Upon hearing the news that the brass of the Dallas Stars gave their head coach Dave Tippet a vote of confidence in the wake of yet another first round loss, I thought the decision was quite admirable of them. Coming off a season that began with a ‘captaincy’ controversy and leading into some choice words from the team Prez about the Nashville Predators, this has put the franchise back in my good graces. At least temporarily.
Anyways, it got me thinking of the new CBA’s effect on head coaching job security. And I suppose it might take a couple more seasons to figure it out completely.
Sure the 06/07 regular season saw the usual doses of pink slips being handed out to coaches of teams that cemented themselves in the league’s basement early. Names like Hitchcock, Gallant, Yawney and Kitchen were all handed their fate long ago. And really, that was still to be expected.
However, with the current salary restrictions on team budgets and an increased parity in the league, I would find it rather disheartening to see a head coach get the axe after a first round playoff ousting. Teams like the Wild, the Preds and the Stars should not look back and be disappointed with their efforts. Teams of their caliber could have arguably gone much further back in the old NHL, had their competition not been so fierce.
The 06/07 season saw the return of coaches like Andy Murray, Ted Nolan, Alain Vigneault, Claude Julien and Paul Maurice. Five names I wouldn’t hesitate hiring on my team. And when you add to that names like Carbonneau and Savard, I believe that the NHL currently has the greatest collection of head coaches it has ever seen. In fact, I can only name two (maybe three) that I personally don’t think belong in this league.
In Ottawa, there were websites built to petition a firing of Bryan Murray. In Manhattan, Renney was not nearly as popular as he was just one season ago. And in Calgary, Playfair was viewed as a giant step back from Sutter. And yet all three of these teams kept faith in their coaches, and they were all rewarded with a playoff birth. Two of the three have yet to be eliminated.
Now if my theory is correct and head coaching does become more of a stable occupation due to the new CBA, will the pendulum swing the opposite way for General Managers?
Prior to the great lockout of 2004, success was generally attained by spending money on rental players and mercenary free agents. And those that did not have the luxury of such a budget, were more often than not given less expectations. All in all, each season could be looked at individually, since the turn over rate of talent was so high.
Now in the new CBA, bad contracts become much harder to correct. And not just in numbers, but also in longevity. Managing in the NHL has become a billiard game, with each season directly affecting the following season, and the one after that. Decisions become that much harder to make, while at the same time, that much more important for the future.
In Toronto, a decision was made when Kaberle and McCabe needed contracts renewed the same off-season. In Ottawa it was Chara and Redden. This coming off-season, Buffalo and Tampa will face the same types of decisions. And judging by the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes, it does not take very long at all to turn from the envy of the league, to the source of it’s pity.
The only thing that is 100% certain right now, is that with teams like the Flyers and the Devils, you never really know what will happen next when it involves the men behind the team, until it does.
