NHL Coaches Gone Wild

This is a feature that will run with notable stories from around the league (and a few others) that we have come across while scouring the web for interesting hockey tidbits.

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Today, we’re speculating on coaching changes as the end of the season draws near, and take a look at some coaches who’ve made headlines recently.

Does Wayne Gretzky want to return to the NHL in a coaching capacity (again)? No. Darnit. He made that clear as he posed with Mario Lemieux and the statue of Luc Robitaille in front of the Staples Center. Does he enjoy rooting for L.A. as a fan and grandfather? Signs point to yes.
“I always say never is a long time, but right now it’s just probably not going to happen for me,” Gretzky said at Luc Robitaille’s statue unveiling outside Staples Center on Saturday.”I’m a huge fan of the game. I love watching it. I’m a huge L.A. Kings fan. I really admire what the organization has done for not only hockey in this town but for hockey in general,” he added. (From The Score)

Could Mike Babcock become the highest-paid coach in the league with a move to the Philadelphia Flyers? Rumor has it that the Flyers are offering something in the range of $5 million, twice what top-paid NHL coach Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks currently makes. Then again, Babcock might be just what Philadelphia needs to shake up the organization, and some owners will pay any price to get that element they think they’re lacking.

"[W]hile Berube can only do so much – he’s not actually playing, you know – that simply can’t happen on an NHL coach’s watch, not in Philadelphia anyway. Mike Babcock, on the other hand, found himself in a similar position no more than a season ago. Babcock was handed a team that was supposed to be in a rebuilding phase. Not only did [he] lead that team to the playoffs, finishing one point shy of the sixth-seeded Flyers, he’s built off of that achievement this season, positioning the Red Wings for a likely first-round series with home ice advantage. The case for Mike Babcock isn’t the hard part; it’s actually getting him that stands the test. And you can bet the Flyers won’t be the only bidders, should Berube be shown the door after the season. (From The Hockey Writers)"

Former NHL Coach Marc Crawford threw an amazing temper tantrum recently on the bench in Switzerland. Crawford was previously distinguished by his being the youngest coach ever to win the Jack Adams award with the Quebec Nordiques and his 1996 Stanley Cup win with the then-Colorado Avalanche. But now we’re just going to call him Hollywood. (From Deadspin)

Patrick Roy decides that the real problem about the Wild-Avalanche game where multiple players decided to throw down (two of them on their respective benches) in the last few seconds of the third was…yup, the articles written about it afterwards. Maybe he’s just angry he didn’t make the list of top NHL coaches in danger of losing their jobs. After that astonishing display of irrationality, he very well may be. (From CBS Sports)

Got NHL headlines you think we should include? Tweet us @BleedinBlueFS or leave a comment below!

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