The trouble with Gretzky

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 10:08 AM CDT Comment 47 comments

Ulf better not try and hold that face for too long.

So, we're waiting on the judge in the Coyotes case. From what I've heard, we'll have a decision within the next few days, perhaps even as early as later today.

In the meantime, the heat continues to be on Wayne Gretzky:

Still, this whole thing is awkward for a lot of people. And as long as he's listed as the coach of the team, especially if he is drawing his salary, then how come Gretzky doesn't have to go to work?

The players are working. Don Maloney, the general manager, is working. Assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson is really working, because he has to stand in as acting coach while Gretzky is off doing who knows what.

Greg Wyshynski has a roundup of similar Great One related criticisms here.

Gretzky's really in a ridiculous situation here, where he's part of the bankruptcy case in an ownership capacity, as a creditor and as a coach, and until everything's resolved, it strikes me as perfectly reasonable to stay away. For all intents and purposes, Samuelsson is the coach now because there's a decent chance Gretzky won't be back at all.

This absence, in other words, is just all part of the exit strategy.

What will be interesting is, if the league wins in bankruptcy court, how the NHL brass will renegotiate Gretzky's contract – a reworked deal that presumably will be passed onto whatever buyer Gary Bettman can find for the team. As written now, it's just another millstone around the neck of this franchise, as Gretzky's salary alone is responsible for as much as 25 per cent of the team's annual losses.

That's obviously a horrendous deal for the Coyotes, and as a result, it's opened Gretzky to all sorts of criticism – fair and otherwise. But the blame for the terms has to rest with the ownership and management that signed the deal, not the signer.

Where Gretzky erred is in not seeing disaster coming earlier and offering to renegotiate then, not once the damage has already been done. As it stands now, fans and media in Phoenix view him as a major part of the problem – just another financial misstep that has led them to potential relocation – and they really don't want him back.

The team's potential new owners, whoever they may be, may very well feel the exact same way.

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Salary...

Do coaches get paid only during the regular season or do they get paid during the pre-season as well, or even get paid year round? I am just curious because if Gretzky is getting paid right now and hasn’t shown up for work, shouldn’t he be suspended without pay? Gretzky’s salary isn’t insignificant and it is money that will eventually come out of the pockets of the unsecured creditors as every dollar that goes to Gretzky now is a dollar less that will go to them once Baum issues a decision.

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by HockeyAnalysis on Sep 21, 2009 10:25 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Gretzky's between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, I feel really bad for Wayne. He is, after all, responsible for this team being here in the first place and keeping it here when it was in danger of being relocated to Portland. Plus, there’s that whole “Great One” thing.

But honestly, a salary that accounts for a quarter of our annual losses is a little much to pay a coach who, ON ANY OTHER TEAM, would probably be kicking the bricks or making small talk with James Duthie and Darren Dreger on TSN broadcasts as an analyst (no offense, Bob). Sure, Wayne just signed the contract – but a guy who has more money than God already thanks to his incredible career and subsequent licensing deals probably could have looked at the team’s bottom line and said, “You know, I think this is just a little ridiculous.”

Still, he’s a good guy fundamentally and certainly not the ego-immersed asswipe like Michael Jordan turned out to be. He’s such a great ambassador for the game and terrific with fans and the media and so forth. He’s a real asset in those areas. But it really says something when Ulf Samuelsson takes over the team and the tempo and quality of play INSTANTLY becomes better (and trust me on this, the action on the ice at the Job is significantly improved if training camp is any indication).

It’s hard to blame Phoenix fans for not wanting him yelling and complaining behind the bench anymore. Ironic that he’s so vocal (to his detriment) as a coach and yet so silent now when we need his influence the most.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

by zyllyx on Sep 21, 2009 10:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Gretzky Holds Out?

1) Sorry, TGO needs to be there! Barring being told to stay away its his duty to be there. As we wrote on our blog last week this is absurd. Its a kin or even worse than a player ‘holding out’. Unless/until he’s fired he should be working!
2) We wonder if he’s even prepared to coach this season. What kind of message does this send to the team? Here they are in a mess already and now they have to start training camp without the head man? Players have to wonder who (if anyone) is running things.
3) After a week of this nonsense these are the first stories critical of Gretzky’s actions. Few if any will say what we all know; He’s a mediocre coach (at best) and been OVER paid for the past several seasons. Fans do NOT go to games to see a coach. Even one with his stature.

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by Fauxrumors on Sep 21, 2009 10:31 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

"But the blame for the terms has to rest with the ownership and management that signed the deal, not the signer."

And yet, Gretzky had been a part owner of the Coyotes for 5 years when he signed that contract (specifically, managing partner and head of hockey operations since 2001). He’s not completely without blame, since he was part of ownership and management.

by Forsch31 on Sep 21, 2009 11:29 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

His ownership stake is something like 1.4 per cent. That’s a pretty small share of the blame, no?

Someone higher up has to take responsibility with the way money has been thrown around in the organization, and Gretzky’s contract is the most egregious example of that.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Huh??? James, when he got that stake his partnership with Elllman was that he’d run the hockey side of things. Ellman didn’t know squat about hockey. It was a real estate deal for him. Gretzky agreed to the deal in part because he’d have say over hockey operations.

He hired his own agent as GM, hired a bunch of other cronies including his own brother, and made a fairly dysfunctional hockey organization truly dysfunctional. He gave his coach at the time, Bobby Francis, a terrible roster to work with. He takes over as coach and things get worse. Add in the whole Tocchet affair for good measure. Sorry most of the blame goes to him. I feel zero sympathy for someone who controlled their own fate and screwed it up.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who hired him here? Obviously Gretzky made a mess of things on the hockey side, but why is he still around? Who’s making those decisions? Why give him this god awful contract when the team’s bleeding money so badly?

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ellman hired him orginally and then the co-partnership of Moyes/Ellman and then Moyes alone kept him on. he was originally hired to oversee hockey ops. NHL and Ellman believed Gretz’s name would help carry weight. This is a concept I’ve never understood. A retired player’s name carries weight for about a month and then all people care about is results on the field of play. Moyes kept him though finally started wrestling some control away when it became clear that Marnett was clueless. Look no one is saying that Ellman and Moyes don’t bear a huge share in the whole thing (along with Bettman I might add), but to say that Wayne deserves just a small part of the blame is ridiculous.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Obviously I meant Barnett not Marnett. In too big of a hurry today.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Giving Gretzky that much responsibility was bound to fail. It’s just a terrible way to do business. That’s where the blame here lies.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look I certainly don’t disagree with you on that front, Moyes keeping him on his been a joke. However, his job performance itself is part of the equation. He helped create the disaster by said performance. This isn’t an either/or deal. Plenty of blame to go around between a small group of people who took a poorly run and positioned franchise and somehow made it 100 times worse.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your point was that Gretzky isn't to blame for the contract...

…because ownership and management should have never signed him to it. The problem is that Gretzky was the managing partner in charge of hockey operations when he signed that deal. Although he was a minority owner, he still had more than enough influence on the operations and management side of things to raise the question of conflicting interests, especially when his job was to negoitate contracts for new coaches. Yes, Ellman was desperate and lunkheaded enough to give him that much control and money, but saying that Gretzky isn’t somewhat responsible for his own contract is naive, to say the least.

by Forsch31 on Sep 21, 2009 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Heh, he’s not paying himself. Someone signs off on this nonsense.

He must have been drawing a salary as the managing partner already, too, and I don’t know how much of what he’s making is attributable to that.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe if I’m not mistaken all that money was warpped up in the one contract hence its inflated value. I should have mentioned that when I was trying to make my point earlier.

I haven’t seen actual paperwork on how Gretz is tied in with the partnership from the contract standpoint at this point. There may have been changes after Moyes bought out Ellman. My memory is fuzzy on the particulars.

I believe Brahm Resnick and you are the only folks who have been brave enough to sort through the partnership paperwork that has been released so far. You both are to be commended. I downloaded a couple of the court docs that were put online as PDF’s and after about page 60 my head was spinning like Linda Blair’s from all the legalese and the huge redacted portions that leave holes you could drive an 18 wheeler through.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not of the mind that players are completely blameless when they strongarm teams into inflated contracts (not just star players, either), and I see this as a similar scenario, with Gretzky filling in as coach, doing a good job, and wanting to do it full time. The only difference is that he was part of management and personnel decisions at the time (including hiring his former agent Mike Barnett as the general manager until 2007). Hard to blame management and not Gretzky at all.

