Pittsburgh Penguins. © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Favorite Emerges for Penguins Next Coach

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jon Alfano | Last updated May 29, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Roughly a month after moving on from Mike Sullivan, the Pittsburgh Penguins may have their new head coach in place.

While not official just yet, Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects reported Wednesday afternoon that "every team-side source I’ve spoken to this week believes Mitch Love will be the next head coach of the Penguins." Love, 40, spent the last two seasons with the Washington Capitals as an assistant under Spencer Carbery.

For what it’s worth, every team-side source I’ve spoken to this week believes Mitch Love will be the next head coach of the Penguins.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) May 28, 2025

In that time, Love worked primarily with the Capitals' star-studded blue line. Under his leadership, defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored a career-high 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists) while quarterbacking the power play, and youngsters Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary emerged as key contributors on the back end.

The Capitals earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference this season with 111 points, in large part thanks to their deep blue line.

Again, though, it seems like the job isn't Love's just yet. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported Wednesday that the Penguins are still expected to meet with DJ Smith later this week to discuss their head coaching role. Smith, 48, was the Ottawa Senators' head coach from 2019-24 and spent last season as an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings.

As the Penguins go through their final rounds of HC interviews this week, DJ Smith & Mitch Love remain among the frontrunners in Pittsburgh. Pens are meeting with Smith tomorrow or Friday.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 28, 2025

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also said on this week's "32 Thoughts" podcast that former Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was in the running for Pittsburgh as well, though it's entirely possible the Penguins have narrowed down their options since then.

The Penguins are one of only three teams still looking for a head coach alongside the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, though the former is reportedly closing in on a hire as well. As the calendar flips to June this weekend, these teams will want to have their staff in place sooner rather than later.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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