Quinn had a talent for getting synergy out of teams — the whole was more than the sum of the parts.

Comparing Maurice to Quinn in that respect is unfair. Where Quinn did a great job in TO, Maurice could do a merely good job and still look bad in comparison, because he can’t inspire mediocre players to make the playoffs.

Ironically, if it hadn’t been for the prodigious talents of Quinn and Sundin, the Leafs could be five years into a rebuilding program by now and look more like the Penguins or Hawks than what they are today.

A few major concerns I have with his coaching style are-

-He does not roll all four lines. More often than not he only plays 2.5-3 lines on a regular basis…totally avoiding the fourth (no matter who is currently on the line). Possibly this is a reason for late game collapes…as the players are always tired by the end of the 3rd??? I personally think Maurice does this because he is constantly scrambling to get the team back into games, that he doesn’t have time for his fourth liners. He also has stated he does not enjoy the physical aspect of the game (fighting in particular…therefore no need for tough 4th liners)…which leads me to my second point

-lack of team unity and toughness. there is no character on his current team (Leafs). Every well coached team brings players together as one…unfortunately the leafs do not have that this year (or in previous years)…that is partially due to egos on the squad and partially because of coaching. If Sundin at any time were involved in even something as little as a shoving match while I was coach, I’d expect 4 other players showing up to his aid in a flash (whether they were tough players or not). It wouldn’t be a question…and if you chose not to step up by your captains side? There is a nice piece of bench for your butt. Maurice though, holds no one accountable…and as a result…the Leafs are a weak joke. It hurts me to say…but I don’t think even a group of nuns would be afraid of the Leafs in an after the whistle scrum.

-Thirdly…Maurice rides players that he likes (especially his AHL’ers)…despite the fact they aren’t NHL quality. This is simply something he has done…and its going to hurt him…he can ride Woz and Pohl right out of a job.

-Fourth…Maurice is not a disciplinarian. Poor play, weak efforts, stupid penalties should not be rewarded with more ice time, they should receive the opposite. While there are exceptions to that rule, Maurice believes in leaving lines on the ice after weak goals, not benching players, and dresses players who constantly make brain farts…no one is going to learn if you just keep treating them nicely…like when is Maurice going to learn he needs to mix it up a bit.

-And my ultimate beef with his coaching style is…the constant line shuffling. Seriously, how is anyone going to get in a groove if they spend less than 2-3 shifts in a row together. Give players 5+ games and see how things are going…if they are still stagnant, than mix it up…but rarely does a complete game go by and the lines haven’t been juggled at least two to three times. It’s a sign of desperate coaching…

Overall…I’d rate Maurice in the bottom half of current NHL coaches…he can’t control his players…he makes poor decisions behind the bench….his personnel decisions are questionable to say the least…and he has fostered a lazy, unmotivated, lack of toughness mentality with no repercussions…which I believe is directly responsible for the current state of the Leafs. While JFJ had no idea what he was doing (bad contracts, poor signings/trades etc)…it is Maurice that is responsible for the on ice product. I hope he enjoys the rest of his season…because next year it will be back to the minors for him…until he learns how to be a proper NHL coach.

Maurice is young and that may be part of his problem, but he does have 10 years of NHL coaching experience so inexperience can’t be an excuse. He has more NHL experience than many coaches in the NHL.

special teams is a good comparison. good coaches have god systems and set plays. another stat would be comebacks. a team that wins alot down after 2 would be a well coached team.

BUT the blame shouldnt be put squarely on maurice. his assistants are a big part of it. usually its the assistant who gets control of a unit. i know montreal’s PP is coached by doug jarvis. a coach is only as good as his staff.

it does look like maurice is losing control of his team. hes not motivating his players and he gives them impression hes soft. he looks anything but a strict disciplinarian. and it looks like the leafs are playing soft.

hes still young so i wouldnt say hes a “bad” coach. but he definately has room for improvement and id say another team will hire him when he gets canned from TO

As for Maurice, you also have to look at things you can’t find in stats. Like keeping a just-back-from-a-groin-injury Toskala in a blow out to spare Raycraft’s feelings. In a road game.

Geeze.

I love the guy, but that says it all right there.

I think you are hitting the nail on the head when you talk about a softer team. I have commented on this before. This team doesn’t have an identity. They aren’t a hard hitting team, nor are they a skilled team, nor are they a defensive team, nor are they a great special teams team, nor are they a great 5 on 5 team, nor are they a consistent hard working team. Pat Quinn’s Leafs teams could be identified as hard working and never give up attitude. They weren’t the most skilled team, they weren’t the best defensive team, but more often than not they were the hardest working team that stood up for each other and took pride in putting in an honest effort. Darcy Tucker was a perfect example as on more than on occassion he challenged the entire Ottawa bench. This season Tucker has hardly been noticable in most games. Whether Maurice is just unable to motivate his players or whether Tucker just can’t play like he once did in Maurice’s system I don’t know. But what I do know is Maurice is not getting the most out of this team and based on his historical track record he hasn’t gotten much out of most of his teams outside of one or two seasons in Carolina.