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Profile of Ron Low
July 17, 2000- By Phil Austin
Last week, the New York Rangers made Ron Low their new head coach. The hiring has spawned a great deal of debate; some say he isn’t fit for the job. Others think that Low may be the missing ingredient for a Cup run. What I’m here to do is tell you what I think. A bona fide Oilers fan who remembers Ron Low’s first game as a coach in the NHL: a 6-0 butt kicking by the San Jose Sharks, and his last game: a heart-breaking 3-2 triple overtime loss to Dallas in the 1999 playoffs.
Ron Low was a member of the Oilers organization on and off for almost 20 years. In 1980, when Gretzky and the Oilers were gunning for a playoff spot, they traded captain Ron Chipperfield at the trading deadline to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Low; the veteran goalie they had been lacking. “Bleeping great!”, were Low’s first words as an Oiler after Quebec coach told him he’d been traded. The funny part, was the he was happy to be coming to the Oilers.
That season, Low led the Oilers into the playoffs, and into some close games against the powerhouse Philadelphia Flyers. But the following season, rookie Andy Moog stole the spotlight as the Oilers swept the mighty Canadiens in the first round of the 1981 playoffs. With the Oilers also having drafted Grant Fuhr, Low’s playing days in Edmonton were over.
He turned to coaching in the NHL in a few years, and over the course of the eighties and the early nineties, Low assistant-coached in Edmonton and eventually to Cape Breton to coach the farm-team Cape Breton Oilers. At the beginning of the 1994/95 season, the Oilers were coachless, and GM Glen Sather wanted the company-man Low for the job. A little known fact is that former owner Peter Pocklington interfered, pleading that Low was a “farm boy” and wasn’t suited to be an NHL coach. So the Oilers hired George Burnett to be their coach, and that proved to be a mistake. Burnett’s NHL coaching career lasted only 35 games, when he was fired after the Oilers were mired in a ten game winless streak and the dressing room in turmoil. Slats and Pocklington had obviously made a bad choice and Ron Low was called up overnight to coach the Oilers on their Southwestern road swing. Thus began an era in Edmonton.
Ron Low was always described in a positive manner from anyone that played for him. Being the complete opposite from Mike Keenan, he was a players coach, and his players all went to work hard for him. The Oilers missed the playoffs that year and the following year as well. At that time, Low did what he could with the team that he had, and the Oiler’s young stars were just beginning to shine.
In the 1996/97 season, Ron Low led the Oilers into the playoffs after a remarkable regular season and it was there that Oilers upset the Stars in a memorable 7 game series. The picture that I remember more than anything from that game 7 overtime win was not Todd Marchant roaring down the wing to score on a breakaway, but Curtis Joseph’s other-worldly save against Joe Nieuwendyk. After the game, Ron Low went immediately over to the birthday-boy Cujo and hugged him. Ron Low loved his players, and they loved him.
The most striking example of Low’s passion for his players came in during Game 6 versus Colorado in the 1998 playoffs. With the Oilers up 2-0, Av’s coach Marc Crawford threw out a goon-line in the dying seconds of the game. Ron Low was furious at Crawford for playing a line of Jeff Odgers and Warren Rychel against the much smaller Mats Lindgren and Dean McAmmond. Ron Low threw his chewing gum at Crawford and had to be restrained by his players from fighting with Crawford. He then gave Crawford the middle-finger which were accompanied by easy-to-lip-read swears. There isn’t an NHL players who wouldn’t give that extra bit of effort for a coach that will stick up for his players like that.
Low’s main strength was his ability to inspire his players. Countless times over the course of his Oilers career were the Oilers being badly outplayed. When this happened in games, Low would tell his players what it meant to wear an Oilers jersey and to go out with a never-say-die attitude. In any hockey game with the firewagon Oilers, no lead is safe, and Low would often fire up his players. In Edmonton, we got to see some amazing comebacks. Who could ever forget Game 3 in 1997 where the Oilers scored 3 unanswered third period goals in under 2 minutes and then in overtime to win a 4-3 game after being down 3-0? That is one asset that Low will bring to the Rangers. He will teach them pride and belief in their team.
Isn’t that what the New York Rangers need? A guy who will light a fire under them? Not a Keenan-fire that seems to explode, but a Zippo-fire where a player will be jumping and willing to give that extra 10 percent.
People always criticized Ron Low in Edmonton for never being able to get the Oilers over that proverbial hump. His teams each year were always mediocre. For any of those who use this excuse, I challenge you to find any coach that could lead the 1996-1999 Edmonton Oilers to anything better than a .500 record. Ron Low wasn’t the problem, it was the minimal talent that he had to work with. As well, Low had to coach against some superior teams in the playoffs. He led them to consecutive first-round upsets against Dallas and Colorado in 1997 and 1998. Remember this though: from 1997-1999, Ron Low’s Oilers were eliminated by the President’s Cup Champs.
In 1997, the defending Cup champion and league-leading Avalanche were the ones who beat the Oilers. In 1998, it was the revengeful Stars who were still seething over their first-round oust the year before. In 1999, it was the Presidents Cup, and eventual Stanley Cup champion Stars who again eliminated the Oilers.
So for all those who criticize his coaching, you tell me one team that could have beaten all three of those Goliaths in those years. That’s right, only the high-spending Detroit Red Wings could. There is one nagging question that is in the mind of every fan’s mind though. If Low was such a good coach, why was he let go by the Oilers?
Two words: Kevin Lowe.
In 1996, Glen Sather enticed Kevin Lowe to come back to the franchise by promising him a future in the organization. Everybody knew that when Kevin Lowe retired, he would soon be offered a job as a coach, and that he would eventually take over as GM for Sather. Ron Low’s coaching did not get him fired from Edmonton, it was Kevin Lowe. After the 1999 playoffs had ended, there were many teams sniffing around Edmonton looking for the chance to scoop the prospect Kevin Lowe out of the waters. Sather knew that if he didn’t give at least a head-coaching job to Kevin Lowe, that another franchise would. In the political arena that professional sports boasts, Ron Low was backstabbed.
It is quite obvious that Glen Sather did not want to let Ron Low go. If Sather felt that Low was a bad coach, why did he hire him again in the Big Apple? As soon as Muckler was fired by the Rangers and Sather stepped in as GM, I knew that Ron Low was going to be his coach. He has many skills as a coach, and Sather knows this. There aren’t many coaches that can inspire and cultivate respect from players like him. How many coaches can coach successfully with a run-and-gun style of hockey? Low could. New York’s biggest problem last year was the lack of heart that many players displayed. Ron Low will address that problem by teaching his players to respect the Red, White and Blue of the Rangers’ silks.
Ron Low will be the one to bind the Rangers and Messier will be the one to lead them. These two combined will be the two missing ingredients that the Rangers lacked to make a serious post-season run in the past. The Rangers are going to make the playoffs this year and do some damage.
Mark my words.
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