No, I refuse to refresh my browser every 30 seconds based on "poised to"
by Quisp on Dec 12, 2011 1:04 PM PST
Email
Print
Kings close to firing Coach Terry Murray - latimes.com
Kings executives are poised to dismiss Coach Terry Murray this week, hoping to halt a string of disappointing performances and revive an offense that has produced a league-low 2.24 goals per game despite a beefed-up payroll that puts the team near the salary-cap limit for the first time. People familiar with the situation but not authorized to comment publicly said a candidate has not been found to replace Murray, who took over before the 2008-09 season.
Plural unnamed sources say that the Kings have no-one to replace Terry Murray. Check. Neither do I.
[...] General Manager Dean Lombardi has been reluctant to make a move, but the team's problems have mounted.
Dean Lombardi has not done anything. Check.
[...] On Monday, Lombardi was scheduled to fly to Boston, where the Kings open a four-game trip Tuesday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins. When contacted Sunday, Lombardi declined to comment on his plans. His hand might have been forced by the loss Saturday.
Lombardi will fly to Boston tomorrow. Check.
[...] Lombardi supported Murray, who is under contract through the 2012-13 season, through several slumps last season but sought more consistency this season from a team he projected to be a player or two away from Stanley Cup contention.
Lombardi has supported Murray so far. Check.
However, the Kings, who were among the NHL's lowest-scoring teams last season with 219 goals, are on pace to score 184 goals, a total that probably would not get them into the playoffs. Murray has continually juggled his offensive lines and defense pairs to little effect. Defenseman Drew Doughty, who sat out training camp because of a contract impasse and later injured a shoulder, has two goals, eight points and a minus-4 defensive rating in 24 games. Richards, who has sat out four games because of a head injury, leads the team with 11 goals. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 28 points but has not scored a goal in eight games. Wingers Dustin Penner (two goals) and Justin Williams (four goals) have also struggled to score.
The Kings suck right now. Check.
[...] The Kings are not thought to be interested in Randy Carlyle, who was fired by the Ducks on Nov. 30.
In an unspecified someone's opinion, Lombardi is not interested in hiring Carlyle for a job that is not yet available. Check.
I don't see how this is a story.
As far as I can tell, "people familiar with the situation" say Murray could get fired soon because the Kings suck despite being expensive. No kidding. And the supporting evidence for this is that Lombardi is flying to Boston.
I assume, since this is Helene Elliott and she's obviously a credible reporter, that there is some actual fire to go with all this smoke. But so far, the story isn't saying anything that anyone with an internet connection and some common sense didn't already know.
46 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Q--
Lombardi has given the classic non-denial denial: No comment.
This is likely DL’s rumor…
hey...hey...give 'em what they want...
that’s all this is…:
journalists feeling the need to address a topic that their majority of readers demand to discuss…
apparently, it’s too good to resist…even for the best of them…(!)
in 1984, i was hospitalized for approaching perfection....
Elliott’s not a rumor monger, so it was just a matter of time.
"After months of reading other people’s catchy sigs (like yours), I decided I needed one, too." -- DougX
by VoluminousTuna on Dec 12, 2011 3:06 PM PST up reply actions
im pretty familiar with the situation
and so are you guys. maybe we are the people.
dear baby jesus, please dont make mactavish our coach, i’d be ok with granato.
I wouldn’t mind Adam Oates or Joe Mullen.
"We will come with our guns blazing, and we just blazed." - Tim Leiweke
by DodgerBlueBalls on Dec 12, 2011 3:18 PM PST up reply actions
IT'S OV-A...(!)
TM FIRED – STEVENS INTERIM COACH…
in 1984, i was hospitalized for approaching perfection....
FIRED!
per Rich:
The Kings will announce shortly that Terry Murray has been fired as coach and that John Stevens will take over as interim coach. Dean Lombardi will be available to the media today, so stay tuned for further quotes and information
i like michel therrien...
if he’s interested, i think he would be a good fit…
in 1984, i was hospitalized for approaching perfection....
He’s Terry Murray but more of an asshole
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
You don’t think Therrien is a defense-first coach?
