GMRF Needs To Cut Ties with Marcoux
April 10, 2017, 11:15 AM ET [1 Comments]
Ben Case
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
Today, I want to address why I think it is time that the Hurricanes part ways with goalie coach David Marcoux. Many people will merely point to Cam Ward as the reason for Marcoux's results, however, that is merely lazy and way overgeneralized of an explanation.
Let’s go back in history a bit: Marcoux was hired in the summer of 2014. He was known for working with Miikka Kiprusoff with the Flames from 2003-2009. In addition, during the lock-out season in 2004-05, he worked with Ward in Lowell because Calgary and Carolina shared an AHL team.
It appears that Marcoux is best fit to coach more athletic/reactionary goalies with average size, as opposed to what appears a recent change with styles that are more geared towards blocking. The goalies Marcoux was inheriting in the summer of 2014 fit that description too—Ward and Khudobin.
Ward had exponential dips in his season save percentage from a .923 SV% in 2010-11, to his career worst .898 SV% in 2013-14. Marcoux did appear to help Ward in his first season, as Ward posted a GAA and SV% right around the league averages in 2014-15 and improved to a .910 SV% and 2.40 GAA. However, how much of that really was Marcoux?
Ward had battled through the lockout and injuries in 2013-14. A rise in his SV% likely had little to do with Marcoux and more the fact that for the first time in 2-3 years, Ward was able to stay on the ice. If things had of gone as planned, these statistics would’ve been sound for a back-up who saw around 20-30 games.
Looking at Khudobin, he was actually very promising for the Hurricanes. In fact, in his first season with the Hurricanes in 2013-14, he posted a 2.30 GAA and .926 SV% in 36 games. This was the most games he had seen in an NHL season, as he previously only had 19 starts in four seasons of NHL play—it wasn’t until 2012-13 that he stayed in the NHL for an extended period and he started 14 games with the Bruins in 2012-13.
He was the kind of free agent signing that I believe GMRF thought would be the answer to the goalie transition. He had been developed with tons of AHL experience, had great NHL stats and showed a strong risk/reward trade-off. In addition, during his two years in Boston, the Bruins won the Cup (2011-12) and lost in the finals to the Blackhawks (2012-13). Ultimately, he came from a winning franchise, had a strong upside and should have been hitting his prime.
If you look at beginning of Khudobin’s NHL experience in 2009-10 and extend it through 2013-14, Khudobin was tied for first in the NHL with Rask and Schneider with a .928 SV% out of all goalies with 50+ games played according to NHL.com. Narrowing it down to just 2012-13 and 2013-14, he was third with a .924 SV% behind only Rask and Bobrovsky.
Despite looking like he could take control of the Hurricanes’ crease, he had his worst NHL season in 2014-15 (year Marcoux arrived), starting 32 games with an 8-17-6 record, 2.72 GAA and .900 SV%. His SV% was the 5th worst in the NHL looking at goalies with more than 15 games started. Perhaps his decline was a result less of Marcoux and more that with an NHL sample size closer to 100 games, teams had finally solved how to beat him.
He was traded in the summer of 2015 with one year remaining on his contract, as the Hurricanes attempted to bolster up what was considered a relatively weak blue-line in comparison to many other franchises. GMRF was quoted by Chip Alexander with The News and Observer saying, “When you look at our team, an area we want to improve on is defense. The first deal we got was Wisniewski and it took Khudobin to do that…”
In fact, I’m willing to say that this move was probably one of the earliest and biggest (and few) mistakes GMRF has made in his tenure as GM. The trade might’ve actually worked out if Wisniewski hadn’t suffered a tragic injury during his first game in Carolina and was later bought out.
This trade is often overlooked because of Khudobin’s performance in 2012-13, however, based on his stats earlier and development under Wild goalie coach Bob Mason, Bruins’ goalie coach Bob Essensa and previous Hurricanes’ goalie coach Greg Stefan, all signs pointed that he could be a good NHL goalie. So where did things go wrong?
Let’s move the focus back towards Marcoux. He has seen declines in all three of his NHL goalies in Carolina—Lack, Ward and Khudobin. Ward has seen an exponential decline the past two seasons that is eerily similar to the one from 2011-12 through 2013-14; his season SV% is a .905 and almost a full percent below the league average.
