Coaches in the NHL have a frustratingly unenviable position during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Practices become redundant after eight months. They can’t score for their team. They can’t stop the puck for the team. And yet, for the most part, they become the face of the team.
It’s like the difference between a pig and a chicken when you have ham and eggs for breakfast. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed. In terms of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the players are committed. The coach is involved.
Coaches don’t have bumps and bruises. They aren’t going into concussion protocol or deciding whether to play through pain, or holding off on season-ending surgery. And yet, they can become a big part of the personality of their team.
And given that, one has to wonder what effect the coach’s anger, his frustration, has to do with team success. Scott Arniel’s anger on Wednesday night, in the Winnipeg Jets‘ win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of their series, looked palpable. Both at the beginning of the second period and in the postgame press conference, the wrath of the Winnipeg coach was certainly something to note.
You have to wonder, when he was animated with the officials, who was he really talking to? What message was he trying to send? I think it’s fair to say the referee in question isn’t going to bend to a red-faced coach. I would suggest the message sending was for the 17 skaters sitting in front of Arniel after Mark Scheifele left the game after the first period following a couple of big hits.
The message was simple.
“We lost a key player, and now we need to fight.”
The Jets needed to be committed. Not yelling at his own players, but rather yelling for his own players. And for the remaining 40 minutes, the commitment was there.
Similarly, post-game. Arniel’s rage could easily focus on Jim Montgomery, who diagnosed Scheifele’s injury (the Jets have not provided specifics on the injury). Anointing the Blues coach with a medical degree, Arniel’s message was as much for his own players as it was for the media.
It was basically saying, “Boys, I’ve got your back.”
It was a classic case of keeping yourself in the fight, and also taking some attention away from the players, who can then focus strictly on the commitment it takes to win.
You know, like ham and eggs. And the difference between being committed and being involved.
Arniel’s committed.
