Finnish Ice Hockey Association terminates contract of national coach

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The Finnish Ice Hockey Association decided on Wednesday to terminate with immediate effect the contract of the national head coach Raimo Summanen. His proposed successor at present is his former deputy Erkka Westerlund.
      The decision to sack Summanen, who will remain on full salary until the end of his contract in spring 2006, may come as something of a shock, given that the Finnish national squad recently reached the final of the highly-regarded World Cup of Hockey, losing only to Canada.
      However, all had not been well within the national team, owing to problems of chemistry between Summanen and some of his charges, and there was also talk of difficulties between the head coach and members of his staff.
      Ultimately the powerful chairman of the FIHA Kalervo Kummola, who had earlier backed Summanen and had also been behind his initial appointment in the fall of 2002, found it necessary to call time-out: Summanen was given his marching orders.
     
"What was the price of victory?" asked Kummola in reference to the World Cup of Hockey successes. He answered his own question by pointing to the number of figurative "dead bodies" littering the field.
      The most talked-about incident had concerned the decision by one player, defenseman Janne Niinimaa, to withdraw from the national squad in the heat of the World Cup of Hockey campaign. Niinimaa had declared his refusal to serve under Summanen, whose allegedly dictatorial style had upset several of the NHL players in the national team.
      At the time, the incident was quickly brushed over while Finland continued to shine in the tournament, but evidently the wounds created have festered in the months since then.
     
Erkka Westerlund’s position as heir apparent is not exactly enviable. He had a written agreement with Raimo Summanen that the pair would stick together regardless - for example if Summanen were to be sacked as a result of poor performances on the ice. Since the performances of the Finnish Lions - in particular those in North America a few months ago - could hardly be described as poor, Westerlund does not feel duty-bound to stand by his agreement.
      The case brings up many questions of man-management, and also reveals the difficulties faced by any coach of highly-paid and hard-bitten professionals for whom the act of playing for their country is a voluntary one.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Canada 3 Finland 2: Defeat with honour at hockey World Cup (15.9.2004)
  Finland make heavy weather of securing World Cup of Hockey progress (7.9.2004)

Links:
  Finnish Ice Hockey Association

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