TORONTO – Two months ago, the Maple Leafs management team deemed that Randy Carlyle was the “right person” to continue lead their team, but felt the need for change somewhere in light of another late season spiral. Three assistant coaches were fired that day in early May – in a unique move that saw the head coach remain – replaced Friday by Marlies coach Steve Spott and longtime Predators assistant Peter Horachek in a bid to further alter the atmosphere of a team deemed to be requiring “culture change” by MLSE president Tim Leiweke. “Im not the big culture change kind of guy,” said general manager Dave Nonis, shortly after the announcement of the new two new assistants. “I think you cant flip a switch with two coaches and say that everythings going to be different. I think people bring things to the table that either help you achieve success or dont. These guys theyve shown in the past that they can do that.” Carlyle bellowed long and loudly for change last year, frustrated by his clubs inability to compete to a level he deemed appropriate. Weak foundations – poor defensive play, possession and penalty killing – were propped up by terrific goaltending, a mostly potent power-play and a dominant first line. He saw the flaws early, but ultimately was unable to affect much change as the year lingered on. “6-1 is only a stat,” he said in mid-October after his team won six of its first seven games. “Its a nervous time in the coaches office because of the shot differential and the quality of chances that were giving up.” Employment of personnel didnt help matters, particularly an overreliance on veterans like Jay McClement and an underuse of young players on a fourth line fronted by heavyweight Colton Orr. Somewhere along the way his message didnt stick or perhaps grew stale. In shaking up the assistants who surround Carlyle, management is hoping that will change. “Part of the changes that we are looking to make is in the atmosphere and thats not a knock on the other coaches because they had their strengths for sure,” said Nonis. “But relationships and developing relationships with the players is probably as big an issue now around the league as anything. Players have to want to play for you. I think these guys have had a pretty good track record in that regard.” Leaf players were surprised by the late spring firings of Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon, particularly Farrish whose fate was thought to be tied to Carlyle, his longtime associate. Farrish, who ran the defence and Torontos sixth-ranked power-play, was known as a lighter voice in the room – a stark contrast to the harder-edged Carlyle – capable of brightening the mood in dark times.? Cronin and Gordon, who led the Leafs once hopeful but ultimately disastrous penalty kill, appeared to be sounding boards, often locked into long conversations with players after practice (Gordon on multiple occasions with Phil Kessel). Management deemed that their replacements have previous head coaching experience – Farrish, Cronin and Gordon were all head coaches themselves prior to coming to Toronto – believing that to be valuable in support of Carlyle. Both new hirings will be expected to share in dealings with the media, a considerable change from recent years where assistants under both Carlyle and Ron Wilson were consistently unavailable to press. “I think if youve walked in those shoes before it makes it easier to help,” said Nonis of head coaching experience. It wasnt immediately clear how duties would be split between Spott and Horachek – one will likely run power-play, the other penalty kill as with most clubs – but Nonis indicated Carlyle playing a “big or bigger role than hes had in the past” in terms of special teams. Spott, who did a terrific job guiding the youthful Marlies to within one game of the Calder Cup final, will be relied upon for his experience in guiding Torontos young talent. Management viewed him as a candidate to join the NHL staff from the outset, waiting to make their interest clear until his team was quieted in a Western Conference final loss to the eventual champs from Texas. “It wasnt just veterans carrying the ball,” Nonis said of Spotts success as a first-year American League coach. “He used young players all the time. He put them in different situations. He allowed some of those players to grow despite some mistakes that they were making.” Formerly the bench boss in Kitchener and the Canadian World Jr. team (2013), Spott has coached prospective Leafs like Petter Granberg, Carter Ashton, Stuart Percy, and Peter Holland, not to mention current Leafs such as Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly and David Clarkson, the latter maintaining a close relationship with Spott. The Leafs appear to be trending younger, team president Brendan Shanahan speaking earlier in the week of his desire for “our young players…to have job opportunities”. “We need our young players to have an impact,” Nonis said. “The assistant coaches will have a major role in that.” The Leafs continue to view Spott as a future NHL head coach. Horachek, a native of Stoney Creek, Ontario, spent nine seasons as an assistant to Barry Trotz in Nashville before being fired in 2013. He resurfaced as a head coach with the AHLs San Antonio Rampage the following season before ascending to the top job with the Panthers when Kevin Dineen was let go. The 54-year-old boasts an IHL championship