Penguins Update: A Little Love for Mitch

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have any special insight into the pool of candidates Kyle Dubas might be considering for the Penguins’ coaching vacancy.

However, one potential candidate intrigues me. Full credit goes to Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now for suggesting him in an article published the other day.

For the past two seasons, Mitch Love has served as assistant coach for the Capitals, overseeing their defense. He joined Spencer Carbery’s staff in June of 2023.

Full stop.

Anyone who rubs elbows with Carbery on a regular basis immediately grabs my attention. IMHO, the Caps’ bench boss is one of the brightest young coaches in hockey, a true difference maker. He led a nothing Caps’ team (-37 goal differential) to a playoff berth last season, then guided them to 111 points and a Metro Division title this season. Having advanced to the second round, the Caps are in the thick of the current Stanley Cup chase.

I figure some of Carbery’s mojo is bound to rub off on his assistants.

Not that Love doesn’t possess plenty of coaching chops of his own. The 40-year-old native of Quesnel, British Columbia, won back-to-back AHL Coach of the Year honors, first with Stockton in ’22 and the following season with the Calgary Wranglers.

Prior to that, he was head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades for three seasons.

Love’s overall record in five seasons as a head coach is 191-77-27, good for a .693 points percentage. To put that in perspective, recently deposed coach Mike Sullivan had a points percentage of .602 with the Pens and .592 overall.

Mitch also served as an assistant with the Everett Silvertips, again of the WHL, from 2012-18. Thus, he’s coached at every major level and in a variety of roles. It stands to reason he’s got plenty of experience with player development. A must-have for our next coach.

Another selling point, at least for me? Love was a fighter during his playing career. Judging by the no-nonsense look in most of his photos, he’s one intense individual.

Our Pens could desperately use a shot of that. A double-shot, in fact. One of my biggest gripes about the team, especially over the past few seasons, has been our absolute dearth of fire and aggression. At least partly by design, it seems.

I’d give my eye teeth to eventually ice a team that’s constructed like Love’s current employer. In addition to being darn good, the Caps are a big team, the sixth heaviest in the NHL (the Pens are the seventh lightest).

Mean, too.

If Love could instill some of that swagger in the black and gold?

I, for one, would be quite pleased.

For the record, there’s a back-channel connection through Carbery, an assistant with the the Leafs for two seasons, to Dubas.