I have no opinion on
the coaching skills of John Tortorella. Most of us shouldn’t. We aren’t privy
to the internal decisions of a coaching staff. We don’t have access to their
cabals. We don’t know which decisions are made by which coach or how much input
the head coach has on the systems that often determine a team’s success.
All we know about most
coaches is based on an assumption of dictatorial status. All we have is the
professional face they choose to represent the team. And for that, I think
Torts is a near perfect fit for my beloved Vancouver Canucks.
John Tortorella
continues the more than decade long trend of un-likening my team. (What!?! It might be a word).
It started with year
that saw the failed Messier experiment, the exile of our Captain and the
scrubbing of 94’s warm feelings from memory. John Tortorella may be a nice man,
I have no idea. He may be wonderful to his family, friends, orphans and rescue
stray dogs. But, as a coach he represents himself as angry and bitter and full
of impudent rage.
Oh, for a return of
Odjick and the spontaneous and joyous violence of our youth.
Obviously the game has
moved on. No longer would the antics of Gino be allowed in this watered-down
and white-washed NHL. Too few of the game’s keepers have the blue collar ethic the
game demands. Most players still have it, and continue to fight for its
preservation. The game demands the immediate response of physical play, and
even violent altercation.
Torts represents the
bully who never has to answer. He is all abrasive half-wit and unnecessary dismal
of those that dare to question him. His collar has been bleached white, but his
remarks and personality remain comically blue. He is the future of the NHL,
devoid of toughness, stoicism and men like Gino Odjick.
People rarely
understand that the primary job of an enforcer is to police young men’s egos. A
beating, real or potential, checks the hubris of youth. The fight itself is an
unnecessary intervention. Understanding the possibility is enough.
Torts comes to a team
full of those unable or unwilling to do more than talk, or occasionally bite.
In my, admittedly biased and disappointed, mind he is another Burrows, Kesler,
or Lapierre. He is another pest who will watch their star player punched in the
mouth repeatedly and do nothing. We don’t need another mouth to be punched. We
need someone to stand up to the bully, not just verbally imitate one.
And, by we, I mean me.
The Canucks don’t have
a long tradition of winning championships and producing feel good stories. Is
it too much I actually enjoy watching the team? Please understand, Burrows,
Kesler and Lapierre are all good to very good hockey players. I’d love to have
any one of them on my team.
The key word there was
one.
I can enjoy the antics
of one skater whose purpose in life is to drive the other team to distraction.
I can’t enjoy a team with such over-abundance of them. And I won’t enjoy a team
whose public persona is gruff, but unlovable and over-sensitive without being
occasionally kind.
So, welcome John
Tortorella to a team already built in your image. I look forward to a few
seasons of your anger, divorced from resolve, and a team without joy, violent
or otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment