Assistant coaches' futures bright

PHILADELPHIA - The champagne wasn't dry and stinky on the clothes of the assistant coaches early Thursday morning when they were already being asked questions about their futures.

Both Mike Haviland and John Torchetti are rumored to be up for vacant jobs around the league, something Jonathan Toews wasn't ready to ponder.

"We know there are going to be some changes and I can't even think about that yet,'' Toews said. "It's sad to even think about it. The reality is we have a great team and we know some players are going to be gone.

"Our assistant coaches, well, look at our special teams. That tells you all you need to know about them. Of course there will be interest in them.''

Haviland paid his dues at Norfolk and then Rockford, not to mention the years in the ECHL, where he was discovered by then Norfolk GM Al MacIsaac - now in the Hawks' front office - who also worked with Trent Yawney in Norfolk.

Those three played a large part in the development of a lot of players now in the NHL, including many key components of the young champs from Chicago.

"Trent and Al did a lot of work on a lot of these guys before I even got there, and to see these kids today, I don't have the words,'' Haviland said, tears in his eyes. "You know, you feel like a proud dad when you feel like maybe you played a small role in helping them get here.

"Trent Yawney has put a lot of players in the NHL and a lot of players owe him a lot, and I know Yawns is watching tonight and I know he feels proud, too.

It's just really awesome to see these guys grow up into men and do what they did here, win the Stanley Cup.''

Duncan Keith, who doubled in gold for Canada and the Stanley Cup this year, and nearly won the Conn Smythe, hasn't forgotten from where he came.

"Yawns was captain of the Canadian Olympic team. He's a hero in Canada,'' Keith said. "He taught me a lot about hockey and how to play defense and all that, but really more important he taught me to be a man and to be a pro, and I grew up with him.

"I spent a lot of time with him and really he kept me in Norfolk when I wasn't sure it was best, and it was the best thing for me.

"You think about those people when something like this is happening to you. There's a lot of people who help you get here. You don't do this on your own.

"We're all here tonight because of all the coaches on our team now and all the coaches from all the teams we played on. This is for them, too.''