Lack was acquired from the Canucks within one hour of the trade for Khudobin in June 2015. Other than the fact that he was significantly larger than Khudobin, he posted good numbers in Vancouver during his first two NHL seasons through 82 games played. Again, looking at goalies with over 50+ games played, he was tied for 17th in the NHL with a .917 SV% through those two seasons with Quick, Halak and Rinne
Looking at Lack and Ward since 2015-16 and through the end of this season, Lack is 3rd worst in the NHL with a .902 SV% and Ward is 9th worst at .907 SV% of goalies with 30+ starts. In all three of Marcoux’s years as the goalie coach in Carolina, he has had a goalie in the bottom five of SV% (goalies 15+ starts). Khudobon in 2013-14, Lack in 2015-16 and Lack again this season (tied for 5th worst with Lethonen/Kuemper). He actually solely held 5th worst before his game against the Flyers last night too, as he improved his SV% from .901 to .902 for the season.
Finally, let’s look at how the Hurricanes top goaltending prospect, Alex Nedeljkovic, looked this year. He was drafted in the second round (37th) by the Hurricanes last summer and was ranked as the third best goalie by some draft boards. Coming into this season, he was considered by many to be one of the top ten goaltending prospects.
He is described as an athletic and under-sized goalie. Looking at his scouting report on Hockey’s Future, he has an 8.0 talent score and “C” for probability of success. To say the least, when he was drafted, he was one of the most promising goaltending prospects the Hurricanes have had in the system as of late.
Care to take a guess where he stands in the AHL with goalies over 15 games played…he is second to last with a .881 SV%, beating only Joe Cannata. His play has warranted him being sent down to the ECHL, where he has only posted a .903 SV% in 12 appearances. Ironically, the two goalies for the Checkers who have likely worked the least with Marcoux have been the best statistically—McCollum and Motte.
This off-season many speculate that the Hurricanes will attempt to address their goaltending. My hope is that they don’t let Marcoux influence the next one. He certainly doesn’t appear to have helped Lack or Khudobin and early indications with Nedeljkovic aren’t great. It isn’t just isolated to Ward “making” Marcoux look bad.
Given Marcoux’s three year track record and the fact that Ward is now 33 going on 34, it is time to completely turn a page on this goaltending chapter. So, this is why I said that GMRF needs to start the offseason by relieving Marcoux of his position.
Who do you think would be a good goalie coach for the Hurricanes in 2017-18?
April 10, 2017, 11:15 AM ET [1 Comments]
Ben Case
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
Today, I want to address why I think it is time that the Hurricanes part ways with goalie coach David Marcoux. Many people will merely point to Cam Ward as the reason for Marcoux's results, however, that is merely lazy and way overgeneralized of an explanation.
Let’s go back in history a bit: Marcoux was hired in the summer of 2014. He was known for working with Miikka Kiprusoff with the Flames from 2003-2009. In addition, during the lock-out season in 2004-05, he worked with Ward in Lowell because Calgary and Carolina shared an AHL team.
It appears that Marcoux is best fit to coach more athletic/reactionary goalies with average size, as opposed to what appears a recent change with styles that are more geared towards blocking. The goalies Marcoux was inheriting in the summer of 2014 fit that description too—Ward and Khudobin.
Ward had exponential dips in his season save percentage from a .923 SV% in 2010-11, to his career worst .898 SV% in 2013-14. Marcoux did appear to help Ward in his first season, as Ward posted a GAA and SV% right around the league averages in 2014-15 and improved to a .910 SV% and 2.40 GAA. However, how much of that really was Marcoux?
Ward had battled through the lockout and injuries in 2013-14. A rise in his SV% likely had little to do with Marcoux and more the fact that for the first time in 2-3 years, Ward was able to stay on the ice. If things had of gone as planned, these statistics would’ve been sound for a back-up who saw around 20-30 games.
Looking at Khudobin, he was actually very promising for the Hurricanes. In fact, in his first season with the Hurricanes in 2013-14, he posted a 2.30 GAA and .926 SV% in 36 games. This was the most games he had seen in an NHL season, as he previously only had 19 starts in four seasons of NHL play—it wasn’t until 2012-13 that he stayed in the NHL for an extended period and he started 14 games with the Bruins in 2012-13.
He was the kind of free agent signing that I believe GMRF thought would be the answer to the goalie transition. He had been developed with tons of AHL experience, had great NHL stats and showed a strong risk/reward trade-off. In addition, during his two years in Boston, the Bruins won the Cup (2011-12) and lost in the finals to the Blackhawks (2012-13). Ultimately, he came from a winning franchise, had a strong upside and should have been hitting his prime.
If you look at beginning of Khudobin’s NHL experience in 2009-10 and extend it through 2013-14, Khudobin was tied for first in the NHL with Rask and Schneider with a .928 SV% out of all goalies with 50+ games played according to NHL.com. Narrowing it down to just 2012-13 and 2013-14, he was third with a .924 SV% behind only Rask and Bobrovsky.
Despite looking like he could take control of the Hurricanes’ crease, he had his worst NHL season in 2014-15 (year Marcoux arrived), starting 32 games with an 8-17-6 record, 2.72 GAA and .900 SV%. His SV% was the 5th worst in the NHL looking at goalies with more than 15 games started. Perhaps his decline was a result less of Marcoux and more that with an NHL sample size closer to 100 games, teams had finally solved how to beat him.
He was traded in the summer of 2015 with one year remaining on his contract, as the Hurricanes attempted to bolster up what was considered a relatively weak blue-line in comparison to many other franchises. GMRF was quoted by Chip Alexander with The News and Observer saying, “When you look at our team, an area we want to improve on is defense. The first deal we got was Wisniewski and it took Khudobin to do that…”
In fact, I’m willing to say that this move was probably one of the earliest and biggest (and few) mistakes GMRF has made in his tenure as GM. The trade might’ve actually worked out if Wisniewski hadn’t suffered a tragic injury during his first game in Carolina and was later bought out.
This trade is often overlooked because of Khudobin’s performance in 2012-13, however, based on his stats earlier and development under Wild goalie coach Bob Mason, Bruins’ goalie coach Bob Essensa and previous Hurricanes’ goalie coach Greg Stefan, all signs pointed that he could be a good NHL goalie. So where did things go wrong?
Let’s move the focus back towards Marcoux. He has seen declines in all three of his NHL goalies in Carolina—Lack, Ward and Khudobin. Ward has seen an exponential decline the past two seasons that is eerily similar to the one from 2011-12 through 2013-14; his season SV% is a .905 and almost a full percent below the league average.
Lack was acquired from the Canucks within one hour of the trade for Khudobin in June 2015. Other than the fact that he was significantly larger than Khudobin, he posted good numbers in Vancouver during his first two NHL seasons through 82 games played. Again, looking at goalies with over 50+ games played, he was tied for 17th in the NHL with a .917 SV% through those two seasons with Quick, Halak and Rinne
Looking at Lack and Ward since 2015-16 and through the end of this season, Lack is 3rd worst in the NHL with a .902 SV% and Ward is 9th worst at .907 SV% of goalies with 30+ starts. In all three of Marcoux’s years as the goalie coach in Carolina, he has had a goalie in the bottom five of SV% (goalies 15+ starts). Khudobon in 2013-14, Lack in 2015-16 and Lack again this season (tied for 5th worst with Lethonen/Kuemper). He actually solely held 5th worst before his game against the Flyers last night too, as he improved his SV% from .901 to .902 for the season.
Finally, let’s look at how the Hurricanes top goaltending prospect, Alex Nedeljkovic, looked this year. He was drafted in the second round (37th) by the Hurricanes last summer and was ranked as the third best goalie by some draft boards. Coming into this season, he was considered by many to be one of the top ten goaltending prospects.
He is described as an athletic and under-sized goalie. Looking at his scouting report on Hockey’s Future, he has an 8.0 talent score and “C” for probability of success. To say the least, when he was drafted, he was one of the most promising goaltending prospects the Hurricanes have had in the system as of late.
Care to take a guess where he stands in the AHL with goalies over 15 games played…he is second to last with a .881 SV%, beating only Joe Cannata. His play has warranted him being sent down to the ECHL, where he has only posted a .903 SV% in 12 appearances. Ironically, the two goalies for the Checkers who have likely worked the least with Marcoux have been the best statistically—McCollum and Motte.
This off-season many speculate that the Hurricanes will attempt to address their goaltending. My hope is that they don’t let Marcoux influence the next one. He certainly doesn’t appear to have helped Lack or Khudobin and early indications with Nedeljkovic aren’t great. It isn’t just isolated to Ward “making” Marcoux look bad.
Given Marcoux’s three year track record and the fact that Ward is now 33 going on 34, it is time to completely turn a page on this goaltending chapter. So, this is why I said that GMRF needs to start the offseason by relieving Marcoux of his position.
Who do you think would be a good goalie coach for the Hurricanes in 2017-18?
» Seminar in Tehran on sustainable trade with Iraq
» Al-Maliki to the British Ambassador: Iraq is preparing to hold local elections that will contribute
» Al-Sudani invites the Secretary of NATO to Baghdad.. The benefits of the relationship outweigh the c
» The former Minister of Resources responds to Al-Halbousi: Iraq does not need new dams because the cu
» Sudanese to his Kuwaiti counterpart: Iraq is committed to Security Council resolutions and the sover
» Al-Sudani confirms Iraq's efforts to pursue strategic relations with the United States
» The Foreign Minister reveals the date of Al-Sudani’s visit to the White House: I will meet Lavrov so
» Kurdish MP: The reactions of Baghdad and Erbil to the Turkish bombing do not rise to the level of de
» Politician: Al-Sudani focuses on 3 points during his stay in New York
» Foreign Ministry: Our relations with Russia remain strong despite the sanctions
» Parliamentary Finance reveals three determinants for passing the salary scale
» Returning more than five thousand dismissed politicians to service
» Parliamentary services: 5 new cities will be added during 2024
» Integrity announces the value of the funds saved last August
» Parliamentary Legal: Passing a general amnesty depends on political consensus
» Mosul Dam Administration: We did not notice any technical problem threatening its safety
» The United States confirms its support for the success of the Sudanese government’s “reform” steps.
» The dollar continues to rise against the dinar in Baghdad and Erbil
» The President of the Kurdistan Region congratulates the Union of Islamic Religious Scholars on the a
» A Kuwaiti parliamentarian demands the return of his country’s deposits with Iraq: amounting to $815
» Iraqi Central Auction: External remittances increased by 80% at the expense of cash sales
» The central bank sells more than $198 million in currency auction
» Planning: 84% completion of the Baghdad-Kirkuk entrance rehabilitation and maintenance project.
» Kuwait: $815 million total deposits of the Kuwaiti government with Iraq
» Demands for the construction of a navigation dam to stop water scarcity in Basra
» Expectations that the oil and gas law will be passed after the local elections
» Demands for the construction of a navigation dam to stop water scarcity in Basra
» Specialists: The path of development is the face of the country in the next stage
» Experts: Developing electronic automation will limit smuggling operations
» Economist: Promoting investment requires implementing comprehensive strategies
» Al-Sudani meets with American companies to support gas investments in Iraq
» Agriculture: Prices of local products are within normal rates
» Basra Electricity announces that there has been a power outage in a number of areas of the governora
» Postponing the start of the electrical connection between Iraq and Jordan
» In numbers... Integrity details the money that was detected, stopping its waste, and returning it du
» Parliamentary Oil: Federal Court decisions are binding on everyone
» Iraq suspends official working hours next Wednesday
» The importance of the development path compared to other new global economic corridors
» Parliament objects to the Sudanese government: It has no right to lend without consulting us
» Parliamentary Oil: The necessity of having understandings regarding the mechanism of extracting oil
» The Prime Minister calls on Norwegian companies to work in Iraq
» Procedures for resolving problems that may arise between governorates
» Experts: Developing electronic automation will limit smuggling operations
» Baghdad hosts a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Arab Parliament
» Experts: Developing electronic automation will limit smuggling operations
» November is the date for announcing industrial investment opportunities
» Dean of deferred laws
» International expert: Promoting investment requires implementing comprehensive strategies
» Dhi Qar Oil increases the number of producing wells
» Consumer reassurance
» Experts: The lack of revenues does not affect budget estimates
» Al-Sudani invites the Secretary-General of NATO to visit Baghdad
» Oil is declining and expectations of an interest rate hike in America erase the impact of the declin
» The Federal Court rejects a lawsuit against sending 700 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region
» Iraq announces the disarmament of anti-Iranian groups
» British website: The chances of the development route are superior to the Indian corridor
» The rise of the dollar stifles the poor class as the return to school approaches
» Minister of Labor: 7 million, the number of people covered by social protection assistance in Iraq
» Can Iraq finally become an international center for the petrochemical industries?
