Chicago Blackhawks Coaching Search Heating Up: Top Name Likely No Longer Available to Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved on from Mike Sullivan early this off-season, and now, they've seen big names like David Carle, Joel Quenneville and Rick Tocchet all be hired by other teams.

That's led to their potential list of candidates dwindling, with the likes of Mitch Love, Todd Nelson and DJ Smith all firming as favourites, and now another one of their options may be on the verge of taking a new job.

According to reports, Jeff Blashill has interviewed for the Chicago Blackhawks job, just days after his name was floated out as a potential hire for the Penguins role, although it's unclear if Kyle Dubas has begun the process of talking to Blashill.

Blashill was one of the most experienced names left on the board, as he served as Red Wings coach between 2015 and 2022, and now it appears as though the 51-year old is on the verge of a return to the NHL with the up-and-coming Blackhawks led by the likes of Artyom Levshunov and Connor Bedard.

For the Blackhawks, this would be a solid hire, as Blashill is still young but has over 500 games of NHL experience behind the bench, and with the team clearly having some top young stars leading the way, they'll be looking to land a Head Coach that can grow with this team.

Even with Blashill potentially off the board, the Penguins still have several options, with Love, Nelson and even former Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft firming as potential candidates for the role, so there's still a chance that Blashill likely wasn't atop their list.