EDIT- Speaker has pointed out that I am confusing Craig Ramsay with Mike Ramsey. The latter was the Olympian, while the former is the Selke Trophy winner and assistant coach with the Bruins.
Jay Feaster was on NHL Live this afternoon and briefly discussed the Thrashers' coaching search. Feaster took the reigns from Rick Dudley in Tampa and had dealings with him when Duds was running the show in Miami. He touched on the rampant rumors about John Torchetti and said that he wouldn't be at all surprised by that, but that he would also place bets on Dudley asking to speak to his old buddy Craig Ramsay who is currently an assistant with the Boston Bruins.
As you probably already know, Rammer was a member of the 1980 US Gold Medal winning Olympic team. This means that he has ties to Don Waddell as well as Dudley who brought him in to Tampa when Tortarella was head coach there. According to Feaster, Dudley called him from Florida and asked for permission to talk to Ramsay about moving with him from Tampa to Sunshine, but Feaster refused to grant permission. Feaster was absolutely glowing in his praise of Ramsay's coaching ability and style. He pointed out that Rammer won a Selke Trophy and is as adept at coaching defensemen as he is at coaching forwards.
I am on record saying that I want to see a battle tested coach hired for this job, but failing that, it sounds like Ramsey would be a great choice. One of the reasons for bringing in a proven head coach is for the built in respect and "belief" factor. Someone who played for Herb Brooks and won a Selke Trophy, and spent time behind the bench of the Sabres, Flyers, Lightning, and Bruins (brief stints as head coach for the Sabres and Flyers) would carry much the same gravitas.
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5 comments:
Wasn't it MIKE RamSEY that played on the 1980 Olympic gold medal squad? Perhaps both were on the team, but it would be pretty darn coincidental for the Sabres to have both Mike and Craig after they were on the same team in Lake Placid. Other than that, good stuff! Perhaps Lindy Ruff will get the ax and we can go after him to appease all of the Sabre rattlers who inhabit our building every time the Slugs come to town.
Speaker- I think you're right. I just heard the last name and got overly excited.
Yeah, I just double checked. He's much too old to have been on that team. But man I forgot what a solid 2-way player he was. He scored 20+ goals 8 straight times and 50+ points another 8 seasons in a row. Over 600 points for a guy who played in a full 80 games 8 straight times as well. Perhaps he can coach us to 8 straight winning seasons in Atanta?
So...does this mean the entire post is moot?
Not the entire thing as Dudley and Rammer are quite intimately linked in several ways (Buffalo and Tampa). I'd say there is a better chance of Rammer defecting from the Bruins to be a Head Coach than there is of Torch leaving CHI just yet...he may end up getting a shot in CHI if he remains patient.
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