Glen Sather, we're told, had a preliminary discussion - if not a formal interview - with former Carolina coach Paul Maurice before scooting over to Prague on Wednesday. Maurice is sharpening his No. 2 pencils in anticipation of completing Sather's questionnaire.
Mike Keenan, apparently not a candidate for the Rangers job, is, according to a well-placed source, a serious contender to replace Jacques Martinin Ottawa. We're told that there's strong sentiment among the hierarchy that Iron Mike's brand of shock treatment is exactly what the Senators require following Martin's placid regime. A goaltender who can make a big Game 7 save wouldn't hurt, either.
A year ago, Mike Babcock introduced the utterly obnoxious term "greasy hockey" into the NHL lexicon. Now, it's the Anaheim coach whose skids are being greased. While Babcock, who took over Team Canada when Joel Quenneville had to step down for medical reasons, is more likely than not to keep his job through the summer, GM Bryan Murray has made it clear to confidants that he believes the Mighty Ducks badly underachieved this year with a better roster than the one that went to the 2003 Finals. Babcock, a micro-manager who rarely gives his players a chance to breathe, is on notice.
While Pierre Lacroix is more likely than not to turn to a veteran coach upon Tony Granato's expected dismissal - Quenneville and Martin, both of whom were Avalanche assistant coaches under Marc Crawford, lead the list - current assistant Rick Tocchet is believed a strong candidate in Colorado . . . And while there's much speculation that Martin will wind up behind the Phoenix bench, we're told that junior coach Marc Habscheid, a one-time Edmonton teammate of Wayne Gretzky's, is the front-runner.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05022004/sports/20019.htm
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Play hard, shake hands, drink beer.
"LA needs two hockey teams like Switzerland needs two navies" -- Norman Chad (from "My 10-Point Plan to Save Gary Bettman from Himself")
"Playoff hockey is the best two months in team sports . . . period."
-- Mitch Albom
