Prime Time Sports Summary - April 2, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet and James Deacon from The Fan590

Main NHL Story: Near the bottom of the hour, the roundtable discussed the situation in New Jersey. McCown put forward the questions, was this the right move and why did it happen?

Facts and Analysis:
- The Devils had won 4 of their last 5 and were getting key players back from the IR - there is no clear statistical reason as to why the coach was to be fired.
- This is the 3rd time Lou Lamoriello has fired a coach that seemed to be doing a good job and the second time he has put himself behind the bench.
- Discussion around Eric Duhatschek's article in the Globe & Mail.
- The Power of Lou Lamoriello - is he really doing any coaching? Rumours have it that Devil's assistant coach John MacLean is actually the brains behind the Devils strong season and that Lou just plays the "I am watching you" role. This is what was said to occur when Lou was behind the bench last season for the playoff when Larry Robinson stepped down.

Conclusion:
Lou Lamoriello fired Claude Julien for losing presence within the locker room. Julien began to favour some players and began showing signs of weakness, hence Big Lou stepped in to set things straight. Combine Julien's favoritism and Lou's MO and ego and it creates the scenario which we saw unfold yesterday. James Deacon closed the discussion off with a simple "It's just Lou being Lou."

Bullets:
Later on in the segment, the roundtable discussed the situation of Jared Murray - the grand-nephew of Ottawa Senators coach Brian Murray. You can read the article here, if you haven't already. As the roundtable discussed, this situation is a National disgrace. How is it that in a nation devoted to hockey we must limit those with talent? This is the same thing that happened to Gretzky in Brantford - he was forced out the city and had to play in Toronto. I guess the reason for all this can be found at the other players on the team and their parents. These players don't get a chance to "shine" and their parents were sick of it. Now poor Jared, an 8-year old kid, has to sit out from the game he loves.