Scotty Bowman heads to Chicago
Shocked would probably the appropriate word to describe my feeling when I read the TSN headline “Blackhawks name Bowman to front office post.” How many times did we hear Scotty had turned down offers from both the Maple Leafs and the Blackhawks? We all were led to believe that Scotty was content where he was, happy with his “retirement.”
Am I upset he left for another team? Heck no. Bummed? Definitely.
But I can’t really stay bummed for too long because he’s done too many great things for the Wings to be anything but happy for Scotty and his new position. He led the charge and convinced Steve Yzerman to transform from an offensive powerhouse to one of the league’s top two-way players. He created the Russian Five. He brought the Cup back to Detroit after a 42 year drought. He returned that silver chalice a year later. He then made sure not to disappoint fans with a Hall of Fame line-up and got one of the best teams ever to win the Cup in 2002. Scotty has been there for our good times. I can only imagine how much help he was to Mike Babcock in his first years with the team. Scotty probably acted as the parent whose kid is riding a bike for the first time after graduating from training wheels. He believed that Babcock could successfully run this team, but he was running behind Babcock ready to assist him to make sure the team didn’t fall off or apart. With Babcock’s contract extension and his own Stanley Cup win, perhaps Scotty felt that Babcock no longer needed him running alongside cheering him on.
But what do I know about their relationship? I’ve only had two true interactions with this coaching genius. The first was at an autograph signing at Goalie’s Den the day after the Yzerman jersey retirement ceremony last January. He signed a used puck from the warm-ups of that game and my Yzerman jersey. He was kind to all of those waiting in line and was quite talkative to those who engaged him in a discussion of the game. My other interaction? Okay, let me preface it by explaining the following: at the Wings, there is a locked glass door that leads into the business offices with the PR offices being the closest to the door. So when someone knocks on the door, it’s the job of one of the PR interns to determine who it is and if they are allowed to come in. Well one day, I heard a knock. Quickly followed by four more loud knocks. Annoyed, I got up and turned the corner to see who was obnoxiously knocking on the door like that. And who could it be but Scotty Bowman himself. Ever since then, I never roll my eyes when I get up to “answer the door” because I never know who might show up.
Anyways, Scotty will certainly be missed around the Joe, but I certainly wish him the best of luck in Chicago as he finally unites with his son, the assistant general manager for the Blackhawks. I don’t know if I can say it much better than Wings GM Ken Holland:
“I really believe he’s going to Chicago for personal reasons,” Holland said. “I’d like to think professionally we offered him everything that he wanted, but I know he has his son involved in the Chicago Blackhawks. If you ever get a chance to work with your family, that’s special.”
Holland said the Wings are “indebted” to Bowman.
“He really allowed us to go from being a talented team in the mid-’90s to a championship team,” Holland said. “He came in and he drove our players. He made some moves as the director of player personnel to bring in Slava Fetisov. Who is ever going to forget that?
“Who is ever going to forget him putting together the Russian Five? Or Scotty really willing Steve Yzerman to become, in my opinion, the best two-way player in the game? And obviously the championships.”
Thank you Scotty for everything you did for this organization over the last 15 years. We honestly could not have done it without you.
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