THE REPLACEMENTS
After a season that left the Vancouver Canucks at the bottom of almost every meaningful statistical category, Willie Desjardins’s time as head coach appears to be over. Who is the most likely candidate to assume the hot seat?
Canucks hockey writer BEN KUZMA looks at three possible coaching candidates should Willie Desjardins be relieved of his job: Travis Green (46, UTICA COMETS, AHL)
POSITIVES: Highly respected. Commanded NHL coaching interest last summer in Anaheim, Colorado, Calgary and perhaps Las Vegas. Teacher, tactician and his tough love allowed the American Hockey League affiliate to reach the Calder Cup final in 2015 and remain competitive in a shifting, minor-league roster landscape.
Showing prospect Jake Virtanen the way this season with a demand for physical dedication, mental preparation and grasping systems has been impressive.
A multi-tasker who logged 970 career games as a centre with the Islanders, Ducks, Coyotes, Leafs and Bruins, Green is adept at balancing winning with developing and surviving all the recalls.
NEGATIVES: Hard to imagine any. Gaining the respect of the veteran core is a challenge for any bench boss and getting them to buy into what you’re selling is crucial. Has mentored many of the kids. Canucks have purposely groomed him for years and will probably lose him sooner or later if not promoted.
How would he work with older assistants if they’re retained? And would he be afforded the clout to hire his own assistants? How much clout would he be afforded in designing the right systems and deploying young talent the way he sees fit and not somebody above him?
The Canucks have been bold before (John Tortorella) and this time they may play it safe.
Ken Hitchcock (65, FIRED FEB. 1 BY ST. LOUIS BLUES)
POSITIVES: Can snap any club to attention in a hurry, especially impressionable youth, and best positioned for the Canucks as a bridge coach to get a young team to the next level. Doesn’t get enough credit for reaching veterans on a critical level. He turned Mike Modano and Brett Hull into 200-foot players, even though Hull complained every step of the way about the relentless approach.
His resume, including a Stanley Cup championship, is an easy sell in the transition and because he likes to teach, school will be in session every day. But pushing the right buttons with any veteran core takes tact.
“He’s kind of a, ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed,’ type of guy and that hurts even more,” said former Blues winger David Backes. “He’s like a dad that’s disappointed in his kids. He says: ‘This is unacceptable, we’re better than this, I know we are.’ That kind of stings your competitiveness.”
NEGATIVES: He’s no day at the beach, but after a year of Tortorella, veteran skins are thicker in the room. Players will have a grudging respect for a guy who prefers to protect a lead rather than go out and create one. It’s fair to ask how the offence and power play will get any better.
And as much as Hitchcock doesn’t want to coach for the long haul, he still wants to win.
That has never changed. He might have a better option in Dallas if that’s the end game because he maintains close ties to the city and organization and a quicker turnaround there is more of a possibility.
Kevin Dineen (53, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS)
POSITIVES: Was interviewed for off-season openings in Colorado and Calgary last summer. Is there better on-the-job NHL head coach training than working with the highly respected and effective head coach Joel Quenneville?
Winning and maintaining excellence have a large part to do with management getting the right players and getting them to buy in.
You don’t win Cups by fluke or get back to the dance in a fortuitous fashion. Dineen has a wealth of coaching experience and the veteran of 1,188 regular-season games as an NHL winger of four teams commands respect for a guy who knows what players endure. He got the Florida Panthers to the post-season in his first season and also guided the Canadian women’s team to Olympic gold in 2014. He was given that Hockey Canada gig in December 2013 and two months later had a championship to add to his resume.
NEGATIVES: After being let go by the Panthers, there was some debate as to whether Dineen could be successful running his own bench at the NHL level.
Being passed over for the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames openings says something, but he’s not the first to swing and miss and prepare for another shot in The Show.
Dineen only compiled a 56-6228 record in 146 games with Florida, but also got them to Game 7 of a playoff series with the New Jersey Devils.