08-08-2005, 04:13 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Coyotes Name Wayne Gretzky as Head Coach
GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Phoenix Coyotes Chairman and Governor Steve Ellman announced today that Wayne Gretzky has agreed to a new multi-year contract to serve as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, in addition to continuing his role as managing partner of hockey operations.
“We are thrilled that Wayne will assume the role as head coach,” said Ellman. “Wayne is the greatest player to have ever played the game. He is an icon to our sport. It will be an honor for us to see him assume control of our hockey club at the bench level. “Wayne’s vast knowledge of the game, combined with his keen insight and ability to deal with players will serve him very well in this new role. Needless to say, we are very excited about our future with ‘The Great One’ as head coach.” Gretzky -- the greatest player in the history of hockey -- enters his first season as an NHL head coach. In addition to serving as the Coyotes’ head coach, Gretzky also continues as managing partner and alternate governor for the Coyotes, a role that he has performed for the previous four seasons. Gretzky officially joined the franchise on Feb. 15, 2001, when the Ellman and Moyes ownership group completed the purchase of the Coyotes. “I’m really excited about this opportunity and challenge,” said Gretzky. “I know the game, I love the game and I can’t wait to get started. I’m ready to take things on 100 percent and enjoy this new experience.” Gretzky, 43, played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League with Edmonton, Los Angeles, St. Louis and the New York Rangers, dominating the game unlike any player in history. Gretzky helped win four Stanley Cup Championships and three Canada Cup tournament titles during his illustrious playing career. He became the NHL’s all-time leading goal, assist and point producer for both regular season and playoffs. Gretzky won 10 Art Ross Trophies as the NHL’s leading scorer, nine Hart Trophies as the League’s MVP (including eight consecutive seasons) and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. He earned five Lady Byng Trophies as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player and made 18 consecutive All-Star Game appearances, securing three All-Star MVP Awards. Gretzky is an eight-time First All-Star Team member and seven-time Second All-Star Team member. He holds virtually every offensive record in the NHL and his tireless support of the game has contributed significantly to the popularity it enjoys today. Gretzky’s incredible success in hockey has continued past his playing career. In a managerial role with Team Canada, Gretzky served as Executive Director for Team Canada, responsible for assembling Canada’s best hockey players at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and again in 2004 at the World Cup of Hockey. Under Gretzky’s leadership, Team Canada persevered to win the Gold Medal for the first time in 50 years at the 2002 Olympics. Two years later, Team Canada repeated the feat by winning the 2004 World Cup of Hockey championship. “So many of the attributes that people have recognized in great coaches over the decades, are the same skills and qualities held by Wayne Gretzky…passion, intelligence, creativity, communication, and most importantly, a deep understanding of the correlation between ‘team’ and winning,” said Coyotes’ general manager Michael Barnett. “With all of the success that Wayne has enjoyed in his life as an athlete, an ambassador, and a corporate executive, at his very core Wayne has remained ‘a hockey guy.’ Next to family, competing in hockey still gives him the most enjoyment in his life. We welcome him to the bench with open arms.” From 1980-81 through 1987-88 with the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky averaged nearly 192 points per season over seven campaigns. Included are many record-shattering performances, such as: scoring 50 goals in his team’s first 39 games in 1981-82 and setting the all-time regular season mark with 92 goals by season’s end; a consecutive point-scoring streak of 51 games to start the 1983-84 season; setting an all-time single season scoring record for the playoffs with 47 points in 1984-85 and setting the all-time regular season mark with 215 points in 1985-86. The Oilers reached the Finals five times, capturing the Stanley Cup four times. On August 9, 1988, after helping Edmonton capture a fourth Stanley Cup and winning a second Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the biggest deals in sports history. Gretzky, along with teammates Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski, was dealt to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three future first-round draft choices and cash ($15 million). That August day would forever change the NHL landscape in the United States. Gretzky joined a Kings team that had averaged just over 10,000 fans per game in its 21-year