Firings, Hirings and Retirements

With the Stanley Cup finals over for almost a week now (Congrats to the Red Wings by they way), things haven't been all that quiet on the front. Teams are preparing for the entry draft in a few weeks but some things of note have happened.

Dominic Hasek Retires
What better way than to go out on top? Hasek is doing exactly that rather than coming back for another year and most likely playing second fiddle to Chris Osgood. Hasek has had a stellar career and earned his nickname “The Dominator” for a reason. In the past fifteen years he has been one of the most dominant (no pun intended) goalies along with Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. He had a long career with many accomplishments so I think he can rest easy knowing he can be proud of what he did.


Toronto hires Ron Wilson as their new coach
The Maple Leafs keeping things in hockey a secret from the media in their home town is pretty much an exercise in futility. Before Wilson even got on a plane back home to contemplate his offer it was all over the news he had been made an offer. It wasn't any surprise either he accepted. Wilson is a pretty good coach who takes a hard line stance, but isn’t that big on the media, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts in Toronto. My prediction is he will make the Leafs a better team, but how far he will take them is another matter. His playoff success has been rather limited, and he failed to take multiple talented Sharks teams beyond the second round all but once. It was pretty much the same story with the Caps before he joined San Jose. I think you will see some improvement in Toronto, just don’t expect a deep run.


Trevor Linden Retires
The long time Canuck is ready to hang them up once and for all. Joining the team in a front office capacity, Linden has had a successful career and been the heart of many Vancouver teams. While many in Vancouver will be sad to no longer see him on the ice, it was time to hang them up.


Los Angeles Kings fire head coach Marc Crawford
After two seasons of dwelling near the Western Conference basement, Kings GM Dean Lombardi fired Marc Crawford. The move wasn't totally unexpected given that the Kings failed to improve at all under him, even after Lombardi acquired multiple players in free agency. After his failure to take the Canucks very far and his failure to do anything with the Kings, I wouldn’t expect teams to be lining up for his services as a head coach. Plus, there is something to be said for a guy who thinks you can go far with Dan Cloutier in net…




San Jose Sharks hire Todd McLellan as head coach
To no surprise the Red Wings dominance of the playoffs has led to a team taking one of their own. San Jose took assistant McLellan as their head coach in hopes he can bring a successful system and better playoff attitude to the Sharks, who have perennially exited in the second round in recent years. McLellan has coached in the minors, but the Sharks are banking on what he learned from the Red Wings organization, filled with great hockey minds will translate into a winning formula for their team.



Ottawa Senators hire Craig Hartsburg as coach
Instead of going with an NHL experienced coach Brian Murray opted instead to go with a face from the junior leagues. Hartsburg foes have NHL head and assistant coaching experience, but has spent the past few years in juniors including the Canadian world junior team where he has met with success.



Panthers hire Peter DeBoer as head coach
Another team has gone for a juniors coach in DeBoer, something that isn’t totaling surprising. It seems that teams are becoming reluctant to hire an established coach who has had either limited or only regular season success. DeBoer, like Hartsburg has had an accomplished junior career, and his working with young players will come in handy when coaching a young Panthers team.