Ideal Choice for Each Vacant NHL HC Position

The NHL's coaching carousel will be loaded this offseason. With three vacancies (the Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken) and three other franchises with decisions to make on their interim coaches, there could be up to six new head coaching hires this offseason. Let's explore the best candidates for each of these organizations stuck in head coach limbo.

Anaheim Ducks - Marco Sturm

The Anaheim Ducks need a franchise rock for their next head coach. The ideal candidate is Ontario Reign Head Coach Marco Sturm. Working in the Los Angeles Kings organization, Sturm has become a hot-shot coaching candidate over the past few years. He's been excellent at developing some of the Kings' best players in the AHL, and the Ducks are in a very similar position in their roster construction. With players like Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Cutter Gauthier becoming top-of-the-lineup players, Sturm's developmental hand would be the key to returning the Ducks to the playoffs.

Boston Bruins - David Carle

The Chicago Blackhawks reportedly want to throw everything at David Carle to make him their next coach, but the perfect fit for him is the Boston Bruins. Carle is a coach who thrives on consistency and building towards a goal with incremental progress. That's how he's built a perennial national championship-worthy program at the University of Denver. The Bruins draft, develop, and invest in their players like a college program. The fit is perfect. Carle could come in and begin to work with this current group, and be the coach who stands behind the bench as they return to postseason contention. The team hasn't made an official decision regarding interim coach Joe Sacco, but that won't matter if Carle is the coach they target.

Chicago Blackhawks - Jay Woodcroft

The Blackhawks have to take the next step in 2025-2026, and former Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft is the person to lead them there. When he took over as the interim coach for Edmonton in the spring of 2022, he led the Oilers to the Western Conference Finals and earned an extension. Goaltending ruined his tenure in Edmonton, but what he proved was that he could manage top players and get more out of them. The Blackhawks need that type of coach, making Woodcroft the perfect candidate.

New York Rangers - Mike Sullivan

The New York Rangers fancy themselves a winning franchise, and that means they need a Stanley Cup-winning coach to take over. Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan is very familiar with the organization, having previously served as an assistant coach for the Rangers under John Tortorella. He's also a two-time Cup winner as the head coach of the Penguins, and he made his biggest impact in the early part of his tenure. The same could conceivably happen for the Rangers if they brought Sullivan in. His championship pedigree is undeniable, and it would give the organization no excuses in their Stanley Cup pursuits.

Philadelphia Flyers - Rick Tocchet

Two reasons make the Flyers and Rick Tocchet a perfect match. The first is familiarity. The Flyers love Tocchet, he loves the organization, and the fanbase admires him from his playing days. The second is tactical fit. The Flyers need a disciplinarian who can communicate with a range of players and playing styles. That's Tocchet's bread and butter, as he's become known as a whisperer for players with, shall we say, quirky natures. The Flyers have plenty of those, and Tocchet is the ideal candidate to get them to the next step.

Seattle Kraken - Jessica Campbell

She's put in the work and done her time as an assistant coach, it's time for the Kraken to make Jessica Campbell the first female head coach in NHL history. The Kraken have made a habit of promoting from within in their brief franchise history, and promoting Campbell to the head coaching position would be the natural next step. She's also an excellent technical analyst, something Seattle can incorporate more of in the coming season.