Training camp hasn’t even opened, and already there’s some controversy surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to an article by Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star, new Leafs assistant coach Steve Spott, tasked with developing "a new breakout play" earlier this summer, was faced with some resistance from star forward Phil Kessel.
The former Marlies head coach told the story to colleagues at a coaches’ clinic in August:
- “Spotter said that when he went to Phil (with the breakout play), Phil said, I’m not doing it,” said one of the attendees, a former professional player.
Said another: “Spott was saying (that) these are the things I’ve got to deal with now that I’ve never had to deal with. In the AHL (where Spott coached last season with the Toronto Marlies), when you’re the coach what you say goes. Whereas now that I’m here (in the NHL), I’ve got a guy telling me: No. I’m not going to do that.”
However, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos doesn’t believe there’s a rift between the Leafs’ coaching staff and its star forward.
"I’ve been into enough dressing rooms where we’ve had healthy dialogue. You think Phil might be the only guy that would question a breakout on what you like and what you don’t like? That happens all the time," Kypreos told Brady and Walker on Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Thursday. "You challenge each other on decisions, but when it’s all said and done, you’re going to do what the coaching staff wants you to do."
"We can say a lot of things about Phil, but he’s never come across in his career so far that he’s a ‘screw you, I’ll do what I want’ kind of guy. So I don’t think there’s any rift between Steve Spott, Phil Kessel and the coaching staff."
Listen: Nick Kypreos on reported rift between Phil Kessel and Toronto Maple Leafs’ coaching staff
When asked about the alleged conflict on Thursday, both Kessel and Leafs general manager Dave Nonis denied the report.
https://twitter.com/koshtorontosun/status/512634707063078913
Feschuk’s article quotes another attendee, who said that when Spott went to Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle to discuss Kessel’s reaction to the new strategy, "Carlyle’s attitude was that we’re fired before (Kessel is) out of here, the hierarchy doesn’t want to deal with Phil. He scores 30 (goals) a year and that’s all they want."
"(Spott said) Phil hates coaches. He hates Randy. He hates me and I don’t even know him yet."
Feschuk’s column goes on to say that Spott and Kessel eventually met in the middle on the play and that "Spott was complimentary of Kessel, telling his audience that the winger is one of the smartest hockey minds he’s worked with" and that, despite being an estimated 15 pounds overweight, "remains an explosive speedster."
https://twitter.com/16DarcyTucker/status/512608229483110401