Former NHL coach Bob Hartley films strange video as response to rumours about joining Russian National team

Bob Hartley, who won a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche back in 2001, seems to have a strange sense of humour. Hartley, a francophone who was born in Ontario, has been in the KHL since 2018 coaching Avangard Omsk, winning the Gagarin Cup with the team last season. In 2016, after being fired by the Calgary Flames, Hartley took a job coaching the Latvian national hockey team, something he has been praised for after helping the team greatly improve its record. He recently left that job, saying he no longer had the time to do it. Following that, there were rumours he would be joining Russia's national hockey program as a coach. Hartley has released a new video through Avangard Omsk denying that rumour.

The video, which is below, is filmed in a quaint Russian villa, where Hartley pretends to be a farmer with geese and chickens to feed. He chops wood with an axe made out of a hockey skate and implies he would never leave his home to coach the Russian national team as he is not a football coach, but a hockey one. He ends the video by saying " I am no longer a foreign specialist! I became Russian." Check it out:

This isn't the first time Hartley has recorded a video with his strange sense of humour of full display. Omsk updated its logo and jersey a couple of years ago and Hartley filmed an introduction video where he talked about how the updates would increase the speed and strength of players like they were getting new armour in a video game. Some found it funny, others found it awkward. Much like this new video.

Besides Calgary and Colorado, Hartley also served four seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. In addition, he led the ZSC Lions to a National League championship in Switzerland in his one year as coach there in between gigs in the NHL.

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