Over the Boards: The NHL’s Best Coaches

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William Steck

Recently, Gerard Gallant of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, joined one of the most elite “fraternities” in the NHL. Gallant is now the newest head coach in the NHL, a position that only few find themselves in after years of coaching tikes and top prospects.

The jobs finite nature makes it one of the most difficult positions to posses. Although all coaches have crafted their teams to a t, some have done it better than others. At the end of the day, rankings are not based on wins and Stanley Cup rings that, in turn, separate coaches, but rather individual efforts to put the best team on the ice. Some honorable mentions include former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma and the former head coach of the LA Kings, Darryl Sutter. Both of whom are not currently employed by a NHL franchise, but have, just like many of the coaches below, shown a track record for excellence.

3: Alain Vigneault

While this may seem like a very unusual pick, anonymity is what makes Vigneault great. In the past Vigneault has shown a consistent track record for winning. During his seven seasons with Vancouver, the Canucks only missed the playoffs once, making Vigneault the all time winningest coach in Vancouver Canucks history.

After just four seasons behind the Rangers bench, he has proven to be the New York’s best coach in nearly 20 seasons. Vigneault has successfully managed a competitive Rangers team to four straight playoff appearances. Throughout his time in New York, Vigneault’s best attribute has been his ability to make something out of nothing. Before his arrival in New York, the Rangers struggled under -now Columbus Blue Jackets head coach- John Tortorella. The Rangers only won 159 games and failed to reach the Stanley Cup Final in any of Tortorella’s four seasons as head coach. In contrast, in just four short seasons, Vigneault has lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals and has registered 192 wins. The main reason that Vigneault has been continually left out of the best coaches discussion is because he has not captured the ultimate prize. Vigneault has lost in the Stanley Cup Finals twice, but his two losses have come at the feet of some truly magnificent teams. In 2011, Vigneault lost to the Boston Bruins who were backed by goaltending legend Tim Thomas and defenseman Zdeno Chara— not to mention their rookie phenom, Tyler Seguin. In 2014, Vigneault lost to another star-studded LA kings roster which featured all four postseason scoring leaders. The team was also backstopped by the dominant Jonathan Quick. Quick has gone on to win another Stanley Cup and represent the United States at the winter Olympics.

Although Vigneault has successfully managed both the Canucks and Rangers, his formula for success does not seem to have changed. Both franchises have presented Vigneault with a roster that contained a strong core of twin players such as the Sedins and Staals. Both rosters have also contained shutdown goaltenders in Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist. With the some fairly significant offseason moves this past summer, it will be interesting to see how Vigneault continues to work his magic against tough division opponents like the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

2: Joel Quenneville

There is not a more successful coach in Chicago sports right now than Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. According to his staff, one of Quenneville’s signature phrases following a win is “Nobody likes winning more than me, nobody.” So far in his 10 seasons behind the Blackhawks bench, Quenneville has proven the statement to be true. He is on track to be one of the best coaches not only in franchise history, but in league history. His over 850 career wins (400 or so with the Hawks) make him the second winningest coach in NHL history.

However, it’s not the 3 championships and all of the wins that make Quenneville the elite coach he is. It is his ability to manage the Blackhawks through anything. Star player traded? No problem. Down 3-1 in a series? No problem. Star player injured? No problem. Nothing fazes Joel. Under Quenneville’s guidance, the Hawks are yet to post a losing record. Although some of their more recent campaigns have ended earlier than expected, Quenneville has not been phased. He has suffered through all of the trades, cap constraints and controversy that have followed the team over the years and somehow found ways to win in the toughest conference in the NHL. The western conference has claimed the Stanley cup title in 6 out of the last 10 seasons making the playoff games on that side of the NHL bracket that much tougher.
Quenneville’s impressive resume often draws comparisons to legendary coach Scotty Bowman. While Quenneville does trail Bowman in possessing the most NHL wins, Bowman only managed to win nine Stanley cup championship in his 35 seasons as a head coach while Joel has won six in nine seasons. Joel could end up as being the NHL’s most successful coach if he continues his winning ways.

1: Mike Babcock

Although he may not have as many Stanley Cup rings as Joel Quenneville, the fact remains, Babcock is a proven winner at every level. Dating back to his earliest days as a coach, Babcock has a proven track record for winning. Whether it be at the collegiate level with the Red Deer Kings and the Lethbridge Pronghorns or at the professional level with the Detroit Red Wings or even at the national level with the Canadian National team, Babcock has continually managed to find ways to succeed. As of this year, Babcock is the only coach in the history of hockey to have been welcomed into the triple gold club (Winning a Olympic Gold, the Stanley Cup and a World Championship). During his 10-year campaign in Detroit, Babcock won more games with a single franchise than any other coach in NHL history, amassing an impressive 786 wins.

His standard for winning has caught the eye of many teams and fans around the league, not to mention his own counties. After an embarrassing early exit in 2006, the Canadian national team turned to Babcock as its new head coach and the team hasn’t looked back since. Although one could argue that Canada’s surplus of skill makes them unbeatable anyway, it is important to realize that Babcock has done a masterful job managing the player’s talent and egos. Since taking over the team Babcock has placed first at two Olympic games, three world championships and won the world cup of hockey.

More recently, Babcock took on the challenge of rebuilding the Toronto Maple Leafs, a task that promised to be painful and agonising for both fans and management. However, with a surplus of skill and “Babs” – as he is commonly known by his players – at the helm, the team surpassed expectations and qualified for the NHL playoffs in 2017.  Although they were eventually defeated by the Washington Capitals, experts believe that the talented, fast-skating ability of the Maple Leafs had a significant effect on the Capitals, potentially tiring them out before their showdown with the Penguins.

With Toronto now poised as one of the NHL’s best up-and-coming franchises, don’t be surprised if you see Mike Babcock behind the bench of the next future NHL dynasty.