It might be time for the not-so-usual suspects
by MIKE CHEN, Special to FOXSports.com
2008 NHL playoffs
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Thursday's action
Analysis
- Spector: Flyers, Stars need toughness
- TPSH: San Jose's coaching blame game
- Puck Podcast: Playoff preview
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Follow the playoffs: East | West
Mike Babcock: In Babcock's first full season as an NHL head coach, he guided the Anaheim (then Mighty) Ducks to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against New Jersey. Following two different stints in junior hockey (Moose Jaw and Spokane), Babcock fought his way through the system during two years with the AHL Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. With a new management regime coming into Anaheim, Babcock moved on to Detroit after the lockout, posting an astonishing 162-56-28 record with a Red Wings team that many people had counted out.
Dave Tippett: Replacing someone like Ken Hitchcock is no easy task, but Tippett has finally silenced the naysayers that have plagued him, even during this season's rough start. Like his peers, Tippett earned his chops coaching in the now-defunct IHL, where he took the Houston Aeros to the 1999 Turner Cup championship. After a few seasons as an assistant coach with the LA Kings (during the glory years of, um, Jason Allison and Ziggy Palffy), Tippett was given an opportunity to take the reins in Dallas. Despite having a team in transition, Tippett's disciplined style turned out playoff appearances in each of his years behind the bench.
Michel Therrien: This is Therrien's second go-around in the NHL. Prior to his coaching debut with Montreal in 2000, Therrien was behind the bench in the QMJHL. His promotion to the Habs produced a respectable non-playoff record his first year, then a strong second season that included a first-round upset against the Boston Bruins. Fired in 2003, Therrien took his time to refine his coaching game with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Coming out of the lockout, Therrien wasn't the first choice in Pittsburgh; Mario Lemieux's buddy Ed Olczyk was at the controls until December 2005 when Therrien took over.
John Stevens: Stevens is relatively new to the NHL, having become Ken Hitchcock's assistant at the start of the 2006 season after a long and successful run with the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms. One month into his time as assistant coach, the Flyers fired Hitchcock for a disastrous start. With the Flyers, Stevens' squads have seen their share of ups (making the conference finals) and downs (two streaks of ten consecutive losses), and it hasn't come as easy as it did with the Phantoms down in the minors. Still, Stevens is on solid ground now despite rumblings earlier in the season.
So despite the longstanding notion that a team must hire a veteran coach in order to succeed, these playoffs tell us something different. In other words, the usual talk of Pat Burns, Pat Quinn, and the like may not actually be the answer. And if you look at recent NHL history, you're going to see a similar pattern to this year's group of coaches: Randy Carlyle with Anaheim (1st NHL team), Peter Laviolette with Carolina (2nd NHL team), and John Tortorella with Tampa Bay (1st NHL team).
The conference finals start Thursday, and it's really time to put aside talk of coaching changes while we enjoy the games. But if you're already debating who you want your team to hire as a new coach, just take a look behind the bench of these final four teams. The answer may not be as obvious as you think.
Mike Chen offers random musings and occasional brilliant insight on the NHL and is joining FOXsports.com as a regular contributor this season. His contributions are a must read for hockey fans. Mike Chen's Hockey Blog
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