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
McKenzie raised the possibility of Sutter.
That would be soooooooooo Dinglebarn.
Dinglebarnin' It JftC
by Niesy on Dec 12, 2011 3:18 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Please no Sutter and no Therrien. A revamp of the Kings’ offense is what is needed now, not a defense-centric hard-ass. I believe Adam Oates may be just the man to get this done.
"We will come with our guns blazing, and we just blazed." - Tim Leiweke
by DodgerBlueBalls on Dec 12, 2011 3:20 PM PST up reply actions
yes..
how-ev-a…
i think he demands a two-way game…
and he got the highly-skilled penguins to play both ends of the ice…
furthermore, we are in a defensive-dominated league these days…
most coaches on competitive teams employ a defense-first type of game-plan…
and if our gm has built this team around defense, it’s gonna be pretty hard for any incoming coach to change things up so drastically and so immediate…
in 1984, i was hospitalized for approaching perfection....
Get the feeling they weren’t planning on doing it this way. Long flight back alone.
Well, I will praise Murray for instilling defensive responsibility and steering the team back into the playoffs. We needed someone like that after Crawford and he was a good fit for the transition. For that I thank him.
Dinglebarnin' It JftC
by Niesy on Dec 12, 2011 3:16 PM PST via mobile reply actions 2 recs
I agree
I believe Quisp said this a while ago (and by a while I mean several years) and that Terry Murray was the right coach for the time he was hired and for doing all the things you just mentioned. He’s no longer the right voice and we need to find somebody immediately who is. Stevens is not that guy.
by 88fingerslukee on Dec 12, 2011 3:22 PM PST up reply actions
Well said, Niesy.
"We will come with our guns blazing, and we just blazed." - Tim Leiweke
by DodgerBlueBalls on Dec 12, 2011 3:27 PM PST up reply actions
Too bad, I was hoping he’d get to 500 with the Kings, but I suppose he had his chances. I just hope for his sake he doesn’t end at 499.
by maxwellian_demon on Dec 12, 2011 3:29 PM PST reply actions
Maybe Stevens will be good. the consensus was that holmgren scapegoated him back in 2009 when the real issue with the team was goaltending. he had won the HN coach of the year award the year before I believe. His main criticism was that he was too lenient on young players and too much of a nice guy type. Maybe that’s what the team needs right now….well it couldn’t be much worse than weird borderline nonsenical comments about needing more and the weekly ritual of picking certain guys to call out publicly.
Anyhow at least we have an average winning percentage of .133 to look forward to!
Free Marc-André Cliche.
the consensus was that holmgren scapegoated him back in 2009 when the real issue with the team was goaltending. he had won the HN coach of the year award the year before I believe. His main criticism was that he was too lenient on young players and too much of a nice guy type.
I wouldn’t say the issue was goaltending. For much of Stevens’ tenure (if I recall correctly) Ray Emery was playing decently for us. It was only after Stevens was fired that Peter Laviolette came in with his ‘I will play the goalie every night till he gets injured’ policy which saw us run through the services of every borderline AHL goalie in the world.
The criticism you mentioned was true. Some felt the players were too comfortable with him. He had coached Jeff Carter and Mike Richards with the Phantoms and they regarded him as a friend. Instead they brought Laviolette in who was much sterner. Of course, Richie and Carts are gone now.
Simon Gagne AND Mike Richards may move between towns, wear new jerseys and call different arenas home but, at the end of the day, they will both always be Philadelphia Flyers.
One day Sean Couturier will win the Conn Smythe. You heard it here first.
by PursuitOfLappyness on Dec 12, 2011 5:39 PM PST up reply actions
right. what I meant to say was i think that year specifically the flyers had goaltending issues
I’m really interested to see what happens with stevens the more I read about him the more i think he could be a good coach for this time right now.
were you for or against the firing at the time and do you think it was a good move?
Free Marc-André Cliche.
OK I see. I agree that Stevens was scapegoated and didn’t do much wrong (other than be a friendly presence for the team).
