THN Archive: Franchise Legend - David Legwand

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David Legwand – Sept 5, 2022 - Vol 76, Issue 03 - Ken Campbell

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Let’s throw a little stat at you. Of each NHL franchise’s first-ever draft pick, using the 1969 draft as the first one for the Original 12 teams, only Gilbert Perreault in Buffalo, Michel Goulet in Quebec and Paul Kariya in Anaheim have scored more points for the team that drafted them than you did for the Nashville Predators. And only Perreault and Kevin Lowe in Edmonton played more games.

DAVID LEGWAND: Man, that’s a crazy stat. That’s really cool.

THN: It speaks to your longevity and the impact you had on that franchise, right?

DL: Yeah, it does. But it also speaks to what GM David Poile has accomplished there. And I think Barry Trotz will go down in history as one of the greatest coaches the game has ever seen. From Day 1, both David and Barry made it really clear how they wanted us to play and how they wanted us to be as people and members of the community. And those are the values they still have, what is it, 24 years later?

THN: How did they deal with the travails of being an expansion team?

DL: It was a struggle, but Barry would always tell us, “Keep your eyes straight. If we’re losing, you don’t give up. You keep playing, you keep skating, you keep working.” That’s something that they wanted everyone to do. And that mentality is still there.

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THN: What kept you there for all those years?

DL: I’m more of a traditionalist. I come from Detroit, where Steve Yzerman played for the same franchise for 22 years. Now, guys want to play close to home and be on good teams, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve got guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk going and playing somewhere else, and that’s fine. I would never tell a guy what to do. It’s just not something I was ever interested in doing.

Sure, you could get a few more bucks by moving somewhere else, but I think there’s something good about staying in the same place for 15 years. That’s a significant part of your life. I have a lot of lifelong friends in Nashville.

THN: You were there long before it became ‘Smashville,’ before the sellout crowds. Was it hard trying to get established in a non-traditional market?

DL: Yeah, but I think it’s tough anywhere. Look at Florida and Tampa and Dallas, they all took a while. One thing David always stressed to us was, “Be a community person, help the community, help the game grow, and get better in all aspects.” In 2006 and 2007, when everyone was going to buy the team and move it here or there, nobody knew what was going on. But they figured it out, and everyone rose up together and made it a great place to play.

THN: How did you deal with that uncertainty?

DL: It was hard. Nashville is a great place, but all of a sudden you’re hearing, “You’re going to Hamilton. You’re going to Kansas City. You’re going here, you’re going there.” At the end of the day, guys from Nashville stepped up and did what was right, and now, you see the results. The franchise is in great shape. And in my mind, it all goes back to David and Barry and what they did in those early years. And everyone bought into that.

THN: You’re a part-owner of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, along with Derian Hatcher. What’s the biggest difference between young players today and when you played in the OHL?

DL: I’m not actively involved every single day, but I’m on the phone with the GM every day. It keeps me involved, and we should have a good team this year. Now, players all have their own skill coaches. But to me, skill involves being the best at what you do. If you’re a penalty-killer, be the best penalty-killer. If you’re a faceoff guy, be the best faceoff guy. Guys like Guy Carbonneau and Kris Draper were phenomenal at what they did. Not everyone is going to score 40 goals every year. Not everyone is going to score even 20 goals. Some guys are going to score 10 and be really good scoring 10 and be a pain in the ass to play against.

THN: So now you’re back in Detroit, where you were born, coaching your son’s under-13 team. How’s it going?

DL: At Little Caesars, they have a lot of ex-pros running their teams, so it’s fun seeing guys you played against at the rink almost every day.

THN: What kind of advice do you give to your son?

DL: One of the main things is that mistakes are going to happen. All our kids have got to be aware that when they make a mistake, don’t let it lead to more. Make one mistake and shut it down. Just the basic stuff. If you’re not having fun or not enjoying yourself, then we have to make it fun. And the main thing now for these kids is practise and practise hard. Everyone is like, “Games, games, games,” but in a game, you might be on the ice for 15 minutes, and in a practice, you’re on the ice for an hour and 20. It’s important to have that balance.

THN: You’re coaching Little Caesars? That must be odd, considering you were a Compuware guy growing up and played in the OHL for the Plymouth Whalers, a team owned by Compuware. Those two organizations are huge rivals.

DL: I actually played for both of them and went back and forth, which was kind of crazy. It’s something that has gone full circle, and that’s really exciting for me. It’s fun for me teaching the kids now. It’s exciting being at the rink. What can you teach them the next day, and what can you learn the next day? That’s what I find really exciting.

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