He didn’t call anyone’s mother this time for a health report, but it’s bound to generate nearly as much noise just as training camp starts today: Dave Feschuk reported on Steve Spott’s talk at a coaching clinic and got some scuttlebutt via unnamed coaches in attendance. The main subject was Phil Kessel, who it should be noted Feschuk has disparaged in the past (doesn’t mean this latest report is 100% untrue, it’s just history worth remembering).
We’ll leave the Kessel stuff to your own interpretation. The thing is – Feschuk can extract these quotes from a bunch of different sources, frame his own context and disregard the tone of Spott’s original story entirely, for all we know. Just note that high scoring, offensively-creative players having their own ideas on what’s best when it comes to generating offense, and having to make compromises with their coaches is not exactly novel in hockey. These conversations and disagreements happen in the player-coach relationship at the highest level of the game. In the end, as acknowledged the article itself, it seems that was the main point Spott was trying to get across, to coaches who may want to one day be in his position, about the importance of managing personality and player types at the highest level.
Update – As Randy Carlyle addressed rather effectively today:
Carlyle: “There’s a double standard in sports. Talented player have to be given the freedom to be an artist, to paint the picture.”
— Alec Brownscombe (@MapleLeafsHS) September 18, 2014
When it came to some of the tweaks these anonymous coaches told Feschuk Spott talked about: The weird thing about “don’t ever trust a forward” to cover when pinching is that they would be rewiring the defence to play more conservatively rather than cracking down on that rather crucial lack of trust due to the forwards playing irresponsibly. It seems backward. The Leafs have 15 NHL-ready forwards plus a handful of youngsters trying to figure into the mix; they can’t get the majority on board for basic support play and defensive responsibility? Having a mobile defence that can activate on the rush or on a pinch down the wall has become crucial in the modern game. Two head coaches in a row have struggled to snap this team out of a rush-reliant mentality and maybe this is an attempt to adjust to the realities of the team’s makeup; it’s just hard to see it winning, if true.
Media Day Links:
- Steve Spott addresses the controversial article from yesterday
- Steve Simmons calls out some inaccuracies in the Feschuk report about Phil Kessel and Steve Spott
- Stephane Robidas meets with the media before his first training camp as a Leaf
- Leo Komarov on preparing for the new season back in the NHL
- James van Riemsdyk speaks on eve of first on-ice training camp sessions
- Daniel Winnik meets with the media ahead of his first training camp as a Leaf
- Nazem Kadri meets with the media on the eve of the first on-ice training camp sessions
Other Thursday Links:
- Toronto Sun: Part 2 of Steve Simmons sit down with Randy Carlyle
“Kadri has to take a step. He has to become more of a pace player, a north-south player. If Kadri can get through the neutral zone with a little more pace, a little stronger, we know he can make plays. We know he can find people.” - Sportsnet: Lupul was 50/50 on future with Maple Leafs
Lupul thought the team might see some wholesale changes after last year’s collapse. - Mirtle: 5 Training Camp Battles
Bernier vs. Reimer, old school vs. new, Carlyle vs. himself, forwards 6-14, the last defenceman. - Fan 590: Kyle Dubas speaks on eve of training camp
“Randy and the coaching staff have been bouncing questions off of us at a constant rate.” - Toronto Star: Five Leafs who impressed at prospect camp
Brown, Findlay, Nylander, Bibeau, Loov. - CBS Sports: Ten teams with big questions entering the new season
Much like our piece the other day, will Randy Carlyle change is the Leafs‘ question mark.
Media Day:
Coverage gets underway at 9 a.m. David Nonis will address the media at 12 p.m. followed by Randy Carlyle.
