The Avalanche haven’t hired an assistant coach to replace Ray Bennett. But one NHL Insider believes they could be looking to target an AHL coach who might become available in the near future.
The Dallas Stars’ AHL coach, Neil Graham, might be looking for an opportunity if he’s not elevated to the Stars’ NHL bench. Here’s the full transcript of Friedman’s thoughts on the matter.
He also touches on two other candidates Colorado had on their list before they landed gigs elsewhere.
“As for Neil Graham, (The Stars) have decisions to make. What do they want to do, What does he want to do,” Friedman said on Sportsnet 590’s The Fan Hockey Show. “I’ll tell you one thing, Colorado has an open job on the bench to run the power play. I heard Gulutzan was on their radar. I heard Steve Spott was on the radar but took the opportunity in Boston. I can see a team like Colorado asking for permission (for Graham).”
Bennet was let go following Colorado’s Game 7 loss to Dallas almost two months ago after running a poor power play in the postseason. Since then, we’ve seen several head coaches and assistant coach hires around the league, but nothing yet for the Avs.
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In fact, the organization also lost two other coaches — both in the AHL — as Dan Hinote and Aaron Schneekloth landed assistant coach jobs in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken, respectively.
“We have got a lot of great candidates, and that process is ongoing,” MacFarland said of the AHL openings. “Similar here with our assistant coach position. I don’t know exactly the timeline, but I would like it to be sooner, rather than later, that we get those three positions filled.”
Friedman’s blip about the Avs’ coaching search is the first time we’ve heard any sort of rumors or reports about the job.
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Gulutzan has spent the last seven years as an assistant coach in Edmonton and ran the Oilers’ lethal power play. He’s expected to land the head coaching job in Dallas in the coming days.
And Spott, who recently was hired by Marco Sturm in Boston, was the Stars’ former power play coach as an assistant to Pete DeBoer.
There’s no saying how this will end up. When the Gulutzan hire becomes official, the Stars could easily elevate Graham to his staff and have him run the Dallas power play. But I’m sure Gulutzan would have to also be on board for that.
If not, Colorado could be an ideal landing spot for the 40-year-old Graham, who has had a good run in the AHL as a bench boss.
