Loss to Blues brings out Richards' frustration

Subject: Loss to Blues brings out Richards' frustration Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:18 am

From the Strib...

Loss to Blues brings out Richards' frustration

The NHL regular season is rapidly approaching, and the Wild does not look anywhere close to prepared for it.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune
Last update: September 24, 2009 - 11:32 PM

Training camp has reached a critical juncture for the Wild and its rookie coach.

With Opening Night eight days away, the St. Louis Blues brought most of their regulars to Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night and looked in regular- season form during a 4-1 exhibition waxing of the Wild.

On the other hand, the Wild was a mess.

"You can't be losing one-on-one battles all over the ice," said coach Todd Richards, bemoaning the Wild's "compete factor."

"I wasn't holding guys accountable because I wanted to see my guys and give them ice time. But with two games left, and one [tonight in Chicago], and coming off of the way we played, I think I have to change the way I've been doing things. It's ... to a point now where the guys that are playing are the guys that are going to go."

The quandary is this: Typically this late in camp, the minor leaguers are long gone. Not that Thursday's outcome was their fault, but a collection of Houston-bound players and one tryout player were sprinkled through the Wild's lineup because of injuries.

Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette have yet to make their preseason debuts. Petr Sykora, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Benoit Pouliot, Shane Hnidy, Craig Weller and Derek Boogaard also are injured.

None of the injuries are long-term except for Boogaard's concussion. But with so many missing bodies, Richards can't get a full group to practice together, making it tough to teach his attacking system.

Against the Blues, Richards found the Wild retreating and making stretch passes to the far blue line, a staple of previous coach Jacques Lemaire.

"It's a little frustrating and a little disappointing," Richards said.

Richards, making clear he wasn't disrespecting Lemaire, said Thursday morning he was finding it hard deprogramming Lemaire's methods.

"That might be my most difficult task going forward," Richards said. "I think these guys have habits. It's engrained in them. ... If they get tired in a game, your mind is the first thing to go and you resort back to your habits and your old ways."

Wild defenseman Greg Zanon said players simply need to play hockey.

"We're trying to do things as we've practiced and we're not playing the game," Zanon said. "I mean, no matter what system you play, it's still hockey. You've got to use your instincts."

Big vs. small

In the third period, Wild 6-8 defenseman John Scott couldn't get rid of St. Louis' David Perron (listed at 6-0).

"I don't know what was going on," Scott said. "He was all over me. And I can't do anything. He's like 5-foot-2. He weighs like the size of my left leg."
Notes

• Koivu and Brunette practiced Thursday and are aiming to play in Tuesday's preseason finale in Philadelphia.

• Pouliot (groin) will be sidelined at least a week. Hnidy (groin) practiced Thursday, but Sykora didn't practice, nor did Bouchard, who has missed a week.

• Eric Belanger scored the Wild's lone goal.

More from Russo...

St. Louis Blues 4, Wild 1; Richards showing signs of frustration
Posted on September 24th, 2009 – 10:40 PM
By Michael Russo

If the number on top of my admin is accurate, this is my 1,200th blog post at the Star Tribune.

Cigars all around.

If you happened to attend tonight’s 4-1 loss at the X, hopefully you were one of the fans who took advantage of the free ticket offer by bringing in some new or used hockey equipment to donate. If you paid NHL prices for tonight, you deserved a free lower-bowl seat to a future home game.

While the Blues brought their regulars and looked in regular-season form, the Wild still dressed a collection of minor-leaguers and one tryout with so many regulars out with injuries (Koivu, Brunette, Sykora, Bouchard, Pouliot, Weller, Hnidy and Boogaard).

Not that it was these guys’ fault by any stretch, but the Wild opens in eight days and after one TV timeout tonight, Richards had on the ice John Scott and Jaime Sifers as the D pair and Danny Irmen, Nathan Smith and Matt Kassian on the ice. The next shift? Robbie Earl and Andy Hilbert.

Again, I really mean that as no disrespect.

But the season’s around the corner and the Wild has so many banged-up guys, those guys are playing a St. Louis Blues team with a roster set because they leave for Stockholm Saturday. But when you consider that you have a coach trying to deprogram a system and install a brand new one and he can’t get his full array of guys onto the ice, it’s very alarming.

And then when you consider how difficult the first two months of the season are as far as travel, this could be as tough a transition as I’ve predicted all summer. I just don’t think it’s easy to snap your fingers and install a system, and it’s definitely not easy when you’ve got like eight or nine guys missing practice everyday.

