Johnston returns to Portland

PORTLAND, Oregon — Less than two years ago, Mike Johnston thought he had closed the book on his days as head coach and general manager of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks.

On a summer day in 2014, Johnston sat on the podium in the media room of the Moda Center as the newly hired coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and helped introduce his hand-picked Winterhawks successor, longtime NHL assistant Jamie Kompon.

Johnston sat at that same podium on Wednesday to take his Portland job back, adding the new title of vice-president to his business card. It was a messy two seasons apart for Johnston and the Winterhawks, and a reconciliation seemed inevitable.

“You take twists and turns and you never know where it’s going to go,” Johnston said at his reintroductory press conference. “You never script it. Being a head coach again is attractive, and it being in Portland where we have so many friends and great relationships with the staff, that was the kicker.”

Johnston won more than twice as many games as he lost during his initial six-year run in Portland, and he oversaw an operation that reached the league final four straight years from 2011 to 2014.

The Winterhawks won the WHL title just once, though, and it came during a season (2012-13) in which he was suspended for providing player benefits that were against league rules. Johnston’s assistant, Travis Green, coached the Winterhawks to the Memorial Cup that season, and it’s Green who’s now a hot NHL coaching candidate.

The timing for Johnston’s return had to be right. He was run out of Pittsburgh in December, replaced by Mike Sullivan 28 games into his second season with the Penguins. Though he didn’t have a bad record with the Pens (58-37-15), he struggled to get production out of Sidney Crosby and the team’s other stars.

Six months after his ouster, the Penguins are headed to the Eastern Conference final and Johnston could still end up with his name etched on the Stanley Cup.

Johnston took a month to mull over the reunion because he “wanted to make sure” it was right.