It takes a lot to coach in the NHL, and it takes even more to lead a team like the Dallas Stars from their second worst season in franchise history back to the top of the standings in one year. But that’s just what Ken Hitchcock expects to do.
The Dallas Stars hired Ken Hitchcock back to be the man behind the bench once again less than a week ago, but he has been the focus of the team since he signed his contract.
While the 1999 Stanley Cup head coach should be excited about his new role, he might be over zealous in his confidence about the results he will get from Dallas under his style of coaching. He recently took over the team’s twitter account to answer some questions from fans and while his answers were highly positive, they have created a large expectation for the upcoming season.
Goaltending Issues
This is improved with attitude. Everyone works for the goalie. It's not one thing, it's a collective attitude. https://t.co/KSY5pJzbZS
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 17, 2017
While Hitch knows defensive hockey incredibly well, to say that goaltending improvement relies mostly on attitude is a stretch. Yes, having the mentality to support the man in the crease is certainly an important component of quality team play. However, to assume that goaltenders will perform better based on attitude is far fetched.
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The most important thing for Dallas is to find a goaltender that they are fully confident in. That simply is not the case with either of the net minders on the current roster and it proved to be a big enough concern to contribute to the tanking of the Stars’ season.
Ultimately Dallas’ success in net will rely on more than just attitude, although that change could certainly help.
Offensive Mentality
It's a volume mentality. The more you shoot it, the more you get it back, the more you keep it. Everything is based on volume. https://t.co/MHAGWFlOBi
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 17, 2017
This is an idea that the Stars need to implement. They suffered from too much passing last season and were hurt by their intense desire to find the “perfect pass.” Next season, however, Hitchcock looks to change that.
Under Lindy Ruff the Stars’ young forwards seemed afraid to put the puck on the net. This was especially true if they were playing alongside one of the bigger names on the team, the notably Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.
That mentality made forwards especially susceptible to missed opportunities and lack of growth. If young players could have capitalized on more of their chances, the team’s overall season could have ended more positively than it did.
The real question now is whether or not Hitchcock will implement this idea enough and make the Stars actually shoot more.
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Final Thoughts
Then again, Twitter is limited to 140 characters and should be judged with that in mind. Hitchcock is returning to a new group of players on a team that largely underperformed last year. He and the Stars are facing an uphill battle. With that said, maybe his positive attitude is not the worst thing. It could be problematic, however, if they are unable to fulfill the standards he has set.