You can just see how mixed up the players are. Some of the D tonight wanted to pass, then they skated, then they stopped. Like their mind was about to combust with so many thoughts going through their heads.

Greg Zanon said the Wild is trying to play their system so much, they’re getting all jumbled. John Scott said the players almost have too much information in their heads.

This is worrisome because the players certainly look confused. As Richards said after, the players were retreating tonight and making long stretch passes, a staple of Jacques Lemaire’s system. The breakouts for Jacques were simple. Defenseman way back in his zone bypassing the center and trying to hit a wing at the far blue line.

The Wild did that umpteen times tonight, which is not at all in Richards’ system. As you can remember my story the first day of camp, entries up the middle are not optional. Richards wants you flying through the neutral zone with speed and entering up the gut.

The Wild didn’t do that at all tonight.

Here’s Richards’ postgame quotes:

“We didn’t generate much. I don’t think our compete factor was great for a good portion of the game. We lost a lot of battles. … We were a step behind.

“I don’t think it’s legs. It’s being prepared, being ready for a quick start. Again, the compete factor. There were some guys that competed and played really hard, and there were other guys that didn’t.

“It’s roster spots, it’s guys fighting for ice time. I’m going to have to probably change up my approach now because I was putting guys in certain situations just to see. And I wasn’t necessarily holding guys accountable for their actions because I wanted to see my guys and give them ice time, but with two games left here, and one tomorrow night, and coming off of the way we played tonight, I think I have to change the way I’ve been doing things. It’s got to come down to a point now where the guys that are playing are the guys that are going to go.

On the system: “It’s bits and pieces. … I think we’re still retreating at times and then when we get the puck, a lot of times we just go straight to the far blue line, and I know that was kind of how they played here last year. We aren’t coming up the ice with any speed. We’re making long plays and it’s just kind of getting chipped in. so it’s a little frustrating and a little disappointing. But that’s what happens when you’re behind and you aren’t thinking as clearly and maybe you aren’t as confident, you resort back to old habits and your old ways.

Concerned that this could take well into the season? “It’s one game. The other games, there’s been lots of positive signs. Today was a disappointing night and tomorrow’s a new day. If we have everybody come in and raises their compete level. You can’t be losing one-on-one battles all over the ice. If you do that enough time, you’re going to be chasing all night long.

What change up? “I was putting guys out on the ice in certain situations that probably didn’t warrant them getting the ice time or the minutes because I think there’s more that guys have to offer. You sit back on the bench as a coach and you have to figure out a way to get it. … Tonight wasn’t real positive.

Any positives? “There wasn’t a heckuva lot. Nothing really comes to my mind. I’m frustrated and disappointed, but tomorrow’s another day and as a coaching staff, we need to work harder.”

Anyways, I’ll talk to you from Chicago on Friday afternoon. By the way, check out the James Sheppard story about his friction with Lemaire. And check out the notebook with the John Scott quote on David Perron. If I see it was trimmed for space, I’ll put it on the blog Friday.

Haven't seen the game, but this sounds depressing. So many injured players? Never experienced that before. Sounds like they are really nursing injuries.

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

It will probably take a month or two of steady practices with the full group before they start to really play the new system. It sounds like they haven't drilled it into instinct yet, so they're hesitating and thinking. That's good, because it means they've done the first step (recognize necessary changes), but you can't be thinking with as fast a game as hockey, and it will take quite a while to make those changes into habits.

Posts : 170 Join date : 2009-09-21 Location : Farmington

Yeah, but when they hesitate, and they will, it's going to more than likely be very costly.
Could be a very rough opening month, especially given the road schedule early on.

I really wanted to chime in on this! I think Richards is in for a LOT of frustration!

But blaming it on Lemaire? PULEAZZZE! Zanon? Lemaire was that good he influenced a guy not even on his team? Brodz? Havlat? Sykora? Hindy? Zidlicky after ONE year? Bruno will forgot three years in Col after ONE year? Nolan, after a hundred years in the league? I thought Shep LOVED the new system, now he can't play it? That Stifers guy - he played for Lemaire last year? Surley not Burns - he ALWAYS had the green light under Lemaire. Same for PMB, he DID have offensive freedom off the wing. Now its Lemaire's fault Scott is a huge lumbering oaf? Kassian - another lumbering, talentless oaf. Hilbert? Was he a Wild player last year? Belanger played for how many teams before the Wild? Cluts, Mittens, and Gillies played for Lemaire ONE year - they're that indoctrinated?!

