Hartley trusts instincts
As procrastination is not to be found anywhere in his vernacular, Bob Hartley would druther not dither.
“That’s just the way I do business,’’ he says briskly. “When I have a good feeling about someone, I trust my instincts. I hired Brad McCrimmon on the first interview.
“I hired Bryan Trottier on the first interview.
“I hired Jacques Cloutier in ’94 as my first interview.
“I hired Michel Therrien in junior as my assistant in ’92 in the first interview.
“That’s the way I run my life, too. When I buy a car, I don’t need a test drive. I see the car. It’s a good car? Yes? No? I make up my mind. I got married at 19. I bought my first house at 18. I know what I want. When I see something I like, something I believe in, I don’t wait around.’’
And he likes the cut of Martin Gelinas’ jib. In that, he’s far from alone.
The overtime icon of the ’04 Stanley Cup, as widely reported, is rounding out Hartley’s coaching staff as the new era of a difficult dawn opens down Olympic Way. One of the game’s standup people, a notoriously hard worker. Tremendously approachable. Adaptable. Willing to listen, to learn.
He loves this city. Has adopted Calgary as his home.
It’s strange, but even though he played 100-odd more games for both Edmonton and Vancouver, as well as nearly 200 more for Carolina, people hereabouts, infused by the indelible overtime memories that linger from ’04, think of Gelinas first and foremost, if not exclusively, in the Flaming C.
Yes, this will be his first official coaching gig. He’s spent the past three years as director of player development for the Nashville Predators, helping prep that organization’s young prospects. Yet when Hartley was tallying up check marks on the pro and con sides of the ledger, he was easily able to make one of those patented gut-instinct calls that have served him so well in the past.
“You cannot,’’ he stressed, “have too many good people in your organization. Ask Jay (Feaster). Ask Pierre Lacroix. Ask Don Waddell. I tell them: Bring me good people and my job is to make them good coaches.
“Marty knows the Calgary market. In the interview, he looked me right in the eyes and told me, ‘My heart has always been in Calgary.’ I had no doubt about this. I could feel, it didn’t come out of his mouth, it came out of his heart.’’
Make no mistake: This is an ideal hire for this team, at this time. With longtime Hartley sidekick Jacques Cloutier a bit too tied-in with the boss to realistically play go-between, good-guy Marty Gelinas — known, liked, respected by all — figures to be a perfect conduit between the notoriously demanding Hartley and the inviolate sanctity of the dressing room.
“Hey, Bob’s the head coach,’’ says Flames assistant to the general manager Craig Conroy, the man to pitch the Gelinas option to Hartley in the first place. “He’s going to get awful mad at these guys sometimes. And someone needs to be there to pick ’em up, help ’em out. Gelly can do that.
“He treats everyone the same — great. Makes everyone feel welcome. Communicates so well. He played on the top line, played on the fourth line, played a lot, played a little, has gone through his highs and his lows. He’s been a youngster and an older player in this league. So he knows how everyone in that locker-room feels. He brings all that invaluable experience to this job.
“He’s nervous, he’s never done this before. But nobody will work harder than him.’’
It was while taking in the Abbotsford Heat’s first-round series against Nashville affiliate Milwaukee Admirals that the idea was hatched. Gelinas had been sent by the Preds to help with their young hopefuls. Watching his friend work on the ice, firm but approachable, a 100-watt bulb lit up in Conroy’s cozily cluttered imagination.
“I was thinking, ‘I’ve got the perfect guy!’ Bob had some names, too. When the subject did come up, I didn’t even know if there’d be any interest. But there was. Jay got permission from Nashville. And, boy, it happened like a whirlwind.
“Marty came in to interview, I didn’t see him, and then Bob’s telling us, ‘You can go through the process if you want, but I’ve already found the guy.’ “One interview. Just like that.’’ What Gelinas may lack in Xs and Os acumen, he’ll more than make up for in enthusiasm, empathy and front-line experience.
“As a coach coming in,’’ emphasized Hartley, “you need to recreate new energy. That’s nothing against the people that were here before. But you need that new energy. I know what Jacques Cloutier will bring to our organization. And I have a pretty good idea what Marty Gelinas will bring.
“As player, Marty was known to work, to work. He was a pain to play against because his enthusiasm and perseverance made him a guy that could come back and beat you. I’m sure he was the same thing with the Predators.’’
Bob Hartley’s certainly sold on the newest, and final, addition to his coaching staff.
Not that he required any outside confirmation, but while waiting for his luggage to spill out of the chute and onto the carousel at Dorval International Airport in Montreal at 1:15 local time Thursday, a few Flames’ fans on the flight approached the new skipper of the big team in this town.
“I was with my wife,’’ relays an amused Hartley. “And these people were coming up to me — I don’t know how they found out so fast — and saying, ‘Thank you for hiring Marty Gelinas.’ Telling me, ‘Oh, he’s the perfect guy. We LOVE Marty Gelinas.’
“That is a wonderful thing to hear. Just wonderful. So I’ll tell you, I’ve never been so happy standing at a carousel waiting for my bags after a long flight.’’