With the Stanley Cup Playoffs going on and the first round potentially starting to come to an end, everyone also has an eye on the coaching carousel in the NHL. There are already several job openings, with more to go potentially. We have seen a new name added to the list as Mike Sullivan was let go by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Rick Tocchet has left the Canucks. He jumps to the top of the list that includes David Carle and Joel Quenneville.
And speaking of Carle and Quenneville, both men are being linked to the Anaheim Ducks job. We know Carle, who has two years left on his contract at the University of Denver, withdrew his name from consideration for the Chicago Blackhawks job opening. That doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in another NHL job. The belief is that he will stay in Denver. However, he would be a good fit for the young Anaheim Ducks team, not someone like Quenneville.
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Recall, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek believes his team is a playoff team next season. We will see about that. He let go of Greg Cronin after a 21-point jump in the standings. According to Jimmy Murphy of RG Media, the Ducks have offered Quenneville the job if he wants it. However, do the players want a coach like that since they didn’t like the hard-nosed Cronin?
How long is Quenneville going to be coaching after he comes back? That feels more like a move the Buffalo Sabres would make. Well, they did when they brought back Lindy Ruff. Since the NHL is a copycat league, why not follow the best teams? The best teams allow their coaches and players to grow together, as seen with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jon Cooper.
As Dan Rosen of NHL.com told Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, he thinks that David Carle to the Anaheim Ducks makes the most sense.
“Where I look more is like Anaheim, right? I mean, Anaheim, to me, is a terrific job. That’s a younger team with dedicated veteran players there in (Ryan) Strome and (Alex) Killorn, Radko Gudas and a number of guys. And they got younger players, too, who are developing. They went up this year.
They excelled and were better this year than they were last year. So, listen, it even surprised me a little bit that they made the coaching change, but I didn’t think that Greg Cronin was going to last there too long. And I think if they are ready to take the next step, to me, that was like his (Cronin) job was to get them to where they are now, and now it’s bringing a different guy to take the next step with this team. And that’s where they should be.
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And I look at that, and I’m like, wow, if you’re a coach, like, a younger coach, and you’re looking to grow. You can grow with that team. It very much reminds me of Jon Cooper when he came in with Tampa Bay all those years ago, right? I know he was in the AHL with them already, and he came in for Guy Boucher and but he was a younger coach. His first NHL job that was a younger team, and they were looking to grow together. And he had brought all those guys that he had with him in Norfolk, and they came, and they grew together. And you see where it is now, right?
That, to me, is what Anaheim might have a chance to be. And if you’re looking at a guy like Carle, like to me, that’s the right job. That’s a perfect job for him.”
But it makes sense with Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Lukas Dostal, Troy Terry, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, Drew Helleson, and Pavel Mintyukov. That’s a good young core to grow with, along with Jacob Trouba, Gudas, Frank Vatrano, and Strome. This is a good team that needs the right guy to grow with them for years to come.
The better fit is David Carle. But again, does he want to make that jump to the NHL? If he does, this is an excellent spot for him to land. But Carle has been firm on his belief that he wants to go to the right situation where he can win. Carle has said that after guiding Team USA to back-to-back World Junior Gold Medals.
Do the Anaheim Ducks Have a Plan Under GM Pat Verbeek?
But the Anaheim Ducks are coming. It probably won’t be next year, but it could be in two or three years. That’s why a younger coach makes more sense than an older guy like Joel Quenneville in Anaheim.
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