FINLAND – The official crisis club, also known as TPS, has continued to crawl in the league and has a Toronto Maple Leafs (circa 2009-2010)-esque losing streak of 11 games. It is clear that TPS will not be able to turn its course with the current calibre line-up and the TPS faithful are eagerly anticipating news for the better.
TPS held a crisis meeting today (13.10.2010) where it was reported that the team discussed options to improve the situation and league position.
Player Coordinator, Ari Vuori said, “We are not making any rash decisions or any decisions today and we have nothing to announce. We will look at the situation and will work to get this team to come together and play better. The only positive is that we do not have a game until Saturday.”
The only ‘announcement’ that was definite was that defence man Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre has left the team as his temporary contract had expired and will join a Swedish Elite Serien team for the remainder of the year as per original agreement.
After recent losses, TPS head coach tried to use a trick current Jokerit head coach Hannu Jortikka has often used and something that is often seen in the NHL. Heikki Leime called out a number of his players during a press interview, which many speculate will be his death knoll at the helm of TPS. Calling out players is frowned upon by players in the Finnish leagues as it is not common to criticize players in the public or press but is something that is done in the coach’s office or in the locker room and team meetings.
Recent rumours have suggested that TPS already has a contract with a new head coach for 2011-2012 season. If the rumours are true and it is Kari Jalonen who steps up to the plate, it is more than likely that Leime’s job is secure, at least until other teams start their play-offs. Let’s face it, if TPS are playing like they are right now, the players can look for a long summer holiday.
So instead of the coach’s head rolling, whose will? Many have suggested that it will be the players who will face the chop. If rumours on internet message boards and the media are right TPS is shopping around its ‘key players’ Marko Kivenmaki and Mario Valery-Trabucco. Other suggestions are that remaining members of the championship winning team are also facing relocation after suggestions that players have gotten ‘too comfortable’.
IF the rumours are not true, which a statement made by the TPS team boss Timo Laukkanen would support. According to news paper Ilta-Lehti, Leime has a month’s grace to turn things around.
But is it reasonable to expect a club to do well after a championship winning year? Well yes and no; if we cast our eyes to the NHL for a couple of examples namely Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Anaheim Ducks it is clear that winning championships is tough, maintaining a championship calibre roster isn’t. Hurricanes, Tampa Bay and Ducks haven’t exactly been awe inspiring since winning the Stanley Cup, but at least the NHL teams have the excuse of a salary cap, which means that it is harder to keep a roster together when it comes to building a team. In the Finnish leagues the problem is a bit different, as in that it is the other leagues offering better deals to successful players. In TPS’ occasion, it lost players to KHL, NHL and Swedish Elite Series.
On the flip side of the above NHL examples, a franchise that has done well consistently is Detroit Redwings. The team has been built with longevity and success in mind and a good testament of the calibre roster is Niclas Lidstrom who has never missed a single post season during his entire career.
Surely the global economic crisis has had its role to play in hockey as well and player budgets have shrunk year after year, which means that high calibre Finnish bred players will be more inclined to accept deals from more lucrative leagues and financially secure teams, where in return the talent that is being bought in is not of the highest standard.
Another trend seen in Finnish hockey in the recent years is what can only be called ‘rental players’. What this means is that some teams will be happy to accept players (like Jan-Luc Grand-Pierre) on temporary contracts before they move to different leagues due to tax regulations. Alternatively if a player is coming to Finland to play, like in the Tom Preissing case, players will spend few months in a different league to avoid the high taxes for the full year in the Finnish system. If a player spends a grand total of a few months with a team it is bound to have a profound effect on the team on the ice, line ups and so on. Worse yet, if the rental player is a charachter player and is the one that keeeps momentum in the changing room, it can be a tough job for one of the regulars to step into those shoes. Players come and go in hockey, it is part of the business and it is difficult to find players that would be loyal to one team their whole career. This is why player scouting is so important. Undoubtedly TPS has spent time scouting players from overseas and the Finnish leagues, but the acquisitions have not been as good as one might have hoped.
The team has loads of NHL experience in its ranks, but NHL experience alone doesn’t mean that a player is suitable for the Finnish leagues and will be an automatic superstar. The SM-Liiga is one of the toughest leagues in Europe and NHL experience doesn’t always guarantee skill or goals. This is not to say that NHL players wouldn’t succeed – in fact many do – but it takes a lot of effort to become a star in the league and NHL merits alone do not bring butts to the stands.
TPS’ woes have not been helped by the worst injury record in the league, but a competent coach would be able to work with the tools he has been given, case and point: Tappara. Relatively inexperienced head coach, relatively uninspiring roster, but the team is far higher in the standings than any one would’ve dared to expect. Tappara’s head coach has brought belief into the team and a system that works, where TPS’ Heikki Leime stated that he would carry on with similar system as previous head coach, Kai Suikkanen. The trouble is, Suikkanen had authority was a natural born leader, where as Leime isn’t. It is interesting that Suikkanen and Leime were relatively inexperienced head coach’s that have had results from totally different ends of the spectrum.
Suikkanen’s main sport (in a GM or managerial capacity) was Finnish-baseball before he moved back into hockey. Suikkanen was a successful during his playing career and represented Finland in the international stage, including Olympics. After his hockey career finished (no Finnish-finish jokes please) he ended up working in a front office role in the baseball scene (where he also won a National Championship) before he undertook his first coaching roles in hockey. Suikkanen came into TPS from the Mestis stage, but he had proved that he was a capable coach with infinite amount of potential.
Leime, on the other hand, has coaching experience from the French leagues, which are a far cry from the standard of the Finnish league. Though that is not to say that coaches from such leagues wouldn’t succeed. A good example of this is the current Team Finland head coach, Jukka Jalonen who cut his teeth in the English Elite League. Some have suggested that TPS got lucky with Suikkanen where as the ‘lottery’ hasn’t been as successful with Leime, well it has been a disaster to be honest.
It also begs to question whether Leime has the respect of his players in the same way Suikkanen did. I read a tweet from a renowned Finnish hockey pundit and his view was that the TPS players were intentionally trying to play Leime out of his job. It’s sometimes tricky to express views in 140 charachters, but based on games I’ve seen I can only agree with the sentiment, or that the team really is in such a woeful state.
As the NHL season started I could not help but notice that there are an awful lot of similarities between the Anaheim Ducks and TPS. Both have similar coloured uniforms and both play absolutely dreadful hockey.
One thing that TPS has been successful in has been to give people a lot to talk about around the water cooler and has given journalists plenty to write about.
Contact Janne.Virtanen@prohockeynews.com
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