Penguins Continue to Explore Options for Head Coaching Vacancy
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been actively searching for a new head coach to replace Mike Sullivan, and according to sources, they have interviewed several candidates for the position. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Friday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Penguins have obtained permission to and completed an interview with Bruins assistant Jay Leach for their vacant head coaching job.
The Penguins have also considered promoting assistant David Quinn to the head job and talked to former Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, as reported by ProHockeyRumors.com. These names join a list that includes former Blues bench boss Drew Bannister, Capitals assistant Mitch Love, and Kings assistant D.J. Smith. Out of the six, Bannister is the only one who hasn’t been confirmed to have an interview with the Penguins.
Jay Leach, an experienced coach with a background in the NHL, has been on the radar of several teams interested in interviewing him for head coaching roles. According to ProHockeyRumors.com, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported back in April that the Bruins were receiving calls on Leach for teams interested in interviewing him for head coaching roles. Leach has a connection to the Pittsburgh organisation, having served as an assistant coach with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the 2015-16 season.
David Quinn, another candidate being considered by the Penguins, has the most experience as an NHL head coach among the six candidates. The 58-year-old took an assistant role in Pittsburgh last summer after being fired by the Sharks. As ProHockeyRumors.com reported, Quinn served on the United States’ bench at the 4 Nations Face-Off as an assistant under Mike Sullivan, whom he’s now considered a potential replacement for with the Pens. Quinn has a 137-185-50 (.435) record in 372 regular-season games as a head coach with San Jose and the Rangers since 2018.
Jay Woodcroft, a former Oilers coach, is also in the running for the Penguins’ head coaching vacancy. This is the first mention of Woodcroft in connection with the Pens’ vacancy, but he has been considered for two other jobs this summer – the Ducks and the Bruins. As reported by ProHockeyRumors.com, Woodcroft had a 79-41-13 (.643) record over three seasons as bench boss in Edmonton.
The Penguins are not expected to make a decision on the hiring of a new head coach until later this month, with general manager Kyle Dubas currently out of the country, according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Dubas is currently serving as the general manager of Team Canada at the World Championship. The Penguins will likely continue to explore their options and conduct further interviews before making a final decision on their new head coach. According to ProHockeyRumors.com, fans will have to wait a little longer to find out who will be leading the team next season.
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