The Florida Panthers have interviewed multiple candidates for their head coaching vacancy in the weeks since the Presidents’ Trophy winners bowed out in Round 2, league sources tell Daily Faceoff.
Sources say the candidates interviewed to this point include former Panthers coach Pete DeBoer, Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet, Travis Green and potentially Paul Maurice. There has been no shortage of interest in the position after Florida racked up 122 points during the regular season and scored the most goals of any team in a single season in the salary cap era.
The catch is all of those interviews have come while interim coach Andrew Brunette still awaits word on his fate with the franchise. Brunette stepped into a difficult position in October and replaced Joel Quenneville, who resigned as a result of his role in the Chicago Blackhawks’ cover-up of the 2010 sexual assault on prospect Kyle Beach by video coach Brad Aldrich, while the Panthers were off to a 7-0 start.
Brunette led Florida to their best season in franchise history and their first playoff round win since 1996. That success earned Brunette a runner-up finish for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year, as voted by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Sources said the Panthers’ players deeply respected Brunette and stressed that in exit interviews with management.
DeBoer, fired by Vegas, was the Panthers’ coach from 2008-10 under different ownership and management. Trotz was fired by the Islanders this spring and has been a strong candidate for multiple opportunities. Tocchet spent this season as an NHL analyst with Turner Sports and has also interviewed with multiple teams. Green spent parts of five seasons in Vancouver before being fired in December. Maurice stepped away from the Winnipeg Jets in December but has said he’ll likely only return to the bench for the right opportunity.
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