Today, the Calgary Flames made the news official, hiring Ryan Huska as their next head coach. It appears, however, that their AHL head coach, Mitch Love, is not entirely enthusiastic about the Flames’ decision. Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff reports that although Love still has term left on his current contract with the Flames’ organization, he is open to all options moving forward.
Over the last two seasons, Love has been the head coach of the Stockton Heat, and now the Calgary Wranglers. In 140 games leading the bench, Love has accrued a total record of 96-33-9-3, finishing first in the Pacific Division in both seasons. Last season, he led the Heat to the Western Conference Finals in the Calder Cup playoffs and surprisingly were upset in the Division Finals this year by the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
In speaking with the media this afternoon, new Calgary General Manager, Craig Conroy, had this to say about Love’s situation, “Mitch is going to be a head coach in the NHL, 100%. I don’t question that, nor does he. But it’s all about being in a room with elite athletes with huge contracts, the rinks, the media… it’s a whole different animal when you get to NHL. The pressure that goes along with being a head coach in a Canadian Market when you’re trying to learn on the fly, the refs, the travel… the media… it’s a different beast in the NHL and I think to put him in that situation now wasn’t fair” (Tweet Link).
Conroy does seem to have faith that Love will one day become a head coach at the NHL level but deemed that the pressure in a Canadian market would be too much to handle for the young coach. The question is up in the air for how many General Managers across the league share the same opinion when it comes to Love, which could project him to an assistant coaching role in Calgary in the near future.
Other snapshots:
- Having missed quite a bit of ice time during the Florida Panthers Game 4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that forward Matthew Tkachuk was not seen at the Panthers’ practice today. Because of the nature of hockey players, especially during the Stanley Cup playoffs, it should still be expected for Tkachuk to play in an incredibly important Game 5. Being the deepest the young forward has ever gone through the playoffs, Tkachuk has shown signs of wear and tear throughout the last couple of series.
- In recent reporting, it has been indicated that center Pierre-Luc Dubois will not sign a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, and has requested a trade from the team. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports that the last time Dubois was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Los Angeles Kings finished second to the Jets. It appears that Los Angeles still has quite a bit of interest in bringing Dubois into the mix, but with only a projected $7.3MM in cap space this summer, it will be difficult to sign Dubois to a long-term contract without moving out a significant contract.