TRANSITION GAME
Decision to retain assistants wise on many levels
(Islanders second-year assistant coach John Chabot)
A few years ago I had dinner with a friend who was a good coach in the NHL. The subject of assistant coaches came up – how to put together a staff, what makes an ideal assistant. My friend surprised me with an anecdote about his second shot at being an NHL head coach.
“You know the smartest thing I did there”? he said. “After they told me I was their guy, they asked what I wanted to do about the rest of the coaching staff. I told the GM, ‘Look, if you have assistants already under contract that you think are good hockey people, I’ll just take them.’”
It was a brilliant call on my pal’s part, and not just because his team went on to great success. Far too often head coaches in this league live and die by the performance of their hand-picked assistants.
It works like this: head coach hires an old teammate or someone he’s coached with before. Friend runs power play. Power play blows. Everyone, from fans to the GM, wonder what the head coach is thinking by having his buddy draw up such a pathetic power play.
To be clear, this is not what happened with the Islanders last season. But I know of at least two times in the last ten years on the Island when a similar scenario played out.
My friend was really on to something. What his GM didn’t realize was his new head coach was essentially calling his bluff. The implication: “You think I want to bring in my own guys, only to have you shaking your head about them in the press box? I know your assistants. They’re good men and they know the game. We’ll make it work.”
New Islanders head coach Scott Gordon has Ted Nolan-holdovers John Chabot and Dan Lacroix on his staff, while Gerard Gallant amicably opted out. To me, Gordon’s acceptance proves how sharp he is.
I’m not suggesting that good assistant coaches are a dime-a-dozen in the NHL, not at all. Ray Ferraro told me Lorne Henning was the greatest assistant coach he ever had, and Ray had dozens. Greg Cronin, the former Islanders assistant now turning around the collegiate program at Northeastern, was so brilliant that I used to stop in my tracks to listen to him break down a game for Chris King’s radio pre-game show. Jacques Laperriere, a top assistant coach for three decades and now a Devils consultant, was outstanding with the Islanders’ defensemen when he was on Peter Laviolette’s staff.
(Dan Lacroix)
But if you’re Gordon, could you really make the case that this former assistant or that video coach are hands-down better hockey men than Chabot and Lacroix? Of course not. And by having holdovers from last season, the head coach has two men fully educated in what worked with certain players and what didn’t.
The issue of not having a third assistant on staff with pro hockey experience as a defenseman remains a bit of a head-scratcher, especially for a team with two goalie coaches. But that’s for another day.
Under Gordon, the early signs of structure, preparedness and discipline for the last five weeks are the hallmarks of a well-coached team. Well-played by the head coach.
9 Responses to “TRANSITION GAME
Decision to retain assistants wise on many levels”
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A little off topic from this post, but some of my non expert feelings on Comeau…I think he went into this summer expecting a Nolanesque season so he bulked up big time(check out the size of his neck and traps in some of the interviews on ITV) and didnt work as hard on his speed and agility. We all know what a great stick handler he is and he has great vision on the ice, but from watching the Preseason games on ITV he seemed to be a bit lost. Hopefully the coaches and trainers have him on a regimen right now to work on his speed and agility so we can see him in games soon. Also I think Dougie Weight should make Comeau his protege. Comeau could be incredible on the left halfboards on the 2nd PP(just as DW is on the right side) once he can prove that he can keep up with Gordons system. Just my thoughts…what do you guys think?
a little off-topic? CB
CB: I’m thinking perhaps that the reason they don’t have a former defenseman as a coach is because they have a guy like Witt. He’s as much a player/coach as the Isles have had since guys like Aucoin and Peca. Except that Witt didn’t try to undermine his coach like Peca did, and he didn’t leave for more money like Aucoin did.
If Witt gets along with all the other D-men, and they look up to him, then that kind of makes sense as a reason to not have that D-man coach you mentioned. Right?
I respectfully disagree, Mike. If teams went by that, teams with experienced guys like Pronger and Niedermayer, Lidstrom, Boyle, Zubov, Chara, Blake, Jovo etc. etc wouldn’t have assistants with D experience. Scott Stevens at age 38 in NJ had Laperriere. Brendan’s a super guy and very good player, but he’s not out there coaching the boys…CB
By the time Gordon was hired I would think that most assistants anyone would want already had jobs lined up for this season. So Gordon did not have much choice. At that late point it also made sense to have assistants around who already knew the players.
I have to agree with CB on this one. As knowledgable as Witt is at the position, and as well as he plays, he is not there to coach. When it comes down to it, he is just one of the guys, dressed and ready to play to win. While he may have a future as a coach later in life, right now he is strictly there and getting paid to keep opponents on their heels, and more importantly, on the floor. I do feel that bringing in a coach to help the defenseman would do wonders. He could help each individual tighten up their game a little more, and he could help Gordon to decide which pairings work best together.
As for Comeau, and I don’t mean to keep this off-topic as this was a blog about coaching, but I do feel he will make it through this adversity. Maybe he did bulk up a little too much, and maybe he lost a little speed which is completely necessary in this “overspeed” system. With the proper training, hard work, and desire, Comeau can drop a few pounds and be in better shape to perform for Gordon and the Islanders. In my personal opinion Comeau has the vision and skill to be a second-line winger, and an offensive threat after some development. Whether or not he picks up his speed and develops under Gordon is strictly up to how bad he wants it. I just hope he learns here on the Island, and not somehwere else like we have seen so often in the past…
I agree with you guys. I was just offering an idea for as to why there wasn’t that kind of coach on the team. If that’s not the case, why do you think there’s no coach with D experience?
Mike - I just feel that Gordon may feel that he has it under control. It is constantly stated that he is extremely organized, balanced, smart, and well-prepared. At this point, he may feel that he can work without one, however, we might see one either later in the season or maybe even next season. I really believe it will all depend on how Gordon feels his defense performs, how his defensive knowledge and system portrays itself on the ice, and how he feels he can handle a little extra work-load. I do think it would be nice to have that defensive coach presence, in my opinion, and I also believe it would help the team all around.