It's been half a day since both Dean Lombardi and Darryl Sutter were officially swept out of the Los Angeles organization -- and I'm still of two minds about it.
Actually, I've been waffling about it for months.
On one hand, the Kings
were still a well-coached team. With a few bounces and better backup goaltending, they would have made the postseason. It wouldn't have surprised me if, mostly status quo, LA rebounded in a big way next year. And I still consider both Lombardi and Sutter to be highly-intelligent hockey personnel.
On the other hand, there were legitimate questions as to whether or not Sutter was maximizing his roster's skill-set. Most Lombardi maneuvers over the last three seasons -- even the clever ones
like the Ben Bishop trade -- had bombed. And then there were the obvious, debilitating mistakes, such as failing to use a compliance buyout on Mike Richards.
So I would've been on board if they had stayed, but I get why they were fired.
Anyway, there's no place for this wishy-washiness anymore. Both Dean and Darryl are gone,
victims of the expectations their success created.
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Speaking of this success, a multiple Stanley Cup-winning coach (same team) is rarely canned within three years of his last championship. Since 1927, there have been 14 such bench bosses and only two others were dispatched so "quickly": Cecil Hart (Canadiens, 1931 last Cup, 1932 fired) and Punch Imlach (Maple Leafs, 1967 last Cup, 1969 fired).
Hart was let go in 1932,
"following an argument" with owner-general manager Leo Dandurand. By the way, the Hart Trophy is dedicated to his memory.
Imlach was also his team's general manager. He was fired for...well, depends on who you ask. But reasons ranged from too old to
overly confrontational to
selling players for his own personal financial gain.
These circumstances underscore why, historically, firing a multiple Stanley Cup-winning coach like Sutter is extraordinary.
Dumping a multiple Stanley Cup-winning general manager within three years of his last championship is even more unusual. There have been 20 such GMs and just two others were fired in this time frame: Imlach and Serge Savard (Canadiens, 1993 last Cup, 1995 fired).
Savard's situation was less complex than Imlach's, more closely resembling Lombardi's.
Montreal followed their '93 triumph with a first-round loss, then missed the postseason for the first time in 25 years. They finished off Savard by getting outscored 20-4 in four games to start 1995-96.
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Staying on this historical path, let's swiftly debunk the notion that new general manager Rob Blake is destined to fail because "good players don't make good fill in the blanks."
Cup-winning GMs Savard (1986, 1993), Bob Gainey (1999), and Milt Schmidt (1970, 1972) were Hall of Fame skaters. Bobby Clarke and Bob Pulford didn't win any titles in the role, but helmed many contenders.
It's also worth noting that Savard, Gainey, and Schmidt were all once first-timers to the position -- Savard won the Cup in three years, Gainey in seven, and Schmidt in three.
I honestly don't know how Blake will do in charge.
But the Joe Sakic comparison is just a little too easy.
Check this space later, as I'll post reaction to the Luc Robitaille/Blake press conference this afternoon.
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