Cloutier keeps duelling goalies engaged no matter who starts
Coach and former goaltender developing strong rapport with Markstrom, Nilsson
When Dan Cloutier strung together three consecutive 30-win seasons with the Vancouver Canucks from 2001-04, the competitive and combative goaltender appeared in 62, 57 and 60 games, respectively.
Unless he needed a break in back-to-back games, needed to get his game in order or was nursing an ailment, he was the go-to guy for coach Marc Crawford. It was a no-brainer.
As goalie coach for the NHL club, Cloutier has go-to guys in Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson. Keeping them mentally and physically engaged is as challenging as deciding who gets the start on any given night, aside from back-toback games.
And, on many days, it’s a headscratcher.
“We certainly don’t flip a coin — we try to think it through,” Cloutier said Tuesday of consultations with coach Travis Green. “I go about
how they feel and look in practice and how they feel mentally. We talk about it constantly. We all have our opinions on who should play and we don’t map it out.
“The day before the game we come up with our decision and sometimes it’s not until dinnertime. It varies. We don’t have a set plan. A lot of different things go into it and it’s not an easy answer. We’ve even changed it up when a guy is playing well.
“Sometimes, it’s about a guy having a mental break or more practice time. And sometimes, we know what certain teams do more than others and one of our goaltenders may be better in that area than the other.”
More often than not, both have been up for the challenge. And that’s where it gets interesting.
Markstrom made his 20th appearance Tuesday and Nilsson has nine, but their numbers are similar. Markstrom took a 2.54 goals-against average and .913 save percentage into a meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes, while Nilsson has a 2.68 GAA and .922 save percentage.
There are the optics of Markstrom’s three-year, US$11-million contract extension kicking in this season to consider and Nilsson’s inspired play after the free agent was acquired July 1.
“Once they get to this level, they all want to play and be the guy and these guys are really professional,” Cloutier said. “And they want it bad.”
What helps Cloutier is his 10year playing career. It commands respect and so does a demeanour that can make the drudgery of constant skill-sharpening more tolerable and enjoyable.
“The biggest thing for me is to not forget what it was like when I played,” Cloutier said. “I realized how they feel and some days they probably don’t want to go out early (before practice) and that’s when you’ve got to get to know them personally.”
In five seasons with the Canucks, Cloutier went 109-68-23 with 14 shutouts, a 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage. He also had playoff disappointments in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and was both a fan favourite and a tempting target for critics.
The 1994 first-round pick by the New York Rangers amassed a 2.77 GAA and .899 save percentage in a career that included stops with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings.
Along the way, Cloutier was spectacular and suspect. And as much as the 41-year-old has mellowed and has a more measured approach as a coach, he’s still a competitor. An off night for his goalies gets to him because as a teacher he feels something may have been lost in translation and he needs to fix it fast.
“It’s the closest thing to playing,” Cloutier said. “You don’t take this job if you’re not competitive. I get involved and I enjoy it. We put all that work in and I want to see it on the ice. I’m very invested and I care about them.”
Cloutier fought three times in his NHL career against goalies Sean Gauthier, Steve Passmore and Tommy Salo, and even wanted a piece of Green in a 2003 incident in Boston. Green was driven into Cloutier by Todd Bertuzzi.
“I didn’t realize he was pushed,” Cloutier said with a chuckle. “Back then, guys ran me and when you don’t see the guy coming, you think: ‘Here we go.’”
Run this by Nilsson and he smiles. “He was an entertaining goalie to watch,” he said. “It’s easy for him to relate to how we feel in certain situations. He knows about the travel and how you feel after a good or bad game. You can tell he gets it. He pushes us each day to get the maximum effort. He’s always in a great mood and makes it fun to come to the rink.”
Markstrom has more of a history with Cloutier.
“We started in Utica and this is just a continuous route for us,” Markstrom said. “He has really given me a big confidence boost because we work on things I really believe in. And it’s just building off that and it puts you in a good place when the game starts. That’s huge mentally.
“And when your game is not going well, we take a few days to work hard on the details and that makes you believe in yourself again. And he has been through it all and he’s easy to relate to.
“He wants us to succeed and he takes it really personally when we don’t.”