Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.9

www.afootinthecrease.com

There is no denying Pat Quinn had a profound affect on the Toronto Maple Leafs during the seven years in which he led the team, both as General Manager and Head Coach. When he was fired back in April and replaced with Paul Maurice, the change was met with both positive and negative reactions from fans and media alike. Some said it was time for a change behind the bench, that players had grown tired of listening to him for seven years and that his coaching philosophies had been rendered irrelevant in the new NHL. Others pointed out how ludicrous it was to let a Head Coach with the reputation of Pat Quinn go after years of successfully guiding the Maple Leafs deep into the playoffs, failing only once to do so last season, a year in which upper management severely misjudged the way the “New NHL” would play out.

It can be argued Quinn had a great eye for talent. In 1996 as the GM of the Vancouver Canucks, he acquired the little known Markus Naslund. He didn’t turn out to be too bad. Now after his departure from the Leafs, the prospects he drafted are beginning to blossom now despite the Leafs having received years of criticism of their apparent ineptness at the NHL entry draft. However, through the first sixteen games of this season, it appears a change behind the bench was the right decision to make.

The Leafs have won games this season they simply would not have won if Pat Quinn was still behind the bench. Maurice has demonstrated an ability to make in-game adjustments, be it through shortening his bench, getting his big guns out for a few extra shifts, or getting the checking line out in an important situation. Quinn would rarely make in-game adjustments. He would show loyalty to his players but sometimes loyalty doesn’t win games. In Tampa, Maurice got his guns out early and often to start the third. After taking the lead, he assembled two shut down lines and shelved offensive players like Wellwood and O’Neill in favour of the defensively conscious Chad Kilger and Nik Antropov. Feelings could have been hurt but isn’t winning hockey games most important. Hey all that was just rigmarole.