Fair or not, Craig Ramsay should be held accountable and shown the door
Three and a half years ago, early into the 2007-08 season, the Atlanta Thrashers traveled home from Philadelphia after losing to the Flyers 4-0. The loss was the sixth straight to start off the new campaign and it was also the second time they had been held without a goal that fall.
But before they dropped the puck on game number seven two nights later when the New York Rangers were in town, the organization had made one major change…firing head coach Bob Hartley.
The move came the very next morning after that loss in Philly and to little surprise to many. “He simply had lost the locker room”, many insisted, while some said he was simply a pre-lockout coach trapped in a post-lockout world. Others, myself included, just simply disagreed with the move.
Whatever the case, coach Bob became the second Thrashers coach to be shown the door, following Curt Fraser four years before.
In the wake of Hartley’s dismissal, I opined here the final judgment of whether or not the move was the right call would ultimately be decided by who replaced him and how the team finished. As we all know, there was not real “replacement” for the rest of the 76 games that season, instead Don Waddell simply added “head coach” to his “general manager” title. The team then finished 34-40-8 and in 14th place in the Eastern Conference.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to whether firing him was the right call, but Hartley was held accountable for the 0-6 start to the season following first round playoff sweep six months prior.
Mr. Anderson, meet Mr. Hartley…Mr. Hartley, Mr. Anderson
Fast-forwarding to last spring… newly named general manager Rick Dudley announced that he had let go John Anderson and his entire coaching staff after just two seasons. After many successful years with the Thrashers AHL affiliate in Chicago, Anderson led Atlanta to records of just 35-41-6 and 35-34-13.
One of the main reasons for that firing, Dudley said, was because the organization felt they had assembled a team capable of contending for a playoff spot but the job simply did not get done. Thus, Anderson was held accountable and he was shown the same door Hartley was two and a half year prior.
Mr. Ramsay, meet Mr. Hartley…Mr. Hartley, Mr. Ramsay
And now, as much as I hate to say it, a time for accountability has come once again in Thrasherville. The exit door reserved for Thrashers head coaches should once again be unlocked and Craig Ramsay should be asked to follow behind Anderson, Hartley and Fraser.
I don’t come to this conclusion easily, to be sure. Like so many others last summer I was thrilled to learn that Dudley had tapped the long-time assistant for his first head-coaching gig. He’s a solid hockey man with a very good head on his shoulders and it seemed as though Dudley has pulled off a minor coup in not only bringing him in, but also John Torchetti from the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
I was fortunate enough to interview Ramsay last summer and was very impressed with his belief that his main job here was how to teach these players how to be smart out on the ice. But the teacher doesn’t seem to be getting through to his pupils. And given how they’ve lost so many times in the same fashion lately…completely falling apart in the latter stages of the game…it’s apparent he doesn’t have the ability to properly handle the class.
That sound of rushing water wasn’t Niagara Falls
After last night’s 4-1 loss in Buffalo, which followed a disastrous 5-3 loss to Edmonton last Saturday, Ramsay’s Thrashers have played to a record of 6-15-5 since December 20. In calendar year 2011, they have won exactly three times in regulation and for the month of February they are an abysmal 1-7-1.
Coaches get fired if those types of records come at the beginning of a season.
Should Craig Ramsay be fired at this time?
- Yes. The record speaks for itself (27%, 127 Votes)
- No. This is not his fault (32%, 150 Votes)
- Let him finish the season then decide (41%, 193 Votes)
Total Voters: 470
Loading ...These Thrashers have now lost four consecutive without even the benefit of an overtime consolation point. In each of those defeats they have lead or been tied in the second half of the game or later. The last time they lost four games in a row was just prior to the 3-2 win over the New York Rangers two Friday’s ago. The point gained via a 4-3 OT loss in Carolina was the only one earned during that particular stretch of losses.
