Pittsburgh Penguins Close to Naming New Head Coach, Finalists Revealed

A month or so since the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with Mike Sullivan, and now they are allegedly about to bring aboard a new head coach.

Mitch Love, 40, has been serving as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals for the last two seasons under Spencer Carbery. He is one of the favorites for the job, Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects says.

Over the course of that span, he oversaw top defensemen with a career-best 47 points from Jakob Chychrun and guided young blueliners Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary into increased minutes.

The Capitals led the Eastern Conference this season with 111 points, in part because of their stout defense.

But the position is not yet secure. The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reports that the Penguins are meeting with DJ Smith this week. Smith, 48, coached the Ottawa Senators from 2019-2024 and last served as the Los Angeles Kings' assistant.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also said on the '32 Thoughts' podcast that former Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was in the mix, but now apparently the Penguins have set their sights on Love and Smith.

Pittsburgh is one of two NHL clubs without a head coach, along with the Boston Bruins. With June now in progress, expect those announcements to follow shortly as teams look to fill out their coaching staffs prior to the offseason.

Pierre LeBrun reported that the Bruins will be announcing their new coach early this week, so it's only a matter of time before the other teams do as well.