Don't mistake Davis Payne for Major Payne — a drill sergeant played by one of the Wayans brothers in the movie of that same title.
Andy Murray was a much more militant taskmaster, and the St. Louis Blues players tuned him out to the point management felt it had to make a move.
So they brought Payne up to the NHL from his post as coach of the AHL Peoria Rivermen early this month, dismissing Murray after four years behind the Blues bench.
Payne saw an example of what things were like before when he pulled out his whistle during his first practice in charge of the Blues.
Racing to the scrum, the last two players to reach their new coach did what they always did under Murray when late to the whistle.
Laps.
One player said the look on Payne's face was pretty priceless.
"I've been through enough training camps, so I kind of knew what the deal was," Payne said Monday morning before taking on the Flames. "Generally, on a whistle they'd come in quickly and the last guy would have to skate. I kind of halfway expected it."
Some of the guys still twitch when they hear the whistle go, but things are a little more loose with Payne in charge.
Nearly 20 years younger than the 58-year-old Murray, Payne has the appreciative ear of some of the less experienced players. Many of the older ones had tired of Murray's approach, too, and they often asked media members what they were hearing about their coach's job security.
Nobody is questioning the coaching in Calgary, but the Flames have long seemed like a team lacking looseness under general manager Darryl Sutter.
The swap in St. Louis paid dividends early. After a tough regulation loss against the Chicago Blackhawks, and a 2-1 overtime loss to the Sharks, the Blues ripped off four straight victories before a slight slip took them to 5-4-2 under Payne prior to last night.
"He's been great for us so far. Very motivating. He keeps his speeches short and sweet. It's to the point," said defenceman Mike Weaver, who played under Murray for nearly four seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and Blues.
"That's one of the big reasons I was brought to St. Louis. (Murray's) a great coach, and unfortunately we weren't winning. Sometimes it happens, you need a changing of the guard."
The fresh start has brought unity to a team that was ignoring the former coach.
"Maybe a few had grudges with the former coach," admitted David Backes. "You see a little more life in guys who were down before.
"He’s got a few more different Xs and Os and a new ideology that helps us play as a team more. It doesn’t make us dwell on those Xs and Os so much and just play with passion."
Passion is something Payne said he wanted to see as soon as he arrived.
"The first thing I told these guys is we have to be a great working group. We have to be a group that trusts each other. And we have to be a group that plays with a lot of passion," said the 39-year-old Payne, who suited up for parts of two seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and appreciates every moment of work in the NHL.
He expects the same from his players.
"The last thing you'd want is to have a player have his senses dulled as to how special this opportunity to play at this level is," he said.
"We all have to understand that this is a special situation for every player, every staff member, every coach to be involved in. We've got to treat it with that kind of passion."
The Flames should remind themselves of that every once in a while, too.
steve.macfarlane@sunmedia.ca