The offense has been…well…offensive lately, scoring but nine goals during the four game slide. If not for Andrew Ladd it would be only four. As for the defense, well they should be building statues of them to place outside of Philips Arena. I can think of no better tribute to illustrate just how they perform in front of Pavelec’s net.
Last night’s loss followed the same pattern as so many that preceded it. The Thrashers again found themselves in a close game late in the second period, tied 1-1 thanks to Andrew Ladd’s power play goal, but a Sabres goal with just 68 second left before the second intermission was followed by another just 30 ticks of the clock later. It was the sixth time this season that they’ve allowed two goals in 39 seconds or less.
Just a buck fifty-four after the break it was 4-1 and the great whooooosh-ing sound you heard coming from western New York was not emanating from Niagara Falls. Rather it was the sound of yet another effort flushed down the drain and quite possibly their playoff hopes as well.
As was the case in Dallas last month, where a 1-1 game in the second became a 6-1 loss…and the last time Toronto was in town and a one-goal game in the second became a 9-3 route…and the 2-2 game against the Flyers entering the third period which tuned into a 5-2 loss…and a 2-2 game in Pittsburgh halfway through the second that soon became a 6-3 defeat…and of course that 3-1 lead early in the third last Saturday that dissolved into an embarrassing 5-3 loss to the worst team in the league…once again the Thrashers played just good enough to last until their all-too-usual collapse.
You could almost smell it coming after Paul Gaustad put Buffalo up 2-1. We in Thrasherville have become very familiar with that aroma lately.
Time to light the Torch in Atlanta
This team is the very definition of fragile as all it takes is one bad turn to cause them to crumble. It’s been that way for two months now and coach Ramsay has failed to address it properly. He doesn’t have the ability to properly motive this bunch, nor can he make the necessary adjustments in games to counter those made from the opposing bench.
Is the cause for the Thrashers fall in the standings solely his fault? No, absolutely not. These players give up too quick, take too many shifts off and certainly deserve their fair share of scorn as well. Some will point injuries to key players while and insist things would be different had they been healthy. Others will point to what the good coach was given to work with this season and ask why he should bear the brunt for it.
But, as they say, you don’t normally fire players. And here in Thrasherville, general managers don’t get fired either…they just get promoted to team president after a decade or so of futility.
And given the way this season has melted into yet another craptacular fiasco, whether it be deserving or not, Craig Ramsay’s time to take the fall has come. To have him remain and the team continue it’s death spiral from atop the conference standings last December towards Lotteryville possibly this spring would indicate the organization is accepting failure and unwilling to do anything about it.
Not a good sign to give to an already skeptical fanbase, let alone any potential new buyer.
The next time we see Rick Dudley should be when he thanks Rammer for his service, wishes him nothing but the best, reminds us all that it wasn’t all his fault…then introduces the next head coach for the Atlanta Thrashers, John Torchetti.
We can then only hope that the head coach’s exit door can at least stop swinging before we begin to think he needs to be shown it too.
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294 comments Add your comment
Hoof Arted
February 24th, 2011
1:29 pm
I cast my vote for waiting until after the season, but I really thought hard about just saying “yes” to letting him go now.
Like the BlogMaster, I don’t place total blame on Ramsay but after a while the “it isn’t all his fault” excuse wears thin.
As far as saying we shouldn’t fire him because it’s his first year and he shuold be given a chance, well how much more losing do we need to see before he’s been “given a chance”?
Sorry, but if Gearon cannot “stomach” another year losing $20 million then I can’t stomach another year losing 40+ games and no playoffs.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
1:33 pm
Sound the air horns cuz Dudley is about to trade a defenseman!! Our savior is about to arrive…riiiiiight!
Sianorah Johnny Oduya, we hardly knew ya!
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
1:41 pm
Twitter is raining down with scuttlebut and apparently Dudley did “kick the tires extensively” on Zherdev but didn’t think it was the right fit due to “character reasons.” Back to the KHL you go Nikolay!
