New coach puts people first
Greg Moore is young, he’s progressive and he communicates well with today’s “newage” hockey player.
Moore was introduced Monday as head coach of the Toronto Marlies, hired by Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas from the USHL’s Chicago Steel. The 35-year-old Moore says his guiding principle is “relating” to players.
“I think with the new-age athlete, especially caring for them as people before athletes, their well-being mentally (matters),” he says. “What kind of lifestyle are they living? Are they happy? All that stuff translates before you get to the hockey.
“And once you build habits with them and a culture, and a care for the guy across the room from you, I think everyone has more buy-in to want to play and work with each other. So, (it’s) just having that mindset and then letting the hockey take care of itself.”
It’s not the NHL, but the Marlies job is probably the 32nd-best head coaching gig in hockey, and Moore is the first significant coaching hire in the post-Bill Peters era. It’s a hiring reflective of the kind of coach hockey is moving toward: one with a spotless record of putting people first.
“We talked to every employer that Greg has had in his role as a coach, and talking to teams about him as a player was relatively easy (because he’s) been a captain at every level,” Dubas said. “So there wasn’t any negative in terms of his character, and we also did a full criminal background check in
Canada and the U.S. — which turned up nothing, of course.”
Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames last week after allegations of racist language and violence toward players under his charge came to light. Those went back as far as a decade ago in the AHL.
Hockey’s hierarchical monoculture, where players were encouraged to remain silent about problems within the team, has been under scrutiny since.
This week, retired NHL defenceman Chris Chelios said former Leafs coach Mike Babcock verbally assaulted Johan Franzen during a game when both were with the Red Wings, causing a nervous breakdown by Franzen. Chelios made the allegation on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. Chelios said the players took their concerns to GM Ken Holland — whose message back, the defenceman said, was that he’d be glad to trade anyone who wasn’t happy
More stories are sure to come. There are questions, big and small, about whether the NHL — in fact, hockey as a whole — is inclusive and safe enough. “Hockey Night in Canada” devoted a great deal of Saturday’s first intermission to a discussion of such issues.
If ever there was a sign that hockey is progressing, that might have been it. The slot that had been Don Cherry’s pulpit was devoted to addressing racism and inclusiveness.
Hockey may not be progressing as quickly as some might like, but rookie hazing — deemed a rite of passage an era ago — is now seen as abuse. Moore says he made sure his junior players in Chicago did not engage in that practice.
“That’s completely gone,” Moore said of hazing. “Like, it’s a completely different game and different era now, and the speech I gave to the kids (before leaving the Steel on Sunday) — and the sense (of ) why I thought we had success there — is: Yeah, there’s a hierarchy of position within staff, but when we work day-to-day everybody’s equal. Everybody has a chair at the table, and everybody speaks.
“The message to the players was to continue that within the room as well. There’s no rookies. There’s no veterans. Everybody’s equal … and they have to make sure they respect that, respect each other and play that way.”
Moore played 10 games in the NHL. An American, he gained some prominence in the coaching ranks with the U.S. national development program in 2015-16 and 2017-18. He also helped out at the Leafs’ development camp last summer.
The Leafs were once an enforcer-filled, “beat ’em in the alley” team reflective of hardnosed coaches. They once employed take-no-prisoners John Brophy, whose profanitylaced post-game rants as coach were epic.
Under Dubas, they’re progressive — more reflective of the inclusiveness of the city they inhabit, more concerned about being true role models.
“What we’re trying to be about here — especially with our younger players that are coming in with the Marlies, I think we want the first thing that they talk about is how they were treated here,” said Dubas. “First and foremost as people, and then how that treatment and how the support we gave them in their mental health and mental well-being (served) as the foundation for how they perform as an athlete.”