from his days as the lead man in Orlando (Carlyle was the head coach of the IHLs Manitoba Moose at the time). Boasting a mismatched roster in Florida with uneven goaltending last season, Horacheks Panthers had awful special teams – last in both power-play and penalty kill – but decent possession numbers considering the talent. “Hes a firm guy,” Nonis said of Horachek, consulting with longtime Predators general manager David Poile prior to the hiring. “I think hes kind of a no-nonsense coach, but hes very well groomed. Hes got a players background and again a very long and I think impressive coaching background. “When it came down to it he was the guy that really fit the type of coach we needed and we feel that Randy needs as well.” In reconstructing their roster this summer the organization went hard after players with solid leadership and character credentials – Stephane Robidas, Dan Boyle and Josh Gorges among the targets – seemingly concerned by the mix that fell hard out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. In adding Spott and Horachek, it appears they are trying to do the same with a coaching staff that missed a step a year ago – albeit with the same head man leading the charge. Consistent in managements view of both hires was their ability to build strong relationships with players, communication not known to be a strong suit of an old-school type like Carlyle. Whether that leads to a more consistent and successful product on the ice remains to be seen. Tyler Skaggs Jersey . 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Dave Winfield Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr.With a 2-2 record in Week 1, The Big Man is set with his Week 2 predictions. The CFL on TSNs Chris Schultz makes his bold predictions, which includes the official return of the Ottawa Redblacks. Ottawa at Winnipeg Well, it is good to say it - Ottawa. As a life-long fan of the CFL, I can tell you many stories of the games and players I identified with that were Rough Rider alumni. Its great to have 0ttawa back. I truly dont have any idea how they will play this year or how many games theyll win. Yet Im optimistic as good teams arent about the best individual players as much as good players working efficiently together. The Redblacks have a solid coaching staff and I feel a good 24 to begin with so competitive games are a real expectation early in the season. Winnipeg? Surprise, surprise! I didnt see the win over the Argos on the horizon and they have a real opportunity to begin the season 2-0. The challenge for Winnipeg is that many of the Redblacks are unknown and theyre team strengths and weaknesses are will only be known after a month of football. A tough team to prepare for. I must stay with logic on this one, a Bombers win but much closer than score than the 45-21 victory over Toronto. More like 31-24 Winnipeg. B.C. at Montreal Both teams had disappointing losses to start the season, but of the two - Montreal was the greater disappointment. Every week there will be one or two players that desperately need to bounce back from a poor game and have a great one. This week its Troy Smith at quarterback for Montreal. His accuracy wasnt there in Calgary and he has to improve quickly - not only for the Als to win but for Troy to keep his position as a starter and leader. Patience is never found in abundance in pro football - quite the opposite in fact. It was good to see Brandon Whitaker back at runningg back and he was effective, but he may have to be even more effective this week.ddddddddddddThis one should be close but I like B.C. on the road. They are not going to allow another fake field goal for a first down or an onside kick for a change of possession. Neither team will dominate so B.C. by three in an upset. Hamilton at Edmonton Protection problems, quarterback hesitation problems, run defence problems and there are more problems right now than solutions in Hamilton. Not in Edmonton. Confidence should be high after the win over the Lions on the road and this being the home opener. How about Adarius Bowman, nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown! Mike Reilly as a quarterback may have found some chemistry after one week of football. Zach Collaros has to improve fast, as Kent Austin still has Dan LeFevour as plan "B" who could turn into plan "A" before anticipated. I have to go with the confident Eskimos over a Hamilton team searching for confidence. Saskatchewan at Toronto This one will be closer than anticipated. It would be easy to say the Riders in an easy win, but I would be shocked if Toronto didnt respond with a more professional response here in Week 2. I do think the Argo defence will play at a higher level in that the combination of pass rush and pass coverage will be much more evident. And I do not for see a 16-penalty first half repeat as was created in Winnipeg. Ricky Ray will have more opportunity this week at home. But - and a big but - the best offensive line may be in Regina. Fulton, Labatte, Picard, Best and Heenan are all athletic and technically sound. Also, the sixth best offensive lineman may be Dan Clark and hes used extensively in tight end run packages. I love my quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, line backers and defensive backs. But just like against Hamilton, I see Rider control thats closest to the line of scrimmage, offence and defensive lines. Riders by a touchdown. ' ' '