I had a chance to sit down with Davis Payne for a few moments and talk to him about his coaching career so far and what he expects with the Kings. This is part one of a four part series where Davis talks about his well traveled experiences as a player and coach, his communication skills and coaching back when he used to play, compared to coaching today…
Davis’ bio: http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=81906
JF: Both your playing and coaching career you have gone through different levels. Minor leagues, a couple of levels there. The NHL. You have experience all over the place. How do you think that helps you as a coach at the NHL level, to go through all of those experiences?
DP: I think it gives you a clear picture of what just about every guy is going through, at any level, in any situation. You understand what it is like to starve. You understand what its like to have that “feast” of lots of success of hockey at the highest level and so for a guy that’s dealing with trying to grind out a career and work his way up and establish himself, that’s one thing. Then you’re looking at established guys and how are they adjusting to becoming a consistent player and then on as a winner. So I think the ability to go through all levels and have all those experiences just to teach you, such a wide array of experiences and I wouldn’t trade any of that “ladder effect” for anything.
JF: When Darryl Sutter made comments after you were hired he said, “we’re looking for a young guy, we’re looking for a communicator”. The experiences that you just talked about. It seems to me that you are getting into the heads of players. Is that part of what you think is strength, for you as a communicator, to kind of empathize with them and then you can communicate back?
DP: For sure, I don’t think you can teach or coach unless you understand what the player might be going through. It’s one thing to kind of force them into a situation and say “black and white”; this is what needs to be done. Its another thing to understand why certain things didn’t happen and to ask the question “hey, what did you see here”…”what did you see on this play”…”what were you thinking”…”what were you feeling”…these are valuable questions and crucial questions to ask of your players so you have a common understanding of what they are going through. So if we don’t ask for this type of information, we make mistakes and I think that is extremely important!
JF: I played back in the 80’s and you played in the 90s. The coaching then, compared to the coaching now. I’m making an assumption that the communication was not necessarily the same back then as it is right now. Is that a pretty solid assumption?
DP: Yes, I think it’s “bang on”. I think the communication back then, that you and I dealt with, was more of, “what are my orders, I’ll go do them”. Nowadays it’s the explanation of “why”, it the explanation of “what’s in it for the player”. Some of these balances that we have to achieve, is all part of the message and getting the message to stick and getting the guys to buy in. We deal with a kid nowadays that for some strange reason society has had this shift where kids are told that they can’t do that, can’t do that, can’t do that and an explanation is necessary so in my opinion, the explanation that these kids have grown up with, because of what they can’t’ do, they can’t stay out at the park late like we used to. “Why” and “why” and “why”, that’s what we deal with. We just deal with that generation wants that information. This is by no means a bad thing. This is just simply what they require in order to feel good about their involvement in the process.
This lockout is a Payne in the butt….
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goldielocks Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@TeamJMFJ,
The NHL will withdraw its latest proposal to the NHLPA once today’s deadline comes and goes.
And tomorrow NHL’s going to cancel another chunk of games through Nov. It’s funny Don Fehr refers to NBA’s negotiation because PA is not doing anything to compromise as NBAPA did. I wonder how much money Don makes by dragging this thing to the hell.
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luc20rules Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
@goldielocks, Standard protocol for Bettman. What a PUTZ!
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Lake Forest Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
@TeamJMFJ, Payne in the Butt man
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:02 am
@Lake Forest, NICE ONE!
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VanKingsFan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:26 am
@TeamJMFJ, Everyone please join the boycott. If/when the NHL comes back, do NOT spend a single dime on hockey related stuff. Do not go to any of the games, do not buy any merchandise, do not buy any NHL gamecentre packages. Anything. Show them how pissed we are and that they are destroying the game. If you attend a game or spend money on them then you are just giving them leverage to keep the lock out going.
I will follow the team because my love runs too deep. But i refuse to spend a single penny after this mess.
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As you can see by the lack of responses to any of the news stories here, No one likes what this place as become, thanks for the efforts but no thanks
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Stuart Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
@pr0cess, you can def see the difference in the “reporting” because this is no longer a journalists site…
IMO the contributors are just passing time (and for the most part it’s nice to read) while a “journalistic” replacement is found… hang in there, change isn’t always a bad thing, it’s just a different thing.
