When the history of Brendan Shanahan’s reign as President of the Toronto Maple Leafs is written the early chapters of that history must been seen as an exercise in vacillation, uncertainty, and lousy timing in making command decisions.
Never was this more blatantly illustrated than in the unsurprising firing of Randy Carlyle (who had been coaching with his head in the guillotine ever since Shanahan fired all his assistants last summer). Instead of inspiring Carlyle to make gold out of dross instead it gave Carlyle’s players the greatest excuse in the world to tank the season—which they have done to perfection thus far.
Shanahan had a golden opportunity to clean house and begin anew. He could have fired Carlyle and GM David Nonis and hired Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma (a dynamite double-play executive coup if there ever was one); allowing them to clean the Augean stables, shake up the roster (which badly needs to be a metaphorical high colonic), and truly begin a new area with hope and potential.
Instead Shanahan resorted to pusillanimous half-measures that merely revealed his hesitancy and vacillation. Interim coach Peter Horacek (a -7 in his sole season with Florida in 2013/14) is a band-aid who doesn’t even begin to staunch the bleeding.
The real question is: who gets the job once this season is over?
Shanahan’s refusal to hire Bylsma last summer seems to indicate that either Shanahan is waiting to see if Detroit refuses to renew Mike Babcock’s coaching contract or whether Babcock himself wants to move on to a new challenge?
One might speculate that Bylsma himself is reluctant to enter the cesspool that is Toronto Maple Leafs front office politics. Considering the vacillating nature of the Leafs management, would a high-octane coach like Bylsma (or Babcock for that matter) want to risk his reputation in such a shaky milieu?
Perhaps Bylsma is hoping that Babcock will want to move on to another franchise so that he might take over as Red Wings head coach (a much better situation in terms of front office efficiency, scouting and drafting excellence, and the quality and professionalism of the Red Wings players themselves who are light years ahead of the Leafs in terms of character, leadership, team pride, and dedication to excellence).
Given the utterly inelegant way Shanahan has managed the Leafs ship of state, it would not be surprising if Shanahan fails to snag either Bylsma or Babcock and is forced to hire a lesser coach who once more fails to bring victory and light back to the eyes of the citizens of Leafs Nation.
As for Randy Carlyle, there is still a future for him as an NHL coaching. There are two possibilities which beckon alluringly. The Phoenix Coyotes are having their worst year yet under Dave Tippett and there is precious little to suggest that Dave Tippett will continue as head coach of the Coyotes once this season ends (if he isn’t fired sooner). The Coyotes will likely suffer their third consecutive failure to reach the playoffs and, considering Tippett’s low-key, gentle touch, one wonders if the Coyotes management will consider a tougher, more rigorous coach to take his place? If so then Randy Carlyle would fit the bill quite nicely because the Coyotes are a team which badly needs a literal kick in the butt.
And then there is Calgary. Although the Flames are a motion away from playoff contention, there is always the possibility that the Flames might fade during the final stretch drive and fail to reach the playoffs again. If that happens, will Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke and Flames GM Brad Treliving (a Burke hiree) both lose patience with Bob Hartley and fire him and replace him with Carlyle instead?
Bob Hartley was the selection of previous Flames GM Jay Feaster. Randy Carlyle has always been Brian Burke’s man. Twice before in 2005 and 2013 Brian Burke hired Randy Carlyle to be his head coach. Could history repeat itself again?
Stranger things have happened before in the annals of NHL coaching. Randy Carlyle’s NHL coaching career is not over yet—nor should it be.
