Coaching Team Canada isn’t hard but Cooper is the right sort for the job after a remarkable career
Jon Cooper coaches Tampa Bay Lightning against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL hockey game on Dec. 27, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.A few hours after announcing his picks for Team Canada, head coach Jon Cooper was describing how much better this gig is than his day job.
Sound loose and authoritative in front of the media, ask the big stars where they would like to play, put them in those spots, backfill with the roster chum, hope for the best – that’s what it means to coach Canada. When Toronto hired Babcock, it wasn’t for his tactical nous. Why would you want a guy famous for coaching winners to start from scratch with your squad of losers?needed someone to create room during a rebuild. No one had longer arms than the winning head coach of Team Canada.
People were fired, but nobody ever left. The same guys kept getting cycled around the league. How does anyone build a reputation for legendary excellence if everyone keeps getting clipped? You do it by coaching Canada when it matters. Cooper is now indisputably the top dog in the game. Cooper has one job at February’s 4 Nations Face-Off – do well enough that he gets the same job the next time out.
Babcock was 46 and coming off two successive Stanley Cup finals appearances when he coached Canada in Vancouver. If Sidney Crosby doesn’t score that goal, Babcock probably doesn’t coach Canada in Sochi, and probably never leaves Detroit. But he did, and it got Babcock thinking about history. Hence, his disastrous gamble on the Leafs.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canada's 4 Nations roster set: 'These players will lay in traffic for their country'Jon Cooper was always walking into a locker room loaded with talent.
Read more »
Canada's 4 Nations roster set: 'These players will lay in traffic for their country'Jon Cooper was always walking into a locker room loaded with talent.
Read more »
Canada's 4 Nations roster set: 'These players will lay in traffic for their country'Jon Cooper was always walking into a locker room loaded with talent.
Read more »
Brush Brothers reunite as Team Dunstone blank Team Epping to win Red Deer Curling ClassicThe Brush Brothers - otherwise known as the powerhouse sweeping duo of E.J. and Ryan Harnden - reunited this past weekend, helping Winnipeg's Team Matt Dunstone capture the Red Deer Curling Classic.
Read more »
Roma fires Juric for its second coaching change this seasonRoma fired Ivan Juric to mark its second coaching change this season, with the move coming after a 3-2 home loss to Bologna on Sunday in Serie A.
Read more »
Former NHLer Bieksa enjoying coaching kids, and talking hockeyBieksa was at The Q Centre on Saturday coaching his son’s team in the Under-18 Island Cup tournament
Read more »