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King Alex Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
@pr0cess, This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife……And the days go by…….
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Howe9 Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
@King Alex, It’s funny that us Kings fans are complaining when the people writing the articles are Bob, Jim, Nick & Daryl – the same people who we love & respect & they give us the birds eye view of the games. Yet we diss them on here when they are just trying t keep this site going for us. Don’t be so ungrateful, be patient & show some respect for these men. I doubt the great Rich would have much to write about now either.
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King Alex Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@Howe9, Where did I show I was being ungrateful? Where did I show disrespect to Bob, Jim, Nick or Daryl? I appreciate all they do for us and have for a very, very long time. I just pointed out that this site is not the same as it was by use of Talking Heads lyrics. It’s you who needs to show respect to the other bloggers and their opinions and not trying to read between lines that are not there.
Niko Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
@Howe9, well said. I don’t like it but at least they’re making an effort. I’m sure they miss Rich as well, it says a lot they were all willing to pitch in during the interm. I’d rather read posts from these guys than some random I term replacement. With the lockout though I feel it might be awhile.
Thanks Bob, Jim, Nick and Daryl. One request would be Monarchs coverage.
gustavo Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
@Howe9,
We’d much rather see them calling the games, not writing patch up articles here.
Forum to Staples Fan Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
@Howe9, +1000
KC23 Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@pr0cess, I love the articles, but I do miss Rich. More than the lock out I will never ever forgive Bettman for costing us Hammond. I typically won’t boo guys like bettman, but now I will never pass up the chance.
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DBking Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
@pr0cess, this is obviously a transition period for the site, and a particularly dim period for the NHL in general. Don’t take it out on Jim Fox or anyone else pitching in here. I’m sure everyone trying to keep this site interesting until we find Hammond V2.0 takes your post personally… So saying you didn’t mean any disrespect is a little shortisighted in my view.
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Shakes Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:37 am
@DBking, +1
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Mars Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
@pr0cess,
Hard to judge right now….
We have cup high and lockout low working
Plus the loss of Rich and frustrations of buttman
Also there isn’t much else that will pass the censor
So it’s hard to really judge at the moment.
I am waiting for the NHL to yank this one too.
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to add to that last part, this is also the generation of adults that as kids grew up in the PC world where “everyone is a winner in their own special way” and trophies were handed out to the last place finishers just the same as the lead dog…
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Deke'r Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
@Stuart, ……precisely……you’re a winner regardless of the effort involved….no work ethic….
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These are fun articles, love bob, jim and darryl like family but….
-We don’t have our kings to watch this season, so please give us some monarch’s updates folks!
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Thanks Jim,
I really do appericate your writing.
Pretty cool article thanks so much.
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Ok,
I’ll take upon myself (again) to inform fellow insiders about latest breaking Monarchs news.
Dwight King will be joining the Manchester Monarchs (vicarious Kings) Saturday in a game against the Worcester Sharks. I said it before, but the Monarchs have the best chance at the Calder this year IMO.
Why isn’t this a huge headline on this site? No idea, but all I can do is keep posting.
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King Alex Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
@jess, I would be willing to bet the lack of Monarchs coverage has to do with the esteemed Mr. Bettman and his cronies. How may NHL players are playing minor league right now and how many will be right back with their respective big clubs once this lockout is over? This lack of coverage is not an oversight omission it is calculated by the head Czar of the NHL, Mr. Gary “THE PUTZ” Bettman.
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jess Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@King Alex,
A small part of the article, which can be found @ manchestermonarchs.com:
With King, there are now four Stanley Cup Champions on the Monarchs roster that appeared in the playoffs for the Kings. The three others include defenseman Slava Voynov, center Andrei Loktionov and Nolan. As the Monarchs search for consistency in their new system, these champions’ on-ice presence can only help the rest of the team.
“They set a good example,” said Morris. “They have a familiarity with how (Los Angeles King Head Coach) Darryl Sutter wants to see the game played. So having those guys is invaluable.”
With many players from last year’s team back with the Monarchs, King feels right at home in Manchester.
“I am familiar with everyone here and what is going on in Manchester so I am excited to be here,” said King. “It is good to see some familiar faces that I haven’t seen in a little while. Being back here to play hockey with them is something that makes that friendship a little more close.”
