|
And The Cradle Will Tocch? |
|
|
|
|
|
At 7:09 pm EDT Saturday night, Jason Botterill will become a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the first time in 10 NHL season Botterill will no longer be an employee of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He will be an observer when the puck goes down to signify the beginning of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Ottawa Senators.
On Thursday, Botterill was sworn in as the eighth general manager in Buffalo Sabres history. On Wednesday night, Botterill was basking in the glory of a huge Game 7 Penguins victory over the Capitals. He likely enjoyed one last celebratory brewski with his former Pittsburgh colleagues and headed home to pack his suits, shirts, ties and iPad for his new adventure in Buffalo.
Botterill replaces Tim Murray who was the assistant general manager of the Ottawa Senators when Pat Lafontaine hired him. Now Botterill succeeds Murray as the leader and de facto CEO of the Buffalo Sabres.
A Penguins lifer replaces a former Senators lifer. With the Sabres.
Weird isn’t it?
I told you Thursday that Botterill has many tasks to perform in the next few weeks including hiring an amateur and pro scouting director; hiring an assistant general manager and or an associate general manager; meeting his amateur and pro scouts next week; finalizing the Vegas expansion draft protection list; prep for the NHL Combine which will once again be hosted by Botterill and the Sabres; nail organizational NHL draft board; make phone calls to his 31 GM counterparts to try to find a top four defenseman.
These are all talk tasks to be certain.
The one task that is more important than all of the above is hiring his next head coach to lead his team out of the six yet playoff drought and into the Stanley Cup Playiffs next season.
No pressure there, Jason.
You need to deliver the best head coach and assistant coaches to the Sabres as humanly possible.
Botterill’s head coaching search began on Friday morning.
Botterill, 40, said Thursday at his introductory presser that he will be speaking with several candidates for for the Buffalo head coaching gig. Botterill has his own short list of candidates, however, the process will be aided by candidates and their agents who have already reached out to Botterill.
Botterill wants his head coaching candidate to be a communicator and a mentor. He also wants his head coach to play a structured, north-south, puck possession style. He wants his D to join the rush and his forwards to protect the house. Botterill wants his head coach to be a presence in the room and he wants his players to immediately identify him as the leader of the group, in the building and on the ice.
I have four candidates who should be written in Sharpie at the top of Botterill's the legal pad.
They are:
Rick Tocchet, Phil Housley, Kevin Dineen, and Bob Boughner.
Botterill already has intimate knowledge of Tocchet as a coach. In my opinion, Tocchet checks all of the boxes. to be that type of successful leader from their days together in Pittsburgh.
I told you the day that Tim Murray and Bylsma were fired that Botterill-Tocchet should be the next GM/Head Coach combo in Buffalo.
Tocchet is a winner.
Tocchet, 53, is coaching in his second straight Eastern Conference Finals. Tocchet played 18 years in the NHL for six different teams, He is a four-time All-Star. Tocchet won a Stanley Cup playing alongside Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.
In 1144 regular season games, Tocchet scored 440 goals, 512 assists, 952 points and 2972 PIMs. In 145 playoff games, Tocchet scored 52 goals, 60 assists, 112 points and 471 PIMs.
Tocchet transitioned nicely into coaching after his playing days ended.
Tocchet was named an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche less than a year after he retired. He then moved to Phoenix to be an assistant under Wayne Gretzky, before moving to Tampa Bay in 2008 as an assistant for Barry Melrose. Tocchet replaced Melrose that season and was the head coach of Tampa Bay until 2010. Tocchet made an impression on a young star named Steven Stamkos while in Tampa, however, he was dismissed in 2010 when new ownership took over the Bolts.
Tocchet was given a second chance by his former team in 2014 when he was brought on as an assistant coach for the Penguins by former bench boss Mike Johnston. Tocchet was retained by then new hire Mike Sullivan. The Penguins won the 2016 Stanley Cup championship.
Botterill is said to be close with Tocchet.
Tocchet has been a positive influence and solid role model on superstars named Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier, Crosby, Malkin, Kessel as well as talented kids named Sheary, Rust, Kuhnhackl tells me that Tocchet has innate leadership qualities, which makes him a perfect choice to help manifest Botterill's vision in Buffalo.
Last May, Tocchet spoke with NHL.com about his desire to be a head coach in the NHL again.
"Well, listen, I wish I was in the locker room as a player. I wish I was playing. There's nothing like being a player. I always tell these guys, 'Don't take it for granted, because when it's done there's a void.' Me and [Penguins defenseman development coach] Sergei Gonchar, we practice with the guys and we want to play. We always joke about that. But you're still part of the team as a coach. You're still part of putting puzzles together. I like that. Hey, maybe this guy will play good with this guy. Hey, we can use this system. Hey, Washington is doing this against us, so maybe we should try that. I like the chess match. I like being involved in that part of it. I like being involved in the commraderie with the coaches. [Assistant coach] Jacques Martin, [goalie coach] Mike Bales and I, we have a great relationship. That's the void I'm missing from playing. I can fill that, but it's still not like playing. As a coach you don't feel totally in control of it. You give the players the information and now it's up to them to go execute. But for me it's the next best thing to playing."
