A Question from Columbus: "Barry Trotz... How Does He Do It?"

Today I got a great question from Dark Blue Jacket, a Columbus Blue Jacket Blogger.  Recently the St. Louis Blues fired their coach Andy Murray, and some people in Columbus are wondering whether the same fate awaits Blue Jacket coach Ken Hitchcock.  Hence the question:

"What makes Barry Trotz the ideal coach for the Preds? What is it about his coaching and/or leadership style that allows him to stay as the team's only coach when some teams change coaches more often than they change third jerseys?"

I have no doubt that Tennessee sports fans may well disagree with my answer, or with the premise of the question entirely.  Regardless, I think DBJ is spot on, and here are my top four reasons for why Barry Trotz (and, to some extent, Titans coach Jeff Fisher) have been successful long-term coaches in Nashville.

To put it simply, Nashville's fans (and management) trusts our professional coaches.  That trust been rewarded with defensively minded teams that are almost always competitive.  Barry Trotz (and Titans' coach Jeff Fisher), are "player's coaches." So even if some fans are disgruntled, you'll never hear any negative quotes coming out of the locker room.  In a small market like Nashville, you need a system based on character, grit, and hard work.  Trotz epitomizes and breeds success in that system, which is good, because no superstar free agent is going to walk through the door anytime soon.

UPDATED: What are your thoughts?  Share them in the Poll and/or comments below.

1.  Perhaps its "Southern Hospitality", but In Nashville, Keeping Coaches is What We Do.

Preds' coach Barry Trotz  is second longest tenured coach in the NHL.  Trotz began coaching the Preds in 1997, and over 12 years later is the only coach this city has ever known.Titans' coach Jeff Fisher is the longest tenured coach in the NFL.  Fisher began coaching Titans in 1994 and over 15 years later is only Titans' coach this city has ever known.

Two coaches... 27+ years.  Enough said.

We keep our coaches.  Local media often remarks that Nashville isn't the most critical sports city. We give a fair amount of deference, and trust that the GMs, coaches, and staff are doing their jobs.   Of course, the city can be patient when our teams tend to win more then they lose.  But the point is this, in some cities a losing streak can end a tenure, and the years of hard work that have gone into building and molding a team.  Not here.

2. Coaching a Scheme that Nashville Needs

Predators fans, Canadian media, and everyone else knows one simple fact:  the Predators are going to be spending near or at the salary cap floor for the foreseeable future.  It takes a long time to develop a team that can succeed in that type of system.  Fans realize that, and GM David Poile and Coach Trotz realize that.  It helps that both Poile and Trotz have been at the helm together for over a decade now, slowly and methodically building that system.  This "Lunch Pail Gang" mentality, outlined really well by AJ in his Pull My (Fang)Finger blog, is what Trotz breeds: a hard working, role playing, team first, defensive, take-care-of-the-puck, system, develop talent from within, system.  Over the years, the different rosters may have forced  variations on this coaching theme... but the theme is always the same.

It should be noted this is almost exactly the same style and system that the Titans and Jeff Fisher employ as well.

3. Player's Coaches

Both Fisher and Trotz are class acts, and Player's coaches. One predators blogger, Mark from The View from 111, wrote up this piece about Trotz last week.  As a result, one thing you almost never hear in Nashville is locker room dissent from the players.  Disgruntled fans may jaw on the radio, but you never hear any quotes from players as ammunition.  In Steve Sullivan's words:

Sullivan said one of the reasons Trotz has been around since 1997 is the coach's ability to form relationships with players. "I definitely think he's a players' coach ... He has an open-door policy. He takes into account a lot of the players' ideas. We not only have captains, but a leadership group that meets regularly to talk about the month ahead, what our plans are. There are no surprises from the coaching staff. That's what we're looking for, an idea of what our game plan is."

When the players are happy, everybody's happy.  Conversely, look at former Titan Albert Hayneswoth.  Under Fisher, he was kept relatively in check when talking to the media.  Half a season later, he's denying rumors of organizing a player boycott in Washington.

4. Beating Teams and Expectations


Expectations are critically important for coaches who want to keep their jobs.  In last season, when expectations were high, and the team fell short, it was because of an ownership crisis.  This season, like our early seasons, the Predators were, well, supposed to be terrible.   We win more games that we "should", and Trotz always gets a lot of credit for that.

Expectations for the Predators will likely always be a little lower than other, larger markets.  What the fan base does demand and expect is that that the coaching staff has the attention and respect of the locker room.  So long as that is the case, Trotz can be behind the Nashville bench for years to come.

Today's Poll

Anatomy of a Goal: Designed Plays = Game Winning Goals

Pred Nation!