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Stuart Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
@jess, good for Kinger! It’s all the players like him that are paying the most for this lockout… No Euro-flight in his future, just a warm seat on the Man bus to all the other AHL arenas.
I’d be willing to bet money that inside the King home, both boys tell their folks they wished that something would’ve been worked out with the last proposal, regardless of how shiesty Bettman and his proposal were with regards to the players…
I wonder how strong the PA constituency really is in all the homes of the muckers/grinders/sub-1M-per-year players…
BUT – I will say this: nobody expected @Duncanz’s uncle to come forward with a proposal last week, and on the same note as above, I wonder how united the other owners are, not the 8-10 super rich money making ones, but all the other ones… the pressure is on pencil neck too, I’m sure.
In a way, I’m glad this thing is stretching through November because my about to get new DVR and I’ll atleast have the chance to record all the PO games again!!!
STANLEY CUP CHAMPION LOS ANGELES KINGS!!!!!!!!!!
jess Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
@Stuart,
I hope even more kings play for manchester. Maybe it will put some more pressure on the NHL.
These posts would be great if it was in addition to posts about games…but since there are no games..I do love reading them…Insight from Bob,Jim, and etc are always welcome…
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Leadership: the act of bringing others together to perform tasks and accomplish goals for the mutual benefit of the group.
Anit-Leadership: see “Evil Load”, aka “Buttman” aka “Gary Bettman” aka “NHL Commissioner”
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jess Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
@DesertKing,
My toilet didn’t flush, the mail didn’t come, the milk in my fridge is past the expiration date and a seagull crapped on the hood of my truck. Bettman, up to his dirty tricks!
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DesertKing Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
@jess,
Yep, and I am blaming him for country music, Pabst Blue Ribbon and soccer too.
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jess Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
@DesertKing,
Is there no end to his skullduggery?
BrokeKingsFan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
@DesertKing, Dude…whats wrong with PBR and Soccer? That about sums up my saturday and sunday mornings since the English Premier League started their season about a month or so back. Soccer is a beautifull game and there is nothing wrong with white trash beer….except maybe the beer farts, but everyone loves to smell there own farts so its a non issue.
Stuart Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
@jess, Throw down the morning papers
And spill my tea
I don’t know what’s wrong with me
The cups and plates are in a
Conspiracy
I’m covered in misery
My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay
And it would be okay on any other day
And it would be okay on any other day
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DesertKing Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
@Stuart,
Thats what you get for renting a room to the Evil Load ;p
luc20rules Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
@DesertKing, Gary “the Lockout” Bettman is implying again that the offer from last week is the best the NHLPA will get. Hmmm, sounds like what she said on Sept. 13th doesn’t it? I am pretty sure if I had a got an psychologic evaluation over the last few days the CBA non-negotiations would have rendered me with a bi-polar disorder. At the very least I must have temporary case of turrets when I read the NHL CBA news.
Perhaps the NHL will have a new show to try and make whole the players salaries by having them participate in NHL version of Cash Cab as they have much travel thru an NHL season. Also creating a greater need for a full schedule of travel. Knowing Bettman only players suffering from post concussion syndrome would be randomly selected.
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I remember when I would frantically hit the refresh buttons, because comments and replies were going a mile a minute.
Watching the First round games wednesday reminded me of those times. Particulary when we were talking about whether henrik’s sister was going to play game four. and what a diver Kessler is, how much we all hated Beiska…
Ahhh, how young we were not to recognize what a great time that was (at least me).
I enjoy the stories, but miss the good ol’ days.
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King Alex Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
@Lake Forest, Glory days well they’ll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl’s eye
Glory days, glory days!
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luc20rules Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
@Lake Forest, Yeah, Good Times!
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DesertKing Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
@luc20rules,
Hey hey hey Hey!
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I totally forgot they hired this guy
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“The two sides are close enough to a deal that missing the bulk of a season is wrong and missing an entire season is not only insane, it is a blatant disregard for the sport, the fans and the culture we have grown over decades — just to satisfy egos, not the needs of either side,”
This is from Ryan Miller.
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KC23 Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:06 am
@goldielocks, I wish that were true. They really aren’t close at all.
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looking forward to seeing you do these interviews on tv again.