IMO blaming Lemaire in this case is B.S. Yes I know some of these guys didn't play this specific game but you should get the drift... I really didn't expect the lame excuses this quick!

You can probably count on one hand guys who fit that excuse - Schultz, Johnson..., maybe.

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

Who's blaming Lemaire?

The PLAYERS need to adjust to the new system. It's nobody's fault, it's a fact of life.

Posts : 170 Join date : 2009-09-21 Location : Farmington

Jarick wrote:: Who's blaming Lemaire?

The PLAYERS need to adjust to the new system. It's nobody's fault, it's a fact of life.

While not directly blaiming Lemaire, there have been a few quotes out of Richards now about Lemaire and his style, deprogramming, resetting expectations etc.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

Fargocase wrote:: I really wanted to chime in on this! I think Richards is in for a LOT of frustration!

But blaming it on Lemaire? PULEAZZZE! Zanon? Lemaire was that good he influenced a guy not even on his team? Brodz? Havlat? Sykora? Hindy? Zidlicky after ONE year? Bruno will forgot three years in Col after ONE year? Nolan, after a hundred years in the league? I thought Shep LOVED the new system, now he can't play it? That Stifers guy - he played for Lemaire last year? Surley not Burns - he ALWAYS had the green light under Lemaire. Same for PMB, he DID have offensive freedom off the wing. Now its Lemaire's fault Scott is a huge lumbering oaf? Kassian - another lumbering, talentless oaf. Hilbert? Was he a Wild player last year? Belanger played for how many teams before the Wild? Cluts, Mittens, and Gillies played for Lemaire ONE year - they're that indoctrinated?!

IMO blaming Lemaire in this case is B.S. Yes I know some of these guys didn't play this specific game but you should get the drift... I really didn't expect the lame excuses this quick!

You can probably count on one hand guys who fit that excuse - Schultz, Johnson..., maybe.

Exactly. My first thought on reading this was, "still blaming the old mysterious system, I wonder how long they can get away with that."

Posts : 170 Join date : 2009-09-21 Location : Farmington

shmiddy wrote:

Fargocase wrote:: I really wanted to chime in on this! I think Richards is in for a LOT of frustration!

But blaming it on Lemaire? PULEAZZZE! Zanon? Lemaire was that good he influenced a guy not even on his team? Brodz? Havlat? Sykora? Hindy? Zidlicky after ONE year? Bruno will forgot three years in Col after ONE year? Nolan, after a hundred years in the league? I thought Shep LOVED the new system, now he can't play it? That Stifers guy - he played for Lemaire last year? Surley not Burns - he ALWAYS had the green light under Lemaire. Same for PMB, he DID have offensive freedom off the wing. Now its Lemaire's fault Scott is a huge lumbering oaf? Kassian - another lumbering, talentless oaf. Hilbert? Was he a Wild player last year? Belanger played for how many teams before the Wild? Cluts, Mittens, and Gillies played for Lemaire ONE year - they're that indoctrinated?!

IMO blaming Lemaire in this case is B.S. Yes I know some of these guys didn't play this specific game but you should get the drift... I really didn't expect the lame excuses this quick!

You can probably count on one hand guys who fit that excuse - Schultz, Johnson..., maybe.

Exactly. My first thought on reading this was, "still blaming the old mysterious system, I wonder how long they can get away with that."

Edit: Whoops... forgot this wasn't the Smack Talk section.

I'd say given similar experiences seen elsewhere this year they've got about 2-5 months before it gets old for most people. Some people will probably let them get away with it forever.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

Velmeran wrote:

shmiddy wrote:

Fargocase wrote:: I really wanted to chime in on this! I think Richards is in for a LOT of frustration!

But blaming it on Lemaire? PULEAZZZE! Zanon? Lemaire was that good he influenced a guy not even on his team? Brodz? Havlat? Sykora? Hindy? Zidlicky after ONE year? Bruno will forgot three years in Col after ONE year? Nolan, after a hundred years in the league? I thought Shep LOVED the new system, now he can't play it? That Stifers guy - he played for Lemaire last year? Surley not Burns - he ALWAYS had the green light under Lemaire. Same for PMB, he DID have offensive freedom off the wing. Now its Lemaire's fault Scott is a huge lumbering oaf? Kassian - another lumbering, talentless oaf. Hilbert? Was he a Wild player last year? Belanger played for how many teams before the Wild? Cluts, Mittens, and Gillies played for Lemaire ONE year - they're that indoctrinated?!

