Ted Nolan's firing in Buffalo in '97

whcanuck

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May 11, 2017
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I've done a little reading on this, but I don't know all the details. Ted Nolan coached the Sabres for two years, 1995-96 and 1996-97. He and league-MVP Dominik Hasek took the overachieving Buffalo Sabres to the playoffs and came back to beat Ottawa in the 1st round and bowed out to the mighty Legion of Doom Philadelphia Flyers in the next round in 5 games.

I know there was some kind of rift between Nolan and Hasek all season, and Hasek left game 3 of the Ottawa series saying he'd hurt his knee or something like that? Then in the offseason didn't Hasek tell GM John Muckler he'd only come back if Nolan was gone or something like that?

Totally strange because you've got the Jack Adams award winner in Nolan, Muckler was executive of the year and Hasek won the Hart Trophy, all in a power struggle. Eventually only Hasek returned for '97-'98, winning his second Hart Trophy and carrying the Czech team to Olympic Gold in Nagano that same year. Lindy Ruff replaced Nolan and Darcy Regier replaced Muckler.

Can any Sabres fans or anyone with strong knowledge of the situation shed a little more light on this? I'd love to know the details about the relationship between Hasek, Nolan and Muckler. What caused it to become so strained?
 

Voight

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Feb 8, 2012
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Not a Sabres fan but I do remember hearing about the politics.

When Nolan was first fired people were generally shocked IIRC, because at the time it wasn't apparent that there were any issues between him and Hasek. Muckler got caught in the middle trying to play mediator and he ended up getting canned too.
 
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Michael Farkas

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Jun 28, 2006
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As I recall or have read since: Nolan went over Muckler's head to the owners to get some things done that he personally wanted and wasn't getting from Muckler, evidently. This rubbed Muckler the wrong way. He also rubbed some players the wrong way. Not all the players were a fan of Nolan. The fans liked him generally, though. They also didn't have to work with him.

The room divided. Lafontaine and Barnaby and some on the Nolan side...Hasek and some others (Rob Ray?) on the Muckler side.

Nolan was not fired though. He just didn't sign a contract extension. I believe he was offered a one-year deal to come back and didn't take it. I also believe he was offered jobs by other clubs immediately thereafter (including Tampa's HC position?) and didn't take that either...then claimed that everyone was out to get him.

The Hasek/Nolan feud is one that we may never get the full story on. The long standing rumor, of course, is extra-marital and let's just leave it at that. The way that it's discussed in the two proceeding decades is basically...

Nolan: "I don't know...I'm a nice guy...what could have happened?"

Hasek: "Man, F that guy...I don't want to talk about it..."

You can read what you will into those opposing sides. I don't think it's terribly appropriate to speculate but that's for moderation to dictate.

Hasek and Nolan finally shook hands not too long ago (Hasek's jersey retirement? HHOF induction? Something...) with Hasek going "time heels all wounds" and Nolan going "I don't know why anyone wouldn't like me..."

Another thing I seem to recall is that Hasek didn't like that Nolan wouldn't go to bat for and defend his players in the press and that he always had this woe is me tale about how average the team was and how he was doing the best he could. And yeah, he did a fine job, he's good at coaching defensive teams (Buffalo, Latvia, etc.) but Hasek was the bell cow, and I think Hasek - an emotional fella in his own right - took it personally.

Hasek then demanded a trade (after giving up a very soft goal to Darius Kasparaitis in overtime of game 7 at home, blowing a 3-2 series lead to a top-two-lines-and-nothing-else Penguins team) to Detroit (and only Detroit, if memory serves) and immediately wins a Stanley Cup with the greatest of ease playing on a team with, roughly, 42 HHOFers...
 

GMR

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Jul 27, 2013
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As I recall or have read since: Nolan went over Muckler's head to the owners to get some things done that he personally wanted and wasn't getting from Muckler, evidently. This rubbed Muckler the wrong way. He also rubbed some players the wrong way. Not all the players were a fan of Nolan. The fans liked him generally, though. They also didn't have to work with him.

The room divided. Lafontaine and Barnaby and some on the Nolan side...Hasek and some others (Rob Ray?) on the Muckler side.

Nolan was not fired though. He just didn't sign a contract extension. I believe he was offered a one-year deal to come back and didn't take it. I also believe he was offered jobs by other clubs immediately thereafter (including Tampa's HC position?) and didn't take that either...then claimed that everyone was out to get him.

The Hasek/Nolan feud is one that we may never get the full story on. The long standing rumor, of course, is extra-marital and let's just leave it at that. The way that it's discussed in the two proceeding decades is basically...

Nolan: "I don't know...I'm a nice guy...what could have happened?"

Hasek: "Man, F that guy...I don't want to talk about it..."

