Stanley Cup-winning head coach Dan Bylsma didn’t have a job in the NHL in 2017-18 after being fired by the Buffalo Sabres, but could be back behind a bench for next season. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that Bylsma could be hired this week as an assistant, with the Detroit Red Wings being the most likely destination. Bylsma recently coached with Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill at the World Championships.
Bylsma won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 after taking over from Michel Therrien, and took the club to five straight playoff appearances thereafter. Unable to get them back to the Finals though, Bylsma was replaced by Mike Johnston and a year later took a job with the Buffalo Sabres, where he recorded a sub-.500 record in two seasons. Fired along with GM Tim Murray last spring, Bylsma spent the year as a broadcaster for NHL Network but was always a candidate to be hired eventualy.
The Red Wings let John Torchetti go at the end of the year, and recently lost AHL head coach Todd Nelson to the Dallas Stars. Bylsma joining Blashill’s staff would certainly give the group some more experience, and put a Jack Adams award winner behind the bench once again in Detroit.
A veiled report aimed at the Caps?
As a Red Wing fan…I hope this isnt true.