Wilson or Bowman? Either Way, Ducks Lose

When Bill Plaschke calls Ron Wilson “the best coach in hockey” [June 9], he is showing his true ignorance of the game. Bill should take a trip to Hockeytown USA and see first-hand what coaching and quality hockey is all about.

There is only one coach in the NHL today who exemplifies the leadership, professionalism and skill it takes to win the Cup and that’s Scotty Bowman, not the cheap bush-league charm of a Ron Wilson.

Hey, Bill, check some of Ron’s quotes to the media, like the one where he called the Sabres “a bunch of chicken. . . .” before you brand him a god. Now you know why Wilson didn’t fit Disney’s corporate mold. Wings in five.

GUS MAVRITSAKIS

Fullerton

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I told you so. Before the NHL season started, on Aug. 16, 1997, the Times printed my letter in Viewpoint in which I wrote, “Disney should have secured the job of Ron Wilson and fired Ferreira.”

Fast forward to the playoffs, in which Wilson as first-year coach of the Capitals has taken Washington to the first Stanley Cup finals in its 24-year history.

And now, Wilson has a chance to add the elusive Stanley Cup to his 1996 World Cup, proving he is one of the NHL’s elite coaches, if not the league’s finest. Meanwhile, Ferreira’s Mighty Ducks finished the season with the club’s worst record ever. I told you so.

HERSHEL REMER

Los Angeles