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haha, I thought this was funny regarding the NHL taking the already refused proposal back:
I would imagine that, even before Daly assured the players he wasn’t threatening them, they weren’t all that threatened. The proposal that’s come off the table? They sort of rejected it last week.
This is a little like parents removing the vegetables from the dinner table because their child refuses to eat them.
“Similarly,” said TSN’s Dave Hodge, “my dinner offer to Charlize Theron is off the table.”
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goldielocks Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
@Lake Forest,
I think it’s more like pancakes than the vegetables.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:57 am
@goldielocks, you dont like pancakes? really!? I was always stoked as a kid when we got pancakes…especially Blueberry!
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Can’t wait to see what Payne brings to the table.
When is the problem.
When……
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Great news!!! Angels baseball starts again in April. Screw you Evil Load since I will be giving my fan dollars to Arte Moreno.
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jess Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
@DesertKing,
I’ve used baseball before to make many things different interesting colors.
-But it doesn’t dry very fast.
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luc20rules Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
@DesertKing, Do you think it would help to light the Evil Load on fire, and ring the NHLs doorbell? Something similar happened at the start of the CBA negotiations when the NHL delivered its initial offer(43% of reduce HRR & 27% rollbacks). My biggest fear in early July was that egos would get bruised and negotiations would be shelved. I actually think 80% of the people on this blog could right the framework for the new CBA that if the owners and players had a chance to vote on would approve even if it took a week and a couple of nay votes. The fact is these fools are ego maniacs that only want it their way.
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According to the Kings twitter feed, they had an official goodbye dinner for Rich tonight. Here’s a pic of our former fearless leader. http://ow.ly/i/13PlZ
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CB14 Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Those last 3 words came out wrong. Didn’t mean for it to sound insulting.
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luc20rules Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:12 am
@CB14, Thanks, Good to hear the Kings and Rich parted on good terms, and he was thrown a dinner/party.
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Lake Forest Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:11 am
@CB14, Rich “12??? I’m not mofo Gagne Jr.!! Where is that SOB anyway? Is he in North America”
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DesertKing Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:32 am
@Lake Forest,
I think that “12″ stands for 2012, the Kings won their first Cup.
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DesertKing Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:33 am
@DesertKing,
add “year the”
Thanks Jim…
I have to say, I am completely fed up with both the owners and players for screwing us fans out of the game we love. Their petty bickering is both childish and boorish.
Eventually it’ll get resolved. I really wish I won lotto or something because I would offer every fan who buys a ticket to the 1st game double their $$ if they picked up and left after the national anthem. Let the players play in front of an empty house and let the owners get nothing out of concessions. Show them both the disdain we have for them right now.
Now I’ve beome interested to see who caves first. My initial thought would be the players caving, but would Donald Fehr allow that to happen? I am aware he technically works for the players, but if any of you actually believe that, I have beachfront property in Afghanistan to sell you.
You have 2 of the most stubborn and unwavering human beings on earth negotiating against each other.
The only certainty is that the fans are deprived of what they want and the owners/players are greedy pigs!
And for those who say the fans really don’t matter or shouldn’t matter…the fans buy the tickets and purchase the merchandise. Without them, there is no league and these greedy b@stards would be working 9-5 at Dairy Queen!
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goldielocks Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 11:39 am
@nykingfan,
I often hear fans are so angry that they wouldn’t go to the game anymore and just watch the game on TV. If fans meant really protesting they need to stop watching the game as well because the attendance of the game is not as important as TV contract to the NHL and owners. NFL is the role model in this case. They are making most out of TV contract not the attendance. NHL was headed that direction(southern strategy) but utterly failed. Imagine you try to grab candies in the bottle but your hand gets stuck because you grab too many of them. Those candies are named ‘Coyotes, Stars, Blue Jackets, etc’. But NHL doesn’t want to release because TV contracts are written all over the bottle.
I know their business plan failed and now they are asking help from players. That doesn’t make sense, does it? But the fact is, they are both on the same boat. If it sinks, they both will be drowned. I hope they realize their boat is half sinking right now and find the solution quickly.
