Glen Gulutzan is very busy again.
Granted, the Dallas Stars coach had plenty on his plate the past seven seasons as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers. But it’s different being in charge of an NHL team, something he’s doing for the first time since 2017-18 when he coached the Calgary Flames.
“It’s been a lot of work, I’ll tell you that. It feels like I was retired for a little bit there,” Gulutzan said with a laugh. “I knew it was coming because obviously I’ve done it before, but it’s been nice. All the things you stockpile while you’re an assistant and you’re watching in the League, and you get to implement them. So, it’s been nice that way.”
Gulutzan, who had led the Stars to a 2-0-0 start entering their home opener against the Minnesota Wild (1-1-0) at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN), is not alone. He’s one of several head coaches in the NHL who is in his second or third go-round leading a team after some time either as an assistant or away from the game.
Joel Quenneville (Anaheim Ducks), Jeff Blashill (Chicago Blackhawks) and Lane Lambert (Seattle Kraken) are in their first season with their new teams. Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), Dean Evason (Columbus Blue Jackets), Paul Maurice (Florida Panthers), Todd McLellan (Detroit Red Wings), John Hynes (Wild), Lindy Ruff (Buffalo Sabres), Andrew Brunette (Nashville Predators), Sheldon Keefe (New Jersey Devils), Patrick Roy (New York Islanders), Travis Green (Ottawa Senators), Jim Montgomery (St. Louis Blues), Craig Berube (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Scott Arniel (Winnipeg Jets) are in at least their second season with their latest teams.
Mike Sullivan (New York Rangers) and Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyer) have previous coaching experience but went from their former teams to their current ones the next season.
“Coaches don’t get recycled; it’s not the same coach when you rehire a guy. You get a new coach, a new version, a more experienced version,” said Maurice, who has been coaching the Panthers since June 22, 2022, about six months after he stepped down from the same job with the Jets. “Every team that you coach has a different set of players, different styles of players. The game changes at all times. So, there’s so much changing around you that if you’re open to learning, there are no recycled coaches. You don’t get a retread here. It’s a brand-new tire every time.”
* * * *
After Ruff was fired as Stars coach in 2017, he spent three seasons as an assistant with the New York Rangers (2017-20). Ruff said working with a smaller group, in his case the defensemen, was very beneficial.
“It gave me some time to kind of connect with the players again that you don't usually get as a head coach; you spend more time with them, you spend more time trying to develop,” Ruff said. “At the time, we had (Ryan) Lindgren and (Adam) Fox and spent a lot of time with those two guys. Probably face less pressure, and you're doing a lot more of the after-practice on-ice stuff with the players, and I think you're connecting more to them.”
Ruff was hired away from Rangers to coach the Devils but was fired on March 4, 2024, and was then hired by the Sabres the next month.
Rick Bowness echoed Ruff’s sentiments about being part of a staff. He was head coach of several NHL teams, including Dallas (2020-22) and twice with Winnipeg (2022-24) before he retired on May 6, 2024.
But Bowness said it was important for him to stay in the League in some capacity. He was associate coach for the Islanders (1996-97), Vancouver Canucks (2008-13) and Tampa Bay Lightning (2013-14; 2016-18), and assistant for Tampa Bay (2014-16), the Phoenix Coyotes (1999-2004, 2005-06), Canucks (2006-08) and Stars (2018-20).
“If you’re a coach, you’re a coach. If that means the best job you can get is as an assistant coach, then you grab it and do the absolute best you can and try to grow with it,” he said. “Just because you’re a head coach once and there are only 32 jobs, you can’t let your ego get in the way and just wait for the next [head coaching] opportunity because you’re not going to know when it’s going to come. You have to stay involved with the League, in my opinion.”
Sure, but not everyone gets the chance to stay in the NHL. Or perhaps taking a different road ends up being the better option.
Cassidy was the second-youngest NHL coach (37) at the time when he was hired by the Washington Capitals in 2002-03. He was fired 28 games into his second season. After a quick stint as an assistant with the Blackhawks in 2005-06 and coaching Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League from 2006-08, Cassidy said he went back to his “roots” in the American Hockey League, coaching Providence from 2008-16 -- the first three seasons as an assistant before being promoted.
“It’s probably where I felt more comfortable,” Cassidy said. “[I thought], ‘Get back to being comfortable and liking coaching hockey again, try to stay in one spot and get kind of resolidified in that area,’ and it happened in Providence.”
Cassidy became an NHL coach again in 2017 with the Boston Bruins. He was fired on June 6, 2022, and hired the following week by the Golden Knights, who he led to the Stanley Cup 12 months later.
“It worked out for me. There are a lot of guys in the League who have had a second chance and have done well,” Cassidy said. “Sometimes, that’s not unlike a guy who gets called up once and learns, ‘OK, this is what the League’s all about,’ goes back [to the AHL] and comes back the next time and realizes what it takes.”
The learning process is a valuable one, regardless of geography. Maurice said coaching Magnitogorsk (Russia) Metallurg of the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2012-13 season was the most impactful he had “because it was a complete culture change.”
“I never understood what it was like for a European player to come over to the NHL and the amount of change they have to go through from what they’ve been taught their whole lives -- especially Russian players,” Maurice said. “That concept of dumping a puck is the exact opposite of an intelligent way to play in Russia. They’re not stubborn, they’ve just spent their whole lives doing the right thing by not dumping pucks in the Russian game on a Russian-sized rink.”
Montgomery returned to the NHL as an assistant to Berube with the Blues from 2020-22 nearly a year after he was fired as Stars coach on Dec. 10, 2019, for unprofessional conduct. He later said he had been receiving counseling for alcohol abuse.
Now head coach of the Blues, Montgomery said he’s learned that the X’s and O’s are very important but, “not as big a deal as I thought in the beginning.”
“Managing people is way more important, knowing when to motivate the team, when to pull back and let the captains push,” said Montgomery, who coached the Bruins from 2022-25 and won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2022-23.
“The most important part is trusting your instincts when things are off and not being afraid to bring it to their attention in an honest fashion of, 'This is what I'm seeing, and I don't think we're going to correct it unless we talk about it and deal with it.’”
Blashill believes some lessons, however, are more personal. The former Red Wings coach (2015-22) is in his first season with the Blackhawks after three seasons as a Lightning assistant.
“The one thing I said to myself, comparative to maybe my first job is to make sure you enjoy it; enjoy the moments more,” Blashill said on Oct. 7 before the Blackhawks’ regular-season opener against the Panthers. “This is what we love to do and life goes by fast, so let’s make sure we’re enjoying it.
“There are times when you don’t enjoy it as much as you should enjoy it, but certainly comfortable just really taking the time to make sure that you savor the different moments.”
Getting that first coaching job is tough enough and getting another opportunity doesn’t always happen. But for those who receive it, it’s gratifying and a chance to apply the lessons learned along the way.
“I was told when I first started in this league by a veteran coach, ‘You’re going to get kicked around a bit, but just stay in the saddle,’” Gulutzan said. “That’s always sat in the back of my mind. Just keep plugging away, keep trying to learn and do things right.
“You get kicked around, you make a mistake or two, you put the wrong guy out for a face-off or whatever. All of those things, the good and the bad scars add up to tell a story or mold you a bit. I think those scars, more than anything, are [part of the] experience. It’s seeing things before and doing things before that hardens your skin in a good way. It makes you more resilient to some of the adversity that comes in this league.”
NHL.com independent correspondents Paul Delos Santos, Heather Engel and Lou Korac contributed to this report
