First, I have to say that I absolutely love Jay and Dan from
But you know who isn't a fan? Regis Philbin. He was on one of the sports channel's segments this morning, and had a few things to say to the Canadian duo:
Not sure if trolling, or just mad. Why you heff to be mad, Regis? Either way, this definitely made me laugh.
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Second, I'll give a quick shout-out to Team Canada at the Little League World Series. They were eliminated earlier today after losing to Panama. It got kinda ugly, lasting only 4 innings in a 12-0 blowout. The Canadians leave the tournament with a 1-2 record.
Despite the blowouts to both Panama and Taiwan in the first game, they played hard and deserved to represent our country on the world stage. Expectations, as usual, weren't very high on our team, but we were well represented nonetheless. Congrats to the remaining teams and good luck for the rest of the tournament.
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Third, I created a couple of new concepts that I'd like to share.
This first one is of the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Named after famous wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart. He also founded and part-owned the team. Like his wrestling outfit, the Hitmen's original jersey made black and pink badass, something almost impossible in the world of sports. Since then, the team upgraded their logo and look, changing the colours along the way. Well fooey with that, I like what the Hitmen pink stood for. So I brought back the pink, kept their new cleaner logo, and gave it more Calgary flavour by giving it the Flames' style of the mid-90's.
This was made for a contest at HockeyJerseyConcepts.com. The Hawthorne, California police department wanted to set up a youth hockey organization that would give the sport of hockey to youth that cannot afford to be in sports or activities. They got an equipment grant from the NHLPA, and wanted an artist to design their jerseys to show city spirit, pride of the police force, and to be a "badass" cool jersey for these kids to wear. I'm all for that. So I created the logo using a police badge outline, stars, sticks, and wings to give this jersey a unique flair of pride. I kept the main colour a "police blue", while adding light blue, black, and white. I also gave them the Anaheim Ducks' jersey style because, well its just that cool of a jersey, but deserved to be in better colours. I mean, double blue, thats the best colour combination a jersey could have!
Besides maybe black and pink ;)
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So finally to what I wanted to talk about, which is the question:
Who won the game of Musical Coaches?
This off-season had a lot of coaches fired, hired, moved, traded, etc. Which team got the best deal out of it?
Buffalo Sabres:
Fired: Lindy Ruff
Hired: Ron Rolston
Lindy Ruff in my mind is a legendary coach, but his time in Buffalo was over when players stopped listening to his messages. That tends to happen to any coach, good and bad, at some point. Unless you're Barry Trotz apparently. His replacement, Ron Rolston, has a ton of NCAA coaching experience, but only 2 years experience coaching in the AHL. He was signed during last season in Buffalo, and had a .565 winning percentage, not a bad start at all. Still, his inexperience is going to be the downfall of a struggling Sabres franchise for a few seasons yet.
Dallas Stars:
Fired: Glen Gulutzan
Hired: Lindy Ruff
Interestingly enough, Ruff landed with the team that effectively stole a Stanley Cup away from him in 1999. A veteran, no-nonsense coach that can lead a young group of players (and possibly straighten Seguin out for good) to great heights.
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Fired: Guy Boucher
Hired: Jon Cooper
I never really liked Boucher as a coach. His style really didn't jive with the roster he had, who (besides goaltending) should have been a highly competitive team during his tenure. He is replaced by Jon Cooper, an inexperienced coach in the NHL, but has had wild success in the AHL for the few seasons he's been there, winning the Calder Cup in his 2nd season in Norfolk, then the following year leading Syracuse to the best record in the league until he was hired by Tampa Bay. Despite his success, his leash will be short, given the expectations of this team.
Vancouver Canucks:
Fired: Alain Vigneault
Hired: John Tortorella
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I don't like the sounds of this. I love Tortz as a coach, but his hard-nose, physical style of play, along with the short leashes he gives to younger players, will not fit well with the Canucks, unless he has a total change of heart when he's there. AV is a great coach, but his message wasn't getting across to the Canuck players, and he couldn't spark them to playoff success.
New York Rangers:
Fired: John Tortorella
Hired: Alain Vigneault
To complete the coaching trade, we have AV replacing Tortz in New York. Unlike Vancouver's situation, I'm really excited to see what Vigneault can do with a dependable cast in NY.
Edmonton Oilers:
Fired: Ralph Kruger
Hired: Dallas Eakins
Kruger was a smart, savvy veteran coach, but couldn't adapt to the NHL game from his home in the Swiss league. Eakins is getting his first stint as an NHL coach in Edmonton, and has been coaching the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, with reasonable success. His style will benefit Edmonton, but lack of experience will hinder this young team.
Colorado Avalanche:
Fired: Joe Sacco
Hired: Patrick Roy
This is my favourite coaching hire since Anaheim nabbed Boudreau. Sacco's coaching record has been mediocre at best, barely making the playoffs once out of 4 seasons. Patrick Roy was brought in to single-handedly reform the team, being head coach and head decision maker in Colorado. He ran the whole show in Quebec in the QMJHL, winning the Memorial Cup in his rookie year and keeping Quebec a dominant team since. His experience will no doubtedly be questioned, as will his antics. But he's the kind of guy that can fire up a young team like Colorado and get them playing full-hearted hockey, and thats something the league seems to be missing right now.
So who do you think won the off-season for coaches? My say would be New York, but potentially Colorado. Anyway, let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!
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