No Quinn? For Canucks, It’s a Start

It was sheer coincidence that the backdrop for Vancouver Canuck Coach Tom Renney’s first news conference after the firing of General Manager Pat Quinn was a pile of empty boxes, suitable for packing.

Coincidental, but appropriate. Like Quinn, Renney will soon be moving. And if he needs more boxes, he can borrow some from former Canuck owner Arthur Griffiths. Son of original owner Frank Griffiths, Arthur Griffiths sold the club to American billionaire John McCaw’s Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment but stayed as vice

chairman until last week, when he was told to vacate his office. “It’s the end of an era,” Griffiths said.

Griffiths’ departure severs a link to the days of family ownership, and that’s a shame. The end of the Quinn era, though, is good news. Although his firing has been portrayed as a cold-hearted move ordered by an absentee owner and executed by businessmen who wouldn’t recognize the red line if they fell over it, it was overdue and necessary.

Quinn had made the Canucks his fiefdom, and he was running it badly. His drafts were undistinguished and his trades generally mediocre. He assembled a defense that’s too slow and forwards who are selfish and won’t backcheck. He misjudged Renney, whom he considered firing before he got the ax himself, not realizing Renney is better qualified for an assistant’s job or a professorship than coaching NHL players. Quinn should have replaced him after last season but compounded the error by keeping him.

Assistant coach Stan Smyl said Quinn “sacrificed himself for this organization,” a noble but misguided sentiment. Quinn inspired loyalty from his employees because most couldn’t have gotten jobs anywhere else, so it was natural they’d feel obligated to him. As for his own loyalty, how loyal was he 10 years ago when he accepted the Canuck job--and a hefty payment--while still under contract to coach the Kings?

Canuck players claimed to be shocked by Quinn’s firing. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” said goaltender Kirk McLean, a Canuck since 1987. “On a personal level, as well as a team level, we’re trying to figure it out.”

Smyl, who has been with the club since 1978, said the Canucks have never had so much talent. If that’s true, the missing ingredients must be grit and leadership, and Quinn must be blamed for not supplying them.

“The character has been questioned many times the last year to two years,” Smyl said. “[The Canucks won’t succeed] until we all learn what it takes to win as a team. So far, that hasn’t happened.”

They may have to learn the hard way, under Mike Keenan, who is the top contender for the GM job and might also coach. Keenan’s coaching record is impressive, but his record as a general manager is spotty. If he wants to last in the NHL, he can’t make any more mistakes. Neither can the Canucks.

MURPHY’S LAW

Toronto Coach Mike Murphy is still employed, although his team’s 4-8-3 record suggests his hold on his job is tenuous. His first concern last week, however, was for Quinn.

“Pat’s a very good friend of mine. It’s a difficult time, when a guy like him is fired, because he’s what hockey is all about,” said Murphy, who was hired by Quinn as an assistant coach in Vancouver after the Kings fired him as their coach in 1987. “He’s a purebred, a quality hockey man and a quality human being. Pat’s a very loyal person, a very respectful person. This is a tough one for me because he’s a guy I have learned a lot from.”

One lesson was not to waste time worrying about being fired.

“My job is to coach the hockey team. I can’t get involved in the politics. That’s not something I control,” Murphy said. “We’ve been given great support [by General Manager Ken Dryden]. There is no second-guessing. We have good meetings and exchanges of our feelings and we’re given the opportunity to run the hockey club the way we feel, and that’s all a coach can ask for. The other stuff, I don’t concern myself with and I never will.”

MIKEY LIKES IT

Goalie Mike Vernon, the most valuable player in the Detroit Red Wings’ Stanley Cup run last season, has found life with the San Jose Sharks to be, um, interesting.

“It’s a different challenge,” said Vernon, who was traded to San Jose because the Red Wings judged Chris Osgood ready for the starting job. “I’ve played on good teams in Calgary and Detroit. This is a lesser team, but it won’t be, down the road. I think this hockey club can do some things.”

The low-scoring Sharks won’t do much unless Vernon is sharp, and he wasn’t early in the season. Coach Darryl Sutter criticized his save percentage, which was about 85%, but a 0-0 tie against Toronto last week helped Vernon improve that to 86.2% The Sharks are helping by minimizing the number of shots on him, but he admits he got spoiled playing behind Detroit’s superb defense.

“The shot quality is a little different, but we’re working on that, eliminating that,” he said. “There were some games with four or five breakaways, but we’re starting to play our system effectively. We’re limiting teams to about 25 shots a game, and if we can limit them to 10 scoring chances, we’ll be doing OK. . . .

“In Detroit, at the start of the year everyone was picking us to finish in the top four. Now, it’s sometimes a little frustrating, but we’re all in this situation together and we want to be better.”

CHERRY BOMB

Canadian TV commentator Don Cherry won’t apologize for using an obscenity to describe the play of Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek during an intermission interview shown on the video scoreboard at the Marine Midland Arena on Thursday.

That comment and other insults sparked complaints from parents and youth coaches at the game, but the Sabres, in what wouldn’t be their first stupid move, said they will invite him back.

“We have murder, rapes and killings in Buffalo, and the headlines jump all over me?” Cherry said. “They don’t write that I stayed behind in Buffalo signing autographs. They don’t write that I was at Sunnybrook Hospital [in Toronto] visiting kids.”

That’s commendable, but he should still apologize for the foul language.

SLAP SHOTS

If the Edmonton Oilers’ sale to Les Alexander had gone through, General Manager Glen Sather might have left and replaced Quinn in Vancouver. Alexander gave up because a clause in the Oilers’ lease makes it almost impossible to move them before 2004. . . . The Phoenix Coyotes have rejected at least two offers for the rights to Oleg Tverdovsky, a restricted free agent who is unsigned. Keith Tkachuk urged management to sign or trade Tverdovsky to resolve the issue, but a deal does not appear imminent. . . . Construction delays on the Carolina Hurricanes’ new arena in Raleigh may postpone its scheduled opening date of October, 1999. That would extend the Hurricanes’ stay in Greensboro, where they never should have been allowed to move in the first place. The American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolfpack, which moved into the Civic Center after the Whalers left for Carolina, averaged 6,760 fans through its first seven home games, more than the Hurricanes’ actual attendance.

Toronto defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who was chosen for the U.S. Olympic team, says it made sense to pick nearly the same squad that won last year’s World Cup tournament. “When you have success, there’s no reason to tamper,” he said. “On defense, it’s the same guys. And [adding John] Vanbiesbrouck was a no-brainer. Jeremy Roenick, as well.” However, he was surprised at the omissions of center Pat LaFontaine and defenseman Bryan Berard. “I would suspect those guys would be added,” he said. “They’re great players and they’re both good on the power play.”

Did the Canucks sign Alexander Mogilny only to trade him? He may go to the New York Rangers for Alexei Kovalev. . . . Jacques Demers must really need the money or the spotlight to take the Tampa Bay coaching job, as he reportedly will do. . . . Phoenix goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and Montreal defenseman Vladimir Malakhov said they won’t play for Russia in the Olympics. . . . The NHL is seeking 10 under-funded youth hockey programs to give each a $10,000 grant. Call 1-888-NHL AWARD or e-mail the league at assist@NHL.com.