history. With Gretzky as the star attraction, hockey became one of the hottest tickets in California. By 1991, the team would become the only franchise in Southern California to sell out every home game for an entire season. Hockey’s success in a warm-weather environment paved the way for acceptance of the sport in America’s Sun Belt, enabling hockey to prosper in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. After eight seasons in Los Angeles, Gretzky concluded his magnificent career by spending one season with the St. Louis Blues and three seasons with the New York Rangers. Upon his retirement, Gretzky held or shared 61 NHL records (40 for regular season, 15 for Stanley Cup playoffs and 6 for All-Star Game). Following his final game, the NHL bestowed on Gretzky the unique distinction of being the only player in the history of the NHL to have his jersey number retired by all member clubs. “No. 99” will never again be worn by an NHL player. On November 22, 1999 -- seven months after his retirement -- Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, becoming the tenth and final player in Hockey Hall of Fame history to have the mandatory three-year waiting period for enshrinement waived by the Hall’s board of directors. Included among his many accomplishments are: recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy (recognizing his outstanding contribution to hockey in the United States); named the fifth greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN’s SportsCentury’s distinguished 48-person panel (preceded only by Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown); named the greatest player in NHL history by The Hockey News’ committee of 50 hockey experts; and received the Olympic Order (the highest honor bestowed by the International Olympic Committee for “outstanding contributions to the game of hockey”) in 2002. Most recently, in September 2005, Gretzky guided Canada to a silver medal at the World Cup of Hockey. In 2006, once again he will manage Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. |
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
08-08-2005, 04:15 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Gretzky Names Tocchet, Smith and Bowness as Associate Coaches
GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Michael Barnett announced today that the Coyotes have signed Rick Tocchet, Barry Smith and Rick Bowness to multi-year contracts as associate coaches for head coach Wayne Gretzky’s staff.
“I am very pleased to name these three qualified hockey men to serve as our associate coaches,” said Gretzky. “I’m ecstatic to have this staff and I’m confident that we will be successful as a group.” Said Barnett: “The only certain formula for winning in this game is to adhere to the importance of a ‘team’ philosophy. That must first start with your coaching staff and then be ingrained into your players. We feel today that we have assembled a group of associate coaches, all hand-picked to work alongside Wayne, whose prior successes in hockey speaks for themselves. I hope that our fans are as excited about this group as the coaches are themselves to get started.” The 41-year-old Tocchet rejoins the Coyotes organization after serving one and a half seasons with the Colorado Avalanche as assistant coach. An 18-year NHL veteran, Tocchet played with six different teams including three seasons with the Coyotes from 1997 to 2000. As a Coyote, Tocchet appeared in 213 regular season games and recorded 64-66-130 and 371 penalty minutes (PIM). He also played in 13 playoff games with Phoenix and collected 6-5-11 and 33 PIM. Tocchet scored 26 goals in back-to-back seasons with the Coyotes in 1997-98 and 1998-99. His best season as a Coyote came in 1998-99 when he registered 26-30-56 and 147 PIM in 81 games. Tocchet also led the Coyotes in goals and points in the 1998 playoff series against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings when he recorded 6 goals and 8 points in 6 games. In 1,144 career NHL regular season games, Tocchet collected 440 goals, 512 assists, 952 points and 2,972 PIM with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington and Phoenix. He also played in 145 playoff games and racked up 52 goals, 60 assists, 112 points and 471 PIM. Tocchet was a Stanley Cup Champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 and appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals with Philadelphia in 1987. He appeared in four NHL All-Star Games (1989, 1990, 1991 and 1993). Tocchet is one of only two players (Pat Verbeek) in the history of the National Hockey League to eclipse both 400 goals and 2,500 penalty minutes. Entering 2005-06, Tocchet ranks 57th on the NHL’s all-time goals list (440) and T-41st on the NHL’s all-time playoff goals list (52). He also ranks 10th on the NHL’s all-time penalty minutes list (2,972) and 4th on the NHL’s all-time playoff penalty minutes list (471), trailing only Dale Hunter, Chris Nilan and Claude Lemieux. Tocchet eclipsed the 20-goal barrier 11 times in his