It only seems fitting that Scotty Bowman and Barry Smith are coming back to coach the Winter Classic alumni game. They won three Stanley Cups together as head coach and assistant coach back in 1997, 1998, and 2002. There is no doubt they are the correct men for the task. As for the Maple Leafs coaches, Red Kelly and Pat Quinn. According to the Detroit Free Press, here is a little bit about them.

“Kelly, a former Red Wing, won eight Stanley Cups and was the first James Norris Memorial Trophy recipient. He coached the Maple Leafs to four consecutive playoff appearances from 1973-77.

Quinn is the NHL’s fourth winningest coach of all time and led Team Canada to back-to-back world titles with a gold medal in the 2002 Olympics and a 2004 World Cup of Hockey victory.”

These two teams have been in a lot of battles over the course of their histories and the alumni game and Winter Classic seem like they are going to be no different from the other historic battles. Legendary coaches will behind the bench for both teams. It will be great to see Scotty directing a lot of his former players around the ice, in his unique manner. He is the all-time winningest coach in NHL history and I believe this is where he belongs, right here in Hockeytown, being a big part of the Winter Classic.