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Written by Dale Woodard
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Friday, May 08 2009, 11:29 PM |
After three-and-a-half years at the helm of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Mike Dyck has left the bench.
In an announcement Friday morning the Hurricanes confirmed what had been reported in Friday’s Lethbridge Herald that Dyck’s contract — which expires May 31 — will not be renewed.
“I don’t know if I saw it coming,” said Dyck. “I know there’s a perception out there that I had an opportunity to sign an extension which would have carried me through to next year and the reason I didn’t sign it was based on money. That’s not the truth at all. The reason I didn’t sign that extension had to do with other factors. So when you solidify yourself in that sense you always put yourself into a situation where it could come down to this. I would have liked to have stayed. This is not only a team I’ve been with for three-and-a-half years, it’s my home. I would have loved to have stayed, but that’s the way the business goes and now I have to start to looking at other opportunities.”
In three-plus seasons Dyck coached the ’Canes to a 134-120-19 regular season record and was a part of the Hurricanes team that advanced to the WHL final in 2007-2008.
“I believe Mike’s decision was that he wanted to deal with two board members,” said Hurricanes general manager Roy Stasiuk. “That’s how the dealings have gone since last June. This is the decision that came back. So ultimately as general manager, I’m responsible to make that final call.”
Stasiuk also refuted talk of tensions between him and Dyck.
Rich Sutter told The Herald Thursday about a fractured relationship between coach and GM. Sutter, the former NHLer brought in by Stasiuk as a consultant earlier in the year, said the GM was a presence in the locker room during games and that he directly interfered with game-day lineup decisions. Sutter also made it clear he believed the Hurricanes should have kept Dyck on as head coach but that wouldn’t happen with Stasiuk as general manager.
“I don’t have that kind of personality,” said Stasiuk. “There are moments when you’re in the middle of competition that you can get fired up sometimes.
“But strain would be an incorrect word, probably too harsh. I think, not unlike any family, there are times little things come up and it gets a bit heated. But in regards to my background I don’t carry a grudge, a vendetta or anything else. It’s a matter of getting the work done.”
Dyck was diplomatic and, while he did not deny the tensions, he said there were more factors involved in the situation.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with a strained relationship with a coach and a general manager,” said Dyck. “There were a number of different strained relationships.”
Dyck said he had been in touch with some of his former players since the word came down that his contract would not be renewed.
“With them finding out what has happened, I’ve talked to a number of different players, mainly some of the older guys,” said Dyck. “I guess we’re all disappointed because we enjoyed working together and we were looking forward to another season.
“I was lucky enough to grow with guys like Ben Wright, Zach Boychuk, Dwight King and Carter Bancks. Those four guys were with me pretty much since Day 1. They’re good hockey players and real quality people.”
The former ’Canes head coach also tipped the hat to a few people who shared the bench with him over the years.
“I can’t tell you how working with quality people like that made this experience a positive one for me. Working with guys like Rich Sutter, Matt (Kabayama) and Cregg (Nicol),” said Dyck. “The key to any success is surrounding yourself with good people. From a coaching staff standpoint we had a lot of good people this year (as well as) guys like Jeff Battah (and) down the line three-and-a-half years to Tyler Broderson, Carolyn Glover, Bob Fretts, just some really quality people to work with. Probably the biggest thing I’ll take out of this is the people I’ve met, specifically some of the players that I’ve worked with.”
While assistant coach Nicol held a part time position with the club, Kabayama — a full-time assistant coach with the team — still has another year left on his contract.
“I don’t know where the erroneous report came up that he would probably not be retained,” said Stasiuk.
“So I guess until I find out where that report came from there’s no point answering it because there’s no truth to it.”
Now, Dyck looks to pursue a different coaching path.
“It’s definitely something I want to do,” he said. “I believe I’m a good coach and we’re certainly proud of what we’ve accomplished here in three-and-a-half years. Coming into a program that had maybe only won two playoff games in 10 years before getting here to a banner and 20 playoff games in three-and-a-half years. We’re certainly proud of that.”
In the meantime, the Hurricanes seek to have a new head coach in place by mid-to-late June, said Stasiuk.
“So now it’s a case of putting confidencies down that are in alignment with our organizational values and our goals and putting together a short list of candidates and pursuing those candidates with interviews.”
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