"I was contacted by another program, and offered a head coaching job for significantly more money in my wife's hometown. I hate to leave Canton and SLU, but this is a good fit for my family and a significant opportunity for my career, and in the end I felt I couldn't turn it down. I know I've put Mike Hurlbut, Bob Durocher, my players, and our incoming recruits in a very difficult situation. I'm sorry to put my SLU family through this, but St. Lawrence hockey is in very capable hands and I know the program will continue to build on our recent success and ultimately go on to be even more successful in my absence."
I just made that up. Not that difficult, really. Here are my thoughts for Greg:
You were offered a good job at a major public university, in a location that makes sense for you and your family, and they threw a really big pile of money at you. You took it. That's not the worst thing anyone has ever done, and it's probably what just about all of us would have done in your place. So say it. Don't tell us, "It's not a money grab . . . there's a lot you don't know." Come on, really.
There are a lot of people at SLU and across the country who have worked very hard to support you and help you get to the point where UMASS came after you waving its checkbook. You screwed them. Again, it may have been the right thing to do for your family, which should be your first priority, but you screwed them. Own up to it. Sometimes we feel the need to do things that end up having sh***y consequences for others. Do you care about what you left in your wake? Then say so.
It's great that you're talking about all the reasons you're excited to be at UMASS. It's what's expected of you, and I'm sure it's all true. But did you REALLY need to put that in terms of what St. Lawrence didn't have to offer you? Limited resources, seriously? To everyone associated with Saints hockey, that sure sounds like an indictment of the program and a suggestion that others may not want to go there if they can go to a bigger program. When you were the coach, you talked a lot about all the great things SLU's small size and family atmosphere had to offer. In fact, I heard you say it just a couple of weeks ago. You should be proud of the fact that you attended, played for, and coached at St. Lawrence University (and I'm sure you are). You represented all of us very well. Do you want to challenge SLU to step up its support of the program? Say it to Bob Durocher, not that national press. Leaving was all the public statement you needed to make about SLU.
In the end, I'm excited for the future. Every national champion, and every ECAC champion, in the history of NCAA hockey has won without Greg Carvel as the head coach. We will do it, too. I hope the move to Amherst works out well for the Carvels. We've got a lot of talented players, we've got talented coaches and staff, and we will be just fine.
