McVie maintained humor when coaching three NHL expansion teams

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as The Hockey Maven, shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week Fischler presents his popular "Voices From the Past." With the Seattle Kraken about to begin play in their inaugural season, Fischler's subject appropriately is Tom McVie, who coached three NHL expansion teams: the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils.
The following was taken from Fischler's televised segments with McVie prior to Devils games as well as from Fischler's book, "The Flakes of Winter."

What do you remember about your first NHL expansion job?
"It was with Washington and we had a terrible team. Once we were beaten so badly by the Kings in Los Angeles that, after the game, I looked down at the street and my players were laughing while piling into their cabs for a night in L.A. A tear rolled down my cheek and when I got to my hotel, I told my equipment guy I was thinking of jumping out of a window. He said, 'The way you're going, Tom, you'll land in the swimming pool and ruin your new suit!'"
How angry did you get at your players on expansion teams?
"That depended on the team and how badly we had lost. I never complained about a loss if the guys worked hard and stuck to the important details. On the other hand, I got so mad at the Capitals after a poor effort one night I said to them in the dressing room after the loss, 'Guys, it wouldn't matter to me if the bridge collapsed with our team bus on it because you fellas 'floated' so much, you'd never drown!'"
Did your sense of humor help much during the tough times?
"You bet it did. When I was coaching that weak Devils team, we were in Vancouver and lost by a big score. So, a reporter comes up to me and says, 'Are you the same Tom McVie who coached the Washington Capitals to 150 losses in three years? And the same McVie who coached the Jets to 106 losses in two years; 30 in a row in '79-'80? And now you have this awful (Devils) team. Do ya' ever think of doing something else for a living?' So, I faked a shocked expression and replied, 'Me give up coaching? Hell, no, it's the only thing I know how to do well!'"
How did your wife handle your adversity?
"I knew I was a good coach and the only one else who did was my wife; and she wasn't a general manager. Actually, I used her for my humor. After one of my acceptance speeches, I thanked her 'for standing by me all these tough losing years.' Then I listed the three expansion teams and all the defeats. Then I faked disgust and said, 'Now that I think about it, this woman has been nothing more than a jinx!' Then, for an encore laugh, I added. 'I told my wife that I didn't love her as much as I loved hockey -- but I loved her more than baseball!'"
Which was the worst of the three NHL expansion teams you coached?
"It had to be Washington; that was my first NHL job and the low point in my career. I gave the job my soul. I put the team ahead of my family and my health. I took the day off once with my wife and when I came back, Danny Belisle was in my coach's chair. They said, 'You're gone!' After that, I decided to take my chair with me and never go on vacations. Remember, I was spending 16 hours a day at the rink. After I got fired, I had 16 hours a day with nothing to do but stand on the front porch like an idiot waving at cars."
Where did you find advice about winning?
"I went to Freddie Shero and asked him how I could get all my players to finish their checks. He said, 'It's easy. You take the 10 guys who do it and eliminate the eight who won't. Then, get a new bunch of eight -- and then everyone will finish their checks. What Freddie was getting at is that no matter what you'd do with the original eight -- no matter how hard you teach -- they come out of the crib not being able to finish checks. They either do it or they don't, and size has nothing to do with it."
How do you react to those who've poked fun at you?
"I've joked about it. I told reporters that I've been fired more times than Clint Eastwood's magnum. I remind them that I once coached the [Philadelphia] Flyers farm team in Maine and they sold the whole franchise just to get rid of me. No wonder why they called me, 'The Rodney Dangerfield of hockey.' I got no respect!"
What was it like to coach the expansion Devils?
"I told the owner John McMullen his team didn't have any talent. I said it was so bad that if I stayed, it wouldn't be long before he'd have to fire me. I said I'd rather develop young players for the organization in the AHL. 'Mr. Mac' just looked at me and said, 'You mean you'd rather go back to Maine; earn half as much money and ride the buses for 20,000 miles?' When I said, 'Yes,' he just shook his head and said, 'Tommy, you may be a good hockey man but you're not very smart.'"
How did players react to your style?
"I took over a bad Washington team but I'd always be gung-ho for the next workout. 'Gentlemen,' I would say, 'I have these things planned for today. We'll do some two-on-ones and three-on-ones...' And I saw the looks on them like, 'This guy is crazy.' Finally, I asked if anyone had anything to say. One of my defensemen, Bob Paradise, said, 'Why are we doing this when we know we're gonna' lose anyway?' I looked at him and said, 'Why don't we all go to (owner) Abe Pollin's office and tell him we are disbanding the team?'"
What lessons did you learn coaching these expansion teams?
"Like always, good players make smart coaches. You can only push it hard for so long before you blow a tire or throw a rod. And no matter how well you drive, sooner or later Mario Andretti is going to blow on by you because he's got more horses under his hood than you do!"