The decision to expand the number of assistant coaches the Penguins employ at the American Hockey League level was a simple one. It came down to numbers.
When Mark Recchi spent time behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bench alongside Mike Sullivan, Clark Donatelli and Jay Leach this past season, he grew concerned with the lack of instruction that occurred while everyone was busy worrying about line matching and other aspects of in-game strategy.
So with Leach deciding to pursue an opportunity with another AHL club, Penguins associate general manager Jason Botterill set out to address what he and others perceived to be an organizational need and hired Chris Taylor and J.