table that’s any different than what we had in HItch?
This is on the players as well as the coach but sadly players never get fired.
And I also agree that a proven GM is a good idea. I know Howson came from Edmonton but is that really something to hang your hat on?
Just once I'd like someone to call me "Sir," without adding, "You're making a scene."
We had a coach that was proven to win in the old NHL, not the new. His system was outdated and teams could work thruogh him. Now, hes doing a good job in St louis, but its a matter of if he can do it for a long period of time and through adversity. He is known to get shut down by his players after a certain amount of time.
Carlyle would come in and demand respect and bring a more uptempo style that Arniel has failed to bring. You make a good point that the players need ‘fired’ as well, and trades will definately need to happen for success. But one thing at a time, and i think the coach and GM are more pressing needs. The players are ok on paper when performing how they have performed in the past. If everyone was at a similar pace, with some at a faster pace, we could be a borderline playoff team on paper. With the right coach of course.
At first, i wouldnt have minded Crawford. But once he said on twitter than he might trade B. Schenn for Gonchar i figured i wouldnt want him as a coach.
Yes, HOwson came from Edmonton, but was only an assistant GM. I would want a GM that has had reps in this league as the man in charge.
What’s wrong with Todd Richards and Craig Patrick?
by Westside Paul on Dec 19, 2011 8:07 PM EST up reply actions
I think the jury will be out on Patrick until we see what he will (and will not) do.
Personally, I don’t know enough about how or what Richards did in Minnesota so I don’t know if he would be considered an upgrade. Maybe someone here knows more about his tenure with the Wild? I know he was fired so something didn’t work…
Just once I'd like someone to call me "Sir," without adding, "You're making a scene."
Like ive said, i dont think Patrick would take the job. I dont see him as wanting a bigger role and having to leave his family in Pittsburgh. Just dont see it happening.
Dont mind Richards, but we would be going right back to where we were before. I think he would be good to keep as an assistant coach if the new coach was willing to keep him, which he should.
Valid points here and above.
Sure is a poser, isn’t it? sigh
Just once I'd like someone to call me "Sir," without adding, "You're making a scene."
Goaltending/Defense Anyone?
I think it’s an axiom in the NHL that good goaltending makes for hall of fame coaching careers. The year the CBJ made the playoffs they had two and a half months of great goal tending, adequate defense, and timely scoring. Without the goal tending, defensive flaws are identified and magnified, and timely scoring doesn’t happen because everyone is looking over their shoulders: the forward looking at the defense, and the defense looking at the goaltender. And nobody is looking forward. So the team goes backward.
I doubt that Arniel is a bad coach. I suspect he has no new ideas for how to improve the goal tending the club currently has. Lets face it, Sanford isn’t a long term answer, and Mason has proven that he can’t duplicate those two and a half months as a rookie.
And the defense in front of the CBJ’s goal tending is so bad that forwards are forced to play back to help cover for the fact that nobody on the defense can reliably clear the puck effectively.
I guess where I come down is that until the CBJ get adequate defenders, they will be a poor team. And the guy responsible for bringing in the players needed has failed the franchise on the blue line. Howson has to go.
Good point.
So how about this as line of order of what needs to change here:
1) Arniel (given)
2) Goalie- Give Howson a chance to get a new goalie, and see if that changes anything. If not, go directly to number 3
3) Howson- so we can get a new GM to come in and make the changes on defense and goalie (if still needed)
4) Defense- Need another top 4 defensemen as long as Nikitin continues stellar play and Moore/ Savard/ Holden keeep progressing as they should. Would be nice to get a D man to send Moore back down for more seasoning. Playing 10 minutes up here cant be good for his development and we cant afford another good D to be rushed
5) Better offense where new GM feels need- Hard to pick out certain elements of offense that need upgraded because these upgrades wouldnt occur until our new GM is in place, and who knows who is still a Jacket by then.
The only reason i give Howson a chance with the goalie is because i dont see him getting fired for a while and we need a new goalie, so might as well.
Howson went out and got Dekanich, last year’s save % leader in the AHL. It was a better upside move than going with a journeyman (Garon, Sanford, etc.) as the backup. Simply bad luck that he’s been injured.
Better upside, certainly, but a goalie with 1 total game of NHL experience (Dekanich) hardly counts as a solid backup plan to a a goalie with two straight years of below-average play (Mason – not a good starting plan anyway). Bad luck, sure, but a poor setup from the start.
CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things
Honestly, the worst thing for a rebuilding, below-average team to do is to sign a decent veteran goalie. You end up putting window dressing on your record with a few extra points, but it’s not really developing your team…plus you end up with worse draft picks. I’m not sure that re-signing Mason was a great idea, but since you have him, you might as well play him (ideally as the backup) and see if he somehow finds himself. But for your other goalie, you want upside to grow with the team, not window dressing.
Yes, but I don’t think that this team should have been one in a rebuild right now. I think that it should have been contending for a playoff spot. Simply having a league-average goalie can do wonders for a team that seemed less-than-interesting otherwise. Just ask Toronto fans how much better their team is without Vesa Toskala.
CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things
Edmonton is the perfect example of a situation like ours. They had Dubnyk who wasnt ready and was struggling in the NHL but they didnt have much choice other than play them. Then they get a healthy Khabibulin and can play him with him being able to keep them in games, with the occasional steal of a game. Dubnyk still gets starts, but he isnt the starting goalie. A goalie like Khabibulin who is old needs toe rest, and a young Dubnyk (much like Mason), can give it to him.
To me, that the ideal situation until free agency or a trade pops up in which we could switch that to a real starting goalie that can be our future.
I would love to see what Dex can do. He may completely take Masons spot and be the goalie we need. Who knows though, he hasnt played. Get healthy Dex, CBJ fans want to see what you can do out there.
defense and goaltending isnt the biggest problem
when were 27th in total goals and 29th is shooting %, ur not gonna win games. sanford has played good enough for us to win plenty of games.Our offensive players have all underachieve big time this year, just look at Nash, Carter, Umb, Vermette, and Brass per game stats this year compared to last year, its night and day. I would argue defenders are our least concern. Nikki and tytun line is pretty good… our only problem defense is Wiz because he is awful on D and turns it over so much
Our entire offense has been having career lows this year. Nash, Brassard, Umby, Vermette, etc all have not played to expectations or to the extent they have in the past. Wiz was out first 8 games and Carter was out for a while, so its not surprising that our offense isnt high in the league. If our entire offense ALL werent struggling this year, we would be fine offensively. Our coach could also be the problem with our offense. His system seems to be to carry the puck into the zone, and take a low percentage shot and go for rebound. This is why we always seem to outshoot opponents, but dont score. Low percentage shots are not going to work often in this league. Just ask the Kings, who have the same problem.
Defensively, we are not good at all. Clitsome should be a 7th defensmen on a good team or an AHL defensemen. Johnson should definately be AHL, Moore should be AHL for now while he develops. Ideally, Tyutin, Nikitin, Wiz, and Methot should be bottom four. In our case, we would need one of those (Wiz probably) to be top 2 defensemen and add a top 2 defensemen to be paired with him.
Goalie is obviously a huge problem. When Curtis Sanford is starting goalie for your team for any stretch of time, your goaltending situation blows. Mason has one of lowest stats of all goalies in the league. Sanford is playing pretty soild, but we all know he cant keep it up.
I would say goaltending and defense is definately our biggest problem.
I actually like the Dekanich signing. Agreed that it’s been bad luck (with his injuries), and that you can’t always tell how a goalie will play based on preseason/training camp, but I like what I’ve seen out of him so far. I think he has the skill set to be a top goaltender for this team. He plays with an aggressive, unpredictable style that will be the perfect anecdote to Mason, which teams know can be beaten simply by firing pucks, however weak, toward the net.
I think a Sanford/Dekanich tandem would be pretty solid. Sanford has proven to be effective in small stretches, and also plays with a similar do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-the-job-done style that I think could give other teams fits. Last I heard, Dekanich was probably looking for a return around January, so hopefully we can ride the Sandman until then. As long as we give him a break every fourth game, or so, he seems like he can stay sharp. Then we can see what Dekanich can do.
I just look forward to the day when Mason can be done for good.
Won’t ever happen again in Columbus, I’m afraid. :-)
by Toxichighway on Dec 20, 2011 10:37 AM EST up reply actions
Howson’s heroic act of standing behind his coach and players that are being overpaid to play at a level just above AHL-caliber hockey might make for a heartwarming story
I think there needs to be a little bit of perspective here. The Blue Jackets are 13th in Fenwick percentage with the score tied, getting 51% of all goals, shots, and missed shots. They are 13th in Fenwick percentage with the score close, getting 50.89% of all goals, shots and missed shots with the score within one goal in the first 40 minutes and tied in the third period.
That’s a lot better than “just above AHL-caliber hockey”.
The problems come from:
- Being 28th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage when up one goal, getting only 39.47% of all goals, shots, and missed shots.
- Being 25th in the NHL in team save percentage at 5-on-5, stopping only 90.3% of shots.
- Being 28th in the NHL in team shooting percentage at 5-on-5, scoring on only 7.0% of shots.
- Being 29th in the NHL in team shooting percentage at 5-on-4, scoring on only 7.8% of shots.
- Being 30th in the NHL in team save percentage at 4-on-5, stopping only 80.9% of shots.
Maybe some of that is the coach and his style of play, but your players are way off their career averages:
Antoine Vermette is shooting 6.5% below his career average, Rick Nash is 4.6% below his career average, R.J. Umberger is 4.2% below his career average, Derek Brassard is 2.4% below career average, and Jeff Carter is 1.3% below career average.
You can say Howson didn’t have a good enough plan behind Steve Mason or that he didn’t acquire the right players this offseason, but I don’t see how you can blame him for having the team’s best skaters have career-worst years.
Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
SB Nation Philly - Associate Editor
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 20, 2011 2:49 PM EST reply actions
I personally think that this speaks to the coaching and chemistry of the team following the big moves to get Carter and Wisniewski. And if both are the case, then Howson and Arniel are both to blame for such shocking career-level under-performance by the whole team. Howson for not adequately supplying the sort of players that can mesh with Carter and Nash, and Arniel for not installing a system or setting logical lines that promote offensive productivity from the team.
I find it tough to believe that these players will all have such down years next year and I would imagine that they would return to more career-average shooting percentage and goal values. In a way, the roster construction on paper should free Howson from some of the poor-season-blame. The 2011-2012 roster is theoretically the best offense ever assembled in Columbus. However, if Howson’s not going to change something significant to shake up the team without altering the core offensive roster (new coach, new offensive-defensemen), then he’s only participating in the complacency and has (without saying it) joined the Fail For Nail club.
CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things
I’m just struggling to connect your disbelief that all these players will continue to play this poorly with a need to “alter the core offensive roster”. If the players will improve on their own, and they will be the best offense ever assembled in Columbus, why do you need to shake it up?
At this point in the season, Columbus isn’t making the playoffs. So do you try to fall out of the top-10 in the draft or do you try to get even younger, finding someone to play next to Johansen for the next decade?
The fans might not like it, but if the fans understand that a) the team is much, much better than their record indicates; b) the team was only going to challenge for a playoff spot this year anyway; and c) they aren’t going to make the playoffs this year, why would the recommendation be "try to win a few more games this year, going from a top-3 draft pick to a 8-10 draft pick?
Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
SB Nation Philly - Associate Editor
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 21, 2011 8:20 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t believe we’re in disagreement here, and I may have been unclear (or simply too wordy for my own good) in my statement – I don’t think the Jackets need to alter the core offensive roster. Rather, Howson’s been unwilling to make other changes (coaching, defensemen, goaltending, and the like). But by sitting mostly idle while the team slipped into the abyss (minor moves to acquire Letestu and Nikitin the exceptions), he simply watched a potentially good team sink even further instead of acting to save something.
Of course at this point the losses have mounted too highly to matter in this season. Had action been made earlier, perhaps the Jackets could have made a playoff run (and some would argue that a bad season from Arniel last year combined with the poor start this year would have been reason enough to change that much). But now that things are so bad, a high draft pick would be the best kind of remedy to this kind of year.
As to your other point, I also agree; the team is certainly much better than the record indicates and the sometimes-murmured fan fantasy of trading Nash and blowing up the team is foolish. If anything, I feel that Howson’s inaction at the start of the season is the most damning sin, and one that we must suffer now as ineffective coaching and goaltending worked to undermine any hope of success. I’m not honestly sure that anything should be done now (getting a high pick is very valuable at this point), but failure to act should be noted.
CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things
Although i agree that we dont need a total rebould, here is an idea i could see for an interesting rebuild. Its basically just like the Flyers did in a not rebuild form (whatever you want to call it since they still had top end talent)
Trade Nash for a young prospect that can play in NHL and a couple of high draft picks. Maybe a goalie, or whatever you can get out of him. Do the same for Carter like Phily did last year.
I know we would basically be taking a step back on the Carter front since we just traded a young guy like Voracek and a high draft pick for him, but Carter cant be happy here, so give him what he wants if we can get some good young players back for him. As long as we get something like what we gave, its fine with me.
