The quest for NHL head coaches about to begin for four teams

TAMPA BAY
Now that the Tampa Bay Lightning have hired their new GM in Steve Yzerman earlier this week, they are ready to start their quest in order to find their new head coach for the upcoming season. Yzerman is in no hurry to name his new head coach as he first wants to talk to his superstars Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos to ensure he makes a better choice than former GM Brian Lawton when he named Barry Melrose, who was subsequently replaced by Rich Tocchet, without much success as the Lightning.

Yzerman is reportedly interested in 5-6 candidates, including Portland Pirates’ (Buffalo’s AHL affiliate) Kevin Dineen. The Quebec City-native (my hometown), who won the AHL coach of the year in 2006, is also targeted by the Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom he worked and played earlier in his NHL career.

Gerard Gallant is also a very strong possibility as he is Yzerman’s close friend and former teammate with the Detroit Red Wings. Gallant, who also played for the Lightning, was named the CHL’s coach of the year after leading Saint John of the QMJHL to a franchise-record 53 wins.

Another candidate is Paul MacLean, a Red Wings assistant for five years, who also played with Yzerman during the 1988-89 season in Detroit.

AHL head coaches Scott Arniel and Guy Boucher could also be of interest to Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

COLUMBUS
Now that the Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal’s AHL affiliate) have been eliminated from the AHL playoffs, Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson can continue his quest for a new head coach, as Guy Boucher was the last candidate on Howson’s short list of candidates. Paul MacLean, who has been interviewed for the job, is the only candidate that has been eliminated. The other candidates are Kevin Dineen, Scott Arniel and Blue Jackets interim coach Claude Noel.

Howson will reportedly ask the permission to the Canadiens to speak with Boucher as early as this weekend and a decision will likely happen in the next seven to ten days. Noel replaced Ken Hitchcock when he was fired by the Blue Jackets on February 3rd, 2010. Columbus missed the playoffs after their first apparition in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2008-09.

ATLANTA
Atlanta Thrashers’ new GM Rick Dudley has also interviewed Scott Arniel, the Manitoba Mosse head coach, for the vacant head coach position; however, Dudley is reportedly waiting until the end of the Stanley Cup finals to talk to Chicago Black Hawks associate coach John Torchetti, the leading candidate as John Anderson’s successor according to many hockey pundits.

Boston Bruins assistant coach Craig Ramsay is also on Rick Dudley’s list of candidates. Other potential candidates include Ken Hitchcock, Guy Carbonneau (former Hab-coach), John Stevens (former Flyers coach) and Craig MacTavish (former Oilers coach).

NEW JERSEY
According to different sources, GM Lou Lamoriello has finally started looking for a new head coach. John MacLean, Lowell Devils head coach is a strong candidate for the position. Although MacLean was already passed over for the job three times when he was an assistant with the Devils, the experience he garnered as an AHL coach this past season, behind the bench of the Lowell Devils, will be a great asset. He guided Lowell to its first AHL playoff berth since 1999-2000.

Mario Tremblay, Jacques Lemaire’s right hand man for the past decade (both in NJ and in Minnesota) could also be a quality candidate for the position although he has not been a head coach since 1996-97 with Montreal.

Another strong candidate of interest for the head coach job in New Jersey is former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Michel Therrien, who is still under contract with Pittsburgh even though we was fired in the middle of the 2008-09 season, one season after he led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals.