Six weeks into his new life, born again hockey coach Barry Melrose looks like he's still having a pretty good time.
It doesn't really matter that the early part of his first season behind the Tampa Bay bench has had several trying moments. Or that those who criticized the Lightning for hiring Melrose after a 13-year coaching absence have already begun to fling arrows about his job performance.
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| Seventy percent of Barry Melrose's players weren't in Lightning uniforms last season. (Getty Images) |
That's actually no small matter. Tampa Bay made major changes to its roster since the end of last season, and while the team has not created the excitement some might have expected after a series of high profile moves, it has still found a way to hold its own and stay competitive early. The defense, and in particular the goaltending of Mike Smith has been remarkably strong, and the Melrose figures it is only a matter of time before an offense that includes Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal at the top stops disappointing.
So all things considered, the Lightning are in pretty decent shape at this point, having recovered from a slow start that included a tough trip to Europe, and sticking with the pack for playoff spots. No wonder Melrose was all smiles for an interview, and certainly more relaxed than someone should have been after taking only a couple of hours off.
"I'm the luckiest coach in the world," he said. "I only got docked a half a day's pay."
Melrose was joking of course, referring to the previous day when he held an animated meeting with his players after a shoddy loss to Washington. Melrose left the team after the meeting, sending the players to a practice facility to work under his assistants. It caused a minor stir in Lightning land, but Melrose said it just a way of highlighting the problem he has with some players' work ethic.
"I just ask them to come and compete, because when we do, we're an excellent club, but doing it for 20 or 40 minutes isn't acceptable," Melrose said. "It wasn't a scolding, and it wasn't to embarrass people, it was an airing from my point.
"I wanted everyone to know where I stood with them, where I see things, and who are the guys that buy into what I'm selling and the guys who need to buy in."
That's coach speak for getting players to listen to something that Melrose seemed to recall was a bit easier back in the 1990s when he coached the Los Angeles Kings and made use of the positive motivational techniques of Tony Robbins. Funny thing is Melrose assumed not much had really changed from the time he last coached the Kings in 1995.
In fact Melrose actually had come up with a standard reply when asked to compare coaching eras, saying the only real difference was that he used to have three millionaire players with the Kings and now has only three with Tampa Bay who aren't millionaires. It was supposed to be a punch line.
"Well it's a lot different now because they're trying to project by handing out money to players who are young and have only been in the league a couple of years," said 40-year-old Lightning forward Mark Recchi, now in his 20th NHL season. "I'm sure it's a lot harder on coaches." Melrose downplayed that idea, but admitted that there is a loss of leverage in dealing with players on long contracts. More important though is a player's character and whether they fit in.
"It's all about getting everyone on the same page," Melrose said.
That's been the biggest problem early in Tampa Bay where 70 percent of the players in uniform weren't there last season, and only one of the 11 defensemen who have dressed so far was part of the opening night lineup. Throw in the expectations created by the new regime and its frantic pace of changes, and it's not surprising the Lightning have had some bumps on the road early.
"I think we should be better than a .500 club, but you have players coming from so many different backgrounds because the game is more systemized than ever that you can't just jump out there with all new players and have an instant connection," general manager Brian Lawton said. "I know this is an instant gratification world, but you have to be realistic and not lose sight of the macro, which is to give this core a chance to find themselves.
"I really like our core group, but it will take time."
