BY FAN FUEL – HOCKEY CENTRAL INSIDERS
In this week’s edition of Hockey Central Ask the Insiders, several fan questions are answered including will Alain Vigneault be fired after the Canucks were swept in the first round and was it a mistake for Senators coach Paul MacLean to call a timeout with 17 seconds left in a wild Game 3 win over the Canadiens.
Mike asks: Guys, with the Vancouver Canucks having been swept in round one is it a sure thing that Alain Vigneault loses his job?
Scott Morrison: It is difficult to say it is a sure thing, but there has been no shortage of conjecture around the hockey world that he might be a casualty now that the Canucks lost. Not sure that is a wise decision because they haven’t been losing because of coaching mistakes. The goaltending circus was a huge distraction with that team all season. Vigneault’s record should earn him another year, but the game isn’t always fair. They just don’t strike me as being a coaching change away. Perhaps having some of their big gunners produce is the first order of business.
Doug MacLean: One never knows with GM-coach relations and I suspect the Gillis-Vigneault relationship is solid. Since they were swept four straight in the series someone will take the fall. And I suspect that will be Vigneault. Don’t forget ownership gets involved in these decisions and I suspect Francesco Aquilini will be demanding change. Vigneault is a good coach but I don’t see him surviving this.
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Murray asks: During the Stanley Cup playoffs, are there steps that the coaching staff take to try and reduce the amount of off-ice distractions facing their players? Or is it no different than what takes place during the regular season?
Nick Kypreos: Most definitely. Hotels at home are almost always available to the players. Day to day distractions are one thing during the regular season but when one game could end your season, management wants the players 100 per cent focused on the task at hand. Team meals are usually provided daily, again something that is not readily available during the regular season. Public relations would take care of allocating your tickets and take care of your family’s travel (i.e. your mom and dad, spouse or siblings).
Sometimes though players do ask for some normalcy during the playoffs. In 1994 there were two days off between game six and game seven of the Stanley Cup final vs. Vancouver. And Mike Keenan suggested taking us from Vancouver to some remote location prior to game seven. And Mark Messier said no, that the team preferred to go home. We’ll prepare just like we have the entire year when we won all those regular season games. We’ll keep things as normal as we have all season. We don’t need to overthink this. We just need our regular season routine — sleep in our own beds, eat our favourite pre-game meal and drive to the rink like always. Thank goodness it worked!
Neil Smith: Murray, during the NHL playoffs everything is different in the team environment than during the regular season. PR appearances are halted. Practice schedules are altered. Travel plans are different. Teams eat all pre-game meals together both home and away. Some teams put their players in a hotel for their home games. Players have even stricter expectations put on them as far as personal time and what they do with that time. In other words, REST.
Christa asks: Are you guys surprised at the nasty turn the Senators-Canadiens series has taken? Seems to me there isn’t much history between the clubs and now all of a sudden it has turned into a Flyers-Penguins type rivalry.
Jeff Marek: Not really. All it took was one big violent incident and like a powder keg, this thing went off. Now, it doesn’t help matters when you have a coach in Paul MacLean who takes great (albeit quiet) delight in torturing his coaching counterpart in Montreal. Case in point the infamous time out during Sunday’s blowout. As we’ve seen before in the playoffs, it doesn’t take much to make rivals regardless of the two teams’ past (see Boston/Vancouver for example), simply the presence of both teams competing against each other where the stakes are at their highest tends to bring out not only great performances but also furrowed-brow nastiness. And let’s also not forget that both these teams think they have a shot this year. Neither side is just “happy to be there”. When you have that type of emotion coupled with that kind of expectation it doesn’t shock me the series has turned as nasty as it has.
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Patrick asks: What do you think of the idea of the rumour that Joe Sakic may run the Colorado Avalanche? Do they need to have someone with a bit more organizational experience or is it a good “outside the box” move?
Scott Morrison: I think bringing Joe Sakic into a more prominent role is a good move. Given the history of success he has had with the franchise, it would be a strong message that they are committed to fixing what is wrong. Having said that, especially not knowing how much Sakic would want to put on his plate, it would make sense to make sure he has a strong support staff, or he takes a more senior role with a strong general manager working alongside him.
John Shannon: Patrick, you have to think Joe Sakic is going to have a big role in the front office of the Avalanche. But like you, I would be truly shocked if Joe moves to the general manager’s job. Firstly, Greg Sherman is still in the GM’s office for now, and even though his contract has yet to be extended, it appears that he will survive to draft Seth Jones with the first pick in the draft. So to answer your question, yes, I could certainly see Joe being active in the hockey operations group, but not the GM. Perhaps, in the long term after some apprenticeship he could assume a job like Cam Neely in Boston, or Kevin Lowe in Edmonton.
Libby asks: What do you think of the timeout called by Paul MacLean in the dying seconds of Game 3? It seems like to me that the game was getting dangerously out of control. Is there any situation, given the goal differential, for the refs to end the game 17 seconds early to avoid even more fights or injuries?
Nick Kypreos: Nine out of ten times I would hate Paul MacLean’s timeout. In almost any normal game there is no reason in the world to delay the inevitable of losing a game by a wide margin. But this particular game and this series has been anything but normal. Seriously, how often do we look down an NHL bench and see six guys? I will give Paul MacLean the benefit of the doubt here to have his team catch their breath and make sure the last few moments of the game went without further altercations. I think the timeout was overblown by Mike Therrien.
Neil Smith: Libby, Paul MacLean’s time out at the end of game three in Ottawa is a “no-no” in the coaching fraternity. Coaches believe that you are “rubbing it in” if you delay the end of a humiliating game for the opponent. In Paul’s defence he was most likely trying to make sure his players had their wits about them and was trying to avoid any more ugliness or even injury, by talking to his players and trying to calm the situation.
Unless a game is uncontrollable, a referee will continue the game until it’s bitter end. I have never seen an NHL game called early. The referees and linesmen in the NHL are the best in the world and are trained to handle games that could get out of control with less experienced officials.
John Shannon: Libby, by the time Paul called the time out, most of the emotion of the night was spent. In fact, if he hadn’t called the time out, there might have been a quieter finish to the game. Perhaps the time out actually added fuel to the dimming fire. And yes, if the officials really thought it was out of hand they could have instructed the timekeeper to run the clock. Obviously, they were not concerned about the situation, until Josh Gorges shot the puck at Kyle Turris, at which point the emotions started to boil over again. In most cases, strong officials like Dan O’Halloran and Paul Devorski (who reffed the game) have a great game sense, and strong game management and they will make the right decision on how a game should end.