At the time? I was against the firing. A couple of reasons for that:
- there was a clear sense that Stevens wasn’t the problem, and that he was a scapegoat whose firing would also serve as a wakeup call for the team. By all accounts he was a great guy and the players really enjoyed his presence, so you had to feel sorry for the guy.
- Peter Laviolette’s style – or what we were reading about his style in Carolina – was primarily about aggressive forechecking, which leaves one prone to giving odd man rushes as the play turns around. Stevens was more of a defensively minded coach in his time at Philly. While Lavy’s system is probably a bit more exciting, I felt that the Flyers team with its amazing defensive personnel (well, at least, the top 4) but its weak goaltending couldn’t afford to be a team that neglected its strength (defense) and exposed its weakness (with goalies being exposed to more odd man rushes). In the end it wasn’t as much of a big deal as I thought it would be…
I still don’t really like Lavy and think he was a major reason behind our sweep at the hands of the Bruins in last season’s playoffs. But for that particular season I was wrong about the coaching change: the Flyers did wake up, the Flyers did get some good goaltending from unlikely contributors, Laviolette did play a more defensive system in the playoffs, and we made the Stanley Cup Finals.
That’s a bit of a ramble but essentially: Stevens wasn’t a bad coach with Philly, he didn’t deserve to leave, but the Flyers ended up reaching the SCF that season so we can’t complain.
Simon Gagne AND Mike Richards may move between towns, wear new jerseys and call different arenas home but, at the end of the day, they will both always be Philadelphia Flyers.
One day Sean Couturier will win the Conn Smythe. You heard it here first.
by PursuitOfLappyness on Dec 12, 2011 6:39 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
sutter now...possibly granato later...?
that seems to be making the rumor circuit, for what that’s worth…
in 1984, i was hospitalized for approaching perfection....
DL can cover for his buddy, but the glaring moment came when TM benched Quicker after 3 straight SOs.
Just like Niesy said, I harbor no ill will towards TM, and truly appreciate all his work to get the Kings to where they are today. But it was time; in fact, it was time awhile ago. Nevertheless, glad it’s done & best of luck to DL finding the right coach for THIS team.
Coach
Sutter makes the most sense.
DL has a good relationship with him from SJ.
Don’t know if he is the right guy for our team but something had to give and given the choice of “Trade Brown!”, “Trade Johnson!”, “Trade Quick!”, cacophony or change coaches.
Well for some time now I’ve been of the “trade coaches” mindset.
DL didn't want to fire Terry?
If true, that doesn’t bode well for a new philosophy.
Come on Dean, Kings East scores goals.
Dinglebarnin' It JftC
by Niesy on Dec 12, 2011 4:21 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Called It!!
Not to brag, but this was me in the Game Thread after Saturday night’s abysmal performance:
Prediction
If Terry Murray still has a job in the morning (and I don’t think he will), he’s gone after this road trip if the Kings don’t win at least 3 of the 4.
in other words, Merry Christmas, Kings fans, we’re gonna find a new coach under the tree this year.
This trip is gonna be tough- best team in the NHL in Detroit, defending champs playing like world beaters in Boston, most surprising;y good team in the league in Toronto, and a trap game in Columbus.
I’m willing to put money on it now that if Murray is still coach, the Kings lose all four.
Ok, so he held onto his job one day longer than I expected, but I just knew that one was the loss that was tipping the scales.
WOO-HOO!! (cuz he’s fired, not cuz I called it)
I bet you’re the first to complain about who gets hired, too
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
by Nut on Dec 12, 2011 5:14 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Before the firing, Murray was asked by Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider about coaching on the hot seat: Said Murray:
“I’m going to approach every game and every practice the same as if we had seven or eight wins in a row. You want to win the next one. So that’s the approach that I take every day, every game. I like the way we’re playing. The effort, the compete, the intensity, the chances that we’re getting, everything is in place. We just have to find a way to get a ‘W.’”
He was f***ing oblivious! He liked the way they were playing?? The chances they were getting? What chances were they getting? Maybe he means the chances to show off the penalty kill because they have been doing an awful lot of that lately.
What a relief that he’s gone!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Jewels From The Crown
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
