ON THE MARK.

THE TOUGHEST DECISION A COACH HAS TO MAKE.

In sports, there are starters and there are backups.  Most backups aspire to be starters, but things don't always work out, and many end up being career backups, or second stringers, or utility players as they like to call them in baseball.   In hockey, the only player that dresses but rarely plays is the back-up goalie.  Most teams have a number one starter, but in cases like the Maple Leafs, it's a 2 man game, with the hot hand usually getting the number one job....until he either screws up or gets injured.   
      And so it was that Ben Scrivens went from back-up to starter a few weeks ago when incumbent James Reimer went down with an injury.  Since becoming the starter, Scrivens has been excellent, having recently recorded back to back shutouts.   But, when I mentioned on the air yesterday that Randy Carlyle should NOT play Scrivens against Tampa, my "Sportsline" co-host, Bubba O'Neil lit into me.   Scrivens was hot.  Scrivens was on a roll.  Who else do you want in net against the NHLs top scoring team?   Now, granted, the Leafs back up goalie is Jussi Rynnas, who has started exactly one NHL game in his career.   Since Scrivens had played 2 games in three nights, and was going to play on back to back nights for the first time in HIS career, I felt he deserved a rest instead.  The Leafs didn't need to win the game, so let the back up get his skates wet and save Scrivens for Buffalo.
   By now you know that the Leafs lost 4-2 to Tampa, and Scrivens was pulled in the third period in favor of Rynnas.  Now Carlyle has a dilemma.  Does he go back to Scrivens against Buffalo, or does he start Rynnas?   It's one of the toughest decisions a coach has to make.  You can't burn your starter out, although Marty Brodeur regularly played 70+ games a year.   That meant Jacques Lemaire or Larry Robinson or Pat Burns had to find the right time to plug in the back up.   Suffice to say that guys like Chris Tererri, Mike Dunham, Corey Schwab, Kevin Weekes, Yann Danis, Scott Clemmensen and Johnan Hedberg spent a lot of time sitting at the end of the bench and working the gate for the players. 
     When Pat Burns coached the Maple Leafs, he rode Felix Potvin as his starting goalie for the most part.  For a few seasons, Potvin's backup was Damian Rhodes, a friendly, introspective fellow who seemed to lack confidence.  Burns was reluctant to play Rhodes, but he had to give Potvin the occasional rest.   Once, on a road trip to Dallas, Burns had a tough decision to make.  Play Potvin, who was dog-tired, or go with Rhodes, who was having problems dealing with the health of his father, who was dying of cancer at the time.  While having a smoke outside the airport terminal (Burns used to buy a pack of smokes and then leave it with me until he wanted one), he asked me whether he should play Potvin or Rhodes, saying he didn't think Rhodes' head was in the game.     Eventually, he settled on Rhodes, who played poorly and was eventually traded to Ottawa for Don Beaupre.
      And who is the greatest backup goalie of all time?   Well, Michel (Bunny) Larocque would be a good choice.   He backed up Ken Dryden for most of the 70s, and even though he only won one Stanley Cup, he did win 4 Vezina trophies (shared) and sported a career mark of 160-89 on some of the greatest teams ever.   My choice for greatest backup would be Rollie Melanson of the Islanders, who backed up Billy Smith and won 3 Stanley Cups and a Jennings trophy (shared).  His lifetime mark was 129-106.    Oh, there are plenty more "career" backups to talk about.  Rhodes, for example, was no longer a backup when he went to Ottawa.  He actually shared the number one spot with Ron Tugnutt.   Glenn Healy was a first string goalie for a few years, but ended up sharing duties on the Islanders with Mark Fitzpatrick, and then was a back up to Mike Richter on the Rangers.
     Ben Scrivens seems to have a bright future ahead of him as a goalie.  Whether he becomes a full time starter, a guy who shares playing time or a backup depends on a lot of things.  How much confidence does the coach have in him?  Who is the other goalie on the team?  What are the chances that he or Reimer gets traded anytime soon?    We know that Jussi Rynnas, among others, is asking those questions as well.   Better a back-up than a nobody, I guess.

UPDATE AT 3:23 P.M.   The Buffalo Sabres have fired coach Lindy Ruff.   He was the longest tenured coach in any of the pro sports, having started behind the Sabres bench 1165 games ago.   That was back in 1997.  Since he was hired, 170 coaching changes have taken place in the NHL.    Oh, and by the way, Ruff replaced Ted Nolan as the Sabres coach.  There, don't you feel OLD now?