In the days after Steve Spott landed a job as a rookie assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs in July, he was tasked with a bevy of responsibilities by head coach Randy Carlyle.
Among them, Spott was charged with devising a new breakout play for a team that has long struggled to get the puck out of its own end. Spott thought he’d hit on an effective strategy — until, that is, he shared the plan with Leafs leading scorer Phil Kessel. When Kessel voiced displeasure, Spott discovered a harsh reality of life in the NHL. In some corners of the league, and apparently in Leafland, a coach’s learning curve involves bending to the desires of star players.
At least, such was the gist of an anecdote Spott shared at a coaches’ clinic at which he was a guest speaker last month, this according to interviews with three minor-hockey coaches who were in attendance.
“Spotter said that when he went to Phil (with the breakout play), Phil said, I’m not doing it,” said one of the attendees, a former professional player.