» Iraq's revenues are 18% less than expected in the budget
» The Labor Party remains in Iraq at the request of Tehran against the SDF and America
» A Gulf-American statement stresses Iraq’s commitment to demarcating maritime borders
» Revitalized after the cancellation of the visa.. Pictures from Qom.. Iranians taste dalimiya and mas
» Ali Hatem: We have an old vendetta with Al-Sadr and the Sunni parties supported by Iran
» Al-Sudani: The government is in the process of reviewing the form of the relationship with the inter
» Al-Maliki: Iraq is witnessing the beginning of the launch of a major reconstruction campaign
» This year...the Sudanese intends to visit Russia
» Al-Samarrai: There is no way to change the service and living reality in Salah al-Din except by acti
» President Bafel Jalal Talabani calls on the judiciary to play its role in the issue of creating Hala
» Minister of Justice Dr. Khaled Shawani receives the French Ambassador to Iraq
» America renews its commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement: We continue to train Iraqi force
» Dollar exchange rates in Iraqi markets
» A “mysterious” postponement of the start of the electrical connection between Iraq and Jordan.. Amma
» The Federal Court refuses to issue a “state order” to stop lending to the Kurdistan Regional Governm
» Sudani from New York: The government is in the process of reviewing the form of the relationship wit
» Sudanese at the Sustainable Development Summit: We plan to achieve the goal of “zero flare” for gas
» Announcing the Central Bank of Iraq transfer auction for a period of (14) day
» Withdrawal of the license of Akkad Company to mediate the sale and purchase of foreign currencies /
» Planning Is Discussing With China The Investment And Economic Opportunities Available In Iraq
» “It is expected.” A political analysis of America’s position in support of the Gulf regarding Khor A
» Iraq begins special measures to contain water scarcity.. Video
» It warned of “government confusion”.. Parliamentary Finance: Retirement Fund money was used to finan
» Between reducing the dollar and the food basket...what will the citizen choose?
» President Pavel: Solving financial problems and keeping employee salaries away from political proble
» President Bafel Jalal Talabani: We refuse to penetrate the country's borders under any pretext
» 9/19/23 Militia Man & Crew Iraq Dinar - Militia Man & Angel1 - Update on Iraq's Progress - Al-Suda
» Creadit Rating / Iraqi Dinar Revaluation News 2023 / Iqd JPMorgan
» Deputy: Controversial matters within state departments hinder the release of their allocations from
» Urgent.. {Al-Furat News} publishes the names of the fifth group of those new to the aid
» Mr. Al-Hakim and Talabani emphasize investing in stability to address the differences between Baghda
» From the United Nations podium... leaders of Islamic countries attack Europe for allowing the desecr
» Member of the Democratic Party: A new agreement between Baghdad and Erbil at the beginning of 2024
» Al-Moayad and a delegation from the World Bank discuss digital cooperation in reducing economic crim
» Politician: Barzani’s presence in Baghdad in conjunction with the American delegation was not a coin
» Economist: The US Treasury will place 4 other banks on the blacklist
» Vice: Traders’ refusal to enter the platform caused the dollar crisis
» “Restraining quotas”...a parliamentary proposal to merge education with higher education
» Türkiye is pursuing a hostile policy against Iraq... a blatant violation and sovereignty is “in the