Pittsburgh Penguins: Five Coaching Candidates To Replace Mike Johnston

Recent comments by Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford have raised serious doubts about the direction of the team and the quality of the relationship between Rutherford and head coach Mike Johnston.

Rutherford was quoted by DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Josh Yohe as consistently urging Johnston to give young forward Daniel Sprong more playing time so that he can be better evaluated.

The comments raised some eyebrows because of how open Rutherford was about his disagreement with the head coach.

The combination of Rutherford’s comments and Johnston’s lackluster management of the lineup and the team’s superstars has raised serious doubts about the stability of Mike Johnston’s position.

With that in mind, here are five potential candidates I’ve chosen that could replace the embattled Pens coach. Jim Rutherford and the ownership have several options going forward, though not every choice is currently available.

Next: Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan, a.k.a. “Iron Mike”, has had a plethora of coaching jobs in the NHL. He worked most recently in the KHL with Evgeni Malkin‘s former team Metallurg Magnitogorsk. There he became the first coach to win both the NHL’s Stanley Cup Championship (1994) and the KHL’s Gagarin Cup (2014) before being fired at the beginning of the 2015-16 season.

His NHL jobs include head coaching stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames.

Pros

Keenan has been an incredibly successful head coach. He went to the playoffs all four years he was in charge of the Philadelphia Flyers, his first head coaching job, including winning two conference championships.

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His success continued in his four year stop with the Chicago Blackhawks where he again went to the playoffs every year, went to the conference finals three times and made it to a Stanley Cup. Keenan then went to the New York Rangers and in his first and only season won the 1994 Stanley Cup.

Cons

Despite his great success in the league, Keenan tends to wear out his welcome very quickly. He has had multiple disagreements with management. The most notable incident occurred when he resigned from the Rangers just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup, citing a breach of his contract.

Additionally, his success soon evaporated after his time with the Rangers and in his various NHL jobs between 1995 and 2009 he made only four more playoff appearances.

Overall Impression

Keenan has been highly successful almost everywhere he has coached. While he may rub many people the wrong way, it may not matter in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are built to win now, so if Keenan wins soon but is fired only a few years down the road it won’t be an issue. It may be worth the Penguins while to give him a shot.

Next: Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Boudreau has had two successful NHL coaching stints. He is currently the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. Prior to his time in Anaheim, he was the coach of the Washington Capitals.

Pros

Puck Prose

Boudreau, like Keenan, has had success coaching in the NHL. He also has experience running high-powered offenses and managing super star-level talent in both Washington and Anaheim. While with the Capitals he won four consecutive Southeast Division titles and one President’s Trophy.

After joining the Anaheim Ducks, Boudreau has led the team to three division titles and one Conference Finals appearance.

Cons

He is currently still employed with Anaheim which would require the Pittsburgh Penguins to either promote from within on an interim basis, or delay until the offseason. However, the Ducks have also had a sub-par season so far in 2015 and Boudreau is on thin ice.

Boudreau has had several very talented teams and has never made a Stanley Cup Final. He has only advanced to one Conference Finals series.

Overall Impressions

Boudreau has the experience and regular season success with star-studded and offensive teams, but his lackluster playoff run would be a hard sell in Pittsburgh.

With the Penguins window to win very defined, Boudreau would have to be fired by Anaheim sooner rather than later for the Penguins to move on with him this season. He would also need to shake off his playoff woes.

Next: Marc Crawford

Marc Crawford

Marc Crawford was a longtime NHL coach. His service includes time with the Nordiques/Avalanche, a seven year run with the Vancouver Canucks, and two years apiece with the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars.

Pros

Crawford has been another very successful NHL coach. He won the Jack Adams Award in his first year as the coach of the Quebec Nordiques in 1995. The following year, he took the relocated Nordiques (now known as the Colorado Avalanche) to a Stanley Cup Championship. He enjoyed moderate success in Vancouver before lackluster tenures with the Kings and Stars.

Cons

As previously stated, Crawford started hot and finished ice cold. In his last five years as a coach, he never finished higher than fourth in his division.

Crawford was most recently the coach of the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, where he was fired earlier this year.

Overall Impressions

Crawford’s immediate success in the league is encouraging, but his last years in the NHL and Europe leave a lot to be desired. His early coaching success combined with an underwhelming finish may draw comparisons to Dan Bylsma.

It would be interesting to see how the Pittsburgh Penguins would respond to a coach with such a similar, if not less successful, history.

Next: Claude Julien

Claude Julien

Claude Julien is the current coach of the Boston Bruins and has been behind the bench in Boston for eight seasons. Before his time in Boston, Julien coached the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens.

Pros

Julien is a proven commodity in the coaching industry. He has been very successful in Boston, winning one Stanley Cup and going to another. He has only missed the playoffs once in his eight year tenure with the Bruins.

Cons

Julien is still the coach in Boston. There were rumors he may be let go after last season, however he was kept on by new Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.

While the team’s slow start to the season initially put him on the hot seat again, the team has picked it up of late and currently has a record similar to that of the Penguins.

To hire Claude Julien, Rutherford would likely have to wait until the offseason.

Overall Impressions

Julien is an excellent coach who has Stanley Cup pedigree. He thoroughly out-coached Bylsma and the Penguins in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. If Boston pulls the plug on Julien’s tenure, the Pittsburgh Penguins should give him a good look.

However, things in Boston may not be bad enough for Julien to take the fall within the timeframe the Pens would require.

Next: Jacques Martin

Jacques Martin

Jacques Martin has been a special assistant to the head coach of the Penguins since 2013. He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens.

Pros

Martin has enjoyed moderate success across his coaching career. He took his teams to the playoffs in 12 of his 17 seasons as a head coach, including two conference final appearances.

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He also has worked with the Penguins under both Bylsma and Johnston and could have the potential to incorporate the best of both systems while maintaining familiarity with the players.

He’s the easiest option to plug into the vacancy if Mike Johnston were to be fired.

Cons

While Martin has enjoyed moderate success as a coach, he does not have the championship pedigree of some of the other candidates. He has only advanced as far as the conference finals, and has never won the Stanley Cup.

Also, his time with Pittsburgh Penguins may work against him as the Pens have not met expectations during his tenure.

Overall Impressions

Martin’s time with the Penguins could work for or against him. It depends on how Jim Rutherford and the ownership judge his impact.

He knows the players and the management group well and has decent coaching credentials. However, his promotion may not be viewed as enough of a change for disgruntled Pittsburgh Penguins fans.

Martin seems like a quintessential interim hire to finish out the season, and one who may be given a more permanent post if the team responds well to his leadership.

Next: Final Thoughts