career, including two 30-goal and three 40-goal campaigns. His best offensive season came in 1992-93 when he set career highs with 48 goals, 61 assists and 109 points in 80 games with Pittsburgh. He was originally drafted by Philadelphia in the 6th round (125th overall) of the 1983 Entry Draft out of Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). Tocchet began his NHL career with Philadelphia in 1984-85 and concluded his playing career with the Flyers in 2001-02. Midway through the following season, he joined the Avalanche as assistant coach on Jan. 15, 2003. A native of Scarborough, Ontario, Tocchet represented Team Canada at the 1990 and 1991 World Championships and played for Team Canada in the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup tournaments. Smith spent 11 seasons as an associate coach with the Detroit Red Wings. In his NHL career, he has contributed to five Stanley Cup championships: three with Detroit (1997, 1998 and 2002) and two with Pittsburgh (1991 and 1992). With Detroit, Smith worked under Scotty Bowman for 10 seasons and Dave Lewis for one season. He primarily worked with the team’s forwards in Detroit. Smith, 54, came to Detroit on July 28, 1993, after serving as an assistant at Pittsburgh for three seasons, first under the late Bob Johnson and then two seasons with Bowman as the Penguins captured two Stanley Cup titles. Smith also spent three years as an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres. He has found success at every level he has coached. In addition to his NHL success, Smith has won championships while coaching at the collegiate and international levels. Smith draws on his vast coaching experience from stops at the collegiate, international and NHL levels to instruct and motivate. Smith entered the coaching ranks in 1975 as head coach at Elmira (NY) College while earning a masters degree in education. His clubs won three Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles and twice went to the NCAA Division III Finals. Moving to Europe, Smith coached in Sweden from 1981-84 and Norway from 1984-86, serving as an assistant on the Norwegian club in the World Championships. He also scouted European prospects for the Sabres. In March of 1986, he moved to Buffalo as Bowman’s assistant. Smith worked one year under Bowman and remained in Buffalo until 1989, when he journeyed to Italy for one season to coach the Alleghe team and the Italian National Team. He joined the Penguins in 1990-91 as Johnson’s assistant and was an aide to Johnson on Team USA in the 1991 Canada Cup. The Buffalo native received a degree in physical education in 1972 from Ithaca (NY) College where he starred in hockey and football. He was elected to the school’s Hall of Fame in 1992. In the summer of 1996, Smith was selected to serve as an assistant coach for Team Sweden in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. Later that season, Smith took a temporary leave from the Red Wings to assume the head coaching duties with Malmo of the Swedish Elite League, yet returned in time for Detroit’s successful playoff run in the Spring of 1997. As a credit to his international reputation, Smith was selected to be an assistant coach for Sweden’s national team at the 1998 Olympic Games held in Nagano, Japan. Bowness enters his sixth season with the Coyotes organization and his 22nd season of coaching in professional hockey. Bowness has served as assistant coach for the Coyotes over the last five seasons and, he also served as head coach on an interim basis for the final two months of 2003-04. Having previously served as head coach with four NHL clubs, Bowness brings to the organization a wealth of experience and knowledge. The 50-year-old Bowness joined the Coyotes after a three-year stint with the New York Islanders coaching staff. Prior to his coaching career, he played seven seasons (1975-82) in the NHL as a right wing with Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis and Winnipeg. He played in 173 games, recording 18-37-55 and 191 penalty minutes. Bowness was originally drafted by the Atlanta Flames in the 2nd round (26th overall) of the 1975 Entry Draft. Bowness began his career in coaching with the American Hockey League’s Sherbrooke Jets as a player/coach during the 1982-83 season. He served the next four seasons (1983-84 to 1986-87) as an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Jets before returning to his hometown in 1987 as the coach and general manager of the Moncton Hawks, the Jets’ AHL developmental team. In February 1989, Bowness had his first NHL head coaching stint when he took over as interim head coach of the Jets for the final 28 games (8-17-3) of the 1988-89 season. The following season, Bowness joined the Boston Bruins organization, coaching the AHL’s Maine Mariners for two seasons before assuming the head coaching duties for the Bruins in 1991-92. Bowness coached the Bruins to a 36-32-12 record in 1991-92, his best season as a head coach. In his only year with Boston, he led the Bruins to the