Willie leaving??

[Big Ern]

There is a rumor that head coach/GM Willie Desjardins is leaving the Hat for bigger and better opportunities.

Is there any word around town on this?

[Tiger Trauma]

The only thing i have heard is associate coach shaun clouston signed a "long-term" deal with the tigers.

I haven't heard about willie desjardin

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

He is apparently in talks with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). :cool:

[Scout]

Grand Rapids Griffins signed Mike Stothers as their head coach yesterday. A press conference will be held today to make an announcement. Unless Willy is going in as an assistant, that job is taken. I know alot of teams are talking to Willy but whether he leaves or not is yet to be seen. I guess being an assistant coach in the A.H.L. is a step up for him though.

Scout

[Scout]

Reports are that Phoenix is interested in Will taking over their A.H.L. affiliate San Antonio Rampage. They have made contact and are in discussions.

Scout

[bandwagonboy]

I've heard rumours that Willy has seen more than a few AHL/ECHL offers, and I heard one rumour that he has recieved a offer to be an assistant in the NHL but is waiting to recieve nothing less than a head coach offer in the NHL before he moves on. My rumours are probably no more substanciated and perhaps even less substanciated than yours.

One thing to remember however is that willy is in complete control over his destiny here, he loves the team, he and his family love the city and they also have a successful business outside of hockey very close by. I am thinking the offer is going to have to be extremely sweet before willy bites. Better than being offered a head coaching gig in the AHL I'm thinking. But the sky would not fall if he left, Clouston is an outstanding coach and an outstanding guy. The tigs would be in good hands.

[Tiger Trauma]

Desjardins headed for greener pastures?
By COLLIN GALLANT, Medicine Hat News
Jul 23, 2007, 23:45


As rumours go, it’s juicy and has building buzz of the hockey world backing it.
Willie Desjardins will be named the head coach of the San Antonio Rampage, the American Hockey league affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes, or so the speculation goes.
Desjardins laughed off the rumour when contacted Sunday — in Phoenix — as the Medicine Hat Tigers coach was wrapping up a three-week vacation with his family.
“I thought I was going to Edmonton?” asked Desjardins, who had been pegged as top candidate for the Edmonton Oil Kings job by Internet bloggers.
“My dad called me up and asked me if I was going to Edmonton... I go to Phoenix every year. ”
“If I was here talking hockey, would I have brought my kids?”
Fair enough, but there’s an air of truth to the rumour which everyone in the hockey world with the exception of Desjardins seems to know about.
Sources close to the situation and at different levels of hockey claim it is close to coming true.
So there are two explanations after you rule out the fiction angle.

A) Desjardins has never been one to give an easy inch to the media, especially on Sunday afternoons and even more so about job opportunities.
B) He’s never been one to kiss and tell about his career opportunities — other than to say that in the past there have been offers.

“Not any more than any other year,” sad Desjardins on Sunday. “I’ve got a great thing in Medicine Hat. You always look — everybody looks. When something comes up at a different level but it’s got to be awfully good.”
“I can’t speculate... There’s tons of stuff that goes into it. It’s not just a job or finding a spot... Medicine Hat’s been outstanding for me and my family.”
“Right now we’re totally happy with Medicine Hat. If something comes around I have to evaluate that opportunity for what’s there.”
The San Antonio scuttlebutt might also have arisen from the wishful thinking of friends and supporters wanting to see Desjardins working at a higher level.
He took over a basketcase team in 2002 and guided it to four regular season conference pennants and two league championships in a five-year tenure.
From a fan’s perspective it shouldn’t be much different than wanting Kris Russell to see NHL action next season.
There’s been an exodus of junior coaches to the minor pro ranks this summer. If Brent Sutter can head up the New Jersey Devils, why couldn’t Desjardins help mould Wayne Gretzky’s top prospects?
Phoenix is cleaning house, so to speak, bringing in new GM Don Maloney, new NHL assistant coaches to work under Gretzky, and turning over their farm system.
They know and respect Desjardins work, having signed three Tigers into their system as free-agents (Tommy Maxwell, Chris Stevens and most recently David Schlemko) and drafted another (Jordan Bendfeld).
The Tigers organization is also clearly positioning itself for the day when its coach gets an offer that’s too good to pass up.
The sum total of this summer’s transactions sets up recently re-signed associate coach Shaun Clouston as the heir apparent behind the bench and the long-rumoured hiring of Brad McEwen could fill Desjardins’ GM role.
And the rumour is not relegated to Medicine Hat coffee shops or the famously unreliable webboards.
At least one AHL source close to the situation felt Desjardins was all ready to be introduced.
“That’s the word on the street,” he said. “They’re in the middle of a house cleaning, bringing in new coaches.”
Former Lethbridge Hurricanes and Houston (AHL) head coach Rob Daum is another candidate to replace former head coach Pat Conacher in San Antonio.
Desjardins did confirm that McEwen would likely join the Tigers after the one-time Tigers coach quit his assistant GM job with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
“I think he will work for us in some means,” said Desjardins. “I’m not sure what those means will be.”
It’s certainly enough to make you wonder.

Seems like a good time to go to phoenix, might be a bit cooler there this time of year....(no im not kidding)...The last week we have had an average high of 35.15 degrees celsius....tomorow forecast of 40..yikes

[bandwagonboy]

Seems like a good time to go to phoenix, might be a bit cooler there this time of year....(no im not kidding)...The last week we have had an average high of 35.15 degrees celsius....tomorow forecast of 40..yikes

Yeah really, some naysayers are going to say why in the blue hell would you go to Phoenix in the middle of the summer. But many more would point out that it's not like Willy can pack up the family and go in the winter.

I dunno, I think he has a good thing going here and will stick around until he get's a offer to be a head coach in the show. I have no doubts that he has had offers from phoenix. I heard a reliable rumour that Willy earlier recieved an offer to be an assistant under the Gretzky. Where there's smoke there's fire. Still, I expect him to be behind the bench this season. And if he leaves the main gapping hole will be in the GM position, I think Clouston could step in and within a year or two be one of the top coaches in the league.