Much of the talk in the wake of the Everett Silvertips choosing not to renew head coach Kevin Constantine’s contract centered on the team’s offense — or lack thereof. Constantine’s teams won big during the regular season, going 164-85-24-15 the past four seasons and winning two U.S. Division championships. However, his teams did not score a lot of goals. Here’s a chart of Everett scoring those years:
Year | Goals (rank) | GPG | League Avg. | % of league Avg. |
2013-14 | 218 (16 of 22) | 3.03 | 3.34 | 90.7 |
2014-15 | 242 (9 of 22) | 3.36 | 3.31 | 101.5 |
2015-16 | 182 (21 of 22) | 2.52 | 3.25 | 77.5 |
2016-17 | 229 (15 of 22) | 3.18 | 3.40 | 93.5 |
So only one year was Everett even an average scoring WHL team.
But is the hiring of Dennis Williams the answer offensively? Maybe, maybe not. Here’s how Williams’ Bloomington teams performed offensively the past three years in the USHL:
Year | Goals (rank) | GPG | League Avg. | % of league Avg. |
2014-15 | 173 (12 of 17) | 2.88 | 3.15 | 91.4 |
2015-16 | 176 (9 of 17) | 2.93 | 2.95 | 99.3 |
2016-17 | 150 (15 of 17) | 2.50 | 2.84 | 88.0 |
So Williams’ teams in Bloomington actually scored fewer goals than Constantine’s teams in Everett. Granted, the USHL is a lower-scoring league than the WHL, but the percentage of league average is roughly the same: 90.7 percent of league average during Constantine’s four seasons in Everett, 93.0 percent of league average during Williams’ three seasons in Bloomington.
Take it for what it’s worth.
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