To be fair, there are very few teams lucky enough to be able to say they make all their decisions for hockey reasons.

Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 12/20/11 at 04:06 PM ET

To be fair, there are very few teams lucky enough to be able to say they make all their decisions for hockey reasons.

That is a true statement.  However, no other team has to deal withanything similar to local politicians specifying the language requirements of their coach.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/11 at 04:56 PM ET

However, no other team has to deal withanything similar to local politicians specifying the language requirements of their coach.

Yes, yes they do.  Coaches all pick people who speak english, and look almost exclusively at the US/Canadian hockey world.  How many KHL coaches are interviewed?

Posted by pgrmdave on 12/20/11 at 05:32 PM ET

Local politicians have no say in the fact most NHL coaches are English speaking.  That happens because most qualified NHL coaches speak English.  In fact several KHL coaches past and present are English speakers from North America.  Russia does not produce enough coaches for its own league.

In the relatively recent past, Alpo Suhonen (a Finn) coached the Chicago Blackhawks and Ivan Hlinka (a Czech) coached the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/11 at 05:41 PM ET

You do realize that Canada has two official languages, and that French media would prefer to speak French when giving interviews, right?

While you’re right that the best man should be given the opportunity, the French media prefer to speak French. It’s why Daniel Briere answers question in French when he returns to Quebec. It’s why Mike Cammalleri has been learning French.

Unless you feel that everyone in North America should speak English first, you’re wading into territory that the vast majority of people in Quebec will fiercely defend as being part of their culture. And if you aren’t willing to make an effort to learn the language of the culture you live in, you’re probably not going to respected by many of the people paying your salary.

Essentially, it’s the opposite effect that Mario Lemieux had when he came to Pittsburgh. He didn’t want to speak English, and the media destroyed him for it. The French media appreciate the effort to speak their language, and they respect players who at least make the attempt to speak French.

Also, I believe Randy Cunneyworth had only been a head coach for eight years with Rochester and Hamilton. He was an assistant in Atlanta for a couple of years in between IIRC.

Posted by Teebz on 12/20/11 at 06:16 PM ET

Speaking to the media might be a nice thing to do but it doesn’t help a team win so it isn’t necessary to win a hockey game. 

As for Cunneyworth’s coaching resume, it falls between your statement and mine.  Cunneyworth has 11 years coaching experience before this year.  8 years as a head coach in Rochester, 2 as an assistant coach in Atlanta and 1 in Hamilton as a head coach.  That makes 11 years coaching experience and 9 as an AHL head coach.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/11 at 06:23 PM ET

Your original post said 11 years as a head coach. But that’s cool.

Speaking to the media is a massive part of the game, and the head coach is the man in charge. It’s part of his job.

Posted by Teebz on 12/20/11 at 07:11 PM ET

There is no reason a coach has to speak to the media.  The team can hire a spokesman or an interpretor to do that if it is necessary.  There are many examples of coaches in the world who cannot speak the same language as the local media.  This includes Canadian hockey coaches in European nations and many examples from other international sports, most notable soccer.

A coach’s job is to coach.  That’s it.  The media does not have to be spoken to in order to coach a team.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/11 at 08:05 PM ET

A coach’s job is not just to coach. You’d know this if you were a coach. He’s a mentor, a therapist, a mind-reader, a prognosticator, a strategist, and a spokesman. In short, he speaks about the team he runs. That’s what coaches do in pro sports. It’s why Bill Belichek talks about the Patriots, it’s why Joe Torre spoke about the Yankees, and it’s why Phil Jackson spoke about the Lakers. They run the show, and they answer to the media about why things went

The media don’t want to speak through an interpreter. They want it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. That’s what good journalists do - they go to the source.

If you don’t think it’s part of the job, then why is Ron Wilson on TV all the time? He’s not that interesting. Why do the coaches have media scrums after practices and games? It’s not because they love being in the spotlight.

The fact is this: the French media and French fans in Montreal want a French coach for the team so that he can be the spokesman for the team for the French-speaking public (which occupy about half of Quebec). Only he knows what was happening on the bench during the game, only he knows what the strategy was for the game, and only he is qualified to speak about those things because he’s running the show. He’s the man running the X’s and O’s through the motions, and the French in Quebec want a guy who speaks their language.

My advice? Try visiting Quebec just once. You’ll understand why a French-speaking coach is important.

Posted by Teebz on 12/20/11 at 08:30 PM ET

As for your examples, almost everyone in Europe speaks a second language, and most will have third and fourth languages.

