Pair of intriguing candidates emerge in Penguins' HC search

In addition to considering Kings assistant D.J. Smith in their search for a new head coach, the Penguins are also interested in Capitals assistant Mitch Love and former Blues coach Drew Bannister as they look to fill their head coaching job, according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic (article link).

It seems clear Washington anticipates Love drawing interest for multiple of the remaining vacancies this offseason and isn’t expecting him back. While the team is still active in the postseason, they’ve granted Pittsburgh permission to interview Love – something that’s already happened and has vaulted him onto the “short list of favorites for the job,” Yohe writes.

There haven’t been many other candidates firmly linked to the Penguins’ open position outside of Rick Tocchet, who signed a reported five-year contract with the Flyers yesterday. Talks didn’t progress past a casual stage between Tocchet and general manager Kyle Dubas regarding the Pittsburgh vacancy, according to Yohe.

“Tocchet wants to win, and he wants to win now,” Yohe added. “You can argue about how close the Flyers are to winning. But the Flyers are further along in their rebuild than the Penguins are. Tocchet didn’t want to find himself in a situation where struggling in the first couple of seasons was OK because the franchise is building. He wants to win now and wasn’t certain that the Penguins are ready for that.”

As for the three named candidates, the writing on the wall indicates Love is Pittsburgh’s preferred name. He’s spent the last two seasons with the Capitals as an assistant under Spencer Carbery and drew interest for head coaching jobs. He was a head coaching candidate in the 2023 hiring cycle after winning back-to-back Coach of the Year awards with the AHL’s Stockton Heat/Calgary Wranglers, but lost out. Now 40, the British Columbia native has had the chance to acclimate to an NHL bench under a Jack Adams Award finalist and presents himself as a more attractive candidate this time.

Regarding Bannister, the former NHL defenseman finished 2023-24 as the Blues’ interim head coach and was given the permanent job last summer along with a two-year contract. His early-season departure was less to do with St. Louis’ 9-12-1 record out of the gate and more with Jim Montgomery unexpectedly becoming available for hire when the Bruins canned him in November. Like Love, the last two seasons were Bannister’s only ones behind an NHL bench in any capacity. His previous coaching experience came with the Blues’ AHL affiliate and the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack and Soo Greyhounds.

With Dubas in Sweden as Canada’s general manager for the World Championship and his open-minded approach to the search, there’s an expectation the Penguins’ search stretches into the latter days of May, Yohe adds.