With division stable, Brett focuses on turnaround

With Thursday’s vote against the relocation of the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City franchise behind him, the owner of the Spokane Chiefs is looking forward.

First and foremost, Bobby Brett says this season’s fifth-place finish is not acceptable.

“I can tell you that no one in this organization is satisfied with how this season finished,” Brett said Friday, referring to the fact the Chiefs missed the Western Hockey League playoffs for the first time since 1999. It was a result that led to the firing of coach Al Conroy this week.

However, in a wide-ranging conversation about the current state of the franchise at the 15-year mark of his tenure, Brett made it clear no one in the Chiefs organization is pushing any panic buttons. But they are trying to make things better than they have been the past two years.

Just back from the Board of Governors meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Brett said the Chiefs’ pitch to the other league owners and general managers on the Tri-City issue was one of the most physically and emotionally draining things he has been through.

“I felt like I was a lawyer making my argument,” said Brett of the closed-door meeting that resulted in a thumbs-down vote against the relocation of the Americans to Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Brett saw the vote as crucial for not only the Chiefs, but also for the other franchises of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference of the WHL (Everett, Seattle and Portland).

He said there is a possibility the National Hockey League could expand into the Northwest down the line and it is important for the WHL’s U.S.-based teams to have strength in numbers should that occur.

Now the challenge for the Canadian-based Tri-City ownership group is to decide whether it is fully committed to seeing things through in that market. Published reports Friday confirmed a local ownership group may be forming in the Tri-Cities. Those reports also have the current owners considering selling if a local group is formed.

For his part, Brett said local ownership may change everything.

“They’ve never really had that down there,” said Brett. “The reason we bought this franchise was I went to the WHL All-Star game there and saw 6,000 fans in the building. Now, we’re a little more toward the top in attendance and they’re toward the bottom. It’s a cyclical business and it could easily turn around.”

That’s the same mantra Brett is repeating himself as he looks at the prospect of his team improving its fortunes next season. He points to Seattle and Saskatoon as examples.

Since Spokane won the Memorial Cup in 1991, it has only been back once – in 1998 when it received an automatic berth as host of the event.

The lack of overwhelming but yet steady success on the ice has led to a small but vocal minority of Chiefs fans saying Brett is more concerned about the bottom line than winning. Some of those same fans have suggested recent coaching and player personnel moves should cause Brett to consider firing Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz.

“I have total confidence in Tim Speltz,” said Brett, unflinchingly. “There are certain qualities that we look for in the Chiefs organization and Tim embodies them all for me: professionalism, loyalty, and work ethic.”

Brett points out it is Speltz who has presided over two Memorial Cup and two division championship teams.

“There have been some mistakes that have been made (with players and coaches), that’s going to happen,” said Brett. “I think if you look over time, though, you’ll see Tim is a big reason for this franchise having the reputation as a place where parents want to send their boys to play hockey.”

And the business model is still succeeding in Spokane for Brett and his brothers, though there is more competition for the sports entertainment dollar.

“When we moved into the new Arena, I looked at it and figured after the honeymoon phase we would settle into an average of about 5,500, but we’re a little better than that,” said Brett. “Of course, in those early days of the Arena we were the top attraction in town, in my opinion. That was before Gonzaga became what it is (in basketball) or before the Cougars put together a couple of 10-win seasons (in football).

“So our market position has slipped a little bit.”

Brett notes the novelty of going to games at the Arena has also worn off for the casual fan, as the building is now 10 years old. That means it is even more important for the on-ice product to be attractive. Along those lines, Brett said the selection of a new coach will be pivotal. That coach will inherit a roster that is expected to be largely the same as this season’s.

“But we don’t actually know who all is coming back, as players might decide to go to college and maybe the 20-year-olds will have professional opportunities,” he said.

Brett said the team will not rush the process to pick a new coach and will wait for other major-junior teams to finish their seasons. He also points to a trend of ex-NHL coaches coming to the league and says there may not be the luxury to develop coaches anymore, especially for the more impatient fans.

“Our fans are some of the most loyal – to the players at least – and I’m just continually amazed by their support,” said Brett. “Of course, there have been some nights when the team has deserved to be booed off the ice over the last 15 years. And when things aren’t going well, it’s easier to blame the coach. You can’t fire 25 players.”