Rumour roundup: Would Canucks consider Foote as head coach?

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs shift into the second round, front-office moves continue around the league among teams out of contention.

Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discussed the latest rumblings on Monday’s edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

Would Canucks consider Foote?

The Vancouver Canucks may not have to look far as they begin their search for a new head coach.

Friedman believes Adam Foote, who served as an assistant under former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet, has a serious chance at the job. The team’s captain may also have some sway in the decision.

“He’s a really smart guy, that’s No. 1,” Friedman said. “But No. 2, I’d be curious to see if that was something that would sort of be Quinn Hughes approved. They’re close too, good relationship.

“Foote has really helped Hughes improve as a player, given him good advice. They bounce things off each other very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in addition to the fact that I think he knows hockey really well, that would have Foote on Vancouver’s short list.”

Foote played 19 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Colorado Avalanche. After hanging up his skates, Foote joined the Avalanche’s staff as a development consultant then served as head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets for parts of two seasons. Foote was named to the Canucks’ staff in January 2023 when the team hired Tocchet.

The Canucks announced last week that Tocchet will not be back next season.

Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach last season, but the Canucks missed the playoffs this year following a tumultuous campaign. Vancouver finished with a 38-30-14 record and fell short of a post-season berth by six points.

Latest on Ducks, Quenneville

If the Anaheim Ducks are in the mix for Joel Quenneville as their next head coach, expect to hear something soon. Like, really soon.

“I think we’re going to know this week if that’s serious,” Friedman said. “I think we’ll have a good idea this week if Quenneville and the Ducks are all going to be a match, if that’s real or if he and they may end up looking somewhere else.”

Quenneville is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 66-year-old was deemed ineligible to work in the NHL for over two years due to his inadequate response regarding an alleged sexual assault by a video coach on the team against one of its players in 2010. Quenneville was reinstated by the league last July.

The Ducks jumped 21 points in the standings this season — from 59 to 80 — but were still well back of the playoffs, leading to head coach Greg Cronin losing his job.

Caps assistant in the mix?

Friedman said one name he’s hearing out there a lot for consideration is Mitch Love.

The 40-year-old currently serves as an assistant coach on Spencer Carbery’s staff with the Washington Capitals, who are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I’ve heard there are some teams that are going to want to talk to him,” Friedman said, “but they’ll probably have to wait until the Capitals are out unless the Capitals are comfortable with letting him interview between series if they continue to move on.”

Before joining the Capitals, Love served as the head coach of the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliates, the Stockton Heat (2021-22) and Calgary Wranglers (2022-23), and was named coach of the year both seasons.

He also served as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips (2011-18) and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (2018-21).

His ties to Everett, located about 40 km north of Seattle, could draw interest from the Kraken, but Friedman thinks they’re not the only ones who would consider Love.

“I wonder about if Pittsburgh is looking for a younger coach to develop with their team,” Friedman said. “I could see him being a kind of guy like that. That’s a name I think is on a few teams’ lists.”

Who’s in line for Isles GM?

The rumblings are heating up with the New York Islanders in their quest for a new general manager.

The team opted not to renew Lou Lamoriello’s contract after seven years in charge.

“There was a lot of news on the weekend about a potential hiring,” Friedman said. “We’ll see where that goes. I could see why there’s the possibility of that because some of the contenders, like Jarmo Kekalainen, you don’t have to worry for a team to wait to talk to him.”

Kekalainen served as GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2013-24 and also worked with the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues organizations.

Another name in the mix is former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, who currently works as a senior adviser with the Los Angeles Kings.

“I had a couple people say to me that’s premature, but I do believe that Bergevin is a serious contender there,” Friedman said. “I’d hate to guess on the Islanders because Lamoriello is still there, which means a certain amount of secrecy in the process, but I do believe that Bergevin is a serious contender there.”

Sullivan cashes in

Mike Sullivan didn’t remain unemployed for long.

The New York Rangers hired Sullivan as head coach on Friday, only four days after he parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sullivan signed a five-year deal with the Rangers, according to Friedman. Although the total value didn’t surpass Mike Babcock’s record eight-year, $50-million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Friedman has learned the average annual value is larger.

“He definitely moved the bar,” Friedman said. “I remember when Babcock signed that deal, that was one of the things he said, he moved the bar and in this case Sullivan, even though he doesn’t sign for as much term, he moves the bar.”

The 57-year-old served as head coach of the Penguins for 10 seasons and helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017.

With the Penguins missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season and in rebuilding mode, Friedman said it was time for Sullivan to move on, but it worked out perfectly because the Rangers needed him.

“As we’ve said a couple times on this pod, the Rangers could not let anyone else get Mike Sullivan,” Friedman said. “He obviously will be highly paid, but he will be rejuvenated, too.

“There have been a couple times where I’ve moved jobs, jobs where I was very happy, and I looked back a time later and said I didn’t realize how much I needed that. He will be rejuvenated for this. I always try to tell people that, too. Sometimes it looks like it’s the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be, and there are other times, as I’ve learned myself, that you needed a move even if you didn’t realize it. I’m a big believer in that kind of thinking.”

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