Game Day: The Uncensored Life of an NHL GM is the bestselling new release from former NHL coach, general manager, team president and broadcaster Doug MacLean.
Working with author Greg Oliver, MacLean asked the question, “How is being a general manager different today than when I did it 15 years ago?”
Calling on friends and colleagues in the game, and diving into his never-ending story archive, MacLean shares just what it takes to be a GM in the NHL.
In this excerpt, courtesy of Simon & Schuster, MacLean and Oliver offer some insight into how coaches are chosen and what they actually do.
THE COACH-HIRING PROCESS
The thought process behind hiring a coach to run your hockey team is simple: Who is the best candidate for the team at this moment?
That is key, as some coaches are better at working with young players, while others seem to favor veterans or tough guys, or coddle superstars.
In Columbus, the first coach was Dave King, who was a good choice for the collection of cast-offs and youngsters on the expansion team. But there was so much more to Dave being hired.
My goal was to have the coaching staff set before the first draft. It was a very time-consuming process—I probably talked to fifteen or twenty coaches. Minnesota GM Doug Risebrough had already hired Jacques Lemaire, who had been a head coach in the NHL and had an excellent background, and Jacques and Doug were friends. I remember seeing that news and thinking, Wow, that’s a great hire. Normally, the GM goes through an intensive interview talking about systems, talking about the whole team and the player personnel with the candidate. You ask for their thoughts on the team’s defense, the forward group, the goalies, the whole organization. That wasn’t possible with an expansion team, of course, but there was always lots to talk about. You tour the facility, and you might introduce them around. The owner will want to meet them and grill them, too. I had a rink board and would hand them a dry-erase marker and say, “Talk to me about your forechecking” or “Talk to me about your defensive style of play.” I wanted to know who he was talking to as potential assistant coaches. You need to ask the tough questions, like “Tell me what happened in the last job you had.”
Some of the names up for the Blue Jackets job included Bill Barber, who had coached the Flyers, and Brian Sutter, who had played for me in St. Louis, and his brother Duane had been an assistant coach of mine in Florida.
It came down to Dave King and Dave Tippett as my two finalists. Tippett was an up-and-coming young coach with the IHL’s Houston Aeros who had a great reputation and would go on to have a strong NHL coaching career. King was well known as a Team Canada coach. He had coached in Calgary and was in the Montreal organization when the Columbus job came up.
I introduced them to Mr. McConnell, separately, and the following day I called Mr. Mac for his thoughts. “What do you think?” He said, “I’d hire Tippett.” Something about that Dave appealed to him.
For me, it was the other Dave: “I really feel we need the experienced guy, because we’re going to be an expansion team. We’re not going to be very good.” He agreed and was fine with my decision.
“We were a perfect fit for him the first year,” recalled Bob Strumm, who’d hired King when he was looking for a coach of the WHL team in Billings, Montana, giving King his first big break. Strumm, then working with me in Columbus, definitely helped me with the decision, saying that King was “a master at fitting the pieces together on his X’s and O’s board.”
Coaching candidates appear on a GM’s radar in many ways. Obviously, he will know many people from his years in hockey. Coaches usually have an agent who reaches out on their client’s behalf. Assistants want to move up. You have coaches already working for you in the minors.
It’s very common to call other GMs to hear their side of the story. When Joel Quenneville got fired in Colorado in May 2008, I called Pierre Lacroix. He said, “Oh, Doug, he’s a terrific guy. I had to fire him, but I really like him.” From those conversations to the rumors you hear, you have to take it all with a grain of salt, as everyone has an agenda. And you know the potential coach is doing the same thing, calling around to understand what makes the GM tick.
Hiring a coach is one of the key decisions you’re going to make for the team, said George McPhee. “He’s the most important guy in your organization, other than a few guys upstairs. There’s just so much that goes into being a great coach. Boy, we could talk all day about this,” he said, adding a cautionary warning. “You learn quickly that someone can be an outstanding interview, but when they get their hands on your team, they’re not as good as you hoped. Or someone is a terrible interview, but, boy, they know how to coach.”
WHAT COACHES DO
The fundamental distinction between a coach and a GM was laid out by John Davidson: “Coaches are paid to win, and they want to win today. They don’t really care about three, four, five, six months, a year or two down the road.” A GM has to think about the future.
There’s way more to being a coach than standing behind the bench and sending out lines. “I honestly have seen a lot of ex-players start to get into the coaching ranks, and then they can’t believe the hours you put in. The work ethic,” added J. D.
From game plans to watching video, it all eats into your time. Everyone wants a piece of you.
“You play so many games, and you are doing the technical package, and you’re trying to get your team prepared for the next team you’re going to play,” said Gerard Gallant. “That’s why we’ve got four and five coaches now. I mean, it’s a lot of work.”
One part of the job that often gets overlooked is organizing training camp. The GM is always asking the coach, “What do you think of inviting this guy?” about a young unsigned kid or a veteran near the end of his run. Then the coach has to keep things rolling for days, including the rookie tournaments and the exhibition games. There’s a reason the NHLPA forced the NHL to shorten training camp and have fewer exhibition games in the newest CBA—they want to start playing for real!
In that locker room, there are so many personalities to manage, from the flaky to the tuned out, from the raw rookie to the passionate veteran hanging on. Locker room leaders can lead both a team and a revolt. Curveballs happen every day.
Gallant stressed that it was important to make the GM aware of any issues. “I’d always let them know,” he said, giving an example: “ ‘In case the agent calls, I just want to let you know what happened here, and he’s not happy with his ice time.’ ” There’s no point hiding anything, he added. “That communication is really important.”
Mike Keenan originally delivered this zinger, but I’ve used it plenty of times since. He had a fourth-line player constantly coming into his office asking why he was getting so little ice time. Eventually Iron Mike snapped: “Because I don’t have a fucking fifth line—that’s why you’re on the fourth line!”