The close relationship between Todd McLellan and Glen Gulutzan had come to a near-complete stop the past two seasons.
The Battle of Alberta can do that.
McLellan, the coach of the Edmonton Oilers since 2015-16, and Gulutzan, the coach of the Calgary Flames from 2016-18, had known each other for years. But being on opposite sides of one of the fiercest rivalries in the NHL put any personal dealings on hold.
Nothing, however, could scuttle the connection they shared through their Saskatchewan roots.
So when 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos organization, a team playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, were killed in an April 6 bus crash, McLellan and Gulutzan reconnected as old friends to lend a helping hand.
On April 7, the Oilers and Flames each played their final game of the NHL season, and the next day a mutual friend with a plane met Gulutzan in Calgary. Their first stop was Edmonton to pick up McLellan, and then they flew to Humboldt to spend the day with the crash survivors, their families and friends, to help console and support the Broncos and the community.
"We had lots of emotion in Edmonton just with our team, our jobs, that type of stuff," McLellan said. "Throw on top of that the emotion of the bus crash and it was a memorable day for a lot of different reasons."
Gulutzan called the day a moving experience.
"I can tell you that reeling from both of our seasons, that experience certainly put our feet firmly back on the ground, walking out of there, about what's actually important in life," he said. "The best way to sum it up for Todd and I was that you just be human and compassionate and lend an ear.
"If we could give them 10 minutes of relief, just talking about Connor McDavid or Johnny Gaudreau, that's all we were really there for. But certainly a powerful experience."
A little more than a week after the Humboldt trip, on April 17, Gulutzan was fired by the Flames. He was hired by the Oilers as an assistant on McLellan's staff May 25.
McLellan said their relationship wasn't the only reason Gulutzan got the job.
"He understands what it's like to be a head coach, especially in Canada, Western Canada, and in particular Alberta," McLellan said of Gulutzan. "So that's a strong asset for us to have. He brings an upbeat personality and a good hockey mind and I'm going to use him in all situations.
"I would consider us friends, but if we all hired our friends in this business we'd have large staffs."
The trip to Humboldt proved their connection had been paused, not stopped.
McLellan had planned to use time on the plane to fill his notebook and prepare for upcoming end-of-season meetings in Edmonton.
"Once Glen and I got on and began to talk, I never opened up the book or made any notes," McLellan said. "Our conversations varied from naturally the Humboldt disaster and what it's done to the hockey community and those families, but we also talked about coaching in the NHL, talked about teams, and at that point he was still with the Calgary Flames so we couldn't share a lot.
"But we talked about our jobs and our pressures and our relationships with players and management."
Their shared effort to support Humboldt was an easy choice, given their roots.
Gulutzan, 46, grew up in tiny Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, population approximately 1,500. It's about 150 miles north of McLellan's hometown of Melville, population 4,562.
"I've known Todd a long time," Gulutzan said. "We ran ... not in the exact same circles but our circles intertwined."
McLellan, 50, is four years older than the 46-year-old Gulutzan. They both played for Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League, McLellan from 1982-87, Gulutzan in 1991-92. Each moved into coaching when their playing careers ended, and each spent time in the American Hockey League before arriving in the NHL.
When Gulutzan was hired as coach of the Dallas Stars in 2011, his Saskatchewan connections were advantageous.
"When I got (an opportunity) to be a head coach in the NHL, Todd was a big help for me," Gulutzan said of McLellan, who was coach of the San Jose Sharks at the time. "I remember I spoke at length with him before my interview about what to expect. I've always kind of used him as a sounding board and someone I'd turn to if I needed advice, especially as a young coach."
McLellan and Gulutzan have turned their focus to the 2018-19 season, and it picks up pace Monday, when the Oilers staff will gather in Kelowna, British Columbia, McLellan's offseason home, for a coaching summit to plot the way forward.
Gulutzan and fellow new assistants Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros also will be present for the brainstorming.
"We'll clearly define roles with everybody there," McLellan said. "We'll talk about how the game is played in the NHL now. We'll talk about how we have played and how we want to play. We'll take a look at the assets we have in front of us and will those players fit the system that we want to play."
Also to be discussed are team-building, video and game situations, and strategies for handling the schedule, which starts with the 2018 NHL Global Series against the New Jersey Devils in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Oct. 6.
Gulutzan said he can't wait to dig in with his new colleagues.
"Todd has made it very clear he wants some opinion and he wants some debate," he said. "Both Trent and I have run penalty kills in this League and been successful and Manny has a fresh and dynamic insight into the power play.
"The thing that's come out of the first meetings with Todd is that everyone's going to be in everyone's business at the beginning. Everyone's going to have a piece of the power play, a piece of the penalty kill and a piece of the 5-on-5. We'll narrow down those roles as the season starts but the summit in July, he wants everyone's input. I think it's a real smart way to go."
With a long-standing relationship, interrupted or not, a comfort level is allowing them to hit the ground running.
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