Pascal Vincent had an incredible year at the helm of the Laval Rocket. The club’s head coach led the Rocket to first place in the AHL standings… and was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
Not bad for a coach who wondered if he still wanted to practice before coming to town.
And inevitably, seeing a coach with a track record in the AHL makes him a logical candidate for an NHL job. His year in Columbus wasn’t easy… but he wasn’t placed in the right conditions.
And Kyle Dubas, who is looking for a coach in Pittsburgh, made an interesting statement to Josh Yohe(The Athletic):
There are coaches in the AHL who are still in the playoffs and who are interested in our position. – Kyle Dubas.
The story from Sweden of how Kyle Dubas is going about finding the Penguins’ next coach. Some tidbits are included. Read about it here: https://t.co/FsjhV9K102
– Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) May 19, 2025
Our colleagues at HabsolumentFan also reported the news.
Of course, it’s logical to think that Vincent might be on the list. His achievements in Laval this year have put him on the map, and he’s one of those coaches who’s always in the playoffs in the AHL.
That said, in the same interview, Dubas also noted that he’d like to have a coach in place by June 1… and that’s interesting, because the Rocket will finish their series against the Americans on May 25, before starting a new one if they win two of their next three games.
If Dubas wants Vincent, therefore, he’d better hope the Rocket get eliminated by Sunday, otherwise he’ll have to abandon the idea of hiring the Rocket’s coach, who doesn’t want to go through lengthy interviews and be really involved in such a process between now and his club’s elimination.
We’ll keep an eye on how all this develops… but if the Rocket wants to increase its chances of keeping its coach, winning two of the next three games would probably close the door on Pittsburgh for Vincent.
To be continued.
– Interesting.
Wayne Gretzky visited the Stars after the win over the Jets https://t.co/lst8XZxfnE
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) May 21, 2025
– Whew.
Final score.
Final score. pic.twitter.com/ZZXuLLUX8u
– CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) May 21, 2025
– Ah well.
If we were surprised by Mathieu Turcotte’s dismissal, we were also surprised to see him at the #Alouettes camp. “All options are on the table, I’m not closed to the idea of being an assistant at a higher level.” @RDSca #QMJHL https://t.co/rwWWZ0ejxs
– Eric Leblanc (@eleblancRDS) May 21, 2025
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