So you are probably wondering who Mike Johnston is, well here is what you have to know about the Pens new coach:
- Born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. His hometown is quite close to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, which I'm sure you have heard of before.
- For the past 5 years, Johnston was the Head Coach and the General Manager of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. While there, he produced several NHL draft picks including the Pens top prospect Derrick Pouliot. Though it should be noted he was suspended the entire 2012-13 season for violating the player benefit rules of the WHL.
- He has been part of Team Canada on the international level, including being an associate coach at the 1998 Winter Olympics and head coach of the 2009 World Junior team.
- As for NHL experience, Johnston was the associate coach with the Los Angeles Kings (2006-2008) and also an associate coach for the Vancouver Canucks (1999-2006).
- For those of you asking, Johnston does not have any prior NHL Head Coaching experience.
It is not really a surprise that this was the Penguins choice. Among the options remaining, he probably was the best option (even though Ulf would've been fun). He is an offensive minded coach, wanting to put in place an "Up-tempo, high-flying" system that starts in your own end should play into the favor of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. This comes as a surprise considering the Pens were reportedly hoping for a more "defensive" style of play, but it should get the maximum out of both Crosby and Malkin in their primes. In his press conference today, Johnston stated that he intends to treat Day 1 of training camp building a culture and a style of play that will win playoff games. I like the sound of that, but words are words, show us!
"Rocket" Launch
"The Rocket" is expected to be an authoritative figure in the locker room, something the Penguins have lacked since the dismissal of Michel Therrien in February 2009. He told the Trib's Josh Yohe today, "People expect me to walk into practice with a stick and start hitting people," and responded that he "didn't intend to" when Yohe asked if he would. Tocchet is a great fit for the Penguins and I really like the appointment. He has experience, he knows the ownership and as I stated earlier, he will not take any crap from anyone. He's a great fit.
Other News
As for Jacques Martin, the assistant coach brought in last summer, he will remain with the team. It is unclear if he will be an assistant on Johnston's staff or if he will be part of hockey operations.
Goalie coach Mike Bales will also remain with the team. He truly did a great job with Marc-Andre Fleury and Jeff Zatkoff last season. A smart move by Rutherford in keeping him.
Johnston stated in the press conference he hopes to add one more assistant coach to his staff. It is unclear whether that is including Martin or if Martin is not part of the staff at all.
According to reports, Jason Botterill and Jason Karmanos have lists of Unrestricted Free Agents to be to contact today. So we will likely know whether the likes of Niskanen, Jokinen, Orpik, Vitale, Glass, etc will be back or leaving rather soon.
My facebook page contributor, John, also reported that the Pens have been in contact with unrestricted free agent Brian Gibbons and hope to bring him back next season. More to come on that when we know.
Reminder, the NHL Draft starts Friday night, so expect plenty of news over the next few days about trades and the draft picks.