Pat Quinn's Legacy

[camperjr]

I have just started reading Dan Robson's biography on Pat Quinn. I am wondering how fellow Leaf fans remember Quinn. For me, he was the Leafs coach of my childhood, he is who I think of. Perhaps after 8 years of Babcock my mental image may change, but for me Quinn is the stereotypical Leafs coach, the archtype. I think his time as coach often gets lumped in the decade of losing. But some of those Leafs teams Quinn coached were the best the Leafs have been in that decade. Listening to sports talk the 2002 conference final often gets omitted when talking about Leafs history in favour of 1993.

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[studebaker17]

Quinn was the kind of guy that people just respected him, he demanded respect just with his presence. For the most part not a real x and o's type of coach but could be in he playoffs but more so a guy a team wanted to play hard for. Loved the way he handled off ice and interviews ect. Great at deflecting media pressure off his players ect. My second favorite leafs coach behind Burns and ahead of Neilson. Think he was a better coach than GM though.

 

[Bardown warrior]

I was only a kid during the Quinn era but remember fondly that we did in fact have the best coach in hockey at the time. Great legacy for a great guy

 

[Stephen]

1999 and 2002 aren't celebrated as much as 1993, but we had some great years with Pat Quinn. The big weakness with Quinn is he wasn't a great GM. Like most Leaf GMs since the expansion era, he completely neglected to build any kind of developmental system.

 

[BayStreetBully]

I have just started reading Dan Robson's biography on Pat Quinn. I am wondering how fellow Leaf fans remember Quinn. For me, he was the Leafs coach of my childhood, he is who I think of. Perhaps after 8 years of Babcock my mental image may change, but for me Quinn is the stereotypical Leafs coach, the archtype. I think his time as coach often gets lumped in the decade of losing. But some of those Leafs teams Quinn coached were the best the Leafs have been in that decade. Listening to sports talk the 2002 conference final often gets omitted when talking about Leafs history in favour of 1993.

I don't think it does. Most people view the Quinn era with fondness. He's remembered way more for 1998-2004 than he is for the post-lockout era. Same goes for Sundin, Belfour, McCabe, Kaberle, Tucker and Domi.

 

[Erdinger]

Knocking Bobby Orr out. The Boston thug fans then wanting a piece of him.

 

[Koolboss]

Missed those days .

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

He was the coach of my childhood as well. I consider myself pretty fortunate to have been a kid during a relatively stable time for the Leafs. Pat Quinn was the coach, Sundin the captain and the Leafs were a consistent playoff team under him. The man commanded respect and coached Canada to their first Olympic gold in 50 years.

Did he win a cup? No. But his name and face will always be associated with good memories for the Leafs.

 

[TMLegend]

Looking back with hindsight the best word I would use to sum up the Quinn era would be disappointing, In particular 2002-2004. Those were some good teams with loads of talent, experience, and character and the best they could manage was a single Conference finals appearance. On paper, the 2004 team was probably the best in East, and if not for a magnificent series by Eddie Belfour, they would been gone in Round 1 against the Sens in a upset.

 

[Warden of the North]

I clearly recall the Quinn years. Yet another class individual booted out of this organization by meddling top level management/ownership.

 

[BayStreetBully]

Looking back with hindsight the best word I would use to sum up the Quinn era would be disappointing, In particular 2002-2004. Those were some good teams with loads of talent, experience, and character and the best they could manage was a single Conference finals appearance. On paper, the 2004 team was probably the best in East, and if not for a magnificent series by Eddie Belfour, they would been gone in Round 1 against the Sens in a upset.

I would've loved a cup sometime between 1998-2004, but I enjoyed every minute of the ride. After we took Mogilny from NJ, I remember feeling that even if we didn't match up to Colorado or Detroit on paper, if we could just get through the slightly weaker East, then we'd always have a chance. The Leafs tried, I can't fault them for not going all the way. It's just another chapter before we get that elusive cup.

 

[Purity*]

Looking back with hindsight the best word I would use to sum up the Quinn era would be disappointing, In particular 2002-2004. Those were some good teams with loads of talent, experience, and character and the best they could manage was a single Conference finals appearance. On paper, the 2004 team was probably the best in East, and if not for a magnificent series by Eddie Belfour, they would been gone in Round 1 against the Sens in a upset.

Definitely disappointing. It looks very similar to what the Habs are today, perennial play-off team that just can't get it done. (Obviously there's nobody like Sundin on their roster however).

