The Case for Experience and Stability in Building a Management Team

Mike Smith has been a GM with two NHL teams and with Team USA. He is well known as one of the cerebral people in the game, having studied the game at different levels and written books on various hockey topics. Now one of his projects is a blog on www.thn.com. His post on November 23/08 deals with building a management team and he uses the Detroit Red Wings as his elite example. As an assistant coach for the Red Wings for three seasons, I saw first hand of which he speaks. Here is an excerpt…

The point is, in my opinion, nothing replaces experience when you’re a GM. The same holds true for the management staff. Every season has a similar yet different rhythm to it. When things are bleak and look even darker going forward, the vultures tend to come out. Listening to them can be deadly. Experience tells you: “Don’t listen.”

The organization that epitomizes experience at the upper management level is Detroit. The Red Wings have clearly been the dominant franchise over the last 20 years. Four Stanley Cups, in ‘97, ‘98, ‘02 and ’08, and 18-straight playoff years reflect their success.

Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the Red Wings in June of 1982. Not only have they built a franchise that looked for and kept experienced people, they have also placed emphasis on stability. The NHL, like other major leagues, all too often makes changes prematurely, often in a panic.

Let’s look at the Red Wings’ combination of experience and stability:

  • Jim Devellano was the first GM hired by the Ilitch family in 1982. Twenty-seven years later, he’s still there. This is his 42nd year in the NHL. He played a major role in the construction of the New York Islanders dynasty in the 1970s and early ‘80s.
  • Ken Holland is starting his 12th season as GM and his 26th in the organization. A former American League goaltender, he began his post-playing career as an amateur scout, progressed to director of scouting, then assistant GM and, in 1998, GM.
  • Jim Nill is entering his 11th season as assistant GM and 15th with the Red Wings. He has a background both as an amateur and pro scout and also served as GM of Team Canada at the 2004 world championships.
  • Steve Yzerman, beginning his third season as vice-president. This is his 26th year with the club. He has twice served as GM of Team Canada at the world championships.
  • Scotty Bowman, though now with the Chicago Blackhawks, joined the Red Wings in 1993 as coach. His NHL coaching career began in 1967 with the St. Louis Blues and he’s won 12 Stanley Cups in his career. He stayed on as a consultant with the Wings following his retirement from coaching in 2002.

The critical fact is all of these men had jobs in which they had to make crucial decisions.

Being a coach, a director of scouting or a GM of a national team requires decision-making. Mistakes are made. But to grow, you need to learn from the mistakes. Nothing will happen during the season this management group has not seen before. Their years of experience have brought them sound judgment.

Not all ownerships follow the Detroit path. I like the Detroit model, but the new ownerships in Tampa Bay and Vancouver have looked to player agents – Brian Lawton and Mike Gillis – to be their hockey leaders. Both have limited, if any, team management experience. This is not to say they will not be successful. After all, it is hard to criticize the job Pierre Lacroix – a former agent – did with the Colorado Avalanche.

Mike Smith is a former GM with the Blackhawks and Jets and associate GM with the Maple Leafs. He also served as GM for Team USA More from Mike Smith

Honesty and Mentoring: Trademarks of a Successful Coach

Mike Babcock is the very successful head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. An excerpt from a recent newspaper article points to two reasons for his success-honesty and mentoring. In the article, he appears to have little problem accepting part of the blame for his team losing a game in the Stanley Cup finals. No excuses or coach speak here. Just an honest assessment of what happened. Refreshing, don’t you think?

The article also mentions how Babcock also talked with Dave King, former NHL head and assistant coach, and former coach of Canada’s National Team. He is one of the most respected coaches in hockey. Babcock uses King, Scotty Bowman, and several others as mentors.

Following is a portion of Eric Duhatschuk’s May 30/08 article in the Canadian newspaper, the Globe and Mail.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Babcock woke up yesterday morning after the Detroit Red Wings’ first loss in the Stanley Cup final and did what he usually does the morning after a game: He talked to his wife and he talked to a fellow coach, Dave King.

It wasn’t necessarily in that order.

Babcock does it for reasons that he patiently explains all the time: That lifetime learning is a core belief, and that no matter how long he stays in hockey, he doesn’t pretend to have all the answers.

Babcock was blunt about where part of the fault lay for Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins – a loss that cut Detroit’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1. He admitted to overplaying his two best forwards, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, although he added that they didn’t do a good job of keeping their shifts short enough.

Honesty is a ‘must have’ quality to be successful. It might take people awhile to find out you are not honest, but they will eventually figure it out. Players will be the first group to see any lack of honesty. An important rule for coaches- Never try to fool your players. It can’t be done for any significant length of time.

Mentors have the ability to bring the best out in your coaching. We don’t have to learn everything ourselves. Get great mentors and find out what they have learned. Share ideas, ask questions and be sure to listen.