Tom: Hello again, everyone.

And welcome to the talking puck podcast.

Tom Callahan, Mr.

Michael Haynes here with you and please follow us on Twitter.

I'm at Callahan on air he's at Buster, the dog 33.

And normally you catch us on Sunday nights at nine o'clock

Eastern time on talking puck TV.

But Mike and I in the new year, getting back to doing some podcasts here.

So Mike happy new year, and it's nice to be doing some podcast.

Mike: It really is.

There's just been so much going on.

I missed, uh, you know, voicing my opinions, telling everyone, and

then figuring out that everyone else is wrong and I'm right.

You know, so I do miss that.

Tom: I'm sure your wife was really happy to have just you to talk over the break.

Mike: I don't get to do that at home.

I just knew like this.

Nice.

Tom: Nice.

So that's why that's actually why Mike wanted to do podcasts.

So, you know, it's funny, you talk about all these big things that are going on.

This is a big thing, but I feel like he got no play and I wanted to bring

this up because Todd McClellan reached the 500 win plateau that ties him for

26th all time with tau Blake, uh, and put some one behind Pat Burns that

is, I didn't think of Todd McClellan reaching 500 wins, but on, of active

coaches, uh, let's see, he is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, seventh among active coaches.

So Barry Trotz is number one at 1758, then Lindy Ruff, Peter Laviolette, Darryl

Sutter, Dave Tippett, and Bruce Boudreau.

Who's lighting it up in Vancouver right now, but, uh, I mean, tip of the

cap, first of all, to Todd McClellan.

I just, I didn't really think of that in 965 games, he gets to 500.

That's fantastic.

Mike: And he's not the guy you go.

Okay.

Yeah.

You know, tell me the top coaches in the NHL, his name for whatever reason,

doesn't immediately come to my mind.

Uh, but boy, 500 wins.

Congratulations to him and how cool to be right now tied with tau

Blake, uh, legendary Montreal coach.

So that, that is very cool.

Uh, I mean, you know, he, uh, I think, I think it's really a wonderful honor

and it, and it, you have to have, you have to be doing a lot of things, right.

The longevity to get to that point.

So what he's almost a thousand games coached in the NHL?

No other sport.

Uh, gets rid of their coaches faster than the national hockey league.

And so you've got to be doing something right in order to be

able to achieve that kind of goal.

And if you're there, if it's a thousand games, you're looking at

too I think Tom, over the course of those games, the NHL has gone through,

I think, a huge transition in how you deal with players as a coach.

And so to be able to, to kind of move in that, uh, environment and

get along with players, as times have changed, that's a real, real tip of

the cap, as you said to him, because that is boy, I think more so now.

In a lot of ways, it's harder to coach than it's ever been because

you can't just go in there and say, it's my way or the highway anymore.

And there's so much other, there's so much other things that that has

to be done in this day and age.

That there's much more media that you got to deal with in a sense.

Um, there's also a lot more.

To the actual coaching because of all the video work, uh, the more systems that

you have dealing with other issues now.

And so boy, if you can be successful, uh, , as McClellan is, has been, uh,

that, that is a real tribute to him.

Tom: It is, it really is.

And it's interesting looking at the active coaches and one guy who's not active, but

wasn't until he resigned Paul Maurice by the way, I would not have known also he

is sixth in all time wins in the NHL.

Mike: Well, he started when he was 12.

That's true.

Tom: That's true.

Yeah.

He's been at it awhile.

Mike: Well, it was funny as he started when he was 12, but he, he, even when

he resigned, he looked like he was 14.

I know he's just a young looking guy and he just started super young.

Uh, in his career and, uh, you know, but it leads me to the question

of the day then for your Tom.

Okay.

Joel Quenneville in my opinion, when the season began, uh, out of active

coaches was the best coach in the National Hockey League who was currently.

Obviously, unfortunately, uh, he is no longer coaching in the national

hockey league who now is the best.

And I'm not just talking about strictly you, you, you all are Barry Trotz got

the most amount of wins and he has a Stanley cup, but who is the best coach

right now in the national hockey?

In your opinion.

Tom: Wow.

So that's a good one.

I, and you know, I like Barry Trotz, uh, I'm always on Team

Trotz and does have his cup now.

Um, you know, and the other guys who are active right now, the ones

I rattled off earlier, um, here's, here's one guy who I think is a

controversial choice, no matter who it is.

Darryl Sutter, I think, uh, is always a guy who comes up and people tend to kind

of dismiss Sutter, but he's got two cups.

Uh, and he, you, you look at him and by the way, this is as a coach.

You look at Sutter.

And I think a lot of people are dismissive of him because, you know, he's always

making those faces and he's horrible with the media and yeah, you need to

know he's the bitter beer face guy and, and just, you know, it kind of in a

lot of ways has becoming a caricature, but I think that keeps people from

taking him as seriously as a coach.

And I think he is actually a pretty good.

Coach now is he the best active coach?

Another guy, two guys actually coming up right behind McLellan

Pete DeBoer at 492 wins.

And then you also have Jon Cooper.

Listen to listen to Jon Cooper's numbers.

404 wins in 667 games, coach.

Mike: I will say this Tom, and for those people who have listened to a you and

I for the last three years, know my little rant on this, how I think when

it comes to voting, because when we were broadcasters, we got to vote at the

end of the year for the, for the best coach in the national hockey league.

And generally the guy who would win would be somebody who took over a team

or was coaching a team that was not good.

And they had a big change, which obviously is as good

indication of being a good coach.

I always thought it's fairly difficult to coach great teams.

I know that sounds weird.

It sounds like you've just stepped behind the bench and

just send out your superstars.

