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Monday, October 11, 1999
Scratch cuts deep
Coffey struggles with role as spectator
Invariably, it ends in ugly spitting contests. Accusations. Indignation. Ugly recrimination. And, in the majority of instances, a final, sad goodbye.
Paul Coffey knows all too well. He's seen the script far too often.
"I could throw beer bottles against the wall or rocks at passing cars or kick the dog or slam doors," he says, trying to make himself heard above the Oakland-Denver NFL game on TV. "But why? What good would that do?
"Seven or eight years ago, I made myself a promise: I wouldn't leave this game bitter. It's too great a game for that, and no one man is bigger than the game.
"Don't get me wrong. I don't like this. I'd rather be playing 25 minutes a night. I still think I can contribute. But what am I going to do?
"I sit down here in the dressing room and watch the game with the video guys. It's better than the press box. Down here, I can get replays, see how things happened. I still love to watch hockey."
Still loves to play, too. But at 38, the legs aren't as elasticized as they once were.
Time marches on. Relentlessly. And in doing so, it tramples even the swiftest, the most skillful, the finest. Gretz is gone. Jari, too. And Anderson. Fogie. Semenko. Kevin Lowe's coaching. MacT, too.
But Coffey soldiers on, as do Grant Fuhr and Mark Messier.
This afternoon will be the Carolina Hurricanes' fourth game of the season. Paul Coffey will be a healthy scratch for the fourth time. Yes, Paul Coffey. That Paul Coffey. The four Stanley Cup, 1,487-point, three Norris Trophy Paul Coffey.
"We've got some good kids in here," says Coffey. "Not just talent-wise. Good kids. Good people. They want to develop them. They have to play. No one has to spell it out to me.
"I'm lucky. I've got a great wife at home and two wonderful kids. When I'm with them, nothing else matters. So it's tougher being on the road, without them, having time to think."
It wouldn't mean near so much in Phoenix or Tampa or Denver. But here, where Coffey inflicted so much damage, became such a focal point of a battle that has been elevated now into the realm of folklore, it is, even at 38, a jarring reality.
Paul Coffey, a healthy scratch?!
We grew up with him, as writers or rink attendants or fans. He came to represent the game at its purest, at its zenith. He brought zest and speed and a seat-of-your-pants excitement on every visit.
"We have to play our younger guys," explains 'Canes coach Paul Maurice, a familiar refrain in such a situation. "Paul and I sat down and outlined his role on the team. Having a Paul Coffey sitting out could either be the biggest headache a coach could have or a good influence on the rest of the players. No in between.
"And it's been good. Paul's handled it well. But he's a proud man. A competitive man. Whether he handles it so well in the months to come ... we'll see.
"He'll play, no question. And don't get me wrong. If Paul Coffey gets in the lineup and he's flying, I'll play him every night."
Alas, even Paul Coffey cannot fly as high or as swiftly as he once did. Yes, he is being well paid to sit in the dressing room and watch games. But that doesn't make this any easier. He could up and quit but there's still a desire, a love.
"What if it continues this way?" Coffey ponders for a moment such a future. "I haven't allowed myself to think about that, to tell you the truth."
Hard to think of Paul Coffey as old school, he's always seemed so new wave, the way he and those Oilers revolutionized the sport back in the '80s, so full to overflowing with skill and swagger.
"When we were coming into the rink today, somebody said to me 'Boy, you must've had some nights here when you really lit it up.' "Coffey makes a face. "Yeah, I guess so, but that wasn't the point. Those Oilers-Flames games in the '80s were still the best hockey I've ever been a part of."
And we've ever been a part of.
"People talk about the records and the Stanley Cups and the Norris Trophies," says Coffey. "And they're all fine. But I owe the game everything.
"The game owes me nothing. Not one thing.
"I could walk away tomorrow and not feel angry or cheated.
"Through hockey, I've met some fabulous people. Hockey has allowed me to provide a great living for myself and my family. Hockey has given me far more highs than lows.
"Nobody has to say 'thank you' to Paul Coffey."
No, nobody has to. But for what he's accomplished over the years, what he's given us, how he and his buddies elevated the game up into the stars, we'd appreciate his indulging us, anyway.
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