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Sharks might look to minor leagues for a coach
IN FACT, MANY NHL TEAMS SEE GOOD CANDIDATES THERE

By David Pollak
Mercury News

Article Launched: 05/30/2008 01:35:45 AM PDT

With five or six NHL teams, including the Sharks, searching for a new coach, plenty of familiar names are circulating as candidates. Joel Quenneville, Pat Burns, Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley, Ron Wilson - all with NHL experience.

But there are also plenty of not-so-recognizable names being touted for those jobs. Kevin Dineen, John Anderson, Scott Gordon, Mike Haviland, Peter DeBoer - all of them looking for their first crack at the big time.

NHL teams regularly turn to the minors or Canadian junior leagues for new coaching blood; just last season, Bruce Boudreau made a successful leap from Hershey, Pa., to Washington. But this summer, there could be more than one rookie behind a big-league bench because supply and demand seem to be in sync.

"I think part of that is due to the fact there are so many openings," Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli said of the increasing interest in minor league coaches. "You have more teams looking at more candidates."

Chiarelli's connection to the coaching derby is Gordon, head coach of the Providence Bruins, Boston's developmental team in the American Hockey League. One NHL team has asked for permission to interview Gordon, though the general manager will not say which one.

The number of openings is only part of the equation. "NHL teams do look at AHL coaches all the time, but this year I think there are a lot of quality ones available," said Kevin Cheveldayoff, general manager of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. "Each year, coaches may be at different stages of their careers. This year, a lot are ready to take that next step."

The Wolves are playing in the finals for the Calder Cup, something that boosts the chances that their coach, Anderson, could return to the league where he scored 282 goals for Toronto, Quebec and Hartford. An AHL championship would be Anderson's fourth in 11 years.

Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson is not providing many details about his hunt for a new coach, other than to say there were 40 candidates on his original list and he was open to someone with no NHL experience.

Beyond Gordon and Anderson, that might earn consideration for other well-regarded AHL coaches such as Dineen of the Portland Pirates and Haviland of the Rockford IceHogs, or a Canadian junior league coach such as DeBoer, whose Kitchener Rangers lost in the Memorial Cup finals last week.

Wilson also has said he is looking for someone with a "blue-collar" approach and who is willing to get in a player's face, citing Detroit's Mike Babcock as one example. That would fit Dineen's playing style over 19 NHL seasons.

Dineen's situation is complicated by the fact he is under contract to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks until June 30. The Ducks reportedly have offered him a promotion, in order to keep him in their organization, and General Manager Brian Burke would not say whether he has granted other teams permission to speak with Dineen.

Likewise, Haviland's general manger in Rockford, Al MacIsaac, would not get into specific requests to talk with his coach. But he described Haviland as someone who "knows the opportune time to do the right thing, whether it's to kick butt or use a different strategy."

Insiders say hockey players are less concerned about a coach's résumé than athletes in other sports.

"As a hockey player," said former center Mike Ricci, now the Sharks' adviser to hockey operations, "the only thing you worry about from your coach is 'Is he fair?' and 'Does he give you ice time?' "

Wilson's preference for a "blue-collar" coaching style prompted speculation that Ricci could be part of next season's coaching staff, probably as an assistant. Ricci played down his interest. "That's a huge commitment to a lot of work," he said, adding that he isn't sure he wants to resume the grind he gave up when he retired as a player one year ago.

Toronto, Ottawa, Atlanta and Florida are the other NHL teams with a coaching vacancy; reports out of Tampa indicate Lightning Coach John Tortorella also is likely to lose his job when an ownership change becomes official.

Read David Pollak's Working the Corners blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/ sharks. Contact him at dpollak@mercurynews.com.