I agree.

gawd i hate playing against people with Lui in the pools....

too bad for Kyle Turris
at the same time, its part of the game on a young career

Gretzky is known to make some bold moves anyways during his coaching tenure, this doesnt surprise

why was turris benched?

Cuz he sucks.

Gretz decided to go with the same winning lineup from the night before

And they lost.

If they played the night before, perhaps they should have brought in a fresh player to bring some energy on the ice. Especially one who has something to prove in front of friends and family.

That was a pretty pathetic move on Gretzky's part. No one is really doubting his power as coach, no need to point it out again.

Huge thumbs down to Gretzy and the Phoenix organization.

Kev

Gretzkys going on a power trip thats all, that why i dumped fucken turris on the RS pool. Beginning of the year turris was rippin it and last coupe weeks 0 points NOTHING zip 1 SOG seriously gretzky ur crushing his future and my POOL U DICK

1. this isnt an exhibition game. one win means everything. as a coach, you dress players that are going to be most likely to get the win.
2. the coyotes suck. they cant afford to offer charity games to kids who are playing in front of family and friends just because. if you're not playing well enough to be in the line up, step your game up and try harder next time.
3. this is the nhl. there are no free rides.

He's a 1st rounder. A potential leader of the team in the future. Treat him with respect, and he will return it. When he becomes a UFA or RFA, I'm sure he will think twice about how the organization has treated him.

He was already scratched last game to send a message. I think he got the point.

Kev

lol @ you guys crying about Turris, rickster laied out exactly the reasons why, stop crying

wayne is the greatest NHL player of all time, i'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing over some guys posting on RS.

oh btw guys, Canucks won 1-0! YAY :)

you're one of those punks that thinks that you DESERVE respect, aren't you? this is the nhl. this is a career that you have to work VERY VERY hard to maintain. not only are you ignorant to think that every player deserves respect from every level of an organization, but you're ignorant to think that every player is guaranteed a contract. who says he gets to UFA status? who says he signs another deal after this? the way the organization treated him? who gave him the fucking salary to afford to buy 120 tickets?? answer me that. these guys are more than well compensated and "taken care of". kyle turris could EASILY become one of hundreds of first rounders who fade off into the sunset after their first contact expires and is quickly forgotten.

thank you.
and re: wayne: exactly. this wasn't "some coach power tripping"... it's wayne gretzky. if anyone knows the game and what kind of effect it has on young players, it's that man. just lije in life: you don't improve by getting things for free, you improve by learning lessons early on.

But at the same time, just because he was awesome at playing the game, doesn't automatically mean he's also an awesome coach.

^ The man knew the game better then anyone

the man LOVED the game more then anyone

the man didnt take a single night off in his entire career

yet he doesnt know whats good for a 19 year old coming into the league?

are you kidding me?

Gretzky is deserves respect when he plays hockey but I don't think it goes for coaching as well. If he knows whats best how come he never made it to the playoffs? never

cuz he took over a shitty team, especially in net.

^Have you seen the team he had when he first started coaching? Put the best coach in history with that team and they'll never make the playoffs either. Gretzky is the guy these young group of players can learn from and I'm sure they are trying to learn everything they can.

What I'm trying to say is just because you KNOW something extremely well doesn't mean you can TEACH it just as well. At least not right after you stop playing and start coaching.

Being the best player in history doesn't translate into being a great coach. Loving the game the most? What the fuck does that got to do with coaching? I don't oppose him benching Turris but assuming he's a good coach based on his days as a player is stupid.

Everyone has made great points about why Gretz didn't play Turris and I agree with most of them. However, he could have told the kid ahead of time if he knew he was going to use the same lineup from the Calgary game. Whats the point of getting his hopes up by dressing him for the warm-up?

its called game time decision for a reason. its not getting his hopes up. it happens all the time in the nhl. turris isn't any different

^ But did it really need to come down to a game time decision? Apparently he stated that if the team won in Calgary, that he's going with the same lineup? If it was obvious the kid needs a further lesson and the same lineup was being used... there was no point for a game time decision. But thats just my $0.02

Bingo!

Also, what and how he learned to play from people like his father and coaches along the way, may not work for all players or for the type of players nowadays. It's tough being a coach of anything. Your knowledge of the game is one thing, but looking at the people under your guidance and seeing what makes them tick is another.

I'm not saying Gretzky is not a good coach. Who knows? The decision not to play him last night might work. It may also backfire. These players are human after all and no matter how you make out hockey players to be tough, they have feelings.

If I were the coach, I'd say to the kid, "You've been struggling as of late and that's why I've benched you in Calgary. I know you want to play in Vancouver and have looked forward to this day all your life. Go out there and show me what you're made of."

You don't think that kid would have played his fucking heart out? There he'd be standing on the blue line at GM Place taking it all in. I would think it would be a moment he would never forget.

Perhaps we are making a big deal out of nothing. Canucks won. We didn't need a fired up opponent, which I think would have been the case. The fans would have reacted favourably to the kid playing, that's for sure - a good hockey story. Something a lot of hockey moms and dads would love to see.

A little off topic perhaps, but if being tough was a good strategy for coaches, it didn't work much for Keenan. Although, in Calgary it may work with the type of players on that team.

Getting what you want with honey is a lot more effective than a whip, IMHO.

Yeah, it's like adding salt on the wound.

Do you think what happened made a difference to the rest of the players on that team? I think it would affect some of his team mates. I guess it depends how close that team is in the dressing room and if they even know about the situation.