IMO blaming Lemaire in this case is B.S. Yes I know some of these guys didn't play this specific game but you should get the drift... I really didn't expect the lame excuses this quick!

You can probably count on one hand guys who fit that excuse - Schultz, Johnson..., maybe.

Exactly. My first thought on reading this was, "still blaming the old mysterious system, I wonder how long they can get away with that."

Edit: Whoops... forgot this wasn't the Smack Talk section.

I'd say given similar experiences seen elsewhere this year they've got about 2-5 months before it gets old for most people. Some people will probably let them get away with it forever.

I think I know exactly what you mean. Laughing

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

Velmeran wrote:

Jarick wrote:: Who's blaming Lemaire?

The PLAYERS need to adjust to the new system. It's nobody's fault, it's a fact of life.

While not directly blaiming Lemaire, there have been a few quotes out of Richards now about Lemaire and his style, deprogramming, resetting expectations etc.

Note that the word "blame" was never thrown around until Fargo stepped in.

Hockey is such a fast sport that you can't analyze every situation and stop to think about what you're supposed to do. You can't just read a playbook and know the system. You have to go through drills in practice, over and over and over again, until you get it right. And then you go through the drills over and over and over again until you can't get it wrong.

I could easily say you guys are taking one preseason loss and pointing fingers at Richards and saying "I knew he was a failure, Lemaire was right all along, we don't have any talent."

So the guys have been in camp for 12 days now, they haven't learned the system, therefore we have no talent and Richards is a bum. Glad to see the brilliance of the old boards came on over...

Fargo's not saying Lemaire was right and Richards is wrong, he's just questioning the "deprogramming" that Richards is referring to, as most of the players on the ice actually never played for Lemaire or did so for only a very short time.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

Quote :: "It's a little frustrating and a little disappointing," Richards said.

Richards, making clear he wasn't disrespecting Lemaire, said Thursday morning he was finding it hard deprogramming Lemaire's methods.

"That might be my most difficult task going forward," Richards said. "I think these guys have habits. It's engrained in them. ... If they get tired in a game, your mind is the first thing to go and you resort back to your habits and your old ways."

Call it what you like, I guess. I'll call it an excuse... and a silly one. Better to use the injury excuse IMO. But you wouldn't want to use that one up so early.

Posts : 1218 Join date : 2009-09-22

yeah there is excuses starting to fly, this season is going to be a massive failure :/ man i am going to cry so hard.

Posts : 57 Join date : 2009-09-22 Location : Southern Minny

Jarick wrote:: Who's blaming Lemaire?

The PLAYERS need to adjust to the new system. It's nobody's fault, it's a fact of life.

Exactly. Nobody is, and it's strange to think that Richards is. It's factual, plain and simple.

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

Beyond that, how many players played for Richards or under the system he's teaching?

Has nothing to do with the quality of the previous coach and everything to do with the players and game preparation.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

Wild Fan #1 wrote:

Jarick wrote:: Who's blaming Lemaire?

The PLAYERS need to adjust to the new system. It's nobody's fault, it's a fact of life.

Exactly. Nobody is, and it's strange to think that Richards is. It's factual, plain and simple.

I wouldn't have thought you would be so willing to let the new guys make excuses.

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

Who's making excuses? What is the difference between an excuse and an explanation?

Richards said they're behind the eight ball in learning his system, which could mean:

1. Richards is a terrible coach, we need to fire him, and plead for a trapping coach to come back
2. The player are all talentless hacks, and we need to buy all of them out
3. We have a team full of human beings who aren't perfect and take time and hard work to learn something new, and we need to show patience.

Seriously, it's the fucking preseason. The team is going to be hit and miss for the next several weeks and possibly months.

We understand it will take time to learn a new system et al, the problem is with Richards' attempt to explain. He is claiming that deprogramming Lemaire's teachings is part of the issue, yet the players he's been using have hardly if ever even played for Lemaire. How can you deprogram Sifers from Lemaire's teachings when he never played for him?

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

"You can't be losing one-on-one battles all over the ice," said coach Todd Richards, bemoaning the Wild's "compete factor."

Nothing to do with the system.

"I wasn't holding guys accountable because I wanted to see my guys and give them ice time. But with two games left, and one [tonight in Chicago], and coming off of the way we played, I think I have to change the way I've been doing things. It's ... to a point now where the guys that are playing are the guys that are going to go."

Nothing to do with the system.

