In a development somewhat reminiscent of last spring’s executive house cleaning, the Penguins will not renew the contracts of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach J.D. Forrest and assistant Kevin Porter. The announcement came just two days after the Baby Pens were swept by arch-rival Lehigh Valley in the opening round of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.
Former Pens GM Ron Hextall and POHO Brian Burke experienced a similar swift fall of the ax head last April.
After his team missed the playoffs last season, the 43-year-old Forrest led the resurgent Baby Pens to a 21-point leap and their best record since 2017-18. However, the improvement was not enough to fuel an extended playoff run or, apparently, please the Pens’ brass.
Dave Molinari on Pittsburgh Hockey Now suggested Kyle Dubas and assistant GM Jason Spezza may be seeking a more NHL-ready candidate to fill the vacancy.
Although it’s pure conjecture, might the Pens have their eyes on David Quinn, recently fired by the Sharks following a brutal 47-point season? Connecting the dots, the ex-Rangers coach was a teammate of Pens skipper Mike Sullivan at Boston University and a fellow disciple of legendary Terriers coach Jack Parker. Sullivan and Quinn are good friends to boot.
It’s also been suggested that Quinn could land on the Pens’ bench as an assistant while bumping either Todd Reirden or Mike Vellucci to the Baby Pens’ post (or out the door). The contracts of both Reirden and Vellucci are set to expire.
Hi Rick,
Reshuffling pieces of poor coaches never a good idea. But until Sully gets wacked, nothing will change. And unfortunately, that will require the dismissal of Kyle Dufas. And I don’t see that happening anytime soon. The only saving grace will be they both get fired for poor ticket sales. Another dark period ahead for our beloved Pens.
Amen Dave
Hey Rick,
The last thing this team needs is to recycle garbage. there is nothing attractive about a coach whose team finished last in the league, nor is being a friend of Sullivan an endorsement. Sullivan can’t find a way to sneak into the playoffs, even with Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson on his roster with each of them playing 82 games; that speaks volumes about his abilities and judgements!!! His 2023-2024 Penguins had their worst season since Olczyk and Therrien in 05-06, almost 20 years ago, almost a full generation ago. There are many kids out there that have never had to suffer through this type bumbling.
Hey Other Rick,
There’s certainly nothing etched in stone about Quinn joining our staff. In all likelihood, he looks for another head coaching job. But given his relationship with Sully, you never know.
In fact, if memory serves me correctly, I think the Rangers hired Quinn at least in part on Sullivan’s recommendation.
Shifting gears slightly, remember Clark Donatelli? He was the Baby Pens’ coach before Forrest.
Guess where he played his college hockey? Yep…BU. And guess who were his teammates? If you answered Sully and Quinn, you are correct.
The Pens’ own version of the Boston Irish Mafia…lol.
Rick
PS–As a general rule, I think coaches are only as good as the talent they have at their disposal. I’m not saying a coach can’t make a difference…one need look no further to see the job Spencer Carbery did as a rookie helmsman with what can charitably be described as a rag-tag Caps team. Or Jim Montgomery with the Bruins.
Still, I think guys like that tend to be the exception rather than the rule.
I’d be cautious about labelling Quinn a total bum. Not saying he deserves the Jack Adams, but the Sharks were built to tank. (See Angotti, Lou.)
Rick
Hey Rick,
I can’t remember either but if true, it is interesting if Sully recommended Quinn to the Rangers. Under Quinn the Rangers finished 7th, 7th, and 5th. So, DQs record in SJ wasn’t really an anomaly, it is his norm.
Clark Donatelli is also a poor example to associate with Sullivan, if one is trying to bolster Sully’s reputation.
I will also suggest Rick that there may be a limit to what a good or great Coach can do with sub-par talent with the same being true in reverse, good to great talent can only achieve so much when hampered by poor Coaching. And then some times the perfect storm comes in either direction, a great Coach gets great talent and/or a bum Coach gets poor talent.
Lou Angotti is probably and example of the latter; it is very probable he was given the HC position to ensure that team tanked. In 73-74 Jean-Guy Talbot posted a 22-25-8 record with the St Louis Blues while Angotti after replacing him only managed a 4-15-4 record with the same team. The next year, 74-75, Angotti stumbled and bumbled to a 2-5-2 record, Lynn Patrick had a 1-0-1 record and Gary Young had a 32-26-11 record with the same Blues. Therefore, Angotti’s 16-58-6 record in Pgh should have been no shocker to anyone.
Spencer Carby may be an example of a Coach getting the most out of his team. His Caps squeaked into the playoffs despite having a -36 Goal differential and only 3 (Strom, Ovie, and Carlson) players with more than 40 points for the season.
Conversely, Sullivan has to be considered the opposite. He failed to make the playoffs for the second season in a row, posting the worst record in nearly 20 years. Sullivan (under) performed this feat despite having a +5 G Diff (41 Gs above the Caps who beat him out for that last playoff spot) and 7 players at or over 40 points (Crosby, Malkin, Rust, Karlsson, Guentzel, Letang, and Smith).
I wouldn’t trust Sullivan’s judgement if he told me fire was hot, ice was cold, and water was wet. Sullivan backed Simon (who can’t cut it even in Europe), died on the hill of Jarry, telling Dubas he couldn’t find a better Goalie, and if Sullivan is now saying hire Quinn, the one thing FSG should do is avoid Quinn at all costs.