As for Canadian coaches, read Dave King’s book. He had an interpreter when he was with Magnitogorsk, but he still tried to pick up some of the language. Why? Because you gain respect from the media, fans, and players by showing them that you want to immersed and a part of their culture. You become a part of that culture, and you’re talking about one of the oldest professional sports teams on the planet that originated from French Montreal. That culture runs very deep, and they hold onto their values.

Posted by Teebz on 12/20/11 at 08:35 PM ET

Teebz

Your argument has fallen apart.

I have coached more than one team.

I have been to Quebec more than one time. 

For some reason you think Dave King coaching in Russia where he didn’t speak the language supports your position.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/11 at 11:05 PM ET

Hotstove (?) put it best, I think: if the coach does a great job, the media won’t really ruffle its feathers over having to conduct everything in English, but if you have the choice between equivalent coaches, may as well pick the francophone.

Maybe best of both words and hire Mark French from Hershey?

Posted by Ralph on 12/21/11 at 12:55 AM ET

My argument hasn’t.

Dave King did speak the language. He could go to the store and order at restuarants because he took the time to learn the language. Read the book.

If you’ve been to Quebec, you know that everything has to have the French first. The French comes first on all signs and all documents. When Guy Carbonneau says that the head coach should learn French, it’s not a suggestion, but a rule of survival.

If you can’t communicate, you can’t coach. Ask any teacher about how hard it is. Because, in short, that’s what a coach is.

Posted by Teebz on 12/21/11 at 10:00 AM ET

The politicians wouldn’t seize on this unless there was political advantage to be had by doing so. These politicians are just appealing to populist and nationalist sentiments so they can reap the benefits of feelings that already exist. Yes, they’re fueling it, but unless there were real people in Quebec who were actually concerned by this, they wouldn’t bother trying.

The Habs are the storied franchise of French Canada. It’s a fountain of benefits that no other team (since the move of the Nordiques) can drink from, and they’ve drank deeply. They have the benefit of the built in french fanbase, the Quebec media being exclusively devoted to them, and the many other benefits that come from being the Quebec institution.

...but many habs fans yearn for the days of Lafleur, Richard, Savard, Desjardins, Roy, and the many many other French Canadian players of legend. Players who not only won for them, but were like them - and proved French Canada produced the best hockey talent.

Those days are gone…but picking a coach that only speaks English is a stark reminder of how far gone they are. The Habs coach doesn’t need to speak french anymore, because the players themselves aren’t french. A lot of fans might accept (albeit grudgingly) that the team can’t just go out and get all the best French players in the league. But the coach - that’s completely within the club’s power to decide.

Montreal’s had the benefit of being French Canada’s team, but this move send the message that they’re ready to welch on their end of the deal. For some fans, this goes beyond winning or losing and it’s going to feel personal.

Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 12/21/11 at 01:48 PM ET

If you can’t communicate, you can’t coach. Ask any teacher about how hard it is. Because, in short, that’s what a coach is.

You’re mixing communication with media and communication with players. Any coach who speaks, frankly, hockey, is going to be able to communicate with the players. Not like the Habs are still filled with French-only speakers.

Posted by Ralph on 12/22/11 at 01:45 AM ET

Hey Teebz, you don’t have a clue.
You have been to Quebec more than once.
Big deal. Is that supposed to make.you an expert?
Try moving to MTL and living here for a decade before shooting your mouth off about things which you know nothing.
Most media in Montreal speak English, so there is no barrier when soeakunf with an anglo coach.
The peiple of MTL are overwhelmingly bilingual so much so that RDS does player interviews in English and no one minds.
This is all politics plain and simple. Another ezample of Quebec’s inferiority complex
And it smacks of bigotry.
If the coach was unilingual Spanish, there would be no issue. Indeed the habs would be lauded for being progressive.
But since he is an anglophone, the haters and militants and nut cases and bigots pile on.
The MTL media talks so much about how it is a matter of respect for the French majority.
Know what? The best way a team can show respect for its fans is to win Cups.
The rest is BS just like your comments.

And let us not forget the official language of hockey is and has always been English.
Even back in the glory days, the language spoken at practice was English.
Been to a QMJHL team practice lately? I have. Even in places like Victoriaville and Shawinigan, the coaches speak English, practices are conducted in English to prepare players for life outside the Quebec bubble.
So get a grip.

Posted by popgun from montreal on 12/27/11 at 03:48 PM ET