Lynk
February 24th, 2011
1:41 pm
That’s what I’m saying. Ramsay’s individual teachings has helped many of our roster players improve many aspects of their games. It’s our team aspect that he can’t seem to get a grasp on. I think we need to flip the script, give Torch the head coach and let Ramsay continue his teaching.
Cornbread
February 24th, 2011
1:49 pm
Rawhide I disagree.
New team, new GM, new coach. I expected them to build off of their early success and never expected a complete collapse in February. I’m going to chalk that up to a young team that is playing well and loses all confidence when things go against them. And right now, I believe that is coming because since January they are not getting good goal tending. All that talk of Pavs “keeping us in the game” is gone.
Are there breakdowns in their own end that lead to goals that are not Pav’s fault? Sure. But every team faces that nearly every single game. Far too often of late there are too many bad angle goals from the tops of circles that are going in far side – or worse, short side. These are saves that NHL goalies need to make. When they are let in repeatedly like they have been it can deflate a team. And the fact is that every loss since January Pav’s save percentage is below 90%. The Thrashers need good goaltending to keep them in games and win some. Especially now and they are not getting it.
If the Thrashers looked horrible in their losses then I may agree with you to fire the coach. But they do not and have not all season except for a few games. They are still playing their system. That tells me the coach has not lost the players. What it also tells me is that the players would not agree that this is the coaches fault nor is it time to fire him.
Sharon
February 24th, 2011
1:49 pm
Three words sum up the history of our rosters… too many scrubs.
Matt from MN
February 24th, 2011
1:52 pm
Rawhide-I don’t think I’ve EVER advocated for a coach to be fired in his first year, especially with how well the team played in November and early December. That said, I agree that he is just not getting through to this team. If he were we would have at least seen SOME wins in the last two+ months. This “swan dive” into the pit of despair is just endless and something needs to change now.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
1:54 pm
Pens still want a d-man for the playoff stretch. Why do I get the sinking feeling that Stuart will get traded for Chris Kunitz??
Thrashers27
February 24th, 2011
1:55 pm
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but I think Rawhide is right. Rammer’s gotta go.
We all saw what this team is capable of early on in the season, so to argue that the team isn’t capable just doesn’t hold water. We were all proud fans as the Thrashers jumped up as high as #4 on some power ranking charts and were kicking arse left n right.
This team can compete, they just aren’t getting it done right now and it’s the coaches job to motivate them. With all due respect to Coach Ramsay, I agree with Link. Swap Torch and Ramsay…maybe even call Uncle Bob and see if he wants to stand behind the bench for a while…whatever happens, Waddell should not be behind the bench for any reason.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
1:58 pm
Cornbread – interesting point. How many bad goals in close games has Pavelec allowed just against the Carolina Hurricanes alone? Two of the last 3 losses can be attributed to his untimely gaffes. The other one can be attributed to Cam Ward (here at Blueland). Might as well re-name the Arena the “Pysch Ward” cuz he makes our forwards mental.
Cornbread
February 24th, 2011
2:00 pm
Sopel to MTL for prospect Ben Maxwell.
Tim
February 24th, 2011
2:01 pm
If we want to shake it up and bring some discipline to this team we should let ramer go and hire ken hitchkock
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:03 pm
Brendan will like this quote from Duds (hat tip to John Manasso of Fox Sports): “When he traded the first overall pick in ‘99, he said it was because his staff was sold on Pavel Brendl and he wasn’t and because he didn’t like Patrik Stefan’s concussion history and couldn’t get both of the Sedin twins, as Brian Burke did in Vancouver.”
Guess we should have hired Dudley before Ottawa got the chance in ‘98!
Russian
February 24th, 2011
2:03 pm
**to Cornbread**
Are you sure? I heard that MTL trade Maxwell, but they did not say WHERE.
KLS1
February 24th, 2011
2:03 pm
Leave Rammer alone, he gets one more season. Need some players though…
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:04 pm
Let the firesale begin!!
