The Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago
Blackhawks have more in common than their lackluster seasons.
All three teams fired their coach during the season and
named an interim bench boss.
Of the trio, only the Flyers’ Brad Shaw managed a (mini)
revival of sorts, but that was in a small sample size: nine games.
That at least gives Shaw an outside chance at landing a spot
as the team’s permanent coach.
The other two replacements coaches, Chicago’s Anders
Sorensen and Boston’s Joe Sacco, are also hopeful. And one of them appears to
have a better chance than Shaw to remain as the No. 1 guy.
Here’s a look at the three interim coaches and their pluses
and minuses:
Brad Shaw, Philadelphia Flyers
Pluses
· Shaw, who turns 61
later this month, directed the team to a 5-3-1 record, and young players like
Tyson Foerster (nine goals in nine games), Matvei Michkov (six goals, 12 points
in nine games) and Bobby Brink (eight points in nine games) excelled under him.
· The players sang Shaw’s
praises and played much looser – and scored more – under Shaw than they did for
his predecessor, John Tortorella.
· He is familiar with the
organization, having coached with the Flyers for three seasons.
Minuses
· Fair or not, he’s
associated with the fired Tortorella.
· The Flyers will
probably go with a younger coach who has experience developing up-and-coming
players. That said, the performances of Michkov, Foerster and Brink may give
the Flyers’ brass reason to pause.
· Philadelphia has missed
the playoffs in all three years Shaw has been on the staff. This season, they
had just 76 points – 11 fewer than last year.
Joe Sacco, Boston Bruins
Pluses
· Bruins GM Don Sweeney
praised Sacco, saying he did well, even though he had to coach “completely
different teams” because of several in-season moves that were made.
· Sacco is extremely
familiar with the organization (including some very productive years), having
been on the staff for 11 years.
· Cam Neely, the team’s
president, said Sacco would be considered for the full-time position. Lip
service or an indication he liked Sacco’s work?
Minuses
· He failed to lead the
Bruins, which dealt away key players at the trade deadline, into the playoffs.
· Boston went just
25-30-7 since Sacco replaced Jim Montgomery in mid-November.
· As mentioned, the
Massachusetts native was a longtime Boston assistant before getting the
“interim” tag, and the Bruins seem to be leaning toward someone outside the
organization.
Anders Sorensen, Chicago Blackhawks
Pluses
· Though he inherited a
weak roster, Sorensen’s team was competitive, and it’s noteworthy that the
struggling Connor Bedard got untracked under him.
· Sorensen, 49, is
respected for his teaching ability – a mandatory trait for someone coaching a
young team. In addition, his engaging personality seemed to click with his
players.
· His last three AHL
teams made the playoffs.
Minuses
· Chicago went 17-30-9
after Sorensen replaced the fired Luke Richardson in December, finishing with
the NHL’s second-worst record. Sorensen called it a “rollercoaster,” but he feels the team will be better for it in the long run.
· The Blackhawks finished
31st in goals allowed (3.56 per game) and 26th in
scoring (2.73 per game), though that can be seen as more of an indictment on
the roster than Sorensen’s coaching ability.
· Shortly after Sorensen
took over, the Blackhawks lost five straight and were a defensive disaster,
cementing their hold on last place in the Central.
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