Stanley Cup final to feature 2 American coaches for 1st time
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After the NHL took control of the Stanley Cup in 1927, it didn’t take long for an American coach to win it. Bill Stewart was the first to do so, leading the Chicago Black Hawks to the title in 1938.
The wait for the second American Stanley Cup-winning coach was just a bit longer -— 53 years, to be exact, when “Badger” Bob Johnson led the Penguins to the team’s first title.
While American coaches have established themselves as a presence in the NHL over the past 25 years, this upcoming Stanley Cup final between the Penguins and Nashville Predators will set a new benchmark.
For the first time, two American coaches — the Penguins’ Mike Sullivan and Nashville’s Peter Laviolette — will coach against each other for hockey’s ultimate prize.
Not only are both American, but both are Massachusetts natives, too. Mr. Sullivan is from Marshfield, Mass., while Mr. Laviolette grew up about 35 miles west in Franklin.
Starting with Mr. Stewart, six different American head coaches have won the Stanley Cup, including Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Laviolette.
Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella knows both coaches well, and said while he doesn’t like to differentiate coaches by nationality, he looks at this series more as a reflection of how much work Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Laviolette have put in over the course of their careers.
“It’s not a Canadian or American thing,” Mr. Tortorella said. “I
never look at it that way. I’m proud of some of the products that we have come out of USA Hockey. These two guys here have grinded away. [Laviolette] has been banged around, fired a couple times. He’s a terrific coach. He stays with it and waits for another opportunity.”
As of now, no American coach has won the Stanley Cup more than once, although that will change in the next two weeks. Mr. Laviolette was the fourth to win it, with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and Mr. Sullivan became the sixth when the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in the final last season.
“I know there are a lot of real good, quality Americanborn coaches,” Mr. Sullivan said last year when he was selected to serve as an assistant for Team U.S.A. at the World Cup of Hockey.
The Penguins, specifically, have played a crucial role in the history of American coaches succeeding at hockey’s highest level.
The team hired Craig Patrick (Detroit) as its firstever American-born head coach in 1989 and since then, seven of the team’s 12 bench bosses have been from the United States.
And of those six American head coaches who have lifted the Stanley Cup, half of them have done so for the Penguins. In addition to Mr. Johnson in 1991 and Mr. Sullivan in 2016, Dan Bylsma (Grand Haven, Mich.) won it in 2009.
The Penguins are the only team in the NHL to have had multiple American coaches lead them to the Stanley Cup.
The latest to do so, Mr. Sullivan is also now the first to lead a team to the Cup final in back-to-back seasons.
On the other bench, Mr. Laviolette will become the first American-born coach to take three separate teams to this stage — in addition to the 2006 Hurricanes, Mr. Laviolette also coached the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, who lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the final.
Still, when the puck drops Monday night in Pittsburgh in Game 1, these coaches will be the first to insist the spotlight should be on the players on the ice, rather than the men behind the bench.
“Sully’s a good coach,” Mr. Laviolette said to reporters in Nashville on Friday. “I know him. It’s not about that. It’s about the Stanley Cup, it’s abouttwo teams playing.”
For Mr. Tortorella, though, there is a bit of pride in having two American coaches.
“It’s not an American-Canadian thing,” he said, “but as a U.S. citizen and a coach within the USA ranks, I’m thrilled that we’re seeing a couple all-stars here go at it.”