Naming the franchise was a major step in the growth of Las Vegas’ first major professional sports franchise, but the list of steps is still massive between now and puck drop in October 2017.
One of the most important moments for the Vegas Golden Knights will be the naming of the first head coach. The Creator weighed in on what type of guy George McPhee is looking for in an interview on SportsNet’s Prime Time Sports.
George is looking for a particular type of of coach. He’s not looking for a first-termer. He’s looking for a guy who’s learned a lot and has coached a couple of other teams. He has a list of six or seven candidates, he and Kelly do. Some may or may not be available. -The Creator
Names being thrown around are Mike Kitchen, Paul Maurice, Ralph Krueger, Jack Capuano, Paul McLean, among many others. Many names being considered are current coaches in the NHL.
The coaching situation will probably not resolve until after the regular season, that would be my guess. I would say the coach that will name is going to be a recognizable individual but he has to fit George’s culture. George spent 17 years with the Capitals and a couple years with team Canada, very successful guy, very intense. He’s going to get his guy who is going to do it his way. -The Creator
So we’ll probably still have to wait another six months or so to find out who it is, but we do now know the man standing behind the bench for the first season of NHL hockey in Las Vegas will be someone we’ve all seen before.
cody
Two words. Patrick. Roy. :O
James
@cody
Pretty good tanking strategy.
I think we’re going to have to use smoke and mirrors in the formative years to be somewhat competitive. Foley realised that we don’t have sufficient fire power to outscore teams. He admitted as much in this interview;
http://www.lvsportsnetwork.com/episode/tc-martin-112316-wguests-bill-foley-owner-vegas-golden-knights-dr-joseph-yu-orthopedic-surgeon-unlv-team-dr/
George McPhee is rumored to be interested in Washington Capitals free agent defenceman Karl Alzner per Nick Kypreos on Hockey Night in Canada. Alzner would cost around $6 million per year
cody
You can’t get scoring in the expansion draft, but you can get a bunch of #3/#4 dmen. Why would you spend $6million on a guy with 100 points in 500 career games? Just to get the Capitals back together? Btw I was jk about Roo-wah. I’d enjoy seeing him back on a team but there are safer, more experienced teachers out there. Roy is more of an aura coach.
James
@cody
I can see where you’re coming from. I wonder if George McPhee will avoid talking to Alzner in the 48-hour window ahead of the expansion draft. Draft Philipp Grubauer or Dmitry Orlov from the Capitals, and then sign Alzner on July 1 for $6 million per. It’s not tampering if you don’t talk to Alzner in the 48-hour window.
Here’s the link;
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/11/27/according-to-nick-kypreos-karl-alzners-next-contract-will-pay-him-as-much-as-6-million-per-year/
James
It might be tempting dipping back into the Florida Panthers well to hire Gerard Gallant.