Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love could become the enemy. And as soon as next season.
According to The Athletic’s Josh Yohe, Love recently interviewed with Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas for the team’s vacant head-coaching position. The Penguins parted ways with long-time bench boss Mike Sullivan in late April after missing the playoffs for a third straight season.
“One candidate to watch is Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love,” Yohe wrote. “Penguins team sources have told me that Love, who was a very successful junior and AHL coach, was impressive during his interview.
“He seems to be on the short list of favorites for the job. Love was a tough player in his minor-league playing days, and Dubas has concerns about the Penguins’ lack of size and toughness.”
The Penguins’ job is one of four head coach positions still open around the NHL. The Seattle Kraken, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins are the lone other clubs still searching for their next leader behind the bench.
Love has been in charge of the Capitals’ defensemen for two years after the Caps hired him away from the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate to join Spencer Carbery’s staff. The 40-year-old former AHL defenseman/winger won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year in both seasons, in which he led the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers.
He also served as the head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades for three years. Before that, he was an assistant with the Everett Silvertips for six seasons.
News of Pittsburgh’s interview with Love comes nine days after The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun wrote that the Capitals assistant was “generating interest” around the league as a potential head-coaching candidate. Love was mentioned in possible searches last summer, when hockey insider Elliotte Friedman floated his name.
The Capitals and Penguins split their season series this past year, each team winning two games. The Caps finished 31 points ahead of the Pens in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Yohe adds that former St. Louis Blues head coach Drew Bannister is another candidate for the Penguins’ job. The Blues fired Bannister earlier this season after they finished the first 22 games with a 9-12-1 record.
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