Monday, April 10, 2000
Mantha ponders his future
BY John P. Wise
Enquirer contributor
Moe Mantha knows he'll be coaching in Cincinnati again. He's not sure if his office will still be at The Gardens or in his living room.
Mantha's Mighty Ducks concluded their season Sunday in last place of the Mid-Atlantic Division. Having spent the last three months of the season in that position and failing to claim one of 16 playoff spots alloted to the AHL's 19 teams, Mantha's future with the team is uncertain. He's said, however, that if he's not coaching the top minor league affiliate for NHL Anaheim next year, he'll be coaching his son's pee wee team at Northland Ice Center in Evendale.
“I love the game of the hockey; it's in my blood,” Mantha said. “My 10-year-old son Devin needs a coach for his pee wee traveling team, so I guess I could do that.”
Mantha said he hopes Anaheim will base its decision on how he has helped the franchise's young players develop, rather than wins and losses. He coached the Baltimore Bandits for one year before Anaheim moved its minor league headquarters to Cincinnati in 1997. Before Sunday's game against Kentucky, Mantha's four teams had compiled a record of 88-112-26-12.
“I've been patient and I've been honest, and that's all I can say,” Mantha said. “I've done what Anaheim has needed me to do, by helping their young players learn the game.”
In his four years, Mantha has coached 11 players who now have NHL experience.
Cincinnati general manager and Anaheim assistant GM David McNab said he and Anaheim GM Pierre Gauthier will meet this week to discuss Mantha's future. “We've planned to sit down after the season and talk about everybody,” McNab said. “It's an organizational thing, not just a Moe Mantha thing. We'll talk about coaches, players, managers and scouts. We'll do that this week.”
McNab said the issue is more complicated than wins and losses.
“We want to win just like everybody else in the league, but we also want to make sure we're doing a good job of developing our players here,” he said. “Moe's done a good job in both areas.”
Ducks center and leading scorer Bob Wren was supportive of his coach, who's been with Mantha since the 1996-97 season in Baltimore. “He's made me the hockey player I am today,” Wren said. “He got me to the NHL, and when I was up there, I felt like I belonged there. It's tough when a team loses because the first person people look at is the coach. And it's not even his fault.”
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