The quandary is this: Typically this late in camp, the minor leaguers are long gone. Not that Thursday's outcome was their fault, but a collection of Houston-bound players and one tryout player were sprinkled through the Wild's lineup because of injuries.

Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette have yet to make their preseason debuts. Petr Sykora, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Benoit Pouliot, Shane Hnidy, Craig Weller and Derek Boogaard also are injured.

Nothing to do with the system.

None of the injuries are long-term except for Boogaard's concussion. But with so many missing bodies, Richards can't get a full group to practice together, making it tough to teach his attacking system.

Against the Blues, Richards found the Wild retreating and making stretch passes to the far blue line, a staple of previous coach Jacques Lemaire.

"It's a little frustrating and a little disappointing," Richards said.

Richards, making clear he wasn't disrespecting Lemaire, said Thursday morning he was finding it hard deprogramming Lemaire's methods.

"That might be my most difficult task going forward," Richards said. "I think these guys have habits. It's engrained in them. ... If they get tired in a game, your mind is the first thing to go and you resort back to your habits and your old ways."

Wild defenseman Greg Zanon said players simply need to play hockey.

"We're trying to do things as we've practiced and we're not playing the game," Zanon said. "I mean, no matter what system you play, it's still hockey. You've got to use your instincts."

Making it clear he did not disrespect Lemaire, and the only quote was from Greg Zanon, who said he had difficulty adjusting to the new system.

So wait, you mean he never referenced Sifers, and Zanon, who didn't play for Lemaire last year, also didn't play Richards' system?

Obviously, what happened here was that Todd Richards subliminally ripped Lemaire a new one while Lemaire subliminally taught Zanon his system. Meanwhile. Sifers was able to tap into the consciousness of Richards and Lemaire in order to frustrate Wild fans by not executing the new system, even though he played well enough to challenge for a spot on the roster.

OR, maybe you guys are making shit up. One or the other.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

TaLoN wrote:: We understand it will take time to learn a new system et al, the problem is with Richards' attempt to explain. He is claiming that deprogramming Lemaire's teachings is part of the issue, yet the players he's been using have hardly if ever even played for Lemaire. How can you deprogram Sifers from Lemaire's teachings when he never played for him?

He shouldn't have even brought it into it. It's cheese. Whine about injuries. What ever. The fact that it's being accepted "as fact" is just a sign that their bullshit has traction. Fact is that good players are out of the lineup. Fact is that they don't have that many good players to begin with. Bullshit is that the players collapse into some old defensive system when they're getting spanked. That happens at every pick up game when the ice is tilted. If Richards is right that it means that players who publicly say they like his system, have more faith in the old one in the game. Players as Talon and Fargo point out werent really steeped in it. It was stupid to bring up on his part.

Posts : 199 Join date : 2009-09-20

Quote :: "We're trying to do things as we've practiced and we're not playing the game," Zanon said. "I mean, no matter what system you play, it's still hockey. You've got to use your instincts."

Making it clear he did not disrespect Lemaire, and the only quote was from Greg Zanon, who said he had difficulty adjusting to the new system.

No he didn't. He said we.

Quote :: "That might be my most difficult task going forward," Richards said. "I think these guys have habits. It's engrained in them. ... If they get tired in a game, your mind is the first thing to go and you resort back to your habits and your old ways."

He was kind of hired to have guys fall into his established sytsem automatically so why even bring up the other one?

Quote :: "I wasn't holding guys accountable because I wanted to see my guys and give them ice time. But with two games left, and one [tonight in Chicago], and coming off of the way we played, I think I have to change the way I've been doing things. It's ... to a point now where the guys that are playing are the guys that are going to go."

Maybe that's why and maybe he should have left it at that.

All some of us are saying here, is that bringing up Lemaire's teachings and deprogramming them from his teachings, when talking about a game just played, that was played by mostly players who didn't even play for Lemaire is a questionable thing to say.

It will take time no matter the sytem any of the players just came out of, but to make the comment as if it was Lemaire's teachings that they kept reverting to, well.. that's just not true. Zanon, Sifers, Hilbert, Havlat, Brodziak, Cuma, Scandella, Smith... the guys who've played these games have not had those teachings.

Koivu, Bruno, Bouchard, Nolan... these guys haven't even been in these games. The comment about deprogramming JL's teachings just doesn't fit.

Posts : 59 Join date : 2009-09-23

So you guys are saying that only lemaire runs a defensive system?

You know what, I'm done on this point. I'll take the word of an NHL head coach for the time being.

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