Vancouver, British Columbia – Atlanta coach Bob Hartley made a lot of friends in Colorado, and his firing as coach of the Avalanche in late 2002 was the rare instance in which team management made a change while getting little pressure from either the fans or media to do so.
Under Tony Granato, the Avalanche did pass the Canucks on the final day of the season to finish first in the Northwest and win a ninth straight division title, but that preoccupation was counterproductive in the long run – and Colorado collapsed against Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.
But saying that many of us believe Hartley never should have been fired doesn’t mean we can’t call him on his ridiculous, in-the-gutter, bush-league tendency to turn the final stages of lopsided games into vehicles for “message-sending.”
Because of the new rule cracking down on instigating fights in the final five minutes of games, the message can be even more worthy of condemnation if the way to get around the rule is with gutless cheap shots.
With the Thrashers’ Andy Sutton already serving a four-game suspension for a cheap shot on Toronto’s Darcy Tucker, Atlanta knucklehead Eric Boulton nailed Tampa Bay’s Paul Ranger in the head with an elbow Thursday.
The hit was vicious and inexcusable, especially in the wake of his failed attempt to nail Toronto’s one-concussion-from-retirement Eric Lindros earlier in the week. The Lightning was leading Atlanta 6-0, with only 2:31 remaining in the game.
And I don’t blame Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella one bit for responding with a tirade that went like this, minus the many unprintable words: “The guy should be playing in the … East Coast Hockey League and he takes out a … NHLer.”
“He’ll get suspended, but who cares? Nobody wants him on the ice anyway.”
Ninety-nine times out of 100, this sort of thing doesn’t follow a coach issuing a direct order. It involves attitude and challenges implied by demeanor, philosophy, style and player deployment.
Hartley’s climb – from paper mill and windshield factory worker to part-time junior coach to the NHL and the Stanley Cup – is a story worthy of at least an inspirational Hallmark Channel movie, if not Hollywood.
But if he doesn’t adapt to the new NHL on every level, including the praiseworthy move to discourage goonery in the final minutes and the changes that make fighting even less of an issue than before, he deserves to get fired. Again.
Crowing
Amid the attempts to downplay the significance of the first Colorado-Vancouver game since March 8, 2004, Canucks coach Marc Crawford on Friday talked about how the Avalanche’s hiring of Joel Quenneville also has changed the equation.
They coached against one another many times when Quenneville was at St. Louis, but this is a significant change in the dynamic of the rivalry, given the men’s friendship and Quenneville’s role as an assistant at Colorado under Crawford.
Crawford also praised Jacques Cloutier, his other Colorado assistant who still is with the team. He said some might have a hard time believing this, but went on to say, “I really respect Pierre Lacroix. There’s been a lot of time and a lot of water under the bridge in my relationship with the Avalanche. Joel’s a friend of mine. … I don’t think you get to the National Hockey League, whether you’re the trainer or the coach, or general manager, unless you have the competitive juices in a very strong amount.
“It makes the game better. You want to make sure you do whatever you can to come out on top. That’s why they hired him, and it’s a good hire. That’s a good staff, and I’m glad Tony decided to stay on and he’ll enjoy his relationship with Joel.”
Checking out the Blues
Former Utah Jazz and Madison Square Garden executive Dave Checketts, the point man for a group considering buying the Blues from Bill and Nancy Laurie, was in St. Louis to scout out the situation last week. He declined to talk to the media.
His group, Sports Capital Partners, owns the Salt Lake Major League Soccer franchise and has exclusive negotiating rights for the Blues through Thursday under a letter of intent signed by both sides.
Slow start for MVP
Martin St. Louis, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, can’t get going at Tampa Bay. Heading into the weekend, Tortorella was trying St. Louis on the checking line with Dave Andreychuk and Tim Taylor.
“I’m not going to blame the puck or the stick or the gloves,” St. Louis told the St. Petersburg Times. “It’s between my ears right now.”
Orr vs. Coffey
When the Oilers retired Paul Coffey’s No. 7 last week, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal caught up with Bobby Orr and asked about the comparisons between the two defensemen.
“I couldn’t skate like Paul Coffey, and I’m not just being humble,” Orr said. “We’re not going to see anybody skate like him again. It was like he was floating. The acceleration, the speed.
“One day my dad said to me, ‘Did you see that Coffey skate?’ He’s a better skater than you are.’ I asked him, ‘Am I even close?’ ”
Hoops and pucks
I’ve covered the NHL and NBA extensively in more than one market, and still often look back and also compare the current affairs in both leagues. So last week, when the outline of the NBA’s new dress code circulated, I couldn’t help but laugh when thinking back to my days as a (young) Nuggets beat writer.
The worst dressers in the team entourage – and there weren’t even close contenders to crack the top three – were head coach Doug Moe, forward Kiki Vandeweghe and trainer Bob “Chopper” Travaglini.
Vandeweghe wore gold corduroys, a white cardigan sweater and his UCLA letter jacket. Everywhere. Few Nuggets wore coats and ties, but their wardrobes more than met the business casual standard the NBA is trying to set.
For the record, the NHL doesn’t have a league-wide dress code. Teams do, and though sport coats usually are required, it generally is along the same lines of what the NBA will be trying to mandate.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