You can read what you will into those opposing sides. I don't think it's terribly appropriate to speculate but that's for moderation to dictate.

Hasek and Nolan finally shook hands not too long ago (Hasek's jersey retirement? HHOF induction? Something...) with Hasek going "time heels all wounds" and Nolan going "I don't know why anyone wouldn't like me..."

Another thing I seem to recall is that Hasek didn't like that Nolan wouldn't go to bat for and defend his players in the press and that he always had this woe is me tale about how average the team was and how he was doing the best he could. And yeah, he did a fine job, he's good at coaching defensive teams (Buffalo, Latvia, etc.) but Hasek was the bell cow, and I think Hasek - an emotional fella in his own right - took it personally.

Hasek then demanded a trade (after giving up a very soft goal to Darius Kasparaitis in overtime of game 7 at home, blowing a 3-2 series lead to a top-two-lines-and-nothing-else Penguins team) to Detroit (and only Detroit, if memory serves) and immediately wins a Stanley Cup with the greatest of ease playing on a team with, roughly, 42 HHOFers...
If only. Detroit was fortunate to get past Vancouver and was down 3-2 to Colorado. I had plenty of sleepless nights that postseason.
 

VanIslander

A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Sep 4, 2004
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Muckler was an ***.

Please don't give him a pass.

I was living in Southern Ontario for grad school 1994-1997 and was in Toronto when i heard Nolan was gone. As a Peca-as-ex-Vancouver-Canuck B.C'er myself, I proudly shunned every Leaf home game except those against the Sabres! (and two other non-division teams). I do remember:
  • Peca & Nolan rocked the Sabres (like Ottawa later, Hasek was a headache for multiple people in Buffalo);
  • Mighty Mouse shut down Michael Jordan;
  • Prince threw a wicked dance floor concert;
  • Allen Ginsberg, the beat generation poet, told me when i asked him at a lecture of his to: "do what you want, and ignore all expectations" (those words partly have defined my life since);
  • Gretzky didn't appear at his namesake restaurant the several times i'd heard and attended his 'possible' appearance.
 
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tony d

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Jun 23, 2007
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I remember that as well. Seems like there was a rift between Nolan and others with the Sabres which led to his firing. To bad because he was a good coach.
 

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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Oh yeah, good point. When I pictured the '02 run, I just went "ok, Carolina...yeah, they basically walked them...must have been easy..." *smash keys*

Yeah, really tight series with Colorado. Best known in Game 6 as the Statue of Liberty game with Roy. It wasn't easy. Heck, I'll even say that the Carolina series was the closest 5 game series from a results standpoint I can think of.

Game 1 overtime win for Carolina
Game 2 Detroit breaks a tie with 5 minutes left
Game 3 Detroit tied the game with a minute left, then win in Triple overtime
Game 4 and 5 are the only times Detroit had a bit of breathing room



As for Ted Nolan I always thought he was his own worst enemy. He was well liked, I remember Matthew Barnaby saying he was going to run Hasek in training camp - his own goalie! I remember a reporter during the 1997 playoffs suggesting to Hasek if he was faking his injury or not to which he got very upset at the thought.

Nolan should have just taken his pink slip (or did he actually not get fired but just not re-sign on his own terms?) and found another job coaching. He got a bad rap because he went over Muckler's head and GMs aren't going to line up and hire you after knowing that but he then went on this "feel sorry for me" tour. It didn't help his cause.

By the way, why on earth do I have no recollection and I mean NONE of him coaching the Sabres again from 2013-'15? Those were horrible teams, they were in the McDavid sweepstakes back then but I honestly can't remember him there. Wow, that's bad.
 

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
17,753
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Yeah, really tight series with Colorado. Best known in Game 6 as the Statue of Liberty game with Roy. It wasn't easy. Heck, I'll even say that the Carolina series was the closest 5 game series from a results standpoint I can think of.

Game 1 overtime win for Carolina
Game 2 Detroit breaks a tie with 5 minutes left
Game 3 Detroit tied the game with a minute left, then win in Triple overtime
Game 4 and 5 are the only times Detroit had a bit of breathing room



As for Ted Nolan I always thought he was his own worst enemy. He was well liked, I remember Matthew Barnaby saying he was going to run Hasek in training camp - his own goalie! I remember a reporter during the 1997 playoffs suggesting to Hasek if he was faking his injury or not to which he got very upset at the thought.

Nolan should have just taken his pink slip (or did he actually not get fired but just not re-sign on his own terms?) and found another job coaching. He got a bad rap because he went over Muckler's head and GMs aren't going to line up and hire you after knowing that but he then went on this "feel sorry for me" tour. It didn't help his cause.

