OMG67
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2013
- 10,760
- 6,930
You are right about the financial part of it all. But you can't really use the Kitchener Rangers as a good example. I've been following this team for decades. Only once since 1985 have they gone out and used money to hire the best guy available. That would be when they brought in Peter DeBoer in 2001. Otherwise, each and every head coach hiring was done the cheap way - promotion of an assistant who was just happy to have the job while not truly considering more worthy candidates/applicants from outside the organization.
(Some may point to the hiring of Steve Spott as a little bit of an exception. He may have been the best man available but just so happened to be our assistant coach at the time).
Were some of these assistants worthy of a head-coaching position? Some were but many were not. Perhaps the Rangers use their finances to hire the best available assistant coach. That person may be an aspiring head coach who accepts an assistant coaches job knowing that there is a very good chance down the road they will be given an opportunity to be the head coach.
Good point. I did consider DeBoer and I may have even mentioned him specifically. I believe when they did hire him he was the highest paid int he league. Spot was clearly the best candidate for the job when he was hired. He was DeBoer’s assistant for four years in Plymouth and then his assistant while in Kitchener until he left.
Those two guys covered off over 10 years of coaching duties and both were paid handsomely. If we are considering the formative years of this new approach to hockey organizations, I would suggest that these two covered off the most important time frame.
Kitchener has gone through a few guys since Spott left. Mostly ex-players. VanRyn was the head coach for one year but left to take over the reigns in the AHL for Phoenix. So he left for an upgrade. The jury is out on McKee since he only has one year in but by all accounts he has done well.
There is something to be said about hiring your assistants for the purpose of development. That is the way it should be done. Stronger organizations pay their assistants very well for that specific purpose. Ottawa did that for years in preparation for Kilrea to depart. Unfortunately, none of them worked out well! Peter Lee lasted one season before Killer came back to take over because of the poor results. Vince MAllette was supposed tot age over but ended up in Peterborough where he didn’t fair well. Chris Byrne took over for Killer and didn’t fair well. So, the 67’s went back to the drawing board and hired outside the last two times. Jeff Brown was good but he had issues I guess. Now we have Tourigny. He has done OK but it is still early to tell.
Point being that you can do it either way but I don’t believe Kitchener did it the cheap way. They may have spent their money prudently the last four years but it doesn’t mean they cheaped out.