Jim Fennell: Hextall takes a risk with first decision

RON HEXTALL made the Manchester Monarchs his team Friday. He did it not only by announcing that Mark Morris would be the team's new coach, but also by explaining why former coach Jim Hughes was not even given an interview.

"We did our research with Jim and just felt like it was more of a reflection that we wanted to bring our own people in, as opposed to the job Jim did," Hextall said. "We feel we wanted someone we were comfortable with."

MARK MORRIS

Hextall went out and got Morris — who was coaching Hextall's son at a prep school in upstate New York. He convinced his boss, Kings general manager and president Dean Lombardi, that Morris was the right guy.

We will have to wait until sometime late in April or early May, when the second round of the American Hockey League playoffs are going, to find out if Hextall was right.

If the Monarchs are still playing, then Hextall made the right call. If they're not — and heaven help him if the team doesn't even make it to the playoffs — then he failed in his first major move since taking over as the team's general manager.

It's that simple.

Jim Hughes earned high marks for the job he did in his one year as head coach by taking a team that was young even by league standards and getting it within one game of advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

To let him go doesn't seem to make sense. Then again, I'm still wondering why Bruce Boudreau is still not coaching the team.

I understand the function of the Monarchs is to serve as the feeder for the Kings. The obligation of the coaches here is to get players ready for the NHL. Their job is to prepare the players that will help the Kings win.

Winning here in Manchester is part of that training, but it's not the end all. If the Monarchs never win a Calder Cup and the Kings go on to win the Stanley Cup, then Ron Hextall and Mark Morris have done their job.

But here's the thing: I'm not sure the fans of the Monarchs really care about how the Kings do. They want a team that can go deep into the playoffs.

Oh, sure, they follow the Kings because they are loyal to players who played for the Monarchs. But are people really checking the sports ticker first thing in morning for that late score from the West Coast?

I don't think so.

Hextall admitted he was going with a dark horse when he tabbed Morris — who has coached one season in professional hockey — rather than a guy who already knows the ropes of the AHL and NHL. Lombardi, who worked with Hextall for the past three years in Philadelphia and brought him to L.A., is backing his guy.

Hextall was a great and passionate NHL goalie and he seemed to be capable during his four years as the player personnel director of the Flyers. We will soon find out what he can do with one of the model AHL franchises.

Monarchs president Jeff Eisenberg said he expects season ticket sales, which have hovered around 5,000, to be down a little bit. He said a stronger showing in the playoffs would have helped boost those numbers, but then again, the team still leads the AHL in attendance.

Some of the fans who attended Friday's news conference to announce the hiring of Morris want the Monarchs to be more of a physical team this year. That seems to be style of Morris and it was certainly the style of Hextall during his playing days. We'll see if it is good enough to finally get the Monarchs deep into the playoffs.

"There are obviously questions for a guy who never coached in the American League," Hextall said. "There will always be questions until he proves himself."

Hextall was talking about Morris, but he might as well have been talking about himself.

Sunday News staff writer Jim Fennell's e-mail address is:jfennell@unionleader.com.