There is a serious conflict of interest when anybody in that kind of position does that, and calling Gretzky blameless to the mess in Phoenix is turning a blind eye to somebody who was part of the problem.

by Forsch31 on Sep 25, 2009 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t actually disagree with this, but welcome to the problems of corporate governance and executive compensation in America, other than that what you’re calling management should properly be called the board. Beyond that, replace the words, “Gretzky,” “hockey,” and “Ellman,” with blanks to fill in, and you could be talking about scores of very large companies.

by J. Michael Neal on Sep 21, 2009 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why does Bettman share the blame for a coaching hiring/not-firing?

2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: Nothing Inspirational Comes to Mind

by Mike @ MHH on Sep 21, 2009 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

My repsonses related to comments made by other on the whole situation not just his current contract (which I beleives goes back to his ownership stake situation from the beginning) Bettman has manuevered behinds the scenes all along in Phoenix. He is the reason Gretzky got involved here in the first place. People from the outside seem to have missed the timeline and events that have transpired going back to before the Jets moved out here.

Sorry comments veered and I veered with them. :-)

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fair enough. Your comment seemed to be talking about coaching more than the ownership/managerial aspect of Gretzky’s involvement. I see what you were trying to say.

2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: Nothing Inspirational Comes to Mind

by Mike @ MHH on Sep 21, 2009 2:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

1) Good point. TGO’s role here has largely been glossed over by the press. He can’t have it both ways.
2) Bottom line if he’s still under contract to be coach he needs to be at camp with ‘his team’!

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself
sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Sep 21, 2009 11:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It remains to be seen whether he’s wanted there by the new ownership group. What purpose does it serve to be part of the team for one week of training camp?

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

IMO, if you’re getting paid $8 million to do a job, you don’t stop doing it until you’re officially fired. You don’t beg off to protect your image (while still collecting your checks) because you feel like you’ve been UNofficially fired.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

by zyllyx on Sep 21, 2009 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What are the chances Gretzky collects $8-million this season? Pretty much zero right?

As I said, obviously he deserves a small portion of blame here, but what Gretzky is is a symptom of the disease in Phoenix, not its cause. Inept decision making put him in charge and kept him there, and that’s helped push this thing down the toilet.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What about the players? The players don’t have the luxury of staying home and out of sight if they go on a massive losing streak. They have to keep coming back out and taking the ice regardless.

Gretzky should have come out of hiding, even if he no-commented the press from here ’til Tuesday, to do his job as coach of this team until he was specifically informed otherwise.

As far as Maloney is concerned, he has said he’s in contact with Wayne, but let’s be honest here – Wayne does not work for Maloney. If anything, Maloney works for Gretzky. That’s kinda what you get when your coach is also a part-owner.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

by zyllyx on Sep 21, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If the players weren’t going to get paid they wouldn’t be there either.

by GOOLIAN on Sep 21, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Gretzky not being there is better for the team, ultimately. He’d be far too big of a distraction at this point, at least until there’s some resolution that he’s in fact going to be the coach long term.

Slamming him in this situation just doesn’t add up. It makes far more sense to take out your frustrations on Jerry Moyes and company.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps it helps if you think of it that he’s the “whipping boy” for the Phoenix franchise much the same way Bettman is the “whipping boy” for the BoG/owners. Neither are solely to blame, but they bear a bit of culpability, and serve as the target for slamming the whole situation. C’mon, now. James….he HAD to know he was being offered ridiculous money for a coach, even in the NHL. He’s a symptom of the disease, not the cause. He deserves a bit of the heat too, just not ALL of it.

by Rage6878 on Sep 21, 2009 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

But I agree…his presence would definitely be a huge distraction, and it’s probably best if he stays away until the dust settles.

by Rage6878 on Sep 21, 2009 1:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s being paid as the managing partner, alternate governor and head coach. Obviously it’s still way too high, but I’m not going to blame Gretzky for signing that contract.

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by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Me either. If you put that contract in front of me to sign and got between the paper and pen, you’d be severely injured at the very least, so I try not to judge…but he deserves a bit o’ the lash. I’d take a stripe or two for that kind of cash. Just sayin’

by Rage6878 on Sep 21, 2009 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

We know he’s not performing his coaching duties, is he doing anything to warrant the other two titles?

