Hitchcock and Carbonneau...

by Al Strachan for the Toronto Sun, January 26, 2002, excerpted

Although [Ken Hitchcock’s] tenure with the Dallas Stars was clearly in its death throes over the past few weeks, he has a fine hockey mind and, in his personal relationships with players, is something of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

For years now, the Dallas players have nurtured a growing disenchantment with Hitchcock. They disliked his system, which was not only defence first, but also defence second and third.

Nevertheless, it worked. The Stars did, after all, win the Stanley Cup under Hitchcock.

But once it stopped working, the internal critics became increasingly vocal. Even though these players are men, they're playing a boy's game and scoring is the fun part. Take away the fun and all you're left with is drudgery.

During the glory years, it was not uncommon for the captain of the day, Guy Carbonneau, to tell the players between periods what they needed to do when the game resumed.

"Hitch is going to come in here and tell us something completely different," he would say, "but ignore him. Just do what I've said and we'll win."

Hitchcock would then come into the room and make his observations. The players would nod in agreement, then go out and follow Carbonneau's strategy.

It is more than mere coincidence that once Carbonneau left, the Stars began their downhill slide.

Hockey insiders say that it is Carbonneau, not interim coach Rick Wilson, who will get the call to lead the Stars into the next phase of their development.

When Carbonneau first started as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens, the players -- like students with a new teacher -- put him under their microscope.

They decided that while he clearly had a superb grasp of the game, he was a bit short on other qualities that would make him a good coach -- ability to communicate, assertion, composure under pressure, and so on.

Today, the Montreal players say that all of those early doubts have been erased. Carbonneau, they feel, is by far the best head-coaching candidate in North America.

Therefore, the feeling in the hockey world is that Doug Armstrong, who now has officially taken over from Bob Gainey as Stars general manager, has little choice but to cement his status with the acquisition of Carbonneau.