Coaching for their jobs
The NHL coaching carousel is always spinning. But it could hit warp speed this summer as general managers scramble to save their own hides and sell season tickets.
Hockey Guy expects Blues coach Andy Murray to get another shot. Midway through this season, his team was still on an upward track. The plan was working.
The second-half collapse was disconcerting, of course. But Blues president John Davidson preaches stability. He doesn’t seem like the sort who would fire a coach 1½ years into his regime.
Murray ought to get at least one more year. Other coaches may not as fortunate:
Denis Savard, Blackhawks: Chicago needs to close out with more performances like Sunday’s overtime victory over the Blues. The Hawks needed to build their foundation for future success.
Clearly Savard was the right man to guide the Blackhawks into their youth movement. Rookie Patrick Kane is busting out on his watch. But will Savard be the right man to lead them back to postseason play?
Mike Babcock, Red Wings: In the regular season, all he does is win. But he is in the last year of his contract, so what happens in the playoffs will decide his immediate future.
Barry Trotz, Predators: Given the ownership change, Trotz understands his mandate. He has to make the playoffs. Nashville sits two points out with six games to go.
Dave Tippett, Stars: The big deal for center Brad Richards changed the face of the team. Can this retooled team make a big playoff run? It better.
“If the Stars suffer an early playoff exit,” Ottawa Sun scribe Bruce Garrioch wrote. “Dave Tippett will be gone.”
John Tortorella, Lightning: After this miserable season, John could use a break from these guys. The players probably feel the same way.
John Stevens, Flyers: Sure, injuries have played a part in this team’s struggle. But Philly is famously impatient with coaches. Stevens’ leash could not be shorter.
Jacques Martin, Panthers: The former Blues coach has been embroiled in an internal organizational struggle all season. Here is Garrioch’s take: “There are people with agendas in the Panthers’ organization and that means GM/coach Jacques Martin will get the boot if his team fails to make the playoffs.”
Marc Crawford, Kings: It’s time for LA to jettison veterans and go with the kids. Is Marc the right man for this overhaul? We’ve been wondering that all season as the Kings remained mired in the Western Conference basement.
Paul Maurice, Maple Leafs: Talk about intrigue . . . the management of this franchise has been Canada’s No. 1 soap opera for several years. General manager John Ferguson finally got the ax, so Maurice could be next once the franchise picks its next GM. (Brian Burke? Colin Campbell?)
Don Waddell, Thrashers. He will soldier on as general manager, thanks to his contract extension. (How he got that extension is a mystery, given the state of the team.) But who will coach the team? The team’s poor finish probably hurt Brad McCrimmon’s candidacy.
Ted Nolan, Islanders: This guy finally got back in the NHL after an inexplicable exile – but has anybody really noticed? His Islanders have played pretty uninspired hockey. Predicting what this franchise will do next is impossible, but nobody would be surprised to see change.
Tom Renney, Rangers: How could a team with THAT much talent have trouble scoring? It makes no sense. Watching his team play – especially with the man advantage – is very frustrating.
Michel Therrien, Penguins: Pittsburgh will get Sidney Crosby back for the playoffs. They have hot goaltending, too. So playoff expectations are very high. Failure is not an option.
BATTLING BEN BISHOP
While playing for the Texas Tornadoes in junior hockey, Blues goaltending prospect Ben Bishop participated in a brawl that produced on of the great fight calls ever.
And Bishop was at it again over the weekend for the Peoria Rivermen, challenging former Blues goaltender Jason Bacashihua in an AHL game against Lake Erie.
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“Once I saw Bacashihua drop his stick and leave the net, I knew I had to go down there,” Bishop told the Peoria Journal-Star. “He hit me a couple times in the back of the head, but that’s all he got. What was my plan when I got there? Win.”
Bishop stands about 6-foot-10 in skates, as you can see, so he carries a nice reach advantage into any scuffle.
AROUND THE RINKS: If Andy Murray isn’t totally fried at season’s end, he could get the call to guide Team Canada again at the World Championships . . . The Rivermen are a point out of the AHL playoff bracket right now, but they have won three of their last four games. Bishop has won his last two starts. Young winger Nikolay Lemtyugov has also become an impact player . . . Defenseman Wade Redden seems likely to hit the free agent market, given the Senators’ lack of salary cap space. He could have earned a three-year, $16.5 million extension from the Sharks had he accepted a deal there . . . The Bruins could be move front and center in the Marian Hossa bidding this summer. Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara would love to reunite with his old Senators teammate. Edmonton, Montreal and Pittsburgh will also be in the hunt . . . Boston would have to shed salary to make the deal, which could put Glen Murray in play.
I think Murray needs to go. I always thought it was Pleau that was the problem until I saw first hand this year that Murray does not know how to handle NHLers. Maybe he and JD decided how many games Perron should play when they ended up keeping him but Murray has the reigns when the game is going and to see Perron play on the 4th line and also his ice time get dwarfed by other rookie players on Chicago and Edmonton–that’s not building for the future. Does Perron need to grow up? Absolutely esp off the ice. But to limit the kid’s ice when he is like a plus 11 in the last 4-6 weeks in key situations is inexplicable. This is when he should be put in key situations esp when we are going after a goal on the PP. I mean how many times is Paul K and his line gong to have on 5-3 situations and not score. It happened early in the year and guess what Murray let them fail in the last half of the year. It’s a joke how much they over use some players and how little of a chance they give to others…. OVERUSED and overrated PLAYERS- Mayers, Jackman, Brewer(2nd to bottom -22),Paul K, and Walt. We will not be a serious playoff contender with this lineup and these guys leading the charge.