Nash is a bit tougher. Hes been our franchise player, but i think he is ready for a change and we probably are too. It would obviously be the hardest trade this organization has ever made, but if it makes our team better i think it is needed. Nash would bring a lot in return.
Overall, we could trade these two after the season and get good returns for them. When we trade Juice, Pahlsson, etc, we should get some assets. By the start of next season, we would be a young exciting team with a good future. Hopefully have a good goalie and a better defense with Moore/ Savard/Holden with another year under their belt and we can add through the trades/ free agency.
I am going to assume we finish bottom three in the league, so lets just say we get Yakupov in the draft. We then have a glut of young players on this team with Johansen, Yakupov, Kubalik, Atkinson, Calvert, Moore,Savard, etc. Plus the new young players we acquired.
Obviously, this has about a .03% chance of anything like this happening, but its still a thought. Its pretty much a rebuild considering your sending your top two players and other pieces, but its a quick rebuild that doesnt rely on failing in regular season for three years and building off the draft. We have some big assets that we could use as bait, if we wanted to go that route. I think it would excite the fan base as well getting to see all the the young exciting talent.
>>>>> Let me be perfectly clear though that i am not necessarily in favor unless the trades are perfect for us and give us exactly what we need. Dont think we would have enough veteran guys that can score and play defense. Geoff could probably sound off on this better than I, but we are obviously in a different position than the Flyers as they had upcoming star Giroux, and as they thought, JVR who hasnt been great, but they also had more skill down their lineup. Though, if we were to do this i wouldnt expect to be top in conference like them either.
Just a thought
Right, no one can predict career low years for all your top players.
But when you’re near the bottom in every major statistical category and the only moves you’ve made are trading Kris Russell for Nikita Nikitin and calling up Dane Byers… something is off in your management.
Whether is was a lack of proper preparation for the aforementioned worst case scenario or a complete lack of a reaction… that’s what I’m getting at.
Someone pointed out (around a month ago) that the Jackets had the lowest points total in ALL professional hockey. While a swap of Springfield for Columbus wouldn’t actually improve the team, when it’s a month later with minimal improvement and you’re still saying “We’re still fighting for position,” you’re either delusional or trying to convince yourself of something that’s simply not true.
Editor for The Cannon -- A Columbus Blue Jackets Blog
Follow me on Twitter - @andynewman
OK, I’ll give credit where it’s due – I forgot the Letestu trade until reading zekebud’s comment, but my point still stands.
Get younger. Get players in here NOW that will be on the team next year, instead of another massive turnover in the summer that results in another October of “waiting for the team to gel to see where we stand.”
Stop holding on to a player like Brassard if you’re not going to use him. Other teams want him, so if he’s not working out, trade him. Same for Mason. Make a decision and stop waiting for some magical resolution.
Editor for The Cannon -- A Columbus Blue Jackets Blog
Follow me on Twitter - @andynewman
In pretty sure pat Craig is Scott Howsons unofficial replacement so gm check. I wouldn’t miss arniel but who is out there? Carlyl? He hasn’t Brent getting it done with a team with a significant more talent why would he help Columbus? I would is mctavish still on the market? Although I would wait until the end of the year to fire arniel. Pick up yakupov see if he can be the scorer that everyone is making him out to be. If so I wouldn’t mind putting nash on the market for an elite d man and or goalie. Perhaps to la for jack Johnson and Steve Bernier (I would offer that weather they landed yakupov or not) so I think gm is already set unofficially with craig now who replaces arniel?
by FFmorgan89 on Dec 21, 2011 2:13 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I’d also like to point out that columbus will have a lot of cap space next year. If they can bring in hemsky he would compliment Carter well while johanson and nash could potentially build some chemistry filling out two good lines. Plus umberger could finally get bumped to the third line where he fits best
by FFmorgan89 on Dec 21, 2011 2:32 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on The Cannon
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Blue Jackets Schedule
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Coyotes’ Mike Smith believes Dustin Brown should be ‘done forever’ for Rozsival hit; slams Game 5 officiating
- Tuesday’s Three Stars: Penner’s overtime winner puts Kings in the Final
- Mike Milbury vs. Jeremy Roenick over Dustin Brown’s Game 5 OT hit on Michal Rozsival (VIDEO)
- Watch Kings, Coyotes in hostile handshake line after Dustin Penner sends LA to Stanley Cup Final (VIDEO)
- Kings vs. Coyotes Game 5; Pierre McGuire on Tortorella/DeBoer argument (Playoff Puck Previews)
