“Those are my two leaders back there - my veteran guys,” he said. Both players texted Coffey later the same day, “saying that they would be better.” Coffey said. But Nurse and Ekholm being the veterans, Coffey felt it important to talk to them. I know you guys got better than that.’”Ĭoffey didn’t mean those two players in particular. “I said, ‘What would you do right now? Because here’s where I’m at: I don’t know if you guys are good enough.’ And they said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘We just got beat by a good hockey club, and we were nowhere to be found. Nurse, according to Coffey, responded: “I’d be pissed off.” I said, ‘You guys got a sec?’ I said, ‘What would you do if you were me? If you were the coach right now?’” “I saw Eky ( Mattias Ekholm) and Nursey ( Darnell Nurse) in the morning before we got on the bus. No B.S.Ĭoffey points to a 5-0 loss in Dallas earlier this month to illustrate that. It begins with an honest line of communication.

We’ve challenged each other,” Coffey told The Athletic during a sitdown interview in his office Monday. “They’ve been a great group to work with.

Louis has clearly connected to his players in Montreal despite no previous coaching experience, Coffey has formed a bond with his defensemen here in Oil country that’s manifested on the ice with an improved all-around game. But similar to how Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. It raised eyebrows, of course, because the Hockey Hall of Famer had zero NHL coaching experience. A move that raised eyebrows around the league has turned out to look rather clever.

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