TORONTO – Troy Bodie has played for 11 different coaches since he left the junior ranks in Kelowna. Paul Krause . Among them was Randy Carlyle for whom he suited up in Anaheim over the course of three seasons and more recently in his second stint in Toronto this fall. "Hes probably the most detailed coach Ive had," said Bodie of Carlyle, who will face his former team Tuesday for the first time since he was fired in Dec. 2011. The Ducks have won seven straight games. Carlyle may have softened somewhat in his transition to the Leafs, but his obsession with the details remains. Never was that more apparent than throughout an instructive hour-plus practice on Monday morning, this after his team dropped consecutive games for the first time all season, falling hard to the Blackhawks in Chicago on Saturday evening. As he is wont to do, Carlyle halted drills repeatedly when they werent performed properly, bellowing at his group to "play fast" and with more assertiveness and aggression than it had in the 3-1 loss to the defending champs. "More than other coaches Ive played for he is a stickler for details, probably more so at practice," said Joffrey Lupul who played for Carlyle during multiple stints in Anaheim and again in Toronto. "Hes not going to see something and overlook it." In one instance, the Leafs head coach stopped practice to highlight to 23-year-old Jake Gardiner that he move the puck up ice with greater urgency and prominence. He first demonstrated what he meant before chirping to the assembled players that he could do so and "Im old." Moments earlier during the same drill, he pointed to a specific position on the ice where he wanted his defender to be, moving him from an improper place tucked along the wall to a point two or three few feet away. "He wants a guy two feet to the right of where the guy is, hes going to stop practice and say Move two feet to the right" said Lupul. "Not in a negative way, just in a way that if you keep doing it over and over, guys pick up on it." "Hes not going to see something and overlook it." Known to be an obsessive and creative line-matcher – his efforts in freeing Phil Kessel from the grips of Zdeno Chara during the Leafs first round series with Boston last spring were quite impactful – Carlyles passion for details extends into games. "The one thing I really admire about Randy is he comes in after every period and hell have something to write up about what theyre doing instead of just coming in with a rah-rah speech or you guys are playing awful speech," said Bodie. "Hell have answers to the questions on the ice. "Hell draw things up and show us what needs to be done." His grip on every function of his teams operation extends off the ice as well, even in areas that might not be so obvious. Upon his arrival with the Leafs in March 2012, following the dismissal of Ron Wilson, Carlyle ensured that the brief walkway between the home dressing room and Air Canada Centre ice surface be mopped and cleaned in between periods so as not to impact the quality of his players skates. No detail is too small. His reputation bestowed as much before he came to Toronto, Carlyles old-school ways helping the Ducks to their first Cup in 2007. "What I heard about him was, its going to be tough, hes a hard coach, hes tough" Carl Gunnarsson recalled. "Yeah, he is [tough]; practices are long, practices are tough, he demands a lot from the guys. But I think hes fair too. If we dont give 100 per cent we dont have a chance to win." It was for that reason that Carlyle stressed over his teams "loose" play in all three zones throughout a 6-1-0 start; he saw the underlying details of their game lacking and in need of a jump-start. Losses to Carolina and Chicago only served to underscore that point. "I think hes doing it for the sake of the team," Gunnarsson said. "Of course its tough, but youve got to see it the right way; hes doing it for you and not trying to be a dick about it." Though he hasnt changed in his rigidness for order, Carlyle has softened somewhat from his 7-year run with the Ducks. Hes ceded to giving his team the morning off on more than a few game-days early this season – at the request of his players no less. "Theres things that you learn and you take from your history or your experience, things that you did then that you might change," Carlyle said. Carlyle claimed, early in his Toronto tenure, to have learned from the experience Blues coach Ken Hitch**** spoke of in his return to the bench in St. Louis. "He tried to bring a positive attitude day in, day out, no matter what was happening outside of the rink or outside of the playing surface or what had happened the night before that he was going to take a positive approach and try to do that on a day-to-day basis," Carlyle said. And so it was on Monday morning that, two days after his team was thoroughly outplayed by the Blackhawks, Carlyle brought out the bright orange street hockey balls to open up practice, rather than grinding his group with a depressing skate. Order and instruction came later. "At times we feel that thats counter-productive," Carlyle said of hammering a message home with a bag-skate. "We have to change the mood of our group to a positive one." "Hes changed a little bit," said Lupul who had previously clashed with Carlyle in Anaheim. "More so in the day-to-day stuff, coming in chatting with guys and trying to have a bit more of a relationship with the players I think. Hes still a demanding coach and everyone knows whats expected from them – I dont think thats going to change anytime soon – but you can certainly see maybe a little softer [side] in his old age." The details notwithstanding. Christian Ponder . To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Jamarca Sanford . The Toronto Blue Jays activated the right-hander off the 60-day disabled list prior to Mondays home game against the Boston Red Sox.PITTSBURGH -- When Daniel Alfredsson pulled off the