Igen, ezért írtam, hogy csalódottabb lennék, ha Blashill-t veszítenénk el. Ez más csapat szurkolójaként talán hülyén hangzik, mivel azért az világos, hogy Babcock jó edző. Egyszerűen csak arról van szó, hogy szerintem új impulzusra van szüksége az idősebb magnak, a fiataloknak és az egész franchisenak.

Az egyik kinti fórumon egy szurkoló (aki egyébként hiteles, ilyen-olyan kapcsolatokkal is rendelkezik, valamint az utóbbi 3 évben a Griffins meccsek 90%-át látta) nagyon jól összefoglalta, miért lenne jó megadni a lehetőséget Blash-nek. Többek között arról is ír, milyen az általa képviselt játékstílus, mi várható tőle. Érdemes elolvasni:

Blashill would provide a new voice for a lot of the veterans. He wouldn't be quite as hard on our guys in practice, so they would probably have more left in the tank at the end of the year. For the guys he is not providing a new voice to, he is the only pro coach they have won a league title with, he developed them, he got the best out of them before and has tremendous relationships with those guys.

On the lines, Blashill is somewhat from the Mike Babcock school of thought. He also has the steely press conference moments and typical coach speak we are accustom to. He can even sound like him at times. With one huge difference and I hope this doesn't change at the NHL level. To date while he has had help from Chelios and some assistants, he doesn't view them as the players babysitter. He develops relationship with them to an extreme degree. Jurco would talk about during his struggle to adapt to the AHL how open the coaches door was and how important his voice was. He is not adverse to tough love, he is not adverse to earning your ice time and he will occasionally play a plugger (that is performing like Zengerle) over more touted and talented guys. What he is also quicker to do in terms of this is change his lines and in particular his D-pairings when he is unhappy. When that plugger isn't producing he loses his spot, if he isn't providing the jam he is supposed to have the lines get flipped. He also uses this mysterious thing called a timeout occasionally not just on icing but when the Griffins are losing momentum he is not afraid to stop what is happening before the bottom has already dropped out.

The biggest difference you will see beyond the speculation of what his relationships with the youngsters or new voice will provide which is harder to actually lay claim to. What Blashill does do is impose his will in the neutral zone. This has been a hallmark of his teams in the USHL, NCAA and AHL. The are aggressive, it is a high speed area, intensely valued piece of real-estate, it is where he wants to control the game both offensively and defensively. Their system is about rewarding pace and deviation in terms of the looks that is the paramount part of his system that is the area he values the most. It sets both his defensive and offensive posture.

The D-man are a lot more active, he wants to transition teams, he wants them to jump into the play to stress the defense. Speed speed speed, at times the appearance of almost organized chaos, they don't line up to trap, they don't line up to lock down one-side of the ice. He will very much go out on his shield with his sword in his hand. Adjustments can be made but from the onset the Griffins try to dictate how the game will be played on their terms. They also very rarely if ever play shell hockey before the final five minutes and never without a two goal lead. He is an aggressive guy, but strong attention to detail. He believes in his players and he believes in his system. Also as a former goalie I think he has been huge for the netminders that play for him, not just Mrazek, look at the leaps and bounds Pearce and McCollum have made under him.

I really hope he gets the job. There will be growing pains, his PP will have to be a heck of a lot more fluid at this level, but I think he is a solid NHL man. A guy that gets the maximum out of his players but doesn't appear to have a grating style that wears guys out.