It's really inexcusable to me when a coach answers simple questions like that. It's part of his job to deal with the media and if he can't, then he is not doing his job.
I agree with you. In the hockey mecca that Toronto is, it's an absolute must that part of its coach's credentials is that a Toronto Maple Leafs coach must know how to deal with the media, and expect to deal with them on a daily basis. He has to be their friend, and not their ennemy. They'll get him fired if he doesn't find a way to get them on board. Same thing in Mtl.
I'm starting to think that Ron Wilson might not be the right guy to coach the team. Not only because he's not media friendly, but he's an old school type of coach that usually winds up losing the team when his screaming & demeaning tactics continue & come to a point when the team will stop playing for him. Mike Keenan is a classic example. Some might even say a Pat Burns. Where's Bob Hartley coaching these days? These tactics worked for Scotty Bowman in the 70's, but he also was coaching a team of superstars at the time.
Recently, former tough guy Jim Thomson was on the OTR panel & Luke Schenn's name came up for discussion. Thomson said that a player like Luke Schenn might be ruined by a coach like Wilson, who despises his players. He added that Wilson was one of the worse coaches he had ever played for & destroyed a young Oleg Tverdovski. He feared the same thing might happen to Schenn. Personally, i don't know how valid all this stuff is, but what i do know is that i'm tired of all the negativity coming from Wilson since day 1 of his hiring. He rarely will praise someone & what i don't like is the fact he's badmouthed his players to the media on an almost regular basis. This kind of stuff should be done behind closed doors.
What i'm afraid might happen is the fact some free agents might prefer staying away from a team coached by the likes of Ron Wilson. If it'd be me, i'd rather be playing for a Gabby Boudreau type....a John Anderson....Dan Byelsema....an Alain Vigneault....a Pat Quinn. A Paul Maurice type. Wilson is the total opposite of what Pat Quinn & Paul Maurice were. Coaches who were respected by their players. Coaches who often praised their players for their hard work & if you worked hard, you'd have your spot on their teams anytime. Coaches who would point out the positives that came out of a disappointing loss.
At the start of the season, the coaching staff would repeatedly point out that the Leafs would have to improve on their defensive & penalty killing. Things haven't improved much & Garnet Exelby's sporadic play makes Pavel Kubina look like Ray Bourque. Let's not even mention $4.5 million dollar man Jeff Finger, who's been benched for half the game played. I knew this was an awful signing from day 1. This was a marginal player no one had ever heard of, who was benched for the most part of the playoffs when in Colorado, which was granted a ridiculous contract by a senile Cliff Fletcher. This bum can't even play on this defence?? Astonishing!
Anyways, maybe it's time to make some changes at coaching in order to address the defensive & penalty killing issues. Stop blaming the players. Start looking at yourselves in the mirror & realize that the Keith Actons & Rob Zettlers of coaching might have to be sent packing. As for Wilson, Burke inherited his contract & has to be patient in his case. But if the team doesn't start winning from now until Christmas, maybe it's time to give someone else a chance to coach the team. His own man, not John Fergueson Jr's or Cliff Fletcher's. How about Peter Laviolette?