Sopes to MTL as Cornbread says but we also get a 4th in addition to the prospect. Dawes goest to the Habs as well. They love their midgets!
Derrick
February 24th, 2011
2:04 pm
ATL trades Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes to MTL for Ben Maxwell and a 4th rder. Done deal. Via Bob McKenzie
KLS1
February 24th, 2011
2:06 pm
Let the dismantling begin…who is Maxwell?
kracker
February 24th, 2011
2:07 pm
Ben Maxwell…when should he be NHL ready? I suess this means we are in seller-mode.
THEBrickwall
February 24th, 2011
2:07 pm
Maxwell, 20 games in 2 seasons for the Habs and not even a deflection off my a$$ assist. He’ll fit in great here.
Derrick
February 24th, 2011
2:08 pm
I would comment on if I like this trade or not but since I’ve never seen Ben Maxwell play (or even heard of him for that matter) I guess I can’t. But hopefully he’ll be someone who can help us out in the future.
kracker
February 24th, 2011
2:08 pm
oops…*guess
Hoof Arted
February 24th, 2011
2:09 pm
The Cup is ours.
Russian
February 24th, 2011
2:10 pm
OK. Welcome to Atlanta Thrashers Spring SALE! БЛЯДИ
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:10 pm
Apparently Habs fans are pretty high on Maxwell. I’ve never heard of him but the Bulldogs have a good thing going in Hamilton. Far better than our shipwreck of an AHL affiliate. When it comes to player development that is. Good to see Duds out ahead of the pack and I doubt he’s done, today even. Now that Sopes is gone, we need to replace his salary to stay over the floor of the cap.
kracker
February 24th, 2011
2:10 pm
John Manasso tweet –
@BrentSopel will be back in Atlanta on Tuesday to play #Thrashers as a member of the #Habs. We hardly knew ya. -
LOL, he will probably score on us!
R. Stroz
February 24th, 2011
2:12 pm
The Thrashers payroll savings from trading Sopel and Dawes will make up for the increase in the Atlanta Hawks payroll from their trade.
Thrashers27
February 24th, 2011
2:15 pm
Yeah, at first glance from http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/ben_maxwell, Maxwell is nothing to get excited about.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:15 pm
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=553990
A great read by John Manasso for NHL.com. Well done John!!
JoeFriday
February 24th, 2011
2:16 pm
Love that deal, Dudley is getting an A from me on the job he’s doing. He moved Dawes (useless) for a 4th and he moved Sopel (who was NOT going to sign with us for next year, and who was a spare part with the acquisition of Stuart to fill the spot the remainder of this year) for a young prospect who’s putting up great #s in the A.
Dudley gets an A+ for that one . . .
Uncle Milty
February 24th, 2011
2:16 pm
Clearing cap space. I wonder why?
Thrashers27
February 24th, 2011
2:17 pm
Sopes gone = Opponents getting 10 more shots on goal per game.
Cornbread
February 24th, 2011
2:17 pm
I liked watching Sopes play. A little slow and not physical enough but he kept the play in front of him like all good defensive D-men should. What he lacked in skill he made up with smarts and the will to block shots. That will be missed. But, I think Stuart now fills that role while being more physical and mobile. Still thought it may have been Oduya to get the boot since the Thrashers have an abundance of puck moving D-men and a physical shut-down pair is still needed.
The bigger need, however, has always been up the middle. MTL has an abundance of centers. Maxwell probably did not get a fair look while called up. So, like many players who come to ATL, expect a much bigger role and NHL game time.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:17 pm
Thrashers27 – perhaps not, but this makes him sound like a Duds’ guy:
From Cory Clouston, his former coach: “Ben will be matched up with somebody who has a real good physical presence. Ben is a guy who will make things difficult for opponents. He generally responds quite well in the physical department.”
