Benched coaches

When hired, only one thing is certain: You'll be fired

Two foundering teams with high expectations -- two high-profile coaches fired. First, Ken Hitchcock ousted in Dallas. Then, the Devils give Larry Robinson the heave-ho in New Jersey. This despite both men compiling impressive winning records.

Hitchcock won a Stanley Cup in 1999; Robinson in 2000. Hitchcock oversaw consistent excellence, as the Stars won five divisional titles on his watch. Robinson's only full season at the helm last year saw the Devils make it back to the finals only to lose in seven games. However, as similar as their impeccable on-ice results were, their paths to their posts were equally divergent.

Hitchcock is a career coach who first made his mark in the junior ranks with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. Robinson is a Hall of Fame player who became a head coach after successful stints as an assistant with the Devils. Hitchcock moved up within the Stars organization, while Robinson left the Devils to take the top job in Los Angeles, only to return as an assistant. He took over as bench boss of the Devils with a mere eight games remaining in the spring of '99.

Maybe the most noticeable contrast between the two is their approach -- Hitchcock the unyielding perfectionist harping accountability versus Robinson's laid-back laconic style. Regardless, they both ended up in the same place -- the land of deposed coaches.

Ultimately, all coaches spend time there. As the adage goes -- the only certainty a coach has on the day he is hired is that the same team will eventually fire him. What seems to be changing in certain situations is the reason for a coach being "relieved of his duties." Certainly with these two, it wasn't their overall record -- the call to action was much more short term in nature. Emanating from both cities was the rumbling and grumbling of discontented veterans.

The discord among the ranks manifested itself in endless meetings and more off-ice opinions than on-ice honesty. The increasingly impatient message in all of this? Losing games is one thing; losing the locker room means losing your job.

Ironically, Robinson may have unwittingly hastened the "change now" mentality by winning the Cup in '99. He assumed control of a team that head coach Robbie Ftorek had on course for a 100-point season. Yet, the move proved not to be a disruption -- rather the catalyst to the Cup.

Now, no coach is safe -- no matter what point in the season and no matter the position in the standings. Just ask Craig Ramsey. Last season, he had the Flyers off to a break-even start just past the quarter pole of the season. They were enduring injuries and the Eric Lindros saga. In addition, Ramsey was coming off a strong postseason showing, himself acting as a fill-in for head coach Roger Nielsen, who took a leave for health considerations then found himself forced to the sidelines. Still, the Flyers dismissed Ramsey in favor of Bill Barber, with little consideration or gratitude.

Again, as in New Jersey and Dallas this year, the hasty heave-hos had as much to do with rosters rife with gripes about coaching styles as they did with anything else. Ftorek's acerbic attitude and Ramsey's conservative approach rankled enough veterans to necessitate change.

Now, the NHL coaching carousel is not a new phenomenon. What has changed is that pouting players now wield the weight to sway impetuous general managers to action. Moreover, not all of the moves worked out badly. On the contrary. Nevertheless, were they truly necessary? If the GM in each of those situations had allowed the coach to put the onus back on the players instead of capitulating, would the results have been the same?

Obviously, we'll never know, but it is an interesting alternative, one shared by more teams than you might think. If you look at Detroit, San Jose, St. Louis, Ottawa and Toronto, all are top teams that have opted for stability behind the bench. They have been supported throughout the relative rough spots, low points that are unavoidable in any team environment. Over time, the players in those organizations seem to understand that they must perform -- neither angst nor ambivalence will guarantee a coaching coup.

Even outside the elite, many teams are taking a longer view of the coaching/roster relationship. Carolina's Paul Maurice immediately comes to mind, as do Bobby Francis in Phoenix and Mark Crawford in Vancouver. Further, newer entries Nashville and Atlanta are breaking the expansion mold by giving Barry Trotz and Curt Fraser, respectively, time to grow as NHL coaches and develop along with their improving lineups. So, there remains plenty of proof that another saying still has a place in today's NHL: Players play and coaches coach.

It usually works better that way.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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