If Denis Savard doesn’t succeed as the Blackhawks’ coach, it won’t be because of a lack of effort or a lack of passion for the job.
That was on full display in a rather interesting postgame news conference Sunday, after the Hawks ended a 10-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.
In the greater scheme of things the game meant very little–a run-of-the-mill late January game for a team with little hope of making the playoffs. Yet Savard had to take time to compose himself in order to not break down, then professed his love for his players, the city of Chicago and the franchise.
After waiting so long for a chance to be a head coach, Savard has thrown himself into the job with the intensity normally found in the NFL coaching ranks.
“If I have to be here 15 hours a day, I’ll be here 15 hours a day,” Savard said over the weekend. “I’ll never give up.”
That kind of intensity is common in the NFL, where coaches routinely spend the night in their offices. But in the NFL, there is only one game a week to build and work for.
It’s a much different dynamic in the NHL, or NBA and baseball for that matter, where the games come fast and furious with constant travel thrown into the mix.
For now at least, Savard believes he can make a major difference in the way his players perform.
“We’re learning,” he said. “I’m going to give them every minute, every hour to help them get what needs to be done.”
In reality, there is only so much an NHL coach can do. By the time athletes reach the professional ranks, their work habits and skills are pretty much formed.
Savard credited an extended video session this weekend with Denis Arkhipov for helping the Russian center, who scored the tying and winning goals Sunday.
Savard wondered why Arkhipov, who was among the Hawks’ better players right after Savard took over, became nearly invisible recently and took it upon himself to bring Arkhipov back into the picture.
“I’m going to work like a son of a gun and I’m going to be positive and keep working and if I have to, . . . I’ll push buttons again,” Savard said.
But even Savard admits that–eventually–there is only so much he can do and it’s just as likely Arkhipov will be good for a week and nowhere to be found another week.
“There are only certain buttons I can push,” he said. “It has to come from within.”
Savard is in an interesting position in that he’s learning on the job. Despite being an assistant for many seasons, it’s entirely different being the main man.
More Top Picks Ladder Tossss
Even though it was his first NHL job, former coach Trent Yawney had years of experience as a head coach in the minor leagues to prepare himself.
Savard also is tremendously loyal to the Wirtz family.
Every coach takes losing hard, but given Savard’s history with the Hawks and the Wirtzes, the last couple of weeks were especially difficult for the Hall of Fame center.
“Inside it hurts me, big time,” he said.
And if it takes 15 hours a day to turn things around, he’ll give it–at least as long as he physically can.
———-