Prince of Wales (Eastern Conference) Finals, losing 4-0 to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Bowness was then named the first head coach of the Ottawa Senators on June 15, 1992. In three and a half seasons (1992-93 to 1995-96) with the expansion franchise, Bowness finished with a record of 39-178-18. Despite the tough times, Bowness was highly regarded for his positive style and was credited for the development of many of the Senators’ young stars. Bowness remained behind the Senators’ bench until November 20, 1995, becoming only the second coach in NHL history to head an expansion team through its first three seasons. The Moncton, New Brunswick native was then hired by the Islanders on December 30, 1995 and worked two seasons as an associate coach. Bowness took over the head coaching duties of the Islanders on January 23, 1997 and led the club to a 16-18-3 record. The following year, in his first full season as the Islanders’ head coach, he guided the team to a 22-32-9 record in 63 games before being replaced on March 11, 1998. Bowness was instrumental in the development of many of the Islanders young players. |
|
08-08-2005, 04:34 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I suppose Rick Tocchet's job will be offsetting Gretzky's pussified views on fighting and team grit. But then again the Coyotes have no grit, so i'm not too sure what his responsibilities will be
 Now this is probably a very good move from a Gary Bettman, NHL P.R. standpoint, but from a Coyotes fan standpoint, this is probably the equivalent of a public funeral for the thought of ever seeing a legit, pure enforcer lacing up the skates for Phoenix. Sad...but true. I'm sorry for your loss, Hordibrusk 
|
|
08-08-2005, 04:44 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
I don't think Gretzky will be anything more than a motivational speaker for the team, I wonder who's going to be the tactician?
__________________
don't you ever stand for that sorta things, if someone tries to kill you, you kill them right back! |
|
08-08-2005, 06:03 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
 I feel bad for Tocchet. He is the only one with a sack behind the bench. Hopefully he can influence Gretzky and company to get some toughness. |
|
08-08-2005, 06:15 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Great players rarely make even good head coaches. Ted Williams offers an excellent example in baseball. The players can never live up to what the great-player-turned-coach could do, and the frustration builds.
We've all noticed how many fighters become head coaches. They had a lot of time to watch and study the game from the bench while waiting for their shifts, for one thing. Most great coaches were average players or less. Great PR move for the Coyotes and the league, but only in the short term. When it's clearly not working, I hope Gretzky can pull himself out of the situation as he did when his playing days ended- gracefully. |
|
08-08-2005, 06:17 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
08-08-2005, 07:43 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
I have no doubt that Gretzky will make a fine coach...and he has a pretty good group of young players who will respect him and respond to him to work with. However he will never come close to be half as successful as a coach as he was a player....that is just something he is going to have to be okay with, and the fans + media will have to learn to live with. |
|
08-08-2005, 08:55 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Gretzky: "You there... stop fooling around! Deke through two defenders and go five-hole while falling backwards, being tripped and standing on one leg." Shlub: "You effin' what?" Gretzky: "Well I could do it..." |
|
08-08-2005, 09:58 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
The trick for Gretz will be to be able to relate to his players. That was the thing Ted Williams and Pete Rose failed to do as baseball managers. |
|
08-09-2005, 10:38 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
08-09-2005, 05:49 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
|
08-10-2005, 07:43 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Yeah, I saw that feature on SI.com, but I wouldnt call Frank Robinson a great manager given his record, but I do understand he was stuck in Montreal.
__________________
"We take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor." Bobby Clarke. |
 |
«
Previous Thread
|
Next Thread
»
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
Linear Mode
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:41 PM.
FAQ | RSS feeds | Twitter | Facebook | Link to us | Privacy policy | Contact
Any information taken from this site and used on another website or other media must credit hockeyfights.com.
© 2013 hockeyfights.com. All rights reserved.
site by SingerNet
Any information taken from this site and used on another website or other media must credit hockeyfights.com.
© 2013 hockeyfights.com. All rights reserved.
site by SingerNet