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Cesar A Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
@goldielocks, Today’s NHL cancellation of games tells me that NHL will continue to cancel games until the NHL players concede to their demands. How much longer can the NHL players put this so called united front and keep on losing part of their earnings? A logical group would have agree on a short term CBA with the NHL to save the season and commit to agreeing on a longer one after the 2012-2013 NHL season was over. The stubbornness of both groups is ruining the sport itself.
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goldielocks Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
@Cesar A,
Good point. Players like at the end of their careers surely want to play now. They can’t be as united as they are. But I think Don Fehr knows this is going to happen nevertheless he’s holding his ground firmly.
Some players think it’s only a few owners and Bettman is controling the whole thing. That may be true but what about PA? What if Don Fehr and a few players are controling the whole situation? I read Ryan Miller’s comment last night. He was blaming both sides being egoistic. I hope more players realize the damage they cause to themselves and say no to those who are dictating the sitiation.
nykingfan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
@goldielocks,
Your points ae valid. The NHL has mae a mess of themselves since the beginning of time. They have no vision for the future, only how to fatten their wallets.
My point was a one day protest to let them know what the fans think of both of them. I don’t think the players or owners really understand how much we hate both of them in this situation. They need to know!
The owners make a lot of money on concessions…the players play the game for the glory and the love of the game. For them to play a game in front of an empty house would be a sobering sight fot them.
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goldielocks Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
@nykingfan,
I’m with you. The game with no fans and no cheering would be boring to watch. I just don’t think they(NHL and players) get serious about how fans react or respond to it. But I’m sure they get very serious if all those sponsors withdraw from those partnership. So maybe we can protest against the sponsors like we don’t buy any products from them as long as they support the NHL unless the NHL and players give what fans want, the game.
The NHL will officially cancel more games today. The NHL is expected to cancel all games in November. If there is no progress in the CBA negotiations in the next week or so then expect the Winter Classic and the All Star Game to be on chopping block as soon as November 5th. I wonder how much more losses in earnings would the NHL players continue to take until they blink and make concessions to the owners. The future of the 2012-2013 looks very dismal. Expect more bad news as this CBA negotiations impasse drags on.
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DesertKing Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:34 am
@Cesar A,
Winter Classic – sucks
All-Star Game – sucks
No great loss to us Kings fans since both events pretty much ignore us completely.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:46 am
@DesertKing, I couldnt agree more!
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Gail Web Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:09 am
@BrokeKingsFan, +1
luc20rules Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
@DesertKing, I agree, but sadly the Winter Classic has been a cash cow for the NHL. Probably equal to 100 mil in revenue just in that game. $200 to $1000 box office time 100,000 seats, and higher TV ratings about twice as high as the NHL Finals. Its probably 4% of the years HRR. How much less likely is it that they can settle their differences as the pie gets so much smaller. I find it very hard to see any season with the Winter Classic Cancelled.
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Players like Ovechin that make comments that they will not come back to the NHL if he loses any part of his salary with the Capitals should be fined for by the NHLPA for making comments like this. He does not realize that the KHL and the NHL have an agreement to not sign any NHL players to longer term deals if they have existing NHL deals. How silly can Ovechin be for making comments like he did a couple of days ago! If I were a Washington Capitals fan I would not want this greedy, spoiled player to come back to my team after this lockout is over.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 9:42 am
@Cesar A, Its all just baseless threats because these guys are pissed off.If any of those guys (Ovie, Kovi, Gonchar, Bryz etc.) choose to stay in Russia if a CBA is signed off on they will lose thier international eligibility along with other sanctions…ie: will not be able to play in the 2014 olympic games (in Russia no less)if the NHL chooses to participate (somehow I think they will). They are aware of this as well as the deal between the NHL and the KHL and would never risk it…just like any good countryman they would love nothing more than to play for their country and wouldnt do a thing to jeopardize thier chances of doing that.
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This sucks. First year in my life, for whatever reason, that there was a home game scheduled on the day of my birthday that I’d actually be able to attend, and it’s about to be cancelled.
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Gail Web Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 10:08 am
@FiG17, Hi and not to fret my Birthday too, was on a game night this year, and there will be hockey again, and at least we can go out for a better dinner now with our money saved now
Hang in there
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Thanks Jim, good stuff. Last year, Sutter illustrated brilliantly what a difference a coach can make.
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Great interview with Davis, thanks Jim.
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