Now it's up to the coaches

Sporting News, The, Sept 3, 2001 by Larry Wigge

It was Sheryl Crow who sang, "A change would do you good," but that perfectly describes the theme coaches will encounter after the moves made in the NHL this summer.

The new addresses for so many key players can be categorized as a change of philosophy, a change of pace, a change of scenery, a change of mind or a change of heart.

But those changes only work if the team picking up the new players has a coach who can adapt--or who can get the newcomers to buy into his system.

The most intriguing new coach/player scenario is in Detroit, where often-moody Brett Hull will try to coexist with the sometimes autocratic and manipulative Scotty Bowman.

Bowman complained about not having enough goals at even strength last season. So now he has Hull and Luc Robitaille--a pair of 600-goal scorers who easily will replace the production of wingers Martin Lapointe (signed by Boston), Slava Kozlov (traded to Buffalo) and veterans Doug Brown and Pat Verbeek (released).

Hull, 37, will make plenty of headlines in Hockeytown. I already can hear him: "They brought me here to score goals. How can I do it playing 15 minutes a game?"

Bowman likes to roll over four lines, and that lack of ice time has been a bone of contention for Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan. But Bowman never dodges a new challenge. In fact, he usually finds a way to get players to come around to his way of thinking--as his eight career Stanley Cups as a coach attest.

Bringing in all-world goaltender Dominik Hasek to help plug up the team's holes on defense as well as Hull and Robitaille might appear to be the acts of a desperate team, but the Bowman factor gives the Red Wings a great opportunity to reclaim the Western Conference berth in the Stanley Cup finals.

Not every team has a safety net like Bowman to deal with the changing times and such a disparate group of personalities. Like Hasek gets into the minds of shooters who face him, Bowman gets into the minds of those players under his control--and he usually wins those battles.

But how will other coaches handle the changes their teams made in the offseason?

Interchangeable parts

Avalanche: Ray Bourque and Jon Klemm are gone, but Bob Hartley finally earned his team's respect with his ability to run the bench during the Stanley Cup run.

Stars: Ken Hitchcock has longed for a third center like Pierre Turgeon to create more offense. Now he's got it.

Red Wings: Bowman is the master of manipulation.

Kings: Andy Murray makes this team go, but an effective Felix Potvin is the key to success.

Devils: Larry Robinson lost scoring depth when Alexander Mogilny left--but the coach will overcome it.

Flyers: Bill Barber's assertive approach was welcomed in Philly--and now he has Mr. Assertive, Jeremy Roenick, to help.

Blues: Joel Quenneville has been criticized unjustly for not having his team ready in the playoffs. Adding self-starters Doug Weight, Mike Keane and Rich Pilon will make Quenneville better.

Sharks: Darryl Sutter pushes buttons. With Teemu Selanne for a whole season and the addition of Adam Graves, watch out for this team.

Maple Leafs: Pat Quinn is definitely old school, but he won't complain about passive shooters with the additions of Robert Reichel and Mikael Renberg.

Capitals: Ron Wilson is more creative than he often gets credit for. Look for Jaromir Jagr and Peter Bondra to flourish like Paul Kariya and Selanne did under Wilson when he coached in Anaheim.

Need some help

Mighty Ducks: Bryan Murray was an excellent bench boss in his prime. But Disney's lack of spending causes another playoff miss.

Sabres: No coach works harder than Lindy Ruff. He'll have to without Hasek and Michael Peca in the lineup.

Hurricanes: Paul Maurice makes a playoff run only if Tom Barrasso can win 10 or more games as Arturs Irbe's backup.

Blackhawks: Brian Sutter will ride these guys hard, but he doesn't have the horses to win.

Oilers: Craig MacTavish was my choice for coach of the year for 2000-01. But you can't take a heart-and-soul leader such as Weight away without a drop in the standings.

Panthers: Duane Sutter was impressive in his brief stint last season, but he can't play defense for this team.

Predators: Barry Trotz gets more out of this team than he should, but no postseason payoff just yet.

Islanders: Peter Laviolette comes with a great reputation, but it's not good enough to gain a playoff spot.

Canucks: Marc Crawford guided them to a playoff berth, but the coach can't stop the puck, too.

Shortchanged

Bruins: Robbie Ftorek's confrontational approach wears thin--no matter how many changes his new team makes.

Canadiens: Even with the additions of Yanic Perreault, Joey Juneau and Andreas Dackell, Michel Therrien is looking over his shoulder at coach-in-waiting Guy Carbonneau.

Rangers: Where has Ron Low ever won as a coach? Plus, with or without Eric Lindros, this team has chemistry problems.

Senators: Jacques Martin will not have to deal with the aloofness of Alexei Yashin, but some still question if Martin can plan the grit this team needs to win in the playoffs.