As the NHL coaching carousel continues to fill up (Devils hired Sheldon Keefe and the Kings promoted Jim Hiller from interim to head) folks in Manitoba are curious about the status in Winnipeg for picking a new bench boss.
Pierre LeBrun was on Sportscentre and shared his thoughts on the NHL club of Manitoba.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
The insider for TSN said the Jets have been conducting a search including talking to Craig Berube (who was hired by the Leafs) and Todd McLellan who spent the last four and a half seasons with the Kings before being let go 48 games into the 2023-24 season. Elliotte Friedman said last week that he believed the Jets had interviewed former Wild coach Dean Evason.
This is what he had to say about the state of play in Winnipeg:
“…they’ve definitely had a process. That process is still not over and it’s still not 100% but my sense of it is that it’s most likely going to Scott Arniel after having gone through this process. Again I’m not ready to say that’s 100% but that’s the leading indication and you know you see this sometimes. Go through the process, hear from other coaches, which is a useful tool sometimes if you’re the Jets and other teams have done this where you get to hear from other coaches about what they think of your team, so it can be a fruitful exercise but all signs point to Scott Arniel.”
This isn’t a big surprise given he was seen as the heir apparent when he joined the team as an associate coach with Rick Bowness signing on for a two year (plus an option) stint.
