On the 32 Thoughts Podcast which was released today, Jeff Marek asked Elliotte Friedman about how quickly any of the Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coaches (Jeff Halpern and Derek Lalonde) get poached by an NHL team.
Friedman said:
“Well I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been interviewed already. The team I wonder now is Winnipeg. We talked about the four of the guys that we thought were kinda in this. We named Tocchet, Montgomery, Arniel & Vincent. I also wonder now about Andrew Brunette and I would be curious to see, does Winnipeg involve anybody here as part of their search?”
Halpern played just under 1000 games in the NHL primarily with the Washington Capitals (four seasons) and Lightning (three seasons) during his 13 year career. He transitioned to coaching in the AHL with the Lightning affiliate in Syracuse where he was an assistant coach for two seasons before jumping to the Bolts for the last four seasons as an assistant coach.
Lalonde spent a good chunk of time coaching in the NCAA before spending a few seasons in the USHL as a GM/Head Coach and then jumping to the pro ranks in 2014-15 with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. After two seasons there he made the move to the AHL where he spent two seasons as the bench boss of the Iowa Wild before ultimately joining the Lightning as an assistant coach for the last four seasons.
Might Winnipeg head to Del Boca Vista for their next head coach? Stay tuned to find out.
Listen (starts at 29:45):
