As expected, the Vancouver Canucks announced this morning that Willie Desjardins has been named the team's new head coach.
UPDATE: 1 P.M. - My early blog is below the break. Here are my notes and thoughts from Monday's press conference with Willie Desjardins, Jim Benning and Trevor Linden:
My first impression of Desjardins is that he has a natural warmth about him. He was a little stiff at the beginning of the press conference but relaxed as it went along, even though he was clearly uncomfortable with a few of the specific questions. He says he doesn't especially like the spotlight, but he likes coaching and likes winning and likes the market, so it's part of the package that he's willing to accept.
The three men at the podium certainly seem to form a cohesive group, at least at this point. Full marks to Linden for realizing the vision he roughed it out for us when he first took his job back in April. He is getting things done and hasn't had to compromise yet, as far as we can see.
Willie's main talking points about his coaching style are what we've been hearing: fast-paced, uptempo, hard-working etc.
He only took a sharp tone when addressing a question about the Sedins. When David Ebner from The Globe and Mail said they "used to be elite players," Desjardins quickly cut him off: "They're still elite. Sometimes you get injuries, sometimes different things. They're still elite; they're just too good."
He was non-committal about assistant coaches. Said he hadn't had a chance yet to talk to Doug Lidster or Perry Pearn, since he didn't know if he was getting the job.
Was also surprisingly non-committal about Glen Gulutzan. Said he hadn't had a chance to talk with him yet, either. "We'll figure out what he's thinking and where he's at." Doesn't sound like it's a slam dunk that Gully will necessarily stay now that Willie is here. Interesting!
Desjardins certainly speaks the hockey language with the sloppy grammar that we're used to hearing from players and coaches. Interesting to hear that he has a teaching certificate and a Master's degree in social work—a lot more post-secondary education than I realized. That's just fine: tells me that he's mentally disciplined enough to apply himself in educational settings, but still knows how to speak a language that will resonate with the players.
He seemed embarrassed that it came up, but his education makes me think he shares more traits than I realized with former lawyer Jon Cooper, who's having such a good run coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning. I like it.
I also liked that he talked about how they'll be ready for training camp. I've complained a lot about how Torts seemed like he was flying by the seat of his pants when he arrived in Vancouver last September. It feels like things will be different this time.
The other notes that stood out to me were Benning's and Linden's comments about the draft and Ryan Kesler.
Benning said he'd had "a couple of conversations" with Dale Tallon and "we'll see where they lead." He's making no bones about the fact that he wants that first pick.
A bold deal and the acquisition of Sam Reinhart fits perfectly with the how the new regime has operated so far. Strong, decisive and west coast. If there's a deal to be made, I think they'll do everything in their power to make it.
On Kesler, Linden was VERY quick to insist that there's "no timetable." "He's got the assets that we want on this team," said Trevor. Maybe just posturing, but they're sounding a bit more like they haven't given up on keeping him with the Canucks.
From that first meeting with Willie, it sounds like things will be decidedly milder off the ice this year. I'm not sure if TEAM1040 is going to be able to secure a lead sponsor for the coach's postgame press conferences like they had last year. But if this group can deliver what they're promising, there's hope that hockey could be a lot more fun in Vancouver next season.
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ORIGINAL BLOG:
For all our concern last week about Linden and company taking their time in reaching out to Desjardins, Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Canucks got down to business when it looked like Pittsburgh was about to pounce:
The Canucks were supposed to interview Scott Arniel on Monday and Desjardins on Tuesday. They changed the schedule. Pittsburgh brought Desjardins into town last Thursday, met with him and, word is, were ready to offer him the job Friday morning. I'd like to see Linden's phone records from Thursday night. Whatever the case, someone from Vancouver made a pre-emptive strike, making sure it was all but done before Pittsburgh could close.
Pittsburgh writer/broadcaster Mark Madden shines a light on what happened in Steeltown in this article.
He says that Desjardins' contract would have been two years, with a club option for a third, and that he would have been able to pick his staff—except for his top assistant, who would have been Rick Tocchet.
This report of contract term is definitely a softer version than what he originally posted when the Desjardins deal fell apart last week:
The Penguins DID offer Willie Desjardins a 3-yr deal. FOR SURE. Not 2. Three. So term should not have been a factor.
— Mark Madden (@MarkMaddenX) June 21, 2014At that time, he also said:
No coach gets offered a 2yr deal. Name 1 example of it happening. If Desjardins said Pens offered him 2, he's lying.
— Mark Madden (@MarkMaddenX) June 21, 2014Maybe not, Mark. Only two guaranteed years from a short-term GM is not exactly an ideal way to make your NHL debut.
Madden's still insisting that the Penguins are no worse off for having missed out on Willie, but the reasons for the deal falling apart seem to be exactly what we heard last Friday as Desjardins made his way west. Once again, I'll say that Pittsburgh's biggest mistake here was likely Rutherford's premature announcement on Thursday that the search was over and a deal was imminent.
The Canucks will be introducing Desjardins at a press conference today at noon. It will be broadcast, as usual, on Canucks.com. I'll be taking notes and will update the blog after our first meeting with the new boss.
Schedule Notes
If you missed it, the NHL released the entire 2014-15 schedule on Sunday.
Sportsnet also sent out a press release with some early details on what we can expect from the new broadcast schedule. Click here to read.
It's a lot of info to process, with more to come.
It looks like basically all of the Canucks' home games will be 7 p.m. starts this season—no more 5:00 games on Sundays. And no sign of the weeknight 6:00 starts that were being bandied about as possibilities at the Town Hall meeting.
I came across this link yesterday, which compares each team's travel miles over the past three seasons. The Canucks will fly less miles next season, but still have the sixth-heaviest travel burden in the league: the same as last season.