Will the sun shine for DeBoer?
June 16th, 2008 by FrankPeter DeBoer has been named as the Florida Panthers 10th head coach in what has appeared to be a surprise move by GM Jacques Martin. The announcement was made Friday and the official press conference was today. This was a total surprise to those of us in Florida, as this was not a name on Jacques list, that we were aware of.
DeBoer has been coaching the Kitchener Rangers the past 7 years and had guided them to 297 victories during that time, winning the Memorial Cup in 2003. He is one of 6 coaches in OHL history to win more than 500 games. He was drafted 227th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1988 entry draft. He never played in the NHL splitting 7 seasons between the OHL and IHL before becoming assistant coach of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings in 1994.
He is said to be aggressive, fiery, loud at times and a demanding coach. All attributes that Jacques Martin did not have. It is said that DeBoer will hold his players accountable, will not take any nonsense from anyone, and will expect his players to work hard every night, not just when they feel like it! His style of play is pressure with a solid forecheck and he likes his teams to play an uptempo game, but his team will be responsible defensively. Sounds like a young version of Mike Keenan, although it is said that he is a good communicator.
At first I was completely taken by surprise with this move and initially was not happy about it, and here’s why. DeBoer has been successful obviously, but he has been coaching young teens between the ages of 16 and 18 for the most part. It is fairly easy to push those types of individuals around and get the most out of them while they attempt to get to the next level. He is making a huge jump to be dealing not only with young players, but also veterans, who may not be thrilled with his ways. Not that I personally don’t like this type of coach, I do, however my concern is that if he doesn’t handle himself properly, some of the veterans will not respond well. Comments like “What have you ever done in this league” could be heard! Also, when was the last time a coach who has no NHL playing experience and no NHL or AHL or even IHL coaching experience made the successful jump to the big show? Brent Sutter is the only coach I can think of who has made the jump from juniors , however he played in the NHL, and had a pretty successful career.
I have tried to read and get as much info as I can in a short time about this man, and after reading a bit and thinking things over, I can say the following: I believe everyone deserves a chance, a break if you will. DeBoer was sought after by a few teams, and the Panthers quickly gobbled him up, after Ottawa could not come to terms with him and before LA or San Jose or anyone else took a chance on him. So with that in mind I wish him nothing but the best. However he is going to be heavily scrutinzed by how he acts and deals with this situation. He is going to be dealing with men, not boys, and his counterparts that he will be coaching against all at this point, have experience at a higher level than he did. How is he going to manage his bench, what is he going to do about philosophy, and will he buckle under pressure? Maybe, maybe not, but I can say this too, that if the Panthers do not make the playoffs this coming season, or at least season two of his tenure, we may never see DeBoer again! For that matter, Jacques Martin either.
Other questions that have to be asked are who did JM actually interview besides DeBoer? We were told he met with Paul Maurice and was going to talk with Andre Savard and Perry Pearn, but did those meetings ever take place. I can’t tell, nor do I or anyone else know if any of the other candidates were talked to like Bob Hartley, Pat Burns, or even Randy Cunneyworth who is coaching the Panthers American League team in Rochester.
Was this a cheap way out? Terms of the deal have not been disclosed other than he signed a multiyear deal, my guess 3 years at a total of 2 mil. I could be wrong, but it’s just a guess.
If JM did interview the other coaches all who have previous experience, what did he see in DeBoer that made him pull the trigger. Is he someone that JM will be able to push around himself? I don’t see Hartley or Burns taking any crap from him. I am sure that as time goes we may have the answers to these questions.
All in all DeBoer has his work cut out for him. He takes over a team with a roster of fairly young underachieving players, who need a firecracker in their rear every so often, and a team that is fragile at the end of games, and with a captain that wants to stay, and has said he wants to stay, but it is apparent that if the right deal comes along he will be traded. Each of the last 2 years before the draft the Panthers have made big deals. This year might not be any different.
Tasks that DeBoer needs to accomplish:
1) Strong start to the season.
2) Lite a fire under Nathan Horton and demand consistency out of him so he can reach his potential.
3) Lower the shots on goal.
4) Fewer last minute breakdowns.
5) Provided Olli is here, get him on his side. It seems that this is the type of coach that can get Olli to perform at his best like Keenan. If that works, Olli will step up and the Panthers will be better.
6) Make the playoffs.
What Uncle Jack has to do is get some players who will help this team mature and be better, and surround Olli with quality first line linemates. If he is a #1 center, then stop putting 4th liners with him. Plain and simple. Sign a legitimate goal scorer, or trade for one.
Don’t sign Wade Redden,he’s too expensive, go after John Michael Liles instead.
It’s going to be an interesting week with the draft coming up and then free agency starting soon. I will be anxiously waiting to see how this turns out.
If nothing else, I can feel comfortable knowing that “Little” Stephen Weiss has given his endorsement of Peter DeBoer!
Great, I feel better already!
Thanks for reading.
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