Well from that perspective I'd agree... at least in so far as taking over in Colorado. That's a very good team to sign up for right now.
Well, if I agree that he was smart for going to Colorado (and I do) how does this make him a good coach and how would this benefit us? I don't see how choosing a stacked team to go to makes him a better choice than other guys out there.
And Colorado needs the publicity (don't think that this had nothing to do with their decision as they have Sakic in the fold too) so he fits there very nicely from that perspective.
That doesn't make him a good coach though.
What makes him a good choice is how he gets his players to support him.
When he was in the Memorial Cup, he took the pressure off of his goalie and put the spotlight on him. He knew how to do it. He ended up winning against one of the people I consider one of the best player coaches who is extremely good at motivating his players.
Yea what he did was a gong show but you know what, McKinnon and Duchene will never forget how he went to battle for his team, how he didn't care about a 10k fine, he went to the mat for them. That team needed that.
That is what will separate Colorado from Edmonton in the next 2-3 years. Edmonton has had a longer pipeline of better prospects but Colorado will be more succesful.
There has never been a multi millionaire / superstar to spend 8 years in the minor league, riding busses to learn the trade. He loves the game that much, he is a student. I honestly don't see him failing as a NHL coach. The amount of time he put in studying game tapes as a rookie tells you about his character.