Five Questions with Jacques Caron

NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Five Questions With…" runs every Tuesday. We talk to key figures in the game and ask them questions to gain insight into their careers and the latest news.
The latest edition features Jacques Caron, former NHL goalie coach for the New Jersey Devils.

Jacques Caron will always remember the friendly exchanges he had with Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
"Yogi was my best friend and we talked about different things ... the mental aspect of sports," said Caron, the former NHL goalie and longtime goalie coach for the New Jersey Devils.
"Yogi said he could see himself hitting the ball before it (crossed the plate) and it didn't matter what the pitch was; it was instinctive," Caron said of the late New York Yankees catcher. "He knew he would hit whatever was thrown because his subconscious told him. It's like a goalie. If I'm here and I feel I'm stopping it, I'm not thinking if he's shooting from here or there, I'm stopping it in my mind."
The 79-year-old said it was that instinct that enabled Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur to persevere and excel at the position for so long. Brodeur played 22 seasons with the Devils and St. Louis Blues before announcing his retirement on Jan. 15, 2015, at the age of 42. He won three Stanley Cup championships (1995, 2000, 2003) and set a multitude of NHL records at the position during his 21 seasons with the Devils and Caron as his goalie coach.
Caron joined the Devils in August 1993, just in time for Brodeur's rookie season, and was goalie coach there for 20 seasons. He also worked in a special assignment role for the Toronto Maple Leafs from February 2017 to June 2018.
Caron's professional playing career began in 1959-60 and spanned 18 years, including stints with the Los Angeles Kings, Blues and Vancouver Canucks from 1967-68 until 1973-74.
Here are Five Questions with … Jacques Caron:

What makes a great goalie coach?

"A great goalie. In my first year with the Devils, I saw Marty play in Utica of the American Hockey League because I just so happened to be in Binghamton that year while rehabbing from a car accident. You saw the potential, but Marty was kind of making it hard on himself. If you try too hard, it's like not trying hard enough, so you're not patient enough. He was kind of a butterfly goalie, and he had trouble with both knees (because he was coming off two knee operations). I told him, if you want to play a long time, we're going to re-adjust your style. He said 'OK, no problem.' He never questioned anything, so we started to do different drills for him with mobility, and with how to be patient in the flow of the play."

Did you consult Hall of Famer Tony Esposito, one of the pioneers of the butterfly style, prior to becoming goalie coach for the Devils in 1993?

"Tony was one of my best friends. He was such a good goalie and mentor to many goalies, so I wanted to learn his secret. When I first asked, he wouldn't tell me ... he said, 'It's my personal thing.' So, I bought him a few more beers and asked again, 'Tony, I'm going to be a goalie coach and I want to be the best goalie coach, so I need to know what made you better.' That's when he gave me his lesson on the five-minute segment. Why do you think [Brodeur] got 125 shutouts? A record that'll never be broken. In order to be your best for a full 60 minutes, you need to break it in five-minute segments by feeling you cannot be beat. You just feel it, so when a guy skates in, you know before it happens that you're not going to be beaten and that's how Marty was able to delay the first goal. That's how shutouts started, by delaying, delaying, delaying."

Did you receive any tips from any other NHL goalie legends?

"Terry Sawchuk, who I played with in Los Angeles (1967-68), and my friend, Johnny Bower. Terry was the greatest in staying square to the puck all the time. To do this, he told me you need to keep your stick in front of the puck so that you're in the flow of the play. And your depth has to be right so you're not too far back. Johnny, of course, was the greatest poke-checker in the world. I was in training camp with Johnny when I was in Toronto (playing in the Ontario Hockey League) ... I was 17 years old. He said, 'Jacques, it's very simple, always poke check with the heel first.' I told Marty and it was the best poke check. You cannot be too big to ask people if you want to be the best because they were the best in their field. You grab a little bit of what they have and put it all together. I think it worked out pretty well."

Why was Brodeur so good?

"I think Marty's greatest asset was his love for the game. He had no fear because he had no time for fear. He loved the game so much that he could never get enough of it. The thing is, you could say something to him, and he'll believe in it and then do it, and then you could see the improvement in him. Marty was the best all-around goalie I've ever seen. He could pass and ... how many goalies do you know [who] could score goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs? I was lucky to meet him and work with him."

Are you working on any projects to stay active?

"I'm writing a book on my life and the mental aspect of the game. [Brodeur] will endorse it, so I've been busy with that the past year. They say it's easy to write a book, but it's not. We all have a life story to tell but you have to do it for a reason and my reason is to keep helping young goaltenders ... it's not to make money. I'm still in touch with a few goalies in the NHL who call me, like Keith Kinkaid, Scott Wedgewood, Frederik Andersen and, of course, I still talk to Scott Clemmensen, who is goalie coach in Binghamton [of the American Hockey League]. I like to help and feel I could reach a lot more people by writing a book. I'd like to do it by next season, so I have time to revise. They want me to elaborate more on my personal life."

BONUS QUESTION: Did you ever have an opportunity to discuss the position with Dominik Hasek?

"Yes, of course. I remember Dom telling me, 'Jacques, you have to be in control.' If you're not in control you're not going to know what to do because you're watching what the skater is going to do. The trick is to make the skater do what you want, instead of the other way around. That's why Dominik Hasek was so good. I told Marty the same thing. When defending a breakaway or penalty shot, it's the same principle, too. When the guy is coming at you and stops skating before he shoots, you stop ... almost at the top of your crease. If he goes, they usually only make one move and you go with him because now you're in control and not out of balance, watching. Stop, be aggressive, take a side, and poke check. Some of the guys do it and have had great success."