This week’s Real Hockey Talk show takes place at Oggi’s Pizza in Phoenix, AZ. Along with Greg Isaac, and William Grigsby from lastwordonhockey.com, we are back! Dave Issac is not with us for this show. This is podcast #18 for your listening pleasure. Today we are going to cover the 2019-20 NHL coaching changes along with a review of many of the teams.
NHL Coaches Gone, Team Reviews
Real Hockey Talk #18
It’s been more than a while since we did a radio show podcast due to being preempted, but we are back… finally! And what a great place to get our show going again, Oggi’s is a premier sports bar/restaurant. The menu will overwhelm you with indecision and many delicious choices.
NHL Coaches Fired/Resigning
We know this happens every season, but this season over a short period of time the coaching reins have changed hands on some teams. We discuss the departure of Mike Babcock from the Toronto Maple Leafs and what happened there. Like many, we were shocked with this development. Everyone seemed to realize that the Leafs were not playing especially well, yet Babcock being let go was not something expected.
The Bill Peters saga with the Calgary Flames was even more controversial due to allegations of abuse both physical and mental. Consequently, the Flames decided it was time for him to go. There is no room for this type of abuse in any working environment, including NHL hockey. After an investigation, GM Brad Treliving decided to accept Peters’ resignation. It hasn’t seemed to affect the turnaround of the Flames, as they have gone undefeated since the change.
Then, John Hynes of the New Jersey Devils was also fired. What’s sad about coaching changes after the Peters incident is teams feel it necessary to mention that firings were team performance related instead of the coach’s behavioral issues.
Additional NHL Coaching Changes
We’re not done yet… just a week later (a few days after our show), the Dallas Stars decided to cut ties with Jim Montgomery. This one was also a surprise since the team was doing very well of late. Unfortunately Montgomery was let go for “unprofessional behavior” and that like Peters’ situation is unfortunate.
To show the succession of events, even after our show on Saturday, December 7th, two more coaches bit the dust. Montgomery was let go on December 10th, and the very next day Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks was sent his walking papers as well!
What is going on?
With the NHL getting tougher on ethics, teams are watching more closely what their coaches are doing. But having five NHL coaching changes in about two weeks is bonkers.
Team Reviews
The next topic of discussion for us, since we have been away so long was to cover how teams are doing lately. We cover a list of teams and who’s hot and who’s not. Then we include the local Arizona Coyotes who at the time of the show were in a battle for first place with the Edmonton Oilers. We also discuss the rumours of the Coyotes and other teams having interest in Taylor Hall. What would they need to give up to get the talented forward?
Real Movie Talk
Greg and William discuss the latest movies we’ve seen and what may be released soon. William was going to see “Dark Waters” who Dave (who called into the show) highly recommends.
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