The NHL’s latest expansion team is already moving quickly to take advantage of the many excellent unemployed coaches on the market, per a report.
Jack Capuano reportedly meets with Vegas Golden Knights about head coach position
The former Islanders coach is the first to interview.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Newsday writer and New York Islanders reporter Arthur Staple reported on Wednesday night that former Isles coach Jack Capuano is meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights this week. Staple didn’t specifically report it was about the expansion team’s head coaching job, but let’s be honest: It’s probably not a bachelor party.
Capuano isn’t the only big name on the coaching market, of course. With Boston’s firing of Claude Julien this week, the field of options for Vegas is absolutely flooded.
But Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is likely to call Julien, according to a report from TSN insider Bob McKenzie. The Florida Panthers will probably join that hunt.
The two names missing from all of these reports are former Panthers coach Gerard Gallant and recently fired Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. The latter is likely because it’s unclear whether Hitchcock prefers to retire; the former is likely simply because Julien and Capuano’s pedigrees propelled them ahead of Gallant on wish lists once they became available.
As NHL coaches began getting fired, Vegas began to admit they will probably hire a coach before the end of the season and before the expansion draft in late June. All 30 NHL teams need to submit their available players by June 17, and the Golden Knights must decide on players to draft by June 20.
In the last 10 years, the NHL has fired more coaches than the MLB, NFL, or NBA.
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