Boy, there's a lot more to coach and great teams dealing with egos dealing

with, especially if you've had more than one year of success, it's not easy.

And I think right now, The job that John Cooper's doing.

And then that was the guy.

I think if you go back three years, Tom, he was a little bit, there

were rumors about him not keeping that job there in Tampa bay.

They were struggling a little bit.

So I, and, uh, I, I, I, I don't know if you've been to many,

um, media gatherings with him.

He is very articulate, very personable.

And to me that this goes into it, or we can just say, okay, who's the

best at X's and O's behind the band.

To me there's so much more going on as a coach.

Now, I think he's great with the media.

I mean, obviously Tampa bay is not Toronto.

You're not getting skewered every day, but he's just, he just really

is very pleasant to deal with and he must be really nice to play for too.

I would think.

And from all accounts, you never hear anything negative about them.

You know what?

Um, he gets my vote.

He's the best coach in the NHL.

Tom: You know, and I, I have friends who have worked directly with Jon

Cooper, worked with them, as you know, I don't want to say peon positions,

but positions that let's face it in the world of hockey don't get much

important to whether social media or perhaps, you know, a traveling PR guy.

We know in some organizations, those are the fleas on the back of

the dog, like they're necessary, but we don't want them there.

Um, and I, Jon Cooper doesn't treat those people like.

And I think that that's just kudos to him.

So, you know, that's, that's incredible.

And actually, I will say Pete DeBoer to kind of come back to him.

I think in the last couple of years has gotten better with the media.

I remember at San Jose, he wasn't bad, but I think he was a little more guarded now.

He just has, it's almost like he's gotten to the part of his life where he's like,

ah, I'm just going to say what I think.

You know, uh, and maybe everybody gets to that point.

I'm Barry Trotz is definitely there.

Um, you know, so I, and Darryl, Sutter's always been there.

He was born there.

Um, you know, so, uh, it's interesting to see how these are going with these

coaches and of all the guys we talked about and, you know, Bruce Budreau

is going to end up being talked about as a coach of the year candidate.

If Vancouver stays hot and gets into the playoffs, and then you've got,

you know, Dave Tippett on a struggling Edmonton team, which I know we're going

to talk about in another podcast here, just a little teaser later in the week.

Um, but you know, tip, it might be on the way out a little bit, but

there's still a lot of guys who.

There's a lot of good coaches out there and some are not working right now.

I think Paul Maurice has gotta be the first guy up, at least for an

interview if anybody has an opening.

Um, but I don't know.

So I'm split on my vote right now between Cooper and Barry Trotz as far as guys

and the reason I like Barry Trotz so much allow me to defend him if I can, is.

He takes whatever team he's got and makes it the best possible iteration of itself.

You know, I've talked about in baseball, a hitting coach, or even

a goaltending coach in hockey.

If we want to keep it at home, um, some guys work with a goal.

And do the best with what that goalie naturally has skills and abilities in some

guys say, no, you must play it this way.

You must be a butterfly goaltender.

France wall layer is a famous example of this.

If you could not be a butterfly goaltender under a layer, you're out, you're out.

It was his way or the highway, but there's other guys like Mitch Korn tell me that

Dominic Hasek had a style, but Mitch made him better you know, and I, I, but I've

seen him make other goaltenders better that you might not even think about.

Obviously he worked in Nashville, Pekka Rinne and now he's working

with the goaltenders in the island.

He worked with Braden Holtby, but guys like Carter Hutton had their best and

most productive seasons under Mitch Korn.

And look, Carter Hutton's parlayed it into a late blooming career

after coming to Nashville and getting kicked out of Chicago.

So I just think that, you know, guys like that are underrated and

Barry Trotz is one of those guys.

I don't know that he'll ever get the credit for just the years in Nashville,

where he kept them far more competitive when they had any right to be.

And then when they finally got pretty good, they couldn't

quite get over the hump.

And all of a sudden he's a guy who can't coach superstars will.

Then he goes to Washington and wins with.

And, you know, that's the, capital's got their cup and it was with him and then

he ends up leaving, going to the island.

So, uh, I really do still have to make a case for Barry Trotz.

Mike: Fair enough?

No, I think he certainly has to be in, uh, the conversation when you

look at, uh, the current coaches, but, uh, my vote, my vote for Cooper.

I think that boy and what he's, what he's done with that team.

Uh, and, and just the way that he carries himself as well.

Uh, he, he gets my vote, but, uh, I'm with you on Barry.

Trotz, uh, just, just a wonderful guy and, also a great coach.

Tom: Well, tell us what you think if you're listening out there and you

want to get a word in with either Mike or I I'm @CallahanOnAir and

Mike is @Busterthedog33 . Who's the greatest current coach in the NHL.

Best coach, greatest, whatever your opinion is on this.

Uh, we'd love to hear it.

I'm sure there are people who could vote for Lindy rough and Peter lobby led.

Uh, so I'm, I'm really interested in wrong.

I mean, Mike will, Mike will tell you you're wrong.

So you should tweet Mike first.

We, we love talking about this stuff.

So, uh, you know what that's and the vote here is split.

So help us decide if you will.

And, uh, you know what we'll, I'm sure it'll come up again

throughout the course of the year.

And here's the other reason why Mike and I feel so qualified about this because

Mike i, I don't know if everybody knows this, but broadcasters get to vote

for coach of the year in the NHL.

Mike: That's right.

That's right.

Absolutely.

And, uh, I I've always been for the guy who has to take a really good team

and when you win with it, uh, that's the boy that always impresses me.

Tom: So there you have it.

Folks.

That'll do it for this edition of the Talking Puck Podcast.

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