It’s not yet official, but it appears that USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will replace Ty Willingham at Washington. He has denied it through USC, but that means nothing – the season is still on and USC has a game to prepare for. This move gives us a lot to think about:
The Carolina Hurricanes made a coaching change. They ditched Peter Laviolette, the winningest American born coach in NHL history, and the man who led Carolina to a Stanley Cup win. He was there for five mostly solid years, but they have missed the playoffs two years in a row and were barely holding on to a spot this year. In his place they have hired Paul Maurice. This a case of total deja vu – Maurice was the coach who was fired in Carolina to make way for Laviolette. The two men are the only two coaches the team has ever had. The other part of the move is that Ron Francis, the assistant GM and the all time scoring leader for the Hurricanes, moves behind the bench as associate coach. The move makes some sense. Laviolette is a good coach, but the team wasn’t going anywhere, so a change is good. Few players are still around from the first Maurice era, so he is as good as a fresh voice, especially when paired with Francis. The two will bring new energy to a team that desperately needs it. Maurice will also be hungry for redemption after a rough year in Toronto last year. I expect a decent bounce in the short term as a result of this move.