By the way, why on earth do I have no recollection and I mean NONE of him coaching the Sabres again from 2013-'15? Those were horrible teams, they were in the McDavid sweepstakes back then but I honestly can't remember him there. Wow, that's bad.

Barnaby had a story or two about hasek on spittin chiclets podcast. I can't remember them but I think he described him as really weird guy.
 

quoipourquoi

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Jan 26, 2009
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I remember a reporter during the 1997 playoffs suggesting to Hasek if he was faking his injury or not to which he got very upset at the thought.

From The Chicago Tribune:

Hasek spit at Kelley's feet before attacking Kelley, saying the article was a "bunch of lies" and screaming profanities.

Hasek, who was sidelined the last two games with a sprained knee, has had several incidents of erratic behavior in recent weeks--all of which were outlined by Kelley.

Hasek trashed a locker room in Boston during the regular season and left the ice during a tantrum in warmups before Game 3. He also skipped a meeting before the third game.

An anonymous player told Sports Illustrated “Obviously something’s not been right with Dom the past month. We were concerned. We asked him what was wrong on a couple of occasions, and each time he said everything was fine.” Then when he stayed at an Ottawa player’s house after Game 3 instead of the hotel the team stayed at, that’s when the Jim Kelley article came out.

Nolan ended up getting just a one-year offer in Buffalo, despite saying how he would not take a one-year deal. And he was looking for around $750,000 and I don’t believe Buffalo was anywhere close. Same with Tampa Bay, who ended up hiring Jacques Demers at $350,000. The other offer was the assistant job for the Islanders.

More than that, the one-year extension wasn’t a starting point for negotiation; the Sabres pulled the offer days later.

What certainly didn’t help Nolan is that prior to the end of his contract, Hasek publicly stated: “I hope he won’t be here. I cannot respect him. I don’t want to play for someone I don’t respect.” So if you’re Buffalo, the lowball offer was probably the way to go, because at least then you can say you didn’t fire the Jack Adams winner; he just didn’t agree to your offer.

In retrospect, Nolan probably should have taken the Lightning or Islanders jobs just to stick around the league, but he was betting on himself while his stock was at its highest.
 
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Prsut18

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Jul 30, 2018
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In Hasek´s biography he talked about it like this (not sure if I´m 100% correct, I read it years ago, but still have the book at my parents house, so I´ll check it next time I go ther just because I´m curious):

Nolan was the type of guy who enjoyed being popular and seen as the nice guy, but that often lead to situations, when he didn´t treat everybody the same. He had his group of "favorite" players, who he treated as his belowed sons, having private meetings with them in his office etc.... one of them was Barnaby.. Hasek said Barnaby and others for example spent night before game partying hard, and Nolan knew that, but pretended like nothing happened... those situations often made older group in the lockerroom mad about Nolan and started dividing the team... Hasek (as one of the "veterans") felt he has to do something and stood up against Nolan in the lockerrom... Barnaby then privately told him something like "you should shut up next time, or I´ll "accidentaly" hurt you in the practice" ...the rest is history...

As I said, I read the book quite long time ago, but that´s what I remember from Hasek´s point of view
 

Nerowoy nora tolad

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May 9, 2018
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Barnaby had a story or two about hasek on spittin chiclets podcast. I can't remember them but I think he described him as really weird guy.

Its funny, because Ive never gotten that impression from Hasek. I honestly think hes just a typical jock who put up the weird facade, and everyone just accepted it because he was euro (already seemed a little weird to NA audiences) and it gave everyone a way of explaining his style.
 

quoipourquoi

Goaltender
Jan 26, 2009
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Hockeytown, MI
In Hasek´s biography he talked about it like this (not sure if I´m 100% correct, I read it years ago, but still have the book at my parents house, so I´ll check it next time I go ther just because I´m curious):

Nolan was the type of guy who enjoyed being popular and seen as the nice guy, but that often lead to situations, when he didn´t treat everybody the same. He had his group of "favorite" players, who he treated as his belowed sons, having private meetings with them in his office etc.... one of them was Barnaby.. Hasek said Barnaby and others for example spent night before game partying hard, and Nolan knew that, but pretended like nothing happened... those situations often made older group in the lockerroom mad about Nolan and started dividing the team... Hasek (as one of the "veterans") felt he has to do something and stood up against Nolan in the lockerrom... Barnaby then privately told him something like "you should shut up next time, or I´ll "accidentaly" hurt you in the practice" ...the rest is history...

As I said, I read the book quite long time ago, but that´s what I remember from Hasek´s point of view

Nolan definitely had a more relaxed approach; one of his concessions to Hasek was that Hasek could skip the team’s morning meetings (which is what led to the mix-up when Hasek skipped a mandatory one in the playoffs).

I don’t know that it’s a bad approach either. Don’t want to alienate your stars (which is why Nolan had to go).
 

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