Troy Terry and new Anaheim coach Greg Cronin were sitting in a Colorado Starbucks when the coffee cups became stand-ins for players. Cronin moved them around the table to explain how he wants the Ducks to play.
Cronin is one of a handful of first-time NHL head coaches getting an opportunity this season after nearly four decades in various other roles, and the Ducks see it as a refreshing new start. For Terry, who had played for only one other coach as a professional, the coffee cup demonstration was a revelation.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the right guy for the job,鈥� Terry said. 鈥淚t is exciting to have a first-time head coach. I know he鈥檒l be motivated, energized and we鈥檝e got a young group of players that are trying to establish themselves and establish a team identity.鈥�
Also among the first-time head coaches this season are Washington’s Spencer Carbery, Calgary’s Ryan Huska and Columbus’s Pascal Vincent, who was when days before training camp opened. Peter Laviolette with the New York Rangers is the only new coach with prior experience running a team at the NHL level, and he brings with him a Stanley Cup-winning resume.
SPENCER CARBERY
The Capitals, with Laviolette, , who they envisioned as his eventual successor. Carbery previously coached their top minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears, went to Toronto for two season as an assistant with the Maple Leafs and was in demand around the NHL before Washington hired him.
鈥淎ll the guys loved him,鈥� Leafs forward Matthew Knies said. 鈥淥bviously a really good hockey mind. … Really deserving of it.鈥�
Carbery at 41 is the league’s youngest coach. He is less than four years older than star forward Alex Ovechkin.
鈥淗e’s just going to bring in a new philosophy for us,鈥� center Nicklas Backstrom said. 鈥淎 lot of things are going to change systematically, I think, and I just think that hopefully that鈥檚 going to fit us a little bit better.鈥�
GREG CRONIN
This chance has been a long time coming for Cronin, 60, after stints in college, the minors and as an NHL assistant for the Leafs and New York Islanders. He spent the past five seasons coaching the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, guiding them to the playoffs four times.
a young team in Anaheim hoping to move on from a pitiful four-year stretch and take another step in the rebuilding process.
鈥淗e鈥檚 someone that is hard but fair and he鈥檒l be holding players accountable,” said Terry, a two-time All-Star who . 鈥淗aving a young team, I think we need that.”
PASCAL VINCENT
Vincent got his first NHL head coaching gig with the Blue Jackets in one of the most unusual ways possible when he was elevated from assistant in the wake of Babcock’s resignation. He was a finalist for the job when and in 2021 when got the job; Vincent spent the past two seasons on Larsen’s staff.
鈥淗e was the perfect choice,鈥� general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said at Vincent’s introductory news conference. 鈥淗e was very close to our first choice anyway.鈥�
Vincent believes his advantage is knowing most of the players already. But don’t expect that to mean the Blue Jackets will look the same as they did under Larsen, or even Babcock.
“It鈥檚 going to look different,” Vincent said. 鈥淲e’re going to tweak quite a few things.鈥�
RYAN HUSKA
Huska, a player-friendly coach, , whose dealings with players were often harsh and led to tension around the locker room.
Huska, like Vincent, was an assistant under Sutter and predecessors Geoff Ward and Bill Peters, so he too has familiarity with Flames players. Unlike Vincent and Cronin, Huska will be expected to help Calgary contend immediately.
鈥淚 love his vision for the team,鈥� center Nazem Kadri said. 鈥淗e wants to win now, which is something I can appreciate. I think he鈥檚 kind of in that new-school genre where he wants to listen to everybody鈥檚 input and ideas and kind of bring it all together.鈥�
PETER LAVIOLETTE
Exit Gerard Gallant, enter Laviolette in the Big Apple in a switch of experienced coaches with plenty of experience behind the bench. Gallant was such a grinding figure on players that Laviolette, who has mellowed and adjusted a bit in his years in the NHL, could be a breath of fresh air.
Laviolette is no teddy bear, and the early days of Rangers camp were full of his trademark skating drills. After a first-round playoff exit, captain Jacob Trouba expects and welcomes a different approach with Laviolette, who won the Cup in 2006 with Carolina and has taken two other teams to the final.
鈥淗is track record kind of speaks for itself,鈥� Trouba said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 coached for a long time in the league, and he鈥檚 had success in the league. I think he鈥檚 big on the unity and cohesiveness of the team from the conversations I鈥檝e had with him, and I think that鈥檚 going to be great for us.鈥�
HOT SEAT
Winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 bought Craig Berube time in St. Louis, but his seat could get warm if the Blues don’t show evidence of a turnaround after missing the playoffs. Rick Bowness faces a similar situation in Winnipeg if the Jets get off to a slow start.
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