| | Associated Press
VOORHEES, N.J. -- The last time Philadelphia won the Stanley
Cup 25 years ago, Craig Ramsay was there -- on the ice, wearing an
opposing uniform.
Now he has been given the responsibility of helping the Flyers win
it again.
Ramsay was hired Thursday as the 13th coach of the Flyers after
stepping in for ailing Roger Neilson during the season and leading
the team to within one victory of the Stanley Cup finals.
|  | | Craig Ramsay will be back behind the Flyers' bench next year as head coach. |
It's the first head-coaching opportunity for Ramsay, who spent
15 years in various assistant coaching positions after his 14-year
playing career with Buffalo ended in 1985. Ramsay was a forward on
the Sabres team that lost to the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals
in 1975.
"There's some doubt you'll get the chance, but I never doubted
I can do the job," Ramsay said about the long wait.
Ramsay finished the regular season with a 16-8-1 mark after
Neilson stepped aside in February for cancer treatment. He took
Philadelphia to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference finals
against the New Jersey Devils.
The move ended speculation about whether Neilson would return
for a fourth season. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in
December and left the team Feb. 19 to pursue aggressive treatment.
"I'm very happy for Craig. It's something he's earned and I'm
sure he's going to do a great job," Neilson said. "Naturally, I
wish it wasn't my job, but he deserves it and I'm happy for him."
Neilson had wanted to return for the first round of the playoffs
in April. But general manager Bob Clarke and Neilson's doctors
decided the 65-year-old coach wasn't ready.
Clarke told Neilson of his decision Thursday.
"It wasn't fun calling Roger," Clarke said. "There will be a
job for him here if he needs one. He won't be an assistant coach.
There are plenty of jobs in the organization for a hockey man."
Neilson said he wasn't bitter toward the Flyers but added he
felt he should have been given a chance to return. He said he
wasn't surprised by the move and plans to look for another job.
The Flyers have given Neilson permission to look elsewhere for
an NHL head-coaching job.
"We've talked to the three teams that don't have coaches right
now -- the two expansion teams and Calgary, so we'll just have to
wait and see what happens," Neilson said.
The Flyers also announced that John Stevens will replace Bill
Barber as coach of their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Barber also is seeking an NHL-head coaching position and is
interviewing for the job with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Mike Stothers, an assistant with the Phantoms, will join the
Flyers as an assistant. Wayne Cashman, former head coach with the
Flyers, will not return to his assistant position, Clarke said.
Cashman is interviewing for an assistant job with Tampa Bay.
Barber may return to fill the assistant vacancy with the Flyers.
The Flyers were 29-17-1 with Neilson behind the bench this
season. Ramsay helped the team overcome a 15-point deficit to
capture the top spot in the conference. The team then beat Buffalo
in the opening round of the playoffs and Pittsburgh in the second
round.
"We've already had a run with this team," Ramsay said. "It
will be nice to start the season and be organized from the start."
Ramsay, who spent two seasons with the Florida Panthers as an
assistant to Neilson, rejoined him with the Flyers in 1998 after
two seasons as an assistant for the Ottawa Senators. He spent the
1995-96 season as a scout for the Dallas Stars.
His coaching experience also includes three seasons in the
mid-1980s with the Buffalo Sabres as an assistant coach and interim
head coach. He went 4-15-2 record during November and December 1986
before being replaced by Ted Sator as head coach.
Neilson, who was hired as the Flyers' coach in March 1998, had
said Clarke promised him he could return after he recovered from a
stem cell bone-marrow transplant.
In late April, he fired a shot at the organization, telling a
Toronto radio station, "I don't think they want a cancer patient
who is a friend of Eric Lindros behind the bench right now."
Neilson said at the time he had an agreement with Clarke on a
new contract in February that was withdrawn. He called the
situation a "nightmare."
"I feel really good and I felt that way ever since I came back
from Florida in the first round," Neilson said Thursday. "I
certainly wanted to coach then and I would have liked to coach next
year, too, but that wasn't to be and that's the way it is in this
game. There are decision you don't agree with and you just got to
go on with it."
Ramsay and Neilson have similar coaching styles, but Ramsay is
more willing to play younger guys and role players.
Neilson, who was 76-52-22 with the Flyers, has coached seven NHL
teams in 15 seasons and has a career record of 443-372-148. | |
ALSO SEE
Flyers planning on keeping rights to Lindros
Feud between Lindros' dad, Clarke revealed in letters
 |
