Morning after
Dec 4, 2008
Morning after...
Good morning. It's been a tough 24 to get through. Yesterday's developments regarding the Canes coaching caught this guy by surprise. No, it wasn't that I didn't think the coach would get out of this unscathed, but the new direction is a shock. That's why I gave it a day to settle in and then take a quick look before getting to my game prep for tonight's game which we will call "meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
On Dec. 18, 2003, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in town and the Canes for the first time had someone other than Paul Maurice behind the bench. As as organization the Cane management was looking at someone totally different. Not a member of their Compuware hockey family but someone from the outside. Peter Laviolette rolled in and coached the team to thrilling 2-1 overtime victory. He immediately started making changes.
Bold statements were made in terms of how they prepared, played how they carried themselves. During that last half of a season the Canes made some improvements but not enough to get to the post season. It was the identity that started to change that was important. During that time, there was a learning curve for the decision makers, they had to learn and adapt to this guy from Franklin, Mass. After the NHL work stoppage the Canes came back hard and in the 2005-06 season history played out his methods to a tee. There is no need to rekindle all of that because we all know it. Instead, it's what has happened since. In the midst of the last two non-playoff years, there has been unrest upstairs. It came to a head at the end of last season. The questions that were thrown out publicly pointed directly behind the bench.
It is that lack of security in the guy calling the shots by those directing the shots that has led us to this day. The Canes could have gone in all kinds of directions. A past associate coach or current assistant could have switched offices. A new voice from the unemployed ranks like a John Tortorella could have been brought in. An AHL bench boss with a tie-in - like Kevin Dineen - could have been beckoned too. But no, this was about comfort and getting on the same page with the upper management with regard to "how" the Canes play.
Management and coaches need to been on the same page. For that reason and for that alone this one makes sense. The hiring of Paul Maurice provides the GM with that comfort zone, that in the opinion of this observer was starting to slip. The switch of roles by Ron Francis will give him a chance to learn about this racket without taking on the whole enchilada a la Wayne Gretzky.
Will it work ? Who knows. They only thing we do know is that this group of players played down enough for the Canes to lose a very good coach. Paul Maurice is a respected coach too. I know many of you automatically go back to the days of clutch and grab and say his style won't fit. Well, I'm not sure that's how they are going to play. I do know that he is capable of fixing their defensive system. That will be good. Most importantly all counter productive thoughts are gone. This has been a long time coming and now the Canes can move forward. It's starts with a win tonight.
To Coach Laviolette, thank you, for you sir left a mark that will never be erased.
See ya !
