Now that the Calder Cup has been awarded to Willie Desjardins‘ Texas Stars — who were crowned AHL champions after defeating the St. John’s IceCaps 4-3 Tuesday night — the Vancouver Canucks’ search for a new head coach will intensify.
The candidates vying for John Tortorella’s old post are expected to include Desjardins as well as former Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Dan Bylsma.
Also a candidate for the vacant Florida Panthers job, Bylsma was spotted in Vancouver Tuesday, according to various Twitter reports.
Bylsma, who led the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup, was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 6, the same day the club announced its new general manager, Jim Rutherford.
In the wake of Bylsma’s firing, Canucks general manager Jim Benning told the Vancouver Sun that Bylsma was “an interesting name, for sure.”
Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported Tuesday that the Canucks had asked for permission to speak with New York Rangers assistant coach Scott Arniel, who has already served two stints coaching in the Canucks’ farm system.
“We’re going to wait until the NHL is done and the AHL is done. We’re going to do our due diligence on this,” Benning told the Sun. “We want to make sure we pick the right guy that’s right for this group. So we’re going to take our time and do the work. It has gone good so far and I expect it to keep going good.”
The winningest coach in Penguins history and a Jack Adams winner as the NHL’s best coach in 2011, Bylsma was reported to be a lead candidate for the Panthers job as recently as Monday.
“Dan is a good man and a good coach, but I thought we needed a change in direction moving forward,” Rutherford said upon firing him. “I have no doubt that he will go on to be a head coach in the National Hockey League and have success.”
