Penguins
Penguins Coaching Search: Woodcroft, Love Among Interviews
The Pittsburgh Penguins coaching search is hitting its next phase.
According to Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, the Penguins have interviewed or are targeting interviews with several favorites for the job, including Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love, former Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith, and are thought to have talked to Jay Leach.
Clarification: Friedman did not specifically say the Penguins have interviewed Love, but that Love is “high on their list.”
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has also talked to David Quinn about a promotion from assistant to head coach, as well as former Edmonton Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft.
Among the favorites for the job, only former St. Louis Blues coach Drew Bannister remains unconfirmed.
Read More: 5 Preliminary Favorites; 3 New Names to Watch
The Penguins ended Mike Sullivan’s nearly 10-year tenure on April 28. On May 2, the New York Rangers hired Sullivan as their new head coach, replacing Peter Laviolette.
When Dubas announced Sullivan’s termination, he also laid out a timeline for a new coach in late June.
He planned to start with “virtual interviews over the next month, followed by in-person interviews at the end of May into early June, and then likely naming a coach at the end of June that will lead the team forward.”
Dubas may have some competition as the Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, and Chicago Blackhawks are also looking for new coaches. The Philadelphia Flyers hired former Flyers captain Rick Tocchet as their new coach on Wednesday, the same day the Vancouver Canucks hired Adam Foote.
The Penguins have missed the playoffs three seasons running and are about to embark upon a unique rebuild-on-the-fly approach. Dubas declined to trade veterans, including Rickard Rakell, at the NHL trade deadline, while prospects Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen made successful NHL debuts a few weeks later.
Success in dealing with prospects and young players figures to be a prerequisite for the job. Additional prospects, including Owen Pickering and Tristan Broz, are expected to be in the NHL next season.
Smith had a similar situation during his four-year tenure in Ottawa. So, too, did Quinn in San Jose, though his Sharks teams were in the tear-down process and he lasted just two seasons after some internal turmoil.
Love, 40, might be the favorite but is rumored to be high on the list of other teams, too. He coached only two seasons in the AHL, but was a back-to-back winner of the coach of the year before accepting an assistant role with Washington.
