Report: Gretzky to Coach Coyotes

[ALinChainz]

May 10, 2005

PHOENIX (CP) - Wayne Gretzky is poised to take over as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, according to a report in Arizona's East Valley Tribune newspaper.

Citing "well-placed NHL sources," the Tribune says Gretzky and the Coyotes have all but agreed in principle on a new three-year contract extension. Gretzky is part-owner of the NHL club. The formal announcement is expected this week, the Tribune said.

The report also says Rick Bowness, interim head coach at the end of the 2003-04 season, will resume his former role as an assistant coach. The second assistant spot is expected to filled by former Coyote Rick Tocchet but likely won't be filled until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, the Tribune said.

Bowness stepped in as the interim coach when the Coyotes fired Bob Francis on Feb. 24, 2004.

Gretzky said last month he would be reluctant to take over as head coach if the NHL decides to open next season with replacement players.


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[ALinChainz]

May 10, 2005

PHOENIX (AP) -- Wayne Gretzky is still in talks to become coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, but no decision is close, the team said Tuesday.

``No deal or announcement is imminent ...,'' Coyotes spokesman Rich Nairn said.

A report in the East Valley Tribune said Gretzky and owner Steve Ellman were close to agreement on a three-year contract extension that would make Gretzky the team's new head coach. The Tribune cited NHL sources and said an announcement would be made this week.

Gretzky, the NHL's career scoring leader and the Coyotes' managing partner, is in the final year of a five-year contract with the team.

Gretzky decided in March not to direct two-time defending champion Canada at this week's world championships in Austria because of his mother's battle with lung cancer.

An immediate coaching decision is not needed because the NHL and the players' association still haven't worked out a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout that forced the cancellation of last season.

The newspaper also reported that Rick Bowness, who finished the 2003-04 season as interim head coach, would return to his former role as an assistant coach. Bowness was given the top job when the Coyotes fired Bob Francis.



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[Va Beach VH Fan]

Bad move Wayne, IMO.....

Stay in the luxury box, your input is much more valuable as an owner...

[ALinChainz]

They are now saying nothing is imminent ... no deal in place ... and they will have to have ther labor situation straightened out as he won't coach replacement players.

Funny to refer to it as "labor".

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Hmmm, this may come to fruition after all...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp...49&hubName=nhl

Report: Gretzky agrees to coach Coyotes

TSN.ca Staff with Arizona Republic files

8/7/2005 4:40:15 PM

The Arizona Republic reports that Wayne Gretzky has decided to coach the Phoenix Coyotes

Gretzky, the team's managing partner, is expected to be announced as coach Monday, NHL sources told the paper.

The Republic also reports that former Detroit Red Wings associate coach Barry Smith will be named one of Gretzky's two assistants.

Former Coyotes player Rick Tocchet or interim head coach Rick Bowness will be Gretzky's other assistant, according to the report.

The NHL's all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer had tentatively agreed to the post, but opted to wait until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place before officially deciding whether to take on the coaching job.

Rumours of Gretzky going behind the bench have been nothing new, with general manager Mike Barnett publically addressing the issue as recently as last month.

Barnett brushed aside suggestions in July that Gretzky might coach only home games to minimize his travel obligations.

"Anyone that knows Wayne Gretzky knows that if he would take on this role, he would take it on with the same voracious approach that every other of the 29 head coaches in the National Hockey League do - full-time and very committed to it," Barnett said at the time.

The Great One would take the post from interim head coach Rick Bowness, who was hired after the team let go of Bob Francis in February of 2004. The Coyotes currently have 20 players under contract - more than any other NHL team.

A nine-time Hart Trophy winner, Gretzky is league's all-time leader with 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points in his 21-year career. He has been the Coyotes' managing partner since 2000.

More to follow.

[POJO_Risin]

There's no way he'll be able to do this job...

of course...he's fucking succeeded in everything else he's done...motherfucker...

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by POJO_Risin
There's no way he'll be able to do this job...

of course...he's fucking succeeded in everything else he's done...motherfucker...

Not really.

As part owner of the Coyotes, that franchise hasn't certainly taken off, now have they?

Now, he's going to try his hand at coaching the team. If you ask me, he's desperately try to save face with this move. He knows the Coyotes have been a shit team for some time and now he's doing what some GMs, owners alike have done in the past, go behind the bench himself.

Should be interesting and weird to actually see him behind the bench and coach.

IMO, I don't think he should coach. Aside from being a player, the coach is the next person to have that much exposure and pressure to do well and win games.

Its not an easy job.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Well, I think in this new CBA world, it's gonna be much easier to make a bad team a good team...

[[ See: Penguins, Pittsburgh ]]

Now, granted, the Penguins played this one beautifully.... They offloaded their big contract bubbas (Straka, Kovalev, Lang, Jagr) before the expiration of the last CBA....