Do you want to be a head coach again or do you like this role now?
"Yes. I don't know how long I'll be an assistant coach. I love being an assistant coach, but eventually I'd like another kick at the can. It might not happen. There's only 30 NHL coaches. Look at Mike Sullivan, it took him 10 years to get another job. There's a lot of who you know. There's a lot of trying to market yourself. There's a lot of luck involved. There's a lot of different things. If you keep winning eventually it could happen, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. The one thing is I don't want to miss an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup and that is something this year we're really striving for".
Phil Housley is hockey royalty in Buffalo, NY. "Wowie Housley" took Buffalo by storm when Scotty Bowman drafted him straight out of high school to play for the Sabres in the first round (6th overall) in 1982.
Housley is running the Nashville Predators D corps and is earning rave reviews from hockey insiders for his aggressive-D-join-the-rush strategy. The Preds defenders are on the score sheet every game because Housley has given them the green light to attack on every shift.
Not that long ago, Housley was coaching high school Hockey in Minnesota. Now he is three wins away from playing for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Three weeks ago, the Preds shocked the hockey world by knocking out the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs. After that Herculean feat, Housley told the Pioneer Press that he is interested in becoming a head coach in the NHL.
“Any time your name gets thrown out there, it just shows that a lot of people have respect for the work you’ve done,” Housley said.
Housley was the Erik Karlsson of his era in the 1980s and '90s. He has forgotten more about creating offense from defense than the majority of the NHL will ever know.
“Everybody has goals in life, whether you’re a player or a coach. I have those inside of me and what I want to do, but right now I’m really enjoying coaching in Nashville,” Housely said. “It’s a great city. The fans are unbelievable, as you saw in our series, and it’s an exciting time right now for the Nashville Predators.”
Housley, 53, played 20 seasons in the NHL from 1982-2003. His career path took him from the Buffalo Sabres to Winnipeg to St. Louis to Calgary to New Jersey to Washington to Chicago and Toronto.
Housley is the second leading scorer amongst U.S.A. native NHL players. "Wowie" accumulated 1,232 points on 338 goals, 894 assists. Housley held the record for most points by an American-born NHL player until Mike Modano broke his record in 2007.
Housley played more NHL games without winning the Stanley Cup than any player in NHL history.
Housley relates well to today's defenseman. He encourages his D to join the rush and hunt for pucks just like he did.
"Today's game is a lot different than when I played 14 years ago," Housley said Thursday after practice. "In saying that, each player has his own individual characteristics. They're very mobile and we encourage them to be part of the attack as much as possible. That hasn't changed, and I think that's what separates our guys because they are mobile, they can get up in the rush, their offensive instincts and reads have really gone in a great direction as far as their development goes. It's a continuing process since I've been here, but they're doing a terrific job."
Housley was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2015. In February 2007, he was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, commemorated in a pre-game ceremony with former head coach Scotty Bowman on hand.
In January 2013, Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Ufa, Russia. Buffalo Sabres defender Jake McCabe was Housley's captain on the WJC gold medal team.
"He brings such a different element to coaching because of the player he was; he sees the game unlike probably anyone else who's ever played the game," Subban told NHH.com earlier this Week . "When he talks, all that matters to me is what is coming out of his mouth."
Kevin Dineen is an intriguing head coach candidate for Botterill to consider.
Dineen, 53, is Joel Quenneville's right hand man in Chicago but would love to have another kick at the can as an NHL bench boss. Dineen played 21 seasons in the NHL.
He has NHL head coaching experience with the Florida Panthers. Dineen was the head coach of the Portland Pirates for three seasons when they were affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres.
Sabres winger Tyler Ennis and several other Buffalo prospects thrived under Dineen's mentoring in Portland.
Dineen has three years NHL head coaching experience, all with the Florida Panthers, including a 38-26-16 first place record in 2011-12.
Dineen's crowning coaching achievement was coaching Team Canada's Women's squad to the Olympic gold medal at the Sochi Games.
Dineen is a consummate communicator and is widely respected by his players and peers.
Boughner, 46, played 12 seasons in the NHL. He is currently the assistant coach to Peter DeBoer in San Jose. Boughner also was an assistant in Columbus with the Blue Jackets.
Like Housley, Boughner is a master motivator and teacher of the nuances of offense from defense. Brent Burns has enjoyed career highs in point totals with Boughner as his position coach.
Boughner's greatest coaching success came when he was the head coach of junior hockey factory team the Windsor Spitfires. In eight seasons behind the Spits' bench, Boughner win two Memorial Cups. He also is responsible for developing many blue chip future NHL stars in Taylor Hall, Cam Fowler, Zack Kassian and Adam Henrique, among others.
Botterill is inheriting a team loaded with young stars in Jack Eichel, Samson Reinhart, Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane, Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Evan Rodrigues, Brendan Guhle, Tyler Ennis and presumably Cal Petersen, and Viktor Antipin . add in highly sight after prospects Justin Bailey, Hudson Fasching, Nick Baptiste, Alex Nylander, and others.
The Sabres have not played in the playoffs since 2011.
**
Join the Discussion:
»