RON WILSON IS OUT AS DUCK COACH : A Mighty Strange Move

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD

May 21, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Ron Wilson’s deal to return as Mighty Duck coach, once considered only a formality, collapsed because of a strained relationship with team President Tony Tavares that reached the breaking point Tuesday.

Citing “philosophical differences,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said Wilson’s contract will not be renewed, leaving him free to seek a job with another NHL team.

Tavares did not attend a news conference at the Pond of Anaheim because he had “a prior commitment,” Ferreira said.

Reached later at Anaheim Stadium, Tavares said, “This has nothing to do with Xs and O’s. We just had irreconcilable differences. It was so obvious that there would be some real problems down the line, so to enter into a contract right now would be hypocritical.

“We’re not going to hold him up to a public critique. He reached the second round of the playoffs, that’s critique in itself.”

Four factors instead played a pivotal role in the decision not to re-sign Wilson after the Ducks’ most successful season, sources said. He was too candid about some day coaching elsewhere, didn’t relate well to Russian players, was unable to develop young players and played his superstars too much.

“This is not my decision, it’s theirs,” said Wilson, 41, who was not at the news conference. “I wanted to stay in the worst way. I did not orchestrate this.”

The Ducks’ last offer was about a month before the playoffs started, and the sides agreed not to talk until after the postseason.

Ferreira insisted the decision not to renew Wilson’s contract was his alone. Ferreira added that others, including Disney Chairman Michael Eisner, voiced their opinions too.

“There were philosophical differences, which I will not discuss in the future,” Ferreira said. “It’s not an easy decision, but it’s one I’ve made. Wins and losses were not important in making the decision. There were other issues.

“We’ll get another coach.”

Ferreira will begin his search immediately. “It could take two to three weeks, maybe more,” Ferreira said.

The list of candidates is expected to be headed by former King coach Robbie Ftorek, now an assistant with the New Jersey Devils.

Wilson this season led the Ducks to their first playoff appearance and first winning record. He had been tied with Detroit’s Scotty Bowman for the second-longest current tenure with the same club. Terry Crisp has coached Tampa Bay for five seasons.

Wilson and Crisp are the only coaches in NHL history to record 100 or more victories with an expansion team. Wilson, 120-145-31 with the Ducks, also coached Team USA to the World Cup of Hockey championship last September.

Tavares wanted Wilson fired last season in the wake of public criticism of goaltender Guy Hebert. Ferreira interceded then but could not placate Tavares this time.

Wilson’s candid comments about following in the footsteps of his father and uncle to coach Detroit sent Tavares into a rage while the Ducks were playing the Red Wings in the second round of the playoffs this month.

Wilson had been asked not to talk about the Red Wings, and Tavares became incensed when told Wilson was quoted as saying coaching in Detroit was his “dream job.”

Here’s what Wilson actually told the Detroit Free Press:

“You could say in a perfect world the Detroit Red Wings would be a dream job for me because of my family background, but it’s not something I covet right now. I’m only concerned with the Ducks.”

When asked if Wilson’s comments got him into trouble, Ferreira said: “Ron’s a good coach and he’s a good quote. It’s a bad day, it’s not a good day. I don’t want to get into slinging mud.”

Wilson sat with Ferreira at Monday’s Angel-Seattle Mariner game at Anaheim Stadium, but he had no indication of what was to come Tuesday.

“Jack said, ‘I left a message at home for you,’ ” Wilson said. “When I got home, the message said, ‘If you’re not playing golf, come on in this morning, I want to talk to you.’ Looking back, I should have said I was going golfing.

“I’m glad I found out now. I appreciate that it didn’t drag on forever. This way I can look toward the future.

“I don’t even know if anybody’s really interested. I hope so. In the next week or so I’ll find out.”

Wilson probably will be considered for jobs in Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose and Vancouver.

Wilson’s willingness to discuss job openings around the league wasn’t the only reason he angered Tavares, who also believed:

--Wilson could not effectively relate to Russian players, although he often praised backup goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov and defenseman Dmitri Mironov.

However, Wilson disliked lethargic winger Roman Oksiuta, who eventually was traded to Pittsburgh for promising center Richard Park.

--Wilson was too demanding of young players, particularly defensemen such as Jason Marshall and Dan Trebil and that hurt their confidence down the stretch.

In fact, Wilson was forced to play Marshall and Trebil because they were the best Ferreira could provide.

--Wilson gave too much ice time to all-star wingers Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya, which delayed the development of promising youngsters such as center Sean Pronger, and he didn’t play sluggish veterans such as Jari Kurri and Kevin Todd.

Selanne, who had 51 goals and 109 points, and Kariya (44 goals, 99 points) were the league’s second- and third-leading scorers in 1996-97.

“My dealings have always been with Jack and if there was a difference in philosophy, it was never communicated to me,” Wilson said. “The bottom line is I guess I made comments about my contract. I’ve always wanted to stay here and tried to make that known. I can’t control what other people say or newspapers write.”

Times staff writers Robyn Norwood and Chris Foster contributed to this story.

* REACTION: The players didn’t expect this to happen after reaching the playoffs for the first time, but “sometimes change is good,” Bobby Dollas said. C8

* WHO’S NEXT?: Former King Coach Robbie Ftorek is an early favorite for the Duck opening, but New Jersey has rejected previous inquiries about its assistant coach. C8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Four Degrees of Separation

The reported reasons behind the Mighty Ducks’ dismissal of Coach Ron Wilson:

* Too candid with the media.

* Could not effectively relate to Russian players. The Ducks had two Russian players in 1996-97.

* Too demanding of young players.

* Too much playing time for Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, the second-and third-leaving scorers in the NHL, at expense of developing young players.