Right coach, right time?

A few months ago I thought about coaching in the NHL and what it means to have the ‘right coach at the right time’. I have thought off and on since about the subject. In light of the recent coaching change the Blues have made I have started thinking about it again, to see if the Blues really did pick the right guy for the job.

I believe there are different ‘stages’ to a team that is completely rebuilding from scratch, such as the Blues had to do coming out of the lock out. I’ve identified the three different styles of coaches as: foundation coach, a players coach & an elite coach. No one coach can take a team from scratch to Stanley Cup winner, not completely. There is a right coach for the right time during the building of a Stanley Cup winner.

When you are building a building from the ground up, you need a good foundation. When building a potentially successful team, you need to start off with a coach that builds a good ‘foundation’ which includes at minimum a sense of responsibility and a system of accountability.  This ‘foundation’ coach needs to come in with a game plan, a way to implement it and the complete backing of the organization.

The shelf life of a ‘foundation’ coach is not too long, I’ve usually seen 2-4 years. This is usually due to the veterans tuning out the coach or the coach not relating to the younger players and losing them. At the end of the day, a foundation coach may or may not get his team into the playoffs. If he leads his team to the playoffs it usually is a case of overachieving. When the foundation coach asks his team to wash, rinse and repeat, the players seem to tune them out. That’s when you need to let the foundation coach go, such as Blues did recently with Andy Murray.

The value of what he has done cannot go unnoticed but most people agree that it is time for a change. When it is all said and done, you find yourself with younger players that should know what it means to be a pro. When it’s time to move on, it’s time to bring in a breath of fresh air, a coach that has something to prove, relates to the players and lets the chains off a bit. You find that former NHL players who are extremely cerebral and picked up coaching as their career wound down are extremely suited for this role. Think Joel Quennville when he was hired by the Blues.

A successful ‘players’ coach relates to the players. He understands what it’s like to be in the show and treats them with more respect which in turn allows them to use their skills the way they should be used. What he also does is build upon the foundation the previous coach built. He builds upon that system of accountability and provides enough structure for the team to succeed but allows the players to use their skills. I feel that the proper candidate has to be able to take criticism and take heat even when he feels the team is completely at fault. You need to rebuild that trust that was lost with the previous coach and the only way to do that is to earn it.

The players coach usually seems to take over a team that has playoff expectations, not just feel lucky they got there. He’ll probably get the team to the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs consistently, but he doesn’t have that ‘experience’ of losing the big game as a coach. How does he handle the pressure? That is key. Does he learn from it? Does he have enough time to apply what he has learned? Probably not. Think Quennville again, when he was let go by the Blues. That’s when you bring in the coach that you hope to take you that final step, the one that gets you over the hump. The elite ‘Stanley Cup or bust’ coach.

The elite ‘Stanley Cup or bust’ coach comes in with one thing in mind, taking a team to a Stanley Cup championship. Think Mike Babcock with the Red Wings or Mike Keenan with the Rangers. This is a coach that has put it all together. He will provide that gel that binds the team together, whether through motivation or intimidation. With a good foundation that has suffered playoff defeats but still has a phenomenal core of players, he has been provided a team that is hopefully ready to fully sacrifice in order to fully win. Sacrifice to some means physical sacrifice, throwing your body in front of pucks, laying someone out, etc. While that is extremely important, I feel that is only part of the sacrifice. There is a whole other dimension of said sacrifice that needs to happen before you take that next step.

I know this has been long winded, but I felt it necessary to truly understand what the Blues are going through right now. They are making that transition from ‘foundation’ coach to ‘players coach’. I feel that the Blues have made the correct coaching change. I feel that Andy Murray was the right coach at the right time but that time has come and gone.

Time will tell whether or not Davis Payne is the correct coach. Some people have advocated hiring Peter Laviolette. To me this team is not ready for a Peter Laviolette type coach. This team is not ready to make the sacrifices both mentally, physically and emotionally to take it to the Stanley Cup just yet. They need a coach that will listen to their concerns, allow them to grow and develop into a more playoff ready team. They need a coach that is a breath of fresh air from the hard nose ‘foundation building’ that has gone on the last few years. They need to be taught to believe in their skills again.

Time will tell what step the Blues will make next. I believe they will be a playoff team under Davis Payne, but I don’t think they will be a Stanley Cup winning team under him. Not unless they land a Crosby or Malkin any time soon.

All in all, it’s a long road and the first guy that’s hired is just as important as the guy that gets them to the cup victory. Without him you don’t have that strong foundation to build a team.

Thanks for listening.