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By Rhys Richards (@RREsq)
On Monday, Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted that Detroit’s associate coach Tom Renney would be introduced as president of Hockey Canada in Calgary on Tuesday.
Dreger also reported that current Pittsburgh assistant coach Tony Granato accepted an assistant coaching position with the Red Wings to replace Bill Peters, who was recently hired by the Carolina Hurricanes as their next head coach.
According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit cannot formally announce the hiring of Granato because he is still formally under contract with the Penguins for the next two seasons. The Red Wings have reached out to new Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford about releasing Granato. That release is expected to be a mere formality.
Renney has served as an associate coach in Detroit for two seasons.
He began his coaching career in the Western Hockey League as the bench boss for the Kamloops Blazers. He has previously served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks (1996-1997), New York Rangers (2003-2009), and Edmonton Oilers (2010-2012). Renney is still fourth on New York’s all-time wins list for head coaches.
Internationally, Renney has served Canada in a variety of capacities. For two seasons, he was the head coach of the men’s national team that won silver in Lillyhammer, Norway in 1994. After departing the Canucks, he coached several Canadian teams in international tournaments.
Renney was also a part of Team Canada’s coaching staff for the 2004 and 2005 World Championships, earning a gold medal in 2004. In ten stints in some aspect of Team Canada’s staff for World Championships, Renney has won three gold, three silver, and two bronze medals.
With Renney’s departure, Detroit moved quickly to fill one of its two open coaching positions. Granato has coached in the NHL since 2002-2003. Granato began his coaching career with the Colorado Avalanche, serving as the team’s head coach on two occasions (2002-2004, 2008-2009). He has served as the Pittsburgh Penguins associate coach since 2009.
Granato played fourteen seasons in the NHL. He scored 492 points in 774 regular season games and 43 points in 79 playoff games and played for New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. The 6th round pick in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft amassed 1425 penalty minutes in the regular season and 141 penalty minutes in the postseason.
Given the recent success of Detroit’s coaches, Granato may be looking for a springboard into another NHL head coaching gig in a season or two. Former assistant coaches Todd McClellan (San Jose), Paul MacLean (Ottawa), and now Peters are currently head coaches in the NHL.
The Red Wings continue to look for another coach to join head coach Mike Babcock’s staff.
Rhys’ Rants: Many Detroit Red Wings fans took to social media to express their displeasure over the recent re-signing of forward Dan Cleary. Detroit recently finalized a one-year, one-way deal with Cleary that will pay the forward $1.5 million with the opportunity to earn a bonus of $1 million if he plays more than 10 games. The deal includes a no-trade clause.
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Cleary agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million deal with Detroit last season after rejecting a three-year, $8.25 million offer from the Philadelphia Flyers. A day before training camp, Cleary flew to Traverse City and hammered out a deal with head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Ken Holland that required Cleary to take a pay cut but included a promise to take care of him in 2014-2015.
Despite producing only 8 points in an injury-shortened, 52-game season last year, Cleary has been a Red Wing for nine seasons. Babcock has always been a huge fan of Cleary, and Holland made a promise to him.
While the Red Wings struck out in free agency this year, Detroit has been considered an ideal spot for many the savvy veteran because of how the organization treats the players that have grown up in the organization and the veterans who have aged with grace in the winged wheel. Cleary represents yet another example of that approach.
While the Cleary contract is not ideal, a promise is a promise in Detroit. The organization has made it clear that Cleary will have to make the team out of camp and is most certainly not assured a regular spot in the lineup.
Cleary is not a top-six forward, but he is a Red Wing. Detroit cherishes everything that being a Red Wing embodies. For that reason, I do not question Holland or the contract. In fact, I am refreshed by a general manager of a professional sports team keeping his word.
Statistics and other information obtained at www.hockeydb.com.
Share your thoughts about the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings, and hockey in general with Rhys at Twitter: @RREsq. He can be reached via email at RhysJRichards@gmail.com. Join the many fans of The Hckey Guys on Facebook and Twitter @TheHockeyGuys
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