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 Tortorella might not get the call
Posted: Tuesday May 25, 1999 09:48 PM
Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach John Tortorella was the first-up candidate to replace fired head coach Jim Schoenfeld, but sources say he moved back into the pack when his interview with general manager Bobby Smith didn't go well. Tortorella had been with Schoenfeld from Day One in Schoenfeld's tenure there, but set himself back when he was not overly agreeable to changing the coaching staff in an effort to inject more life into the power play and some other concerns that got Schoenfeld fired. Tortorella, who had stints as an assistant under Rick Dudley and John Muckler in Buffalo and was head coach of the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, is a good head-coaching prospect, but needs to show management he can work as part of a team. Tortorella also has had issues with the media in the past and needs to develop a more broad-based approach to that aspect of the game if he's going to land a head-coaching position. Meanwhile, Schoenfeld is likely to take at least a year off. He's had coaching stints in Buffalo, New Jersey, Washington and Phoenix and is not likely to get a head coaching job again anytime soon. Phoenix was looked upon as Schoenfeld's best chance to do something with a quality team, yet the Coyotes never got out of the first round in his tenure there and lost in the first-round this spring, blowing a three-games-to-one lead and losing a Game Seven in which he guaranteed the Coyotes would beat the St. Louis Blues. Nolan looking good for KingsInsiders maintain former coach of the year Ted Nolan is a near dead solid lock to replace the fired Larry Robinson as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. Repeated calls to Nolan's residence in Canada went unanswered, but the buzz through junior hockey circles is that Nolan and the Kings have all but come to terms whether or not he's the right man for the job. The remaining issues have to do with timing and economics. Nolan earned coach-of-the-year honors two seasons ago with the Sabres, but was fired in a front office and ownership upheaval that shook the franchise to its core. He's been working in Canada as a motivational speaker and doing some odd scouting assignments while waiting to get back to the NHL. Word on the streets is that Nolan can have one of several junior hockey jobs should the Kings deal fall apart, and that he'll be coaching somewhere next season no matter what. Is Ottawa's Dudley headed for Tampa?There's a growing buzz in the NHL that says Ottawa general manager Rick Dudley is negotiating a buyout so that he can take a similar position in Tampa. It sounds silly given that Dudley has a good, young team to work with in Ottawa and Tampa has been the league's longest running joke, but the talk has merit. For one thing, Ottawa is cash-strapped and not likely able to sign most of its better players in the years ahead. For another, Dudley is extremely close to the new Tampa ownership, the same one that employed him when he was the highly successful coach and general manager of the Detroit Vipers in the International League. Dudley does have a contract and the Senators could hold him to it, but what club wants a general manager who doesn't want to be there? If Dudley does go, look for former Sabres coach John Muckler to emerge as a candidate for the job. The current coach of the New York Rangers has a strong reputation for building teams on a budget. In addition, Muckler was Ottawa's choice for general manager when he turned the franchise down to come to Buffalo. Since then his good friend, Roy Mlakar, has become President of the Senators and would love to woo Muckler north again. Muckler was a guest of the Senators ownership and management during a playoff game in Buffalo earlier this season, an unusual position for a coach under contract to another team. Jim Kelley covers the NHL -- and the Sabres -- for the Buffalo News. His notebook appears weekly on CNNSI.com.
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