There were three signature moments that led to the demise of John Tortorella’s reign as coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
The first, and most salient, was the first intermission attack on the Calgary Flames dressing room. (after that does #2 and #3 really count!)
But they do.
The second came when he publicly berated Alex Edler and then Jannik Hansen on the bench, showing to all his team that he was a bully, that he would play favorites because they knew he would never do this to the stars – the Sedins, Kesler, Luongo. This behavior would be toxic to the general psyche of the team.
Strike three was a singular act of helplessness – a long bomb of ‘I will show the world that I have a serious team in contention here’- in which he puts Eddie Lack in net for the Heritage Classic game in Vancouver, publicly humiliating Roberto Luongo, a goalie who served the organization and his team significantly over his years in Vancouver. Again, it would have left every player wondering how they might be treated when an important event would occur for them….like playing in front of your hometown, your friends and your family. If the guy who gets to play – Eddie Lack himself – questions the move, as a coach you must know that you you are on an island alone looking for a ‘Wilson’ if he is even around.
It is interesting to contrast this situation to the current line up of goalies and their coaches in the Stanley Cup semi-finals. Three of the four goalies – Lundquist, Quick, and Carey Price – all represented their countries in the Olympics. They represent excellence in goaltending and in their character.
In a story in the Globe and Mail this morning you read about the 4 remaining coaches – their Stanley Cup pedigree – their experience (all in their 50’s) – and their contrasting styles. All them able to build the trust and manage the physical, mental and emotional energy of their teams. You see a picture of Darryl Sutter, giving instruction, in probably very direct terms to Marian Gaborik – pointing to the ice, his other arm wrapped firmly around Gaborik’s shoulder – one arm telling him not to miss his *&^%$# assignment , and the other one saying ‘I respect you as a person, as a hockey player and more importantly as someone on my team’.
You look at the goalies and these coaches and you see some of the ingredients for success in winning a Stanley Cup.
And in looking back to that outdoor game in March between Ottawa and Vancouver you see a coach, his hold on his team slipping away, desperate to show his players, his management, anyone for that matter, that he was still in charge. The contrast is stark.
pucksense 