‘Be real’: NHL coaches on pre-game speeches

Mike Sullivan has delivered plenty of speeches in the locker room.

Playoff games. Stanley Cup finals. A gold-medal showdown at the Olympics.

The New York Rangers bench boss has also addressed teams in the dog days of a professional hockey schedule that might stretch from September to late June.

“You can play over 100 times a year as an NHL hockey player,” Sullivan said. “I feel like the Knute Rockne speeches get old.”

That’s in reference to the famed University of Notre Dame football coach’s legendary motivational pre-game rallying cry of “Win one for the Gipper” from the 1920s in honour of late star halfback George Gipp.

Sullivan, who helped the United States defeat Canada in a thrilling showdown to top the podium at the recent Milan Cortina Games, instead usually takes a measured approach when he has his group’s full attention.

“This biggest thing is to be real and just to be authentic and be yourself,” the two-time Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins said earlier this season. “Try to keep that messaging simple and clear.”

Coaches hitting the right note and having a handle on their teams are crucial to delivering a message.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided a memorable speech before his St. Louis Blues went out and won Game 7 of the 2019 Cup final on the road. His words caught on camera outlined structural points, while at the same time emphasizing his belief.

“We’re gonna f—— come home with the Cup,” Berube concluded.

Blues centre Robert Thomas, who was in the room that June night, said the moments before puck drop can play a significant role in the outcome.

“Maybe you’re trying to just settle it down or focus energy,” he said of a coach. “If it’s a Tuesday in November, maybe it’s bringing that excitement. It’s about reading the room and seeing how your guys are feeling and how you can try and get their best.”

New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said a pre-game speech should strike a balance with teaching and video work already complete.

“You want to be consistent in terms of how you lay things out,” he said. “You’re going to be short and direct, and let the players go out and do their thing.”

Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart sometimes catches himself waiting to see what his bench boss, the colourful Paul Maurice, has in store for — especially on a long road trip or before the second game of a back-to-back, when legs can be heavy.

“You go through the your warm-up, you’re exhausted, you’re not really feeling it,” Reinhart said. “He’s got a knack of switching that mentality and getting you ready. It’s a tough skill. I don’t think there’s a lot of coaches that are able to do that … you’re curious what kind of angle he’s going to take.”

“Usually, he’s hitting the nail on the head.”

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, meanwhile, said it isn’t his job to get players’ blood pumping on a nightly basis.

“If you’re not motivated to go play in the league, you’re in the wrong business,” he said. “But I know over 82 games, sometimes you have to inspire your group … it’s just a feeling you get. I try to do that, be precise with that when it’s the right time.”

Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators — like Sullivan, Berube, St. Louis and Keefe, a former NHL player — said a lack of authenticity will be sniffed out.

“Been around some coaches that overthink it,” he said. “The message has to be real. It goes by who you are, what you believe in, what you’ve been through, and how you see it. If the coach feels it, I think the players feel it.

“A lot of players see right through a coach when it’s phoney. You’ve always got to be yourself.”

EAST IS A BEAST

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper has seen plenty in his day. He hasn’t experienced anything like the Eastern Conference gauntlet of 2025-26.

The West is top-heavy with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota — all in the Central Division — leading the charge, but also has the five of the league’s six bottom-feeders.

The Pacific Division, meanwhile, is led by the Anaheim Ducks, who would be on the outside of the East’s playoff picture with 75 points. The Boston Bruins currently occupy the second wild-card spot with 78.

“This is as tough a conference as I’ve ever seen it,” Cooper said. “Anybody’s game, this one. It felt like the West, there was a little bit of an arms race (at the trade deadline), where some of the top dogs made themselves better.

“Eastern teams did make some moves, but it seemed like there was a little bit more of, ‘We like what we have and we’re gonna go for it.’”

-With files from Daniel Rainbird in Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2026.

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