Blackhawks' Savard proud to be home

MONTREAL -- Denis Savard has repeated the story often, but it carries more significance here.

This is where it all began for Savard, in more ways than one.

Montreal is home. It's where he played briefly, winning his only Stanley Cup. And it's where he first got the itch to coach.

So there was more than a little meaning Tuesday when Savard came back to Montreal for the first time as an NHL head coach with the Blackhawks.

"I don't want to think it's a special game, but it is," Savard said. "I know it's special for my family to see me standing behind the bench."

The story Savard has told so many times is how he first got a taste of coaching during the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, when he broke his foot and couldn't play. Canadiens coach Jacques Demers pulled Savard aside one day and asked if he would be interested in "coaching" during the Finals against Los Angeles.

"When I broke my foot in the semifinals, Jacques Demers said why don't you come with us in the room, go to meetings, watch tapes with us and go behind the bench," Savard said. "I liked it. I told them some stuff and we used it. And it helped, I thought. That's when Jacques said you're going to be a good coach."

Demers was at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night as a broadcaster for the Canadiens and remembers being impressed by how Savard attacked the assignment.

"A lot of times you take players, a star like him, a Hall of Famer, and they just stand around and do nothing," Demers said. "But he got so involved; he was so positive. He's one of the most positive persons I've ever seen."

Demers isn't surprised that Savard has turned out to be a head coach in the NHL.

"You never know, really, who the good coaches are going to be," Demers said. "I thought maybe he was an assistant coach for too long because sometimes they say you're always going to be an assistant coach.

"But he kept saying he was ready, and fortunately Dale Tallon came along (as general manager), because I'm not too sure Bob Pulford would have given him a chance to be a head coach."

Savard was a Hawks assistant for nine years, starting in 1997 when former GM Bob Murray made him developmental coach.

While Demers saw coaching potential in Savard, others always have questioned whether Hall of Fame players can be good coaches. Guy Carbonneau, a former teammate and now the coach of the Canadiens, said there were some indications to him that Savard could be a coach.

"You could see that he liked to understand the game," Carbonneau said. "There's always that thing with offensive guys that a lot of it is instinct with them and not a lot of thought in it. He was a little bit different, like he kind of thought about his game and what he had to do."

Savard takes pride in proving great players can become good head coaches.

"People think that because you have had skill that you didn't learn the structure of the game," Savard said. "But the way I look at it, when you have skill players, I understand how they think. The grinder coach or the defensive coach doesn't understand what a skill player thinks."

The learning process is ongoing for Savard. He believes he became a better coach last season going through tough times and learning what and what not to do. Savard is putting much of that to use now as the Hawks pulled into Montreal on a five-game losing streak.

"Last year I didn't handle it very well, but I learned from it," Savard said. "I'm a positive guy, but it's easy to get so negative when things aren't going well.

"Last year why I got so mad is we just accepted it. There were ways I could have handled it, but I was too negative, too much in people's face. You guys don't see that in me, but I have that. Now I bring my leaders in and tell them this is what we need to get done."

Savard admits, as much as he tries not to do it, he does take the job home.

"Every night I go home, and I know it's probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but I think about what I have to do tomorrow, whether I have to address this or that," he said.

"I know someday coaches get fired, and I'm not looking forward to that day. But if that day comes it won't be because a lack of work or knowledge. I guess coaches burn themselves out. For me, I'm dealing a little better with it, but I still go home and think about it and I don't think I'm any different than any other coach."

Tonight's faceoff

Blackhawks vs. Dallas Stars at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.

TV: None

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Stars snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Minnesota 3-1 on Monday. The Hawks lead the season series 2-0, winning 2-1 in overtime at the United Center on Oct. 13 and 5-4 in Dallas on Halloween. The Hawks were 3-for-10 on the power play in the two games. The Stars re-signed leading scorer Mike Ribeiro to a five-year, $25 million contract extension Monday, keeping the veteran forward from becoming an unrestricted free agent in July. Ribeiro has 21 goals and 46 points.

Player to watch: Nikolai Khabibulin. The Hawks' No. 1 goalie is back in the net after getting Tuesday night off.

Next: Minnesota Wild at the United Center, 7:30 p.m. Friday

-- Tim Sassone