The hiring of Muse raised eyebrows on the outside, as he wasn’t a prominent figure to most of the fans and media. But within the hockey world, Muse had been steadily building his resume, entering the interview process with 20 years of coaching experience at just 42 years old and a reputation for being the hardest worker in the room.
He started at the collegiate level, working at Sacred Heart University before joining the staff at Yale. Muse called his six seasons with the Bulldogs his key foundation. From there, he spent time in the USHL and with the U.S. National Team Development Program before working as an NHL assistant under Peter Laviolette with the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers.
Kyle Dubas didn’t know Muse personally before the coaching search began, but was immediately impressed. When the hire was announced, Dubas said it became clear right away that Muse was someone who would be extraordinarily well-suited to develop all of their players.
“Not just our young players, but all of them,” Dubas said at the time. “What I mean by that is, when you look at his track record and then you speak to the players that he's worked with, whether they were in junior or the USNTDP or with the Rangers most recently – whether they were a young player coming into the league or a veteran player that was continuing to try to find their way to stay in the league – Dan had made a strong impact on them.”
And that really comes across talking with Penguins players now.
Rickard Rakell is a terrific example. He was coming off of a year where he hit career highs with 35 goals and 70 points in his 11th full NHL season, benchmarks of his game as a skilled, scoring winger. That’s how Rakell has always been viewed. But right away, during training camp, the coaching staff had Rakell slotting in at center, with Muse praising his versatility.
“It feels like he's really invested, and he's picking out things in my game that he really likes and small changes that can help me elevate my game,” Rakell said at the time. “He's not scared of bringing new ideas or hearing our opinions about everything.”
So, with that in mind, fast forward to the last several weeks, where Rakell went on an absolute tear offensively despite the team asking him to fill a lot of different roles. Rakell said he feels his value outside of just numbers or production, which has helped him so much.
“Muser and all the other coaches, they tell me to try more. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, it’s going to happen. Just try more,” Rakell said. “That makes me happier. Just go out and play. It’s not harder than that. If you lose the puck, try to get it back. Everything goes hand in hand... you’re chasing that good feeling, and it doesn’t have to come from scoring goals or having points. You just feel like you’re having fun.”
There are so many other great examples in that room as well, like Ryan Shea, who is having an outstanding season after years of trying to break through at the NHL level.
“I think he allows everyone to play to their strengths,” Shea said. “He instills confidence and positivity all over the place. Even in a game like (Saturday versus Washington, with players sitting out due to injury), like, he's tossing out guys that might not be in that situation if our whole team is playing, but he's got that confidence.”
Or how about Anthony Mantha, with the veteran forward putting together a career year following a campaign limited to 13 games following a torn ACL.
“Dan called me over the summer, and the first conversation we had was, he wanted to get me to 30 goals,” said Mantha, who finished the regular season with 33. “And after it happened, he came up to me, and he's like, you talked about it the first time. I was like, yeah, we did. And so, that was a boost of confidence, obviously.”
Erik Karlsson’s resurgence, Egor Chinakhov’s breakout, you name it – the list goes on and on. Muse has found a way to help players be at their best while establishing a team structure that’s built on connection. The coaches did a terrific job of getting everyone on the same page right away.
“I think you show up Day One of training camp, it’s a new staff, it’s a new team, there's a lot of new moving parts all over the place. You just know immediately how detailed they are, structurally speaking,” Connor Clifton said.
“I mean, systems, I think he sent the video every day about a different special team, different neutral zone, O-zone, D-zone. Every night was a different video, which we were going to practice the next day. So, they're just so dialed.”
Muse has also used different teaching tools with this group. The former high school history teacher has added references to his former subject matter in video meetings, and also finds ways to add humor.
“He loves a good Photoshop, I'll say that,” Brazeau said.
Dubas had mentioned two other key points that stood out about Muse. One is his character. He’s the first one to wish the media a good night and safe travels, hold a door for fans traveling from one rink to the other at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, or jump to the aid of the equipment staff, despite his stature as the head coach.
“He's very personable. I mean, first of all, he's just an amazing human being,” Stuart Skinner said. “And the way that he is in the room with the guys, he's got a really good amount of assertiveness, and he knows what to do at the right time.”
The other is that Muse has won at all levels he has been a head coach, which is an exciting prospect going into Round 1. He’s helped get them to this point in Year 1, calling it a big step for the group.
"I'm really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved," Muse said. "The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it."
