The 2 remaining open coaching vacancies were filled recently, (potentially) putting an end to the coaching carousel in the NHL for another offseason.
After rumours began circulating last Friday, the Calgary Flames officially announced on Monday the promotion of assistant coach Ryan Huska to replace Darryl Sutter as head coach. Sutter, who will not be coaching a single game on his extension that he signed with the club last offseason, was relieved of his duties after the team missed the playoffs. Jonathan Huberdeau, the team’s big prize in the Matthew Tkachuk trade, had a drop of 60 points in his first season in Calgary, setting an NHL record. Sutter is notoriously a hard nosed coach, and has a history of rubbing certain players the wrong way, which certainly factored into new GM Craig Conroy’s decision to move on this offseason.
Huska, 47, has been with the Flames for the past 5 seasons, with his main responsibilities being on special teams, which was one of the brighter spots for the team during a disappointing 2023-2023 campaign. The team’s penalty kill was also rated 6th overall in the NHL over the past 5 seasons at 81.7%. Huska has been around the professional ranks for quite some time now, including a 9 year playing career in the WHL, IHL and AHL, and 4 years as coach of the Flames’ AHL affiliate before joining the NHL staff in 2018. As with the recent hiring of Conroy, the Flames opted to hire from within and choose a candidate that’s familiar with the franchise and the needs of a demanding Canadian market. Huska has experience working with some strong NHL coaches aside from Sutter, including Bill Peters and Geoff Ward during his time in the AHL and WHL.
When Conroy began his search for the team’s next head coach, he stressed communication skills and the ability to work with younger players as key qualities the successful candidate would need to possess. Qualities that were clearly missing from the Flames during Sutter’s 3 year tenure. Huska’s work in junior and minor hockey suggests that he’s a better fit to work with the younger players coming through the Flames’ pipeline.
With three key players entering the final year of their contract in 2023-2024 in Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin, Huska will have to get to work creating a more positive workplace as the Flames look to get back into the playoffs. When he spoke to the media after the season, Huska came across as a thoughtful, knowledgeable coach with the ability to communicate. He touched on Huberdeau during his first press conference as well.
“He is an excellent hockey player. You don’t get to the level of play that he’s achieved by accident,” Huska told TSN’s Salim Valji shortly after his introductory presser Monday. “He’s going to come back this year, and I think he’s going to be really re-energized. We’re gonna see – I don’t necessarily want to see a different version of Jonathan, but one that I feel is going to be a lot more comfortable.”
“When you take all the moving out of the equation – new teammates, new style of playing, new city – that’s hard on a guy. But now all those distractions are out of the way, and that’s one of the reasons why we’ll see a different Jonathan Huberdeau this year.”
With Huberdeau beginning his 8 year, $84 million dollar extension, Huska will hope that the former Panther can rediscover his 115 point form from his last season in Florida.
"I don't have a weed in my yard right now." 😂
Ryan Huska talks about the experience of finding out he was hired as the Flames head coach and what led up to that moment with GM Craig Conroy. pic.twitter.com/Q1HRbaIMZX
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 12, 2023
On the other side of the country, the New York Rangers filled the final coaching vacancy with the hiring of Peter Laviolette, signing him to a 3 year deal for just under $5 million per season. Laviolette replaces Gerard Gallant (who was also in the running for the job in Calgary) after he and the club mutually parted ways following a first-round playoff exit. The Washington Capitals parted ways with Laviolette in April after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14, finishing the season with a 35-37-10 record. Laviolette brings with him an impressive amount of experience, compiling 752 wins (8th most all time) during his 21 year head coaching career (1430 total games). The 58 year old also has a Stanley Cup ring from the 2005-2006 season in Carolina.
Laviolette was the 1st candidate GM Chris Drury interviewed and, despite the lengthy wait, he seemed to be Drury’s choice all along. Drury was reportedly waiting to see the status of Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan and Toronto’s Sheldon Keefe before finalizing the deal with Laviolette. While Laviolette may not be the most exciting hire, he has the championship pedigree that’s valued by the Rangers franchise, and is intimately familiar within the Metro, as this will be his 5th coaching job within the division. New York is his 6th landing spot as an NHL head coach, as prior to his 3-year tenure in Washington, he spent 5 plus seasons helming the Nashville Predators, and had multi-year stints with the Flyers, Hurricanes and Islanders.
Laviolette takes over a team with a number of highly paid skilled veterans, several young players looking for more of an opportunity, and one of the best goalies in the league. Laviolette’s coaching style is known for its structure and tempo, but historically, he hasn’t always given many chances to the under 25 players on the roster. With the Rangers tight against cap, Laviolette may have to embrace the younger generation more than he is accustomed to, as the Rangers will be in tough to fill their roster holes through free agency. Trying to get the most out of former #1 pick Alexis Lafreniere will be a priority for the new bench boss, as will getting the team to play more consistently at even strength.
“We are thrilled that Peter will be the next head coach of the New York Rangers,” general manager Chris Drury said “With Peter’s extensive experience as a head coach in the National Hockey League, as well as the success his teams have had at several levels throughout his career, we are excited about what the future holds with him leading our team.”
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Andrew NYR. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.