Rumor: Seattle to hire first head coach this summer

Seattle's yet to be named NHL franchise is looking to hire a head coach earlier than initially expected according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Originally the plan was thought to be that Seattle GM Ron Francis would be looking to hire his man in January of 2021, but now Francis has the green light from ownership to hire a coach as early as this summer. There are plenty on great candidates for the job, including two former Stanley Cup winning coaches and two former Jack Adams Award winners. 

Mike Babcock immediately jumps to mind as a potential pick by Francis to be his head coach. Babcock's resume speaks for itself, he has won at every level and is sure to be itching to get back into the game after a nasty split with the Maple Leafs this season. 

Peter Laviolette is another former Stanley Cup winner and has led each of the last three teams he has coached to the Stanley Cup Finals. Laviolette is also responsible for the development of many current star players such as Eric Staal, Claude Giroux and Filip Forsberg to name a few. Many around the league were surprised by his firing this season and don't expect him to be on the unemployment line for long.

Bruce Boudreau is a former Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year. Unlike Babcock and Laviolette, Boudreau has not enjoyed the playoff success with his three previous clubs. Boudreau always gets a lot out of his players, he is a very good technical coach and his teams are always in the hunt come playoff time. 

Gerard Gallant has been in this position before, after being shockingly fired by the Florida Panthers the Vegas Golden Knights did not even have a roster at the time and they wasted no time in scooping up Gallant. The move paid off immediately with a Pacific Division title and berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. Gallant also took home the Jack Adams that year capping off the best inaugural season in NHL history. 

With the expansion draft rules being the same as they were when Vegas entered the NHL, Seattle will have every chance to duplicate the season the Golden Knights had in 2018. How closely will Ron Francis follow the blueprint left in the history books by Vegas?