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Crow Vultured Los Angeles (June 12, 2008) -- When the Los Angeles Kings cut Coach Marc Crawford loose after two bad seasons it proved one thing: GM Dean Lombardi is one of the savviest executives in the league. You might ask, ‘given the team’s performance since he’s been installed as the top dog, what makes you say that?”
Is it because he finally banged out a coach who was 25 games under .500 and should really been whacked six months ago? Nah. Is it because he cleared the way for a Paul Maurice or John Tortorella or a hot assistant who is still on the market? Uh uh. Could it possibly be because Crawford, although a Stanley Cup winning coach, was universally disliked by his team? Um, Scotty Bowman and Glen Sather weren’t loved either. No, the reason that Lombardi is as sly as they come is that he did the deed on a day where he couldn’t possibly get LESS media coverage to admit a major mistake in his regime. The announcement came just four hours before the start of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the first game in Los Angeles. Only if Lombardi chose to make the announcement on the night of the Academy Awards would a coaching change for the 29th ranked NHL team get less attention. News of the coaching change may finally hit the LA Times sometime in July given the Kings’ status on the Los Angeles sports universe. Media maneuvering aside, it was a move that was six months late. If you observed the Kings play over the past two seasons, they reverted between poor defensive play and lack of motivation most nights. Despite the development of some young offensive talent, their lack of their ability to bring a 60 minute effort and the coaching staff inability to deploy an effective defensive system and penalty kill were the primary factors in Crawford’s dismissal. Though Crawford won consistently in Colorado and Vancouver, it would seem now that he couldn’t have done so without a world class netminder in place. When a coach has Patrick Roy between the pipes (as Crawford did in Colorado) they really don’t need to have a defensive system in place. Even Lombardi admits the team was dead just three months into the season, “although I didn't think we were world-beaters, I also didn't think we should have been out of it in January," he conveyed on Tuesday’s conference call. "I thought we were off the (playoff) map way too soon. We were better down the stretch but those games ... are hard to judge." Indeed, the expectations at the start of the season were that Los Angeles could challenge for a spot in the 6-7-8 scrum that is the annual Western Conference playoff race. And while you can point at Crawford’s inability to deploy a defensive system and his inability to get through to a younger team has major factors in his ultimate failure, the man who cut the chord has as much to do with it as the man who stood behind the bench. But when Lombardi conveyed details on next steps to fill the vacancy, it appears that an action plan wasn’t in place before the deal was done. “We haven't done any research or anything," said Lombardi Tuesday. "We know the importance of this and we're not going to hurry. If I had somebody in mind, I'd be on the phone signing them right now." Huh? You’d think they would want a coach in place before the Entry Draft but then I’m only a hockey writer. "I'm open to anything," Crawford surmised. "When you talk about experience with kids, I don't know how many of us really have experience with this generation of players. Clearly, the ability to not only deal with young players but young people, that's a two-pronged thing." Hmm, Randy Carlyle seems to get through to Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and I think Alex Ovechkin kinda likes Bruce Boudreau based on his MVP season. Getting through to younger players is also a function of the veterans in the locker room. Perry and Getzlaf have the benefit of seeing how the likes of guys named Niedermayer, Selanne and Pronger conduct themselves, ain’t no such role models in the Staples locker room and that has to be owned by the GM. When Lombardi signed on to be the President and GM two seasons ago, he went on the record stating that it takes three seasons to get a franchise righted, to build a reserve list and an infrastructure that is necessary to be a winner. “There is no salary cap with respect to coaching and management,” he proclaimed and then proceeded to bring in long tenured former GMs like Jack Ferriara, Mike O’Connell and ex-Detroit and Boston head coach Dave Lewis. Guess you could say there is safety in numbers when accepting blame; you can’t really point at one organizational move in the last two years that has benefited this team. From the trade and bad contract extension for washed up G Dan Cloutier to the $ 16 million/4 year deal given to way too soft C Michal Handzus to last-chance contracts given to Ladislav Nagy and Kyle Calder, the 2007-’08 Kings were softer than a baby’s bottom. With the rapid success of Brian Burke and the arch rival Anaheim Ducks only magnifying the glaring errors in moves made by Lombardi & Co., next season may be the last chance for this regime to prove themselves. The GM has to make this team tougher and sounder defensively, they need to find a coach that can have the respect to established veterans and nurture younger players as well. With Lombardi receiving full empowerment from management to bring a championship to LA, it’s doubtful that he had to axe Crawford to keep his job. Senior management at AEG, the group that owns the Kings, has withdrawn from the day to day responsibilities of management of the franchise, preferring to leave it to its hockey intelligence. Lombardi and his minions have run out of mulligans, they can’t afford to make any more bad decisions, either on or off ice. The optimism that came along with an accomplished GM’s arrival has dissipated into the haze of Los Angeles. One more season like the last will have the vultures circling Lombardi’s door.
2008 Western Hockey Network |
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