Heather
February 24th, 2011
2:17 pm
It begs the question…Is it Atlanta? The coaches our “owners” have been willing to “pay” for? What might this team do if someone like Bylsma was brought in as Head Coach. I sure do hope that this team stays in Atlanta, without Mason, and gets a real head coach so that I can see how far this team can go. I believe in Blueland.
kj
February 24th, 2011
2:18 pm
TrueBlue, you really shouldn’t call God an idiot. It might come back to haunt you – LIKE THE TRADE FOR WHEELER!!!!
But seriously, I’m all for giving the guy a chance but did we need another Antropov?
JB
February 24th, 2011
2:19 pm
i’m going to assume БЛЯДИ is some sort of curse word.
Smoothie
February 24th, 2011
2:20 pm
Oduya should still keep an extra bag packed this weekend. Hell, I still think he’s gone by the close of business today. It’s just a matter of Duds working the right package (i.e. which prospect he’s okay with giving up or pick to sweeten the pot) to get a somewhat capable scorer.
Might he go after Foligno in Ottawa?
Spud Webb
February 24th, 2011
2:29 pm
Wait a second. Enough with the Buff at forward, that’s been played out enought this season. BUFF WANTS TO BE A D MAN folks….move on to the next subject.
As far as Pavs being overworked, HOW IN THE HELL is that Ramseys fault? Mason has laid egg after egg, who would any of you suggest to give starts to?? Not Rammers fault.
Finally, why are we soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo quick to annoint Torch the coach? Have I missed something here with Torch? Has he done somethings that I’ve missed? I know he’s been an assistant on a cup team. I’d love to be wrong, but I’m not so sure why everyone thinks Torch is the answer, when PLENTY of other teams have fired coaches and not come knocking on his door? Again, I could/might be wrong, but I’m not ready to dump Rammer and jump on the Torch wagon. Until we upgrade this roster in numerous spots and these kids grow up a bit, Im not expecting Rammer to pull a rabbit out of my &ss. Just saying!
Russian
February 24th, 2011
2:30 pm
**to JB**
I could not take it anymore. 
Yes. But Nobody knows
R. Stroz
February 24th, 2011
2:33 pm
Russian – What are your thoughts on Zherdev his talent and character?
I was in favor of giving him a chance as he can score goals.
DW
February 24th, 2011
2:37 pm
I just heard Sopel was traded. Anyone no details?
DW
February 24th, 2011
2:37 pm
That is ‘know’ the details?
Russian
February 24th, 2011
2:40 pm
**to Stroz**
Zherdev is Lazy Ass, but he can score. If he can get lot of time, I will say 1- or 2-d line, he will be very productive.
Dudley made big mistakes, that he did not take Nabokov for CHEAP Price and passed for Zherdev.
World Be Free
February 24th, 2011
2:49 pm
Sopel and Dawes to Montreal for ben MAxwell and a 4th round pick
Red Light
February 24th, 2011
2:50 pm
So, now the Byfuglien deal looks like this: Byfuglien, Ben Maxwell, a 4th Round Pick, a 5th-Round Pick and Akim Aliu (Gwinnett) to the Atlanta Thrashers for Marty Reasoner, Jeremy Morin, Joey Crabb, a 1st and a 2nd round selection in 2010.
World Be Free
February 24th, 2011
2:52 pm
I think it is official – we are sellers
World Be Free
February 24th, 2011
2:53 pm
Anything on Maxwell? Who is this dude?
Jeff
February 24th, 2011
2:55 pm
All I have heard for the last 2 weeks is how important it is to show up to the games and support the team. I think someone forgot how important it is to tell the team its time to wake up and help the fans support a good team. I think I read 6 win in last 26 games! Let me pay for that entertainment!
Tom Lysiak
February 24th, 2011
2:56 pm
Interesting tweet from C Vivs….”More to come as I dig on this story but suffice to say “kicking the tires” may be turning into a “test drive” soon. Deal still months away.”
Things might be looking up…..at least in that regard.