No Love Lost Between Coach Ted And Hasek
January 30th, 2007 by Tom
The Detroit Red Wings roll into the Coliseum tonight to take on the Islanders. MLive.com, which covers all things Michigan, has a piece today on the lack of love between Wing Keeper Dominik Hasek and Coach Ted Nolan. Hasek was Nolan’s goalie in Buffalo back in 1997 and is perceived by many as the main reason Nolan wasn’t offered a long-term contract to stay with the club, despite winning the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year.
“We weren’t really close,” Hasek said. “I was blamed in Buffalo for being the reason he left, but I have to say, in the end, it was his decision.”
Jeff Gold of Newsday also writes about the acrimonious relationship between Nolan and Hasek, getting some of Coach Ted’s thoughts in the article.
“I don’t think we have too much to say to each other,” Nolan said. “He made a statement that he didn’t want to play for me. That’s everyone’s prerogative.”
The game figures to be a tough one for the OrangeAndBlue (23-21-5). Hasek, who turned 42 yesterday, is 26-8 this season with a .911 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average. Detroit is in second place in the Central at 31-14-6.
In other news, Newsday’s Neil Best devotes today’s column on the Havoc Zone. I was a huge fan of this idea even before I realized GM Garth and the Ice Girls made occassional visits to the folks in line in the coldest, windiest parking lot on Earth. One day I am going to quit my job and devote an entire year to analyzing the weather conditions there. It’s uncanny. Anyway, Ice Girls bringing you hot chocolate? Now that’s customer service.
Technically, those in the Havoc Zone are supposed to have a college ID, but in practice the team allows people in if they stick to the spirit — in other words, high schoolers and young adults are OK, not middle-aged parents accompanying pre-teen children.
