Which NHL job vacancies could be filled next week?

With several NHL coaching job vacancies available, Daily Faceoff president/insider Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss who could fulfill these roles as early as next week.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about a few coaching vacancies that are available, but does it seem like me, or is it a bit quiet on that front, just waiting for the first domino to fall?

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, this week, Tyler is where the rubber will meet the road. There are so many different things happening, and a domino or trickle-down effect that may be connected to all of it is, I think, a lot of it revolves around the pending sale of the franchise. I was thinking we were trending toward the end of last week, and now we are in the any-day-now type of moment for the preferred bidder to emerge for the Senators’ sale.

Frank Seravalli: What do I mean about the domino effect that is connected to that? Well, first of all, there is a holiday weekend involved which always slows things down here in the U.S. There is also Fenway Sports Group; the Pittsburgh Penguins owners were overseas in Monaco at the Grand Prix over the weekend. So, when you look at everything that has happened here, with Kyle Dubas, who has interviewed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, I believe that is his job if he wants it.

Frank Seravalli: But, if you’re Kyle Dubas, why would you jump on the only vacancy available at this exact moment in time, knowing how potentially unattractive the Penguins and that rebuild might be? When you might be able to find out more in the next couple of days, 72 hours about the Senators. A team he grew up cheering for and a team that’s infinitely in a better position to grab hold of, especially with a well-funded ownership group in place. But, they may already have someone depending on who that bidder is for the Senators because some people wonder what kind of dot connects the Sens and the Oilers, who have Steve Staios in office. If Michael Andlauer ends up being the guy, then a lot of people believe he will bring Steve Staios from the Oilers. But do the Oilers step up and promote Staios this week? If not, do other preferred bidders have someone in mind to bring someone with them? Could Kyle Dubas fall into that mix?

Frank Seravalli: Then you start thinking about the coaching side of it and how this impact DJ Smith, what happens with Sheldon Keefe in Toronto and Jon Hynes in Nashville as Barry Trotz and the Predators have been quiet, not to mention all the other coaching vacancies around the league for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames. Then you have Spencer Carberry and Andrew Brunette, who might have the pick of the litter. I think it all revolves around the nation’s capital, in Ottawa.