stunner of the NHL off-season by leaving the Ottawa Senators as a free agent, the rationale he gave was simple: He thought the Detroit Red Wings offered him a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. At the time, skeptics looked at the Senators and questioned if that was true. They had just overcome injuries to Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson to reach the second round of the playoffs, and even Alfredsson saw a bright future ahead. Playing into his 40s, Alfredsson just didnt "have the time to wait for that." As a disappointing season unfolded in Ottawa, it became clear the longtime Senators captain was right, and on Wednesday night the Red Wings validated his decision to sign in Detroit by making the playoffs and giving him another opportunity to chase the Cup. "Thats what you play for: to get into the playoffs," Alfredsson said after the Red Wings clinched with a shootout loss in Pittsburgh. "I played a long time in this league, I played a lot of playoff games but I havent won the Stanley Cup, and thats what you dream about. Thats the only reason Im still playing." The easy move, as Alfredsson acknowledged July 5, wouldve been to re-sign with the Senators and play out a career that would then include his No. 11 being raised to the rafters and maybe a statue being built outside Canadian Tire Centre. Leaving immediately clouded his legacy. In the wake of Alfredssons departure, the Senators couldnt seem to get out of a fog early and were never able to catch up. They missed the playoffs for the third time in six years, but even from afar the former face of that franchise didnt get any satisfaction in watching the Sens struggle. "I was hoping that they would do well, theres no question," Alfredsson said Tuesday in Buffalo. "Other than that, my focus is solely on this team and on the present and finishing out this season strong." Led by Alfredsson and fellow Swede Gustav Nyquist, the Red Wings made a strong push to qualify for the playoffs on the night they played their 80th game of the season. And they did so despite missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg for almost half the season due to injuries, while Alfredsson, himself, missed 13 games. Thanks to major contributions from young players like Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, Detroit overcame those and many more injuries to make a 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. The Red Wings also leaned heavily veteran defenceman Niklas Kronwall, Alfredsson and coach Mike Bab**** to steady the ship. "I think theres a few factors: goaltendings been consistent for us, I think Kronwall has pulled a really heavy load throughout the year on and off the ice for this team," Alfredsson said. "And (the) coaching staff, as well, adjusting to the team we have and giving us a chance and a game plan to win every night. Theyve been pushing us hard. Its been hard-fought to get here, but it feels great." A sseason full of injuries putting a coach in line for a Jack Adams Award -- sound familiar? Ottawas Paul MacLean won it last year, and Bab**** will be a serious candidate given how many Red Wings regulars missed time this season. Andrew Sendejo. Of course someone has to score to make that happen. Alfredssons 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists have him tied with Kronwall for the team lead with two games left. Alfredsson was all smiles in the visiting locker room Wednesday night after helping Detroit pick up the one point it needed to make it. And while clinching a playoff spot was a proud accomplishment, he didnt deny doubts crept in when the Red Wings learned Datsyuk and Zetterberg would be out for a while. "We knew it was going to be tough," Alfredsson said. "We had a similar situation in Ottawa last year where we lost Spezza, Karlsson, (Milan) Michalek and Anderson for longer periods of time. "If you get something going and you get a good feeling within a locker-room, you can accomplish a lot of things, and I think thats what weve done. Were a good group, we have fun and we know how to work for each other. Its kind of contagious when you see everybody going. Everybody kind of drags along and knows that they have to pull their share, as well." Taking a step back from the situations, Alfredsson didnt see much more of a correlation between the triumphs of the 2013 Senators and the 2013-14 Red Wings. In his estimation, this year was worse. "I think in Ottawa it was more right away we knew a few guys were out for longer periods of time," he said. "It wasnt as much guys coming back, guys coming out. Weve been shuffling lines for most of the year but still found ways to get everybody contributing." Alfredsson was one of 34 skaters to dress for the Red Wings this season, second only to the Penguins (37) among playoff teams. Beyond Nyquist and Tatar, Detroit likely wouldnt have extended its NHL-best playoff streak were it not for minor-league call-ups Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening and Tomas Jurco. The kids -- a couple of whom werent even alive the last time the Red Wings missed the playoffs -- are all right in Alfredssons eyes. But he also believes Bab**** and his staff deserve some credit. "They gave them that chance and didnt make it a big deal," Alfredsson said. "Its just, You can do this. I think that gave them confidence. They definitely made the most of it. I think Coach gave them a chance, and they repaid him with solid play." Anything less than solid play wouldve meant an early summer for the Red Wings and a quicker start to the retirement questions for Alfredsson. Instead, the 41-year-old winger gets to compete in the playoffs for the 15th time in his NHL career. This time is extra special because of how difficult it was. "I think we worked extremely hard to get to this point, and it feels great," Alfredsson said. "This group has overcome a lot of adversity and that makes it even more fun." ' ' '