Now, the new CBA hits (and one lucky ping pong ball) later, and all of a sudden the Penguins have cash to burn....

So, not to turn this into a Penguins thread, but my point is that if the Coyotes are smart, it won't be that hard to turn it around....

[Romeo Delight]

Announcing the Wayner as coach and the reinstatement of Bert CANNOT be a coincidence.

I think Wayne wanted to remain low-key for true hockey markets, and thought it would be useful to distract in other "less knowledgable" markets.

Without a doubt a PR strategy by Bettman!

[Bob_R]

Coyotes officially name Gretzky coach


The Great One isn't promising great things right away from the Phoenix Coyotes. Merely contending for the Stanley Cup would be fine for a start.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is introduced as the new Phoenix Coyotes head coach. The NHL's career leader in goals, assists and points is thrilled to be back in the locker room.

"There's no perfect coach in the world," Wayne Gretzky said Monday at his introduction as the new coach of the Coyotes. "Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you're sound you eliminate as many mistakes as possible."
Gretzky downplayed his importance to the NHL as it emerges from the lockout. Others magnified it.

"It's great for hockey, especially in the U.S., because we have other games that we're watching," said Barry Smith, one of three associate coaches Gretzky picked for his staff. "You know, once he gets coaching, the pride that he has, so every place we go something's going to happen. I feel that every city we go to play, there's a little more pizazz."

Gretzky's presence should help revive the sport, co-owner Steve Ellman said.

"It's huge. Fans around the world will tune in to watch Gretzky coach," he said.

Ellman said the team didn't have enough people to answer calls early Monday regarding season-ticket renewals.

Gretzky, a minority owner and the team's managing partner for hockey operations, was in the final year of a five-year contract. Ellman said that was extended in an open-ended agreement.

The 44-year-old Gretzky had wrestled with the idea of coaching since June 2004, when Coyotes general manager Mike Barnett, his former agent, brought up the subject. The Coyotes fired coach Bob Francis in February 2004, and Rick Bowness finished the pre-lockout season as interim coach.

But the most prolific scorer the game has ever known spent months agonizing about whether the job would allow him time to focus on his family, including his cancer-stricken mother in Ontario, two sons in youth baseball and his daughter Paulina's budding career as an entertainer.

"We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle," Gretzky said.

He said he finalized his decision Saturday night, calling his parents first, then Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and Ellman, who was traveling in Italy.

Gretzky, a nine-time league MVP, said he has long felt he was the best person to lead the team. He kept his own counsel except for Nicholson's assurance that he should be able to function as Team Canada's executive director in an Olympic year as well as an NHL coach - and encouragement from the NBA's Pat Riley.

Riley, the president of the Miami Heat and former coach of the Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers, told him coaching was exciting "and that I would probably love it."

"Wayne has always been a tremendous competitor, with great instincts and a unique feel for the game," said New York Rangers GM Glen Sather, who coached Gretzky on four Stanley Cup-winning Edmonton teams. "I think that all of these qualities give him a great opportunity to be a successful coach."

Smith, a former Detroit assistant, former Coyotes player Rick Tocchet and Bowness all were given associate-coach titles. Smith said they hadn't had time to sort through their assignments with Gretzky.

Gretzky proved that NHL franchises could succeed in warm-weather cities after the Edmonton Oilers traded him to the Los Angeles Kings in August 1988.

And, he has been a savior to Phoenix hockey before. The franchise was tottering amid reports that it might be sold and moved, but Gretzky threw his influence behind Ellman five years ago.

Gretzky, Ellman and Jerry Moyes - now the majority owner - acquired the club on Feb. 15, 2001, with a promise to keep the team in Arizona.

Since Gretzky's arrival on the Phoenix sports scene, the Coyotes have moved into a new $220 million, 18,000-seat arena and adopted a new logo and redesigned uniforms. They opened the Glendale Arena in December 2003 and have yet to play a full season there or even a season opener.

The coaching job was available because Bob Francis was fired on Feb. 24, 2004, and Bowness filled in for the remainder of the season.

Gretzky retired in 1999 after 20 seasons in the NHL. He helped the Edmonton Oilers win four Stanley Cups and set 61 NHL records, including career goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857).

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by EVH FANATIC

"It's great for hockey, especially in the U.S., because we have other games that we're watching," said Barry Smith, one of three associate coaches Gretzky picked for his staff. "You know, once he gets coaching, the pride that he has, so every place we go something's going to happen. I feel that every city we go to play, there's a little more pizazz."

"It's huge. Fans around the world will tune in to watch Gretzky coach," he said.

There you go. That pretty much confirms my opinion on why Gretzky chose to coach the team in the first place.

The Coyotes are desperately trying to boost their exposure and bring more people to the games.

And what better way to do than to have Gretzky at ice level, of course not as a player since he's retired, but as a coach.

Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

Of all people, Gretz should realize that hockey has no place in a fucking desert.