Future prospects for NHL teams as summer approaches with the draft pick (Part 1)
The National Hockey League is currently in the Conference Finals’ phase which would be followed by the major Stanley Cup Finals. Following the Stanley Cup Finals the summer’s draft pick would provide an opportunity for teams to strengthen and upgrade their squads.
While the four finalists would have nothing on their minds except getting their hands on the cup, teams in the league that finished last would have an opportunity to pick players in the draft.
Many teams have a number of vacant positions in the departments of coaching and assistant coaching. These teams will be discussed here: New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers.
As the end of the season approaches fast, these teams come under the pressure of making the decision for the person to guide them next season and also set things straight once he joins.
There are numerous names in NHL that are linked up with these teams. In this article, we will be discussing the potential candidates for the jobs in the teams mentioned above.
The teams would try to make a decision as soon as they can so that the new official gets accustomed to the team.
Following is a list of people expected to grab a coaching position:
Marc Crawford
Undoubtedly, the top name in the list is Marc Crawford. Crawford was among some of the most productive players in NHL and his performance certainly made him an important asset for NHL.
Crawford is highly capable of a coaching position considering his knowledge of ice hockey. He won the Stanley Cup crown in 1996 with Colorado Avalanche. This was his second season with the team after guiding the team to the Conference Finals in the first season.
He continued his productive coaching abilities with Vancouver Canucks. There wasn’t much success for him in the first two seasons after which he managed to enter Canucks in the play-offs for the four consecutive seasons from 2000 to 2004.
He then spent two seasons with Los Angeles Kings with whom he didn’t get to taste much success. He missed the play-offs in both seasons and therefore lost his job.
The next stop for Crawford was Dallas Stars where he was in charge for two seasons. However, once again he failed make it to the play-offs in both seasons and lost his job.
Despite his recent setbacks, Crawford is one of those people with a high probability of landing up with a job before next season kicks off.
(Continued in part 2) . . . . . .
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