Coaches play musical chairs

But what impact will new faces have with new teams?

joke on Twitter about the expected hire of Tortorella: “Sedins watching Hell’s Kitchen on Netflix for prep.” Members of the Vancouver media might want to do the same.

Indeed, Tortorella is a 180-degree change from media- and playerfriendly coach Alain Vigneault, who coincidentally replaces Tortorella as the head coach of the New york rangers. Tortorella, who treated the media as though it was a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe, focused more on blocking shots than taking them and was not afraid to call-out or bench his star players.

That approach might not be what some players in Vancouver particularly want, but after failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs in the past two years, it could be what they need.

In a move that opened up old wounds, the exSabres coach heads to his former team’s No. 1 enemy. It was 14 years ago when dallas’ Brett Hull scored in the third overtime of Game 6 to win the 1999 Stanley Cup final. ruff has always contested the goal, because Hull’s skate was in the crease, which was illegal at the time.

“It’s a long time ago,” ruff said after being introduced. “I’ve gotten past that.”

Still, ruff joked that when he first met with GM Jim Nill, he said, “We can’t meet in the crease.”

In all seriousness, ruff, who lasted 15 years as Buffalo’s coach, brings stability to a franchise that has had five coaches in that span. unlike the other coaches, Tippet is not actually going anywhere. But in some ways, the five-year extension he signed with the Coyotes on Friday is even more significant.

With ownership still a huge question mark — the league has agreed to sell the team to a group headed by Canadian investors, as long as a new lease agreement with the city of Glendale is approved — there is still no guarantee that Tippet will actually be coaching all five years in Phoenix. But with he and GM Maloney signed for the long term, players at least know they have stability behind the bench and in the front office regardless of what city they are playing in.

“We’ve started to build a strong foundation,” Tippet said in a statement.

Darryl dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS Former New York Rangers coach John Tortorella takes over the Vancouver Canucks and will bring a different tone to coaching the club.