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. Byron Pringle Jersey . 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In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68).CALGARY -- Ben Bishops breakout season continued Friday night. Bishop made 19 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Tampa Bay Lightning, on goals from rookies Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, won 2-0 over the Calgary Flames. Bishop, who stands six-foot-seven, has picked up points in 10 straight games (8-0-2) and is 22-5-2 on the season. He is tied with Bostons Tuukka Rask for the lead in shutouts and is one back of Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury for the most wins. "That might have been one of our best games of the year from start to finish," said Bishop. "Seemed like we had the puck most of the game. The big thing tonight is we never took our foot off the gas. We played a full 60 minutes." Bishop shrugged off any disappointment in not being named to the U.S. Olympic team on Wednesday. "I just want to go out there and play my game. I thought the guys did a great job in front of me, made it easy on me," said Bishop, who has seven shutouts in 76 career games. Lightning coach Jon Cooper complimented Bishop for how he handled the situation in which the three goalies selected by USA Hockey were Los Angeles Jonathan Quick, Buffalos Ryan Miller and Detroits Jimmy Howard. "I understand the decision USA hockey made, I completely do. They went with some experienced guys that had proven track records," Cooper said. "Im really happy with way hes responded. Im sure a lot of guys would hang their head and say poor me and all hes done is elevate his game. Its a testament to his character." On the season, Bishop had the NHLs top save percentage at .936 and he ranks third with a 1.83 goals-against average. "Bens been the answer for 41 games so far this year and hopefully he can continue to play the way hes been playing," Cooper said. In the midst of a on a 7-1-1 roll, the win moves Tampa Bay (25-12-4) within two points of the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins. "Ive watched this team grow from an offensive-minded , which the organization has been for a while, into a team that says you better get more than two goals on us to beat us. Its a formula that you can win with," Cooper said. Calgary (14-21-6) wraps up a five-game homestand with four straight regulation losses. It started with much promise as the Flames posted a dramatic 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the St. Louis Blues in the last game before Christmas. Since the break, the offence has all but dried up with Calgary only scoring one goal, by rookie Sean p;Monahan, in the last 245 minutes five seconds.dddddddddddd "Were not good enough. Weve got to find a way to generate more," said Flames captain Mark Giordano. "Every mistake right now is magnified because were not scoring goals. Were wasting pretty good efforts from our goaltenders." The Flames got defenceman Dennis Wideman back after he missed 16 games with a broken hand but even with his presence on the power play, Calgary couldnt connect going 0 for 5 with the man advantage. "Its extremely frustrating," said Flames winger Lee Stempniak. "We definitely feel like were letting the goaltenders down. Theyve played great. Every game, theyve kept us in it and given us a chance. Its definitely a disappointing feeling for the 18 skaters out there letting them down." Both Lightning goals in the second period came less than 10 seconds after minor penalties to veteran Calgary forward Mike Cammalleri had expired. Teddy Purcell found Palat open in the slot and he sent a quick wrist shot into the top corner on Karri Ramo at 5:23. Five minutes later, Kucherov scored with a wrist shot off a setup from Palat. Palat extends his points streak to five games (two goals, four assists). "I feel like every game, my confidence is getting better," said the 22-year-old from the Czech Republic. "We have a young team but we play fast, we play good. Even without Stammer (Steven Stamkos), hes a big player to be missing, were just playing good." Making his first start in five games, Ramo was excellent for the Flames. Playing against the team that drafted him in 2006, Ramo was perfect on 13 shots in the first period, keeping Calgary in the game. He made 27 saves on the game in falling to 6-7-3. He was especially sharp in the third period too. As Calgary pressed to get back into the game, the Lightning were able to counter with some dangerous chances including three breakaways, each of them stopped. Notes: Tampa Bay is 13-7-4 since Stamkos (broken leg) has been out of the lineup. Stamkos is back skating with full equipment now and is nearing a return ... Calgary LW Lance Bouma (ill) did not dress ... The Lightning improved to 16-1-1 when they score first ... The Flames have just two regulation time wins in their last 30 games. Theyve won seven games in overtime or a shootout during that stretch ... Cammalleri was a minus-2 to fall to minus-21 on the season, which is second last in the NHL ahead of only Edmontons Nail Yakupov (minus-25). ' ' '