I love this goal.   Seriously, I LOVE this goal.  We've previously looked individually at either when faceoff wins, or lack of defensive speed, results in goals.  This week's goal by J.P. Dumont is a perfect example of how a designed play can exploit them both, and, only nine seconds apart, result in a game winning goal.  So lets break down one heckuva game winner (and streak snapper) in this edition of AOAG.

[Note:  I'm going to try something new in this post and put the football analogies in brackets, that way people who want to read them can, but those who don't can easily skip over.  As always, questions, comments, etc. are welcomed at preds101@comcast.net, or on twitter @preds101].

The Goal

The Breakdown

1.  The play starts off in a seriously offensive formation.  Shea Weber (D, #6) and J.P. Dumont (RW, #71) are lined up far to the right of the faceoff... an aggressive move given the fact that the faceoff is in the defensive zone

[Football fans, this is an offensive formation because it allows for breakaways, but provides the goalie less protection.  A rough football analogy would be a spread offense.  A typical formation would have Weber directly behind the center taking the faceoff, and the right wing standing closer to the faceoff circle, either to the right or behind the winger].

2.  Notice where the feet are positioned relative to the hash-marks on the circles.  Jason Arnott's (C, #19), feet in the right red circle.  He is lined up on the mark, as close to the Blues player as possible.  Steve Sullivan, (LW, #26), on the other hand, is a foot off the mark.  This allows for Sully to move quickly, without getting tied up with the Blues defender.

[Think of the difference as a defenseive CB who lines up on the line for bump-and-run coverage, versus a cornerback who gives the WR a few yards.]

3.  Now the logic behind the initial formation unfolds.

A. Marcel Goc (C, #9) wins the faceoff, and passes it behind him to a "seemingly" empty space.

B. Sullivan moves toward the puck, unobstructed, to gain possession

C. Weber moves back in anticipation of a pass.

D. Dumont is off to the races down ice, down the right boards.

E. Arnott is breaking down ice down the left boards.

4. Weber gets the pass from the now obstructed Sullivan.  He will pull the puck from his backhand to his forehand to make the pass up to Dumont.  Dumont is wide open and moving up ice.   However, the Blues defender is following Dumont toward the right sideboards.

5. Notice how this play has left the left side of the ice cluttered with players, especially Blues players.  Meanwhile, the Preds, Puck, and Play are all moving toward the right and out of the zone.  Arnott has already slipped by his man, who was likely not expecting the player from that position to break out of the zone.

6.  Weber makes the pass to Dumont, who has plenty of room to maneuver.

7.  Dumont has the puck and speed for a two-on-two breakaway.  Even if nothing else happens, this is a great transition from defense to offense.

[Transitioning from defense-to-offense quickly and effectively is a critical but difficult-to-measure team skill.  Sort of akin to the ability to convert third downs, if your team can't do it, they are not going to win alot of games].

8.  Arnott has blown by the forwards, and is not manned up with the other Blues defenseman, Eric Brewer (D, #4).  He was so quick down ice that he is forced to slow down a touch to avoid being offsides.

8.1 (Oops, two "8"s, anyway, above...)  It's amazing to see on the video, but tough to see in the still frames:  Dumont really puts on a burst of speed here.  He decides to go toward the boards with the puck.  In doing so he gets the defender, Darryl Sydor, (D, 44, age 37) turned around.

[If Dumont didn't have that extra speed to get passed the Blues defender, Sydor, what you would have seen is Dumont dumping the puck into the zone deep, a.k.a. "dump-and-chase"].

9.  The speed burst gives forces Sydor to turn from skating backwards to skating forwards.  That move, plus Dumont's speed, will give Dumont a step on the defender.

10.  The other defender, Brewer, is still forced to respect Arnott, who is coming into the zone and trailing Dumont.  If it were not for Arnott, the defender would be able to make a more aggressive play on Dumont.

11.   Dumont's extra speed meant that the blues defender, Sydor, was unable to make a good play on the puck.  The speed also meant that the defender was in no position to take down Dumont with a body check.  Sydor's only remaining option?  To take a diving poke-check at the puck.  This is not a position the defender wants to be in.  Sure enough, the diving poke-check misses.

Additionally, Brewer, the lower defender, realizes his defensive partner is in trouble, and moves over to help on Dumont.

12.  Brewer is unable to get over in time.  Dumont has "built a wall" so that his body is positioned between himself and Brewer.  Dumont is able to get a shot off that isn't the best shot in the world, but it is a goal.  The game winner, no less.  Sydor can only look on and realize his lack of speed resulted in a goal.  Had it puck not gone in, Arnott was close behind to attempt to pick up the rebound.

Conclusion

What a fantastic play.  An important face-off win on a drawn up "get-down-ice-quick" play results in a great individual move and a goal.  Its these types of goals that are hard to appreciate full speed at the game, or on TV, but really give you a sense of how impressive the game is.  Until next time, lets go Preds!