Alex Kaufman

Alex Kaufman (April 15th, 1939 - May 24th, 1993) was a Valorian professional ice hockey coach, most famous for having managed the Newfoundland Sailors for five seasons, from 1988 to 1993, a tenure that ended in his suicide on May 24th, 1993.

Prior to pursuing coaching, Kaufman unsuccessfully sought to become a player in the NHL. After his attempts failed, however, he switched to coaching, working as an assistant coach with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and the Sailors, then as head coach for the Springfield Bullets and Vermont, prior to returning to Newfoundland. As manager of the Sailors, Kaufman brought them to four consecutive finals series from 1990 to 1993, losing each time to the Boston Spirits.

Kaufman remains somewhat of a legendary figure to the Sailors and their fans. By 1999, after his death, the Sailors had won four championships and a Coupe Balbuzard, winning the decade's star ahead of the Boston Spirits. After winning the star, the Sailors renamed their arena to bear Kaufman's name.

Early Life and Playing Career (pre-1978)

Kaufman was born on April 15th, 1939, in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. Growing up, he played ice hockey for his high school team, and played on his university's team all four years. After graduating from university in 1961, Kaufman unsuccessfully tried out for several years to all six NHL teams. After being unable to find his break into playing, Kaufman switched to coaching, joining the newly-founded Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967. He worked his way up through the coaching ladder, an assistant coach by 1977.

Early Coaching Career (1977 - 1988)

In 1977, the Valorian Hockey League was founded. Kaufman decided to return home, joining his province's team, the Sailors, as an assistant coach. He remained with the Sailors in this capacity until 1982, when he was offered the head coach job with the Springfield Bullets.

Kaufman managed the Bullets for the next three seasons, finishing 11th, 14th, and 11th respectively.

At the end of his third season, Kaufman moved to coach Vermont on a three year contract. He led the team, which had finished 12th in the past two seasons, to an 8th place finish. In his second season in charge, he stunned with an excellent performance that saw Vermont nearly qualifying, finishing 5th. In his third season, Vermont dipped back to 7th, however Kaufman's impressive showings had been enough to catch the attention of the Sailors, who had him on their shortlist to replace manager Garrett Jacobsen.

Newfoundland Sailors (1988 - 1993)

After Jacobsen was relieved of his duties in 1988, Kaufman was selected to succeed him.

In his first season in charge, the Sailors finished 5th, level on points with the 4th-placed Concord Venom. He also brought the Sailors to the semi-finals of the Coupe Balbuzard, where he lost to the Connecticut Bandits.

Kaufman fared far better in the 1990 campaign, leading the Sailors to 2nd in points and sweeping the Plymouth Fishermen in his first ever playoffs series. He met reigning champions Boston in the finals. It was during this series that Kaufman developed his fierce rivalry with Quentin Bethea, manager of the Spirits. Although he had already publicly remarked he was "not fond" of Bethea after meeting him in regular season games, their meeting in the finals exploded their rivalry. Boston won the first two games of the series, at which point Kaufman accused Bethea of gloating and unsportsmanlike behavior for his excessive celebrations. Bethea argued he was simply celebrating along with his home crowd. When the Sailors won the next two games in the series, on their home ground, the accusations were reversed. In the fifth game, the Spirits secured the title with a 3 - 2 result at home. To add to Kaufman's woes that season, he guided the Sailors to the Coupe Balbuzard finals, where he ultimately lost 3 - 4 to the Acadia Rage.

After losing both finals, Kaufman was determined to succeed the following season. He ended with another 2nd place finish in the standings, meeting the Rage (who he had just lost a Coupe Balbuzard to) in the semi-finals. The series went to a game five, however Kaufman was able to bring the Sailors once again to the finals, where he once more met Bethea's Spirits. Keen to defeat the reigning champions, Kaufman guided the Sailors to a 1 - 3 away victory. The Spirits won the second home game, however the Sailors won a dominant 5 - 1 in game three. With game four at home and a commanding showing in their own arena, the Sailors seemed favored to win the title. The Spirits, however, were able to upset with an away win of their own, sending the series to a game five in Boston. There, Kaufman suffered a 4 - 1 defeat at the hands of Bethea's squad, losing the championship once again. In the Coupe Balbuzard, Kaufman's Sailors once again lost to the Rage, this time in the semi-finals.

In 1992, Kaufman improved over his 1990 and 1991 campaigns by topping the league for the second time in the Sailors' history, and defeating the Spirits. The Sailors handily defeated Halifax to make it to their third finals series in a row, yet again meeting the Spirits. This time, however, the Sailors held the seed advantage, and were thus in their best position yet to win the championship. In the first game of the series, Kaufman suffered a demoralizing 0 - 3 at home. He managed to win the other home game before heading to Boston, however the Spirits were able to win both their home games, including a domineering 5 - 0 win to secure the championship in front of their home crowd. Kaufman later noted how humiliating the loss had been. To add to his woes, Kaufman was beaten by none other than the Spirits in the quarter-finals of the Coupe Balbuzard.

Kaufman was unable to repeat his league-topping performance in 1993, settling for second in the league. He swept the Bandits in the semi-finals, which brought him once more face-to-face with Bethea's Spirits. The Spirits won both their home games, setting a difficult task for Kaufman. The Sailors' first home game ended in an assertive 6 - 0 victory, shifting the momentum heavily in their favor and warning the Spirits that the series was not over yet. The Spirits, however, pulled together a 2 - 3 away victory in game four, winning a historic sixth championship in a row in Newfoundland, and completing a decade of titles. Kaufman had suffered his fourth finals loss in a row to Bethea and the Spirits, and was seen sobbing directly after losing the title.

Suicide

In the early hours of May 24th, the day after the championship was decided, Kaufman's neighbors reported hearing a single gunshot coming from his residence. Police investigation found the Sailors' manager had commit suicide that night. He left behind no notes, but it was generally understood that he had taken his own life due to suffering a fourth straight finals loss to Bethea's Spirits.

Legacy

Kaufman died before finishing the Sailors' 1993 season, as they were still in the running of the Coupe Balbuzard. Coach-less and shaken for the semi-final match against Bas-Canada, the Sailors suffered their fourth Balbuzard semi-finals or finals loss in five campaigns.

Kaufman's death was completely unexpected, and shocked the Valorian ice hockey community. The Sailors in particular heavily mourned the loss of their head coach, who had brought them to four consecutive finals, but lost each time to an overwhelmingly favored Boston Spirits. Jules Lundsford succeeded Kaufman as manager, praising him for his skills and vowing to complete his legacy. Spurred on by the desire to honor the fallen coach, the Sailors went on to win to dominate the rest of the decade, winning four titles and a Coupe Balbuzard, and topping the league another four times. In 1999, they were awarded the decade's star over the Spirits, in an incredibly close decision. At the awarding ceremony, it was also announced the Sailors' home arena would be renamed the Alexander Kaufman Arena, in honor of the late coach.

In some regards, Kaufman remains a controversial figure. Some criticize his legacy as being overblown, and caused primarily because of his death and not his coaching prowess. Some also say his successor, Jules Lundsford, should instead be credited with the fame and legacy Kaufman receives. They also criticize him for being a sore loser, and being unable to come to terms with his own shortcomings as a manager.