RINK LEADERS

No-win scenario? Yeah, you could make a compelling argument that coaching the Mighty Ducks qualifies.

Exhibit A: Ron Wilson. Canned May 20, 1997, after leading the Ducks to their first winning season, then to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Exhibit B: Pierre Page. Canned June 15, 1998, only 10 months after management said it would have hired Page, not Wilson, as the Ducks’ first coach had Page been available in 1993.

Craig Hartsburg, the third Duck coach in as many seasons, doesn’t want to hear about last season, last month or even last week. Only the future matters to him.

“Shoulda, woulda, coulda,” Hartsburg said. “Let’s just be our best.”

He may be on to something.

The Ducks’ five-season history is replete with pitfalls, pratfalls and episodes best leftburied because they are simply too mind-boggling to comprehend.

Then again, Hartsburg might be wise to study the past.

It may be the only way to understand what he’s gotten himself into here in Duckdom. Or is it Duck dumb? One has to wonder sometimes.

What stands out is that in order to succeed in Anaheim, a coach must be thrifty, brave, clean, loyal and reverent. If it sounds as if he must be a Boy Scout, then you have the idea.

Hartsburg just might fit the bill.

At 39, he still appears boyish. He comes across as polite, sincere, earnest and hard-working.

In other words, Hartsburg appears to be everything the Walt Disney Co. would want in a coach.

He is not as glib as Wilson. He also is not as willing as Page to junk one game plan in favor of another.

Like Wilson, Hartsburg is a former Minnesota North Star defenseman. In fact, they were teammates from 1985 to ’88. Hartsburg later served as an assistant to Page after retiring because of injuries at the end of the 1988-89 season.

At the news conference to announce his hiring as the Ducks’ new coach on July 21, Hartsburg unfolded a slip a paper and began reading from it. It sounded like a list of hockey’s basic principles.

He said he would demand four things from his players: a strong work ethic, disciplined play, a team-first attitude and superb conditioning.

Everyone would get a fresh start.

What happened in the past, why the Ducks finished with their lowest winning percentage in five seasons, was not his problem. How the Ducks would improve upon last season’s dismal 26-43-13 record was his only concern.

“I can’t answer questions about the past,” Hartsburg said. “We want to go ahead. Maybe some things will come up from last year, but this is a new start for everybody.”

Hartsburg included. He spent the last three seasons coaching the Chicago Blackhawks, but the talent and the victories dropped off each season. The Blackhawks won 40 games his first season, 34 his second and 30 last season.

When the Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time in 29 years last April, Hartsburg was fired. That didn’t seem quite fair, considering that management hadn’t given him much to work with.

True, there was a standout defense in Chicago, led by future Hall of Famer Chris Chelios. But the Blackhawks’ offense was pitiful, scoring only 192 goals. Only Tampa Bay, with 151, had fewer last season.

And then there was the unfortunate Gary Suter-Paul Kariya business, which did little to enhance anyone’s reputation in Chicago.

Suter, now with the San Jose Sharks, gave Kariya a concussion with a cross-check to the jaw in a game Feb. 1 at the Arrowhead Pond.

It soon became clear to everyone but the Blackhawks that Kariya was seriously injured and that his career might be in jeopardy. The Ducks were furious.

Kariya could not play for Canada in the Nagano Olympics and missed the Ducks’ final 28 games because of post-concussion syndrome.

“If David Karpa [since traded by the Ducks to the Carolina Hurricanes] was out for the year, you wouldn’t be hearing about it,” Hartsburg said March 25, when the teams played again in Chicago. “Paul Kariya is an important guy for the game. I feel bad for him. I want to see him back in the NHL as quick as possible.

“[But] I had three knee surgeries, a broken hip and shoulder surgery. My career was cut short. I don’t whine or cry about it. Injuries are part of the game.”

All of which raised eyebrows when the Ducks later indicated they were serious about hiring Hartsburg. Kariya--who, for the record, never once complained about his injury--gave his blessing publicly.

“If you hold a vendetta against every guy who says something about you, you won’t be able to function,” said Kariya, who has been free of dizziness, headaches and memory loss since May.

Funny thing, too.

It all seems to be forgotten.

When Hartsburg got the job, he went right to work winning over the Ducks. He already had Pierre Gauthier, the new team president and general manager, on his side.

“We all respect Craig Hartsburg,” said Gauthier, speaking for management. “He’s a guy who helps players improve.”

But Hartsburg believed he needed Kariya’s approval, too.

They met. They talked. All was well.

“Leadership is all about doing and saying the right things,” Hartsburg said later.

Despite a 2-6 record going into tonight’s exhibition finale at Phoenix, the Ducks appear to have bought into Hartsburg’s philosophy. It’s a far cry from the quizzical looks the players often exchanged during Page’s reign. The credibility gap that existed last season appears to have closed.

“It always helps when a coach has done so much in his career,” right wing Teemu Selanne said of Hartsburg, who had 98 goals and 413 points in 570 NHL games for the North Stars between 1979 and 1989. “He’s still a young guy. He knows what’s going on.”

If so, then good for Hartsburg. If recent Duck history is any guide, the season ahead could prove to be a minefield. He needs all the advantages he can find.

Coaching in the NHL is not easy in this day and age. The average coach lasts fewer than two years on the job, and Hartsburg is well aware of that.

“I’d like to be here for the rest of my career,” he said. “I don’t want to be moving around all the time. So you go to a new job with the right attitude. I want to make this the best organization in the NHL.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Craig Hartsburg’s Coaching Record

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Year, Team W-L-T Pct. Division Finish (Playoffs) 1995-96, Chicago 40-28-14 .573 2nd (lost in second round) 1996-97, Chicago 34-35-13 .494 5th (lost in first round) 1997-98, Chicago 30-39-13 .445 5th (did not qualify) Totals 104-102-40 .540 8-8 in playoffs

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