Hiring a coach once the season starts isn't an easy proposition. Assistant coaches from other teams are essentially off-limits, eliminating a pool of strong candidates that would include John Stevens, Kevin Dineen, Rick Bowness, Paul MacLean, Tony Granato, Kirk Muller and Davis Payne. There is not an obvious star coach in the AHL after Jon Cooper, Jeff Blashill, Willie Desjardins and John Hynes were promoted to the NHL in recent years.
The Columbus Blue Jackets acted fast to bring in John Tortorella, and there were some who wondered whether Tortorella would ever get another shot after things went sideways with the Vancouver Canucks.