2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche: Nothing Inspirational Comes to Mind

by Mike @ MHH on Sep 21, 2009 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

1) Have to disagree James. By not showing up it brings MORE attention to Gretzky. Also, regardless who wins the bid, who is going to fire TGO? Bettman? We doubt it. Balsillie? Not right away at least.
2) By staying away it makes it MORE likely he can/wil be replaced. In essence he’s resigned already

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself
sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Sep 21, 2009 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gretzky’s salary is either coming way down or he gets canned. End of story.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

1) Can’t see a new owner out right firing him. Not good PR to fire the best player to ever lace on skates. Would be interesting to see if Wayne would be willing to coach and get paid his market value. Sometimes we wonder (especially with this incident) how much he wants to coach

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself
sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Sep 21, 2009 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This cult of personality kills me. Trust me the vast majority of fans here in PHX want him gone like 4 years ago. Bringing him back as coach would be a huge mistake.

by CP2Devil on Sep 21, 2009 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can’t see a new owner hanging onto him. Not good PR to hold onto one of the worst coaches in the league. What does that say to the fans?

by dzuunmod on Sep 22, 2009 6:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not taking my frustrations out on Gretzky – like I said, as a person he’s a great human being and has always been a good ambassador to everyone, particularly the non-traditional markets. But from a principle standpoint, I believe if you’re paid to do a job, you do it until whoever pays you tells you not to.

Now – having said that, if the NHL’s position is correct and Gretzky’s coaching contract is a personal services contract with Moyes himself instead of the team, then the situation changes radically (for me, anyway). In that case I can easily believe that Gretzky’s staying away from the team has more significant connotations than if he were simply being paid by the team to be the coach.

I agree with you wholeheartedly that Gretzky’s absence is better for the team. In principle, I feel like he needs to do the job he’s paid to do, but in practice him NOT doing the job he’s paid to do seems to be paying off for the team. Sad, but true. And Dave King being named assistant makes it look very similar to the Blackhawks’ coaching situation last season.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

by zyllyx on Sep 21, 2009 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gretzky should have come out of hiding, even if he no-commented the press from here ’til Tuesday, to do his job as coach of this team until he was specifically informed otherwise.

Exactly. I’m as big a gretzky fan as anyone in the world – I have a 99 tattoo on my shoulder – but if he’s still under contract to coach, he should still be showing up to coach.

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by poploser on Sep 21, 2009 5:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not a big fan of TGO but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt here.It does seem to me that he’s tried to keep a low profile since this whole thing began so perhaps this is more of the same? We have no idea if he’s being paid or if he’s being counselled to stay away. He’s also no dummy and had to expect the kind of criticisms that are being levelled here and elsewhere.
Ulitmately I think the onus is on the GM here to clarify things.

by yrmom on Sep 21, 2009 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Props to Coyotes fans

If they can tell that Gretzky is the problem, not the solution.
Because too many hosers have the blinders on. For 30 years now.

by garth the hoser on Sep 21, 2009 2:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think any of them want to keep him around. And I don’t blame them.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That photo

Boy, Toyota is getting a lot of “impressions” mileage out of the empty seats behind the ’Yotes bench these days…

Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.

by Dominik on Sep 21, 2009 3:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s a rather ironic advertising gig, isn’t it? Your logo gains more visibility only if fewer people are there to see it.

by Resolute on Sep 21, 2009 5:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Given they don’t have a TV contract, I wonder who will see those logos anyway.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Sep 21, 2009 5:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The players, of course. They’re the ones with all of that disposable income, after all. :P

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

by zyllyx on Sep 21, 2009 6:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

An emergency hearing Wednesday?!?!?

Man this story has legs, James. Look forward to your continuing coverage

by Rage6878 on Sep 22, 2009 7:56 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I would assume that almost surely he has been ordered to stay away at the demand of the Unsecured Creditors’ Committee, who have the authority to deal with his claim (as has been permitted by Moyes/the debtors).

They appear in the more recent filings to be taking the position (as supported by at least some of the documentation) that his contract is with Moyes personally.

If one is going to take the position that the obligation is a personal one of Moyes, then the only proper step would be to take the position that, since he does not have a contract with the team, he cannot be permitted to coach the team. If they were to allow him to coach the team, then that would hurt the argument that the obligation to pay does not belong to the team.

by Gerald on Sep 22, 2009 10:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs