REESE DEPARTURE A SHOCKER
The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Thursday that, effective immediately, longtime goaltending coach Jeff Reese was no longer with the organization. The club issued a press release followed by a statement from Reese.
“It was a mutual agreement between both parties,… Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said in a team-issued statement. “Jeff was an integral part of our coaching staff for the past six seasons and we wish him well.…
The team release stated that the club would have no further comment.
In Reese's statement, the departing coach said, "I’d like to thank the Flyers organization for the opportunity to help coach the Flyers for the past six seasons. I’ve enjoyed my time here and I wish the Flyers all the success in the world. Having said that, I would appreciate if the media would respect my privacy as I will not be making any further comment."
Reese's sudden departure -- and especially the timing of the announcement -- is shocking. Widely regarded around the National Hockey League as one of the best goalie coaches in the business, Reese was especially close with Flyers starting goaltender Steve Mason. He enjoyed a strong working relationship with most of the goalies whom he coached during his time with the Flyers, ranging from personalities and styles as diverse as Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher, Michael Leighton and Rob Zepp.
Zepp, for example, has credited Reese's video work and overall strong communication skills as part of the reason why he was able to rapidly re-acclimate himself to the North American game after many years of paying the big-rink game in Europe and international hockey.
It has never been Reese's personality to call attention to himself. When praised, he would always deflect credit to the work ethic of his charges and always preferred that the focus be on the player and not the coach. Nevertheless, he had a strong work ethic and was with the goaltenders each and every step of the way. Each and every day, Reese was out on the ice well ahead of practice or a morning skate, working with one or both goaltenders. He was clearly someone who loved his work and poured his heart and soul into it.
On a personal level, Reese was always approachable. While positive-outcome focused, he was also a straight shooter who would not sugar coat the truth. If there was an area where someone needed improvement, such as tracking the puck or competing in scrambles around the net, he would be honest about it. Overall, he was protective of the goalies and focused on putting them in position to succeed.
Reese was also very detail oriented. A couple of years ago, he told me about a young goalie he was working with who had been using the wrong size stick with his previous team. Getting him to use a proper stick was an early corrective step.
Above all, Reese was a strong communicator with his goaltenders. On Jan. 30, the day after Steve Mason stopped 36 of 38 shots -- after two early goals got past him -- against the Winnipeg Jets, Mason talked at length about his postgame discussion with Reese the previous night (Reese and Mason regularly had postgame debriefings after the goalie coach watched his performance from the pressbox).
The gist of the discussion was that Mason had shown just how much he has matured as a goaltender. He showed a degree of mental toughness in that game -- as well as strong physical technique -- rather than letting the game get away from him. This was exactly the sort of game that showed the difference between Mason in his early years in Columbus and the player he has become since coming to Philadelphia.
Reese's pride in Mason was always obvious when you spoke to him. Even so, he would never take any credit for the way Mason has turned around a career that seemed endangered after experiencing a Calder Trophy winning season and then several years of frequent adversity. For Mason's part, though, the goalie was always quick to talk about how instrumental his relationship with Reese has been in his success.
A relationship between a goalie and his goaltending coach is crucial. Even so, Mason is now 26 years old and hitting the prime of his career. The mere fact of Reese's departure, no matter how abrupt, should not cause the goalie to go into a tailspin. He's been around the game long enough to know that nothing lasts forever, and things in hockey have a way of changing in a hurry.
As of now, it is impossible to determine exactly what prompted Reese's departure. It is tough to fathom what could have happened to prompt the Flyers to fire him -- or Reese to quit -- before the end of the season but especially the day before a critical game against the Bruins.
Judging solely by the results he's gotten in getting as much as possible from most of his charges with the hands they've been dealt, it is tough to believe that this was a decision primarily related to job performance. Based on how their areas of specialization have been strengths of the team, Reese and power play coach Joe Mullen would have appeared to be the most secure of the assistant coaches.
Obviously, something went awry. The timing is just too bizarre for this to be a simple amicable parting of ways. There had to have been some other impetus for this decision to come down when it did.