The 2003 and 2004 teams definitely had the talent to win the cup, but I really think Philly got in their heads after they lost game 7 to them in 03. The Devils too were such a powerhouse, honestly I was surprised when we took them to 7 games in '01. They probably take the cup too if not for Joe Sakic being ridiculous.

 

[Bomber0104]

Great coach and hockey man from the old school.

Nothing but great things to say about Quinn.

He built a great team and culture here in Toronto through top-down leadership.

 

[Erdinger]

Great coach and hockey man from the old school.

Nothing but great things to say about Quinn.

He built a great team and culture here in Toronto through top-down leadership.

But in the end he had to answer to Richard Peddie and OTP

 

[VanIslander]

I was in my thirties when he went to Toronto and thought his best years were behind him, over the decade (1988-1997) he GM'd in Vancouver.

 

[Al14]

I clearly recall the Quinn years. Yet another class individual booted out of this organization by meddling top level management/ownership.

I agree. He should have been kept in the Leafs organization til his last day on earth. A real shame the way he was treated in the end.

 

[Hunter74]

I always felt it was Quinn's lack of coaching (system to be specific) which held the Leafs back during his time. He was great at motivating his players though.

 

[Menzinger]

Great coach at the time who managed to turn the Leafs into a contender for multiple years. I've got very found memories of his years as head coach.

He just had a bit of trouble keeping up with changes in the game during his later years.

 

[Jerkini]

Pat Quinn was one of my favorite coaches. Just the way he handled his team, what he expected from them, and what his teams would sacrifice for the crest on the front of the shirt. One of the best coaches the game has ever seen IMO. It's a damn shame he never won his cup.

 

[mcleex]

Still can't believe he passed away. Its just surreal

 

[Poignant Discussion*]

I always felt it was Quinn's lack of coaching (system to be specific) which held the Leafs back during his time. He was great at motivating his players though.

It was intentional, he would not play trap hockey because of the fans. He believed hockey is entertainment....would be nice to have that sort of thinking back in the NHL.

His main weakness was the Leafs being hurt in the playoffs, it was something that frankly was bizarre. I really believe we win the cup the year Berrard went down. Not to mention the 2002 team with NINE regular players out and still went to the CF...that easily should have been a finals appearance

 

[hfman]

I agree. He should have been kept in the Leafs organization til his last day on earth. A real shame the way he was treated in the end.

Agreed. A 36-year old JFJ (John Ferguson Jr) came in and eventually fired him. Quinn must have been sitting in the fire seat looking at JFJ as he was being fired and thought to himself... "wow, I'm being fired by an inexperienced kid 20 years younger than me... this Leafs franchise is totally, absolutely f*****d up"

...and- Quinn would have been right. JFJ screwed this team for many, many years to come. The best he could come up with was his pathetic "I cannot confirm or deny" press conference after he was also fired - he looked like a freaking deer in headlights in that press conference. Scared as a little puppy. He'll never be back here, ever, ever. ever. Thank Lord for that.

here's a link to the press conference after he was fired. He's totally lost in it. If I'm not allowed to post this link, then my mistake, and please Mods, delete it. I'm not sure of how youtube links are treated here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkl2guwf-IA
That's the way this franchise used to operate. Hopefully the've moved on from those embarassing times.

 

[crump]

Built for the playoffs. He missed one post season then they fired him.. I remember when the Leafs, going into any series the Sens, were going to win no matter what. Great coach. Average GM.

He struck fear into guys like this...

 

[Joey24]

I clearly recall the Quinn years. Yet another class individual booted out of this organization by meddling top level management/ownership.

Yea pretty much this. I remember the Quinn years with a lot of fondness, he brought the leafs back and made them completive for a long time. Pettie didn't like Pats relations ship with then part owner. To the point that he couldn't fire Quinn after his Olympic win so instead he had JFJ gut the roster sign players they knew would fail just to get rid of Pat.

It was sad to see and I would have rather see them let him finish out the year, and take some sort of position with the front office. But the beef Richard Pettie had with Pat and his freedom as Coach/GM was pretty evident as Pettie couldn't control Pat so he forced him out and brought in someone would could.

 

[exporta]

One of the last men to hold the GM/Coach role with a club. I always liked the idea of a coach having the autonomy to move players who didn't fit and the ability to reward players personally with raises.