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Thursday, July 26, 2001
MacLean: 'Expansion' is no excuse
Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On the surface, Doug MacLean's task -- building a winning NHL team in a town famous for football -- appears as slippery as ice.
Then again, it has been done before. By MacLean himself.
MacLean, who coached the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup finals in their third year and turned Miami into a hockey hotbed, has been piecing together the expansion Blue Jackets since he became their general manager on Feb. 11, 1998.
And with his team set to play its first game Oct. 7, MacLean
feels the anticipation building.
"I sense that it's going to be a pretty proud time when we step on the ice," MacLean said.
In the last 1½ years, MacLean and the Blue Jackets' scouts have
been nearly everywhere hockey is played to evaluate prospects.
MacLean also had to hire a head coach, deciding on Dave King in
July after interviewing about a dozen candidates.
It's taken so long that MacLean hasn't been able to sit back,
relax and reflect on the coming season.
The same thing happened in Miami, where MacLean got caught up in
the excitement of being so good so fast.
"Maybe I didn't take the time to enjoy it like I should have
because we were into it. I'm almost finding myself the same way"
now, MacLean said. "People say 'You must be excited. The building,
the whole thing, you must be excited.' But I haven't taken the time
to think about those things.
"I've taken the time to evaluate players and try to make decisions about who should be here and who should be in the minors and who's going to make our team. ... I've got so much on my plate that I haven't spent a lot of time being anxious or antsy."
King is concerned about winning for Columbus hockey fans, who
have shown their faith in MacLean's system by buying up more than
12,000 season tickets.
"If we don't produce enough wins and our young players haven't
developed, we're going to be really upset," King said. "We have
to win some games. We have to keep our fans believing that there is
a glimmer of hope and that we are getting better."
If MacLean's track record with the Panthers is any indication,
it won't take the Blue Jackets long to reach the playoffs.
Florida reached the finals in 1995-96, MacLean's first season on
the bench after joining the Panthers in 1994 as player development
director and pro scout.
He's not ready to say how many games the Blue Jackets will win
this season, but it's clear what he expects from his coaching staff
and players.
Just as he did in Miami, MacLean demands their very best. And he's learned from feeling the area's passion for Ohio State football that Columbus fans don't like losers.
"I think if you talk to our veteran players, I don't think
they're coming in here saying, 'Oh, well. We're going to be the
worst team in the NHL,"' MacLean said. "We're not going to use
expansion as an excuse. My coaching staff won't use it and I won't
use it."
That's fine with King. He understands what MacLean wants and will do his best to deliver.
"You'd better be organized, you'd better be prepared and you'd
better have achievement," King said. "If you do, it's going to be
fun to work with him. If you're a person who doesn't have those
things in place, it's not easy."
When MacLean talks of long-term accomplishments, he shies away
from talk about reaching -- or winning -- the Stanley Cup finals.
He wants fans to know that even though success came fast with Florida, it might be too much for Columbus to expect similar results.
"The New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup in eight years.
That's the toughest thing for me to comprehend," he said. "That's
something that may never be repeated again."
But it's clear MacLean is hoping it can be done again -- in Columbus.
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