Every year as we get close to the draft we are usually asking the following question of 1, maybe 2 teams:
Will they have a head coach in place by the playoffs?
This year we are asking that question of 7 teams. Possibly ten?
Who needs a coach?
Vegas, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Dallas, Winnipeg all have no head coach. Florida, Chicago, and Edmonton have interim coaches.
That is 28% of teams who, as of now, don’t have a head coach. I am hearing that is about to change as one source tells me we could hear coaches and teams getting hitched in the next 72 hours..
There are quite a few experienced head coaches out there looking as well…
Barry Trotz, Bruce Cassidy, John Tortorella, Rick Tocchet, Pete DeBoer, Paul Maurice, Alain Vigneault, and Michel Therrien, are all guys with experience, and its a good bet that at least five of these guys will be hired in the next two weeks.
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— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 5, 2021
Could Joel Quenneville come back? (I don’t think so..)
How about an assistant coach like Luke Richardson?
Where is Mike Keenan?
The big question teams are asking…
Go with experience or catch a new wave?
There is something to be said for a tried and true coach, but when you look at the success that Jon Cooper has had there is a HUGE temptation to try and find the “Next great mind.…
There are MANY talented young coaches out there, but here are 7 guys I keep hearing are very much on the radar as well…
On Rikard Gronborg….
Coaching in Europe, but best known for his work with the Swedish National Team, I am told if he wants an NHL job he will get it. It is very hard to imagine the Red Wings, never one to shy away from Swedes, grabbing Gronborg. It just feels like a Yzerman move, do grab the relatively obscure guy who turns out to be the best out there….
The other GM who could make this call…Bill Zito in Florida. Zito has always had strong Scandinavian ties.
On Pascal Vincent….
Head coach of the Manitoba Moose…I do believe he was the favorite for the Jets until Barry Trotz became available…
On Jay Leach,
The Bruins may look no further than their AHL guy in Providence. This organization, largely due to Cam Neely, likes to be a lone wolf of sorts….They are very much a team that looks within.
On Mike Vellucci…]
Penguins assistant coach, he ran Wilkes Barre/Scranton incredibly well and is on the fast path to the NHL. I was told the Penguins basically are accepting he will be gone soon…
On Spencer Carbary….
If there is a “next Jon Cooper… out there is may very well be Leafs assistant Spencer Carbary…He is all of 40, but there are MANY out there I talk to that feel he is going to be a MAJOR player in the NHL coaching ranks. His time in Hershey seems to have impressed many NHL execs. The Leafs however are a bit legendary in not letting assistants interview elsewhere and Carbary has only been there for 11 months now…
On Kris Knoblauch…
Perhaps most famous for taking over for the Rangers last year when coach Quinn went down with Covid, Kris Knoblauch is currently running Hartford in the AHL for the Rangers. He is very respected and was an assistant in Philly before that…. I don’t see Comcast feeling he is a big enough splash to bring him back to Philly…but maybe they should.
On Louis Robitaille…
Hockey Canada LOVES him. He is currently the head coach and GM for the Gatineau Olympiques. He is also ONLY 40. He has been a head coach for Canada’s U18s….
What say you?