NHL: Penguins doing some home work on coach Guy Boucher? GM Search Latest

The Penguins still officially have a head coach in Dan Bylsma, who ownership is considering keeping, but is the team doing some home work on one potential candidate?

Sources say the Penguins have been asking around on Guy Boucher to people who worked with Boucher in the past, and the team appearing to be doing some homework on Boucher is raising some eyebrows due to the Sidney Crosby connection as Boucher is no longer very well thought of around the league.

There seems to be a sense, at least to those around the league, that Penguins ownership is paranoid about something with Crosby and are trying to make him happy.

Boucher is currently coaching in Switzerland and not believed to be a candidate for any other openings.

“The guy isn’t in demand…. I’ll tell you that,” an Eastern Conference executive said of Boucher.

Boucher’s 1-3-1 system with this group is looked at as being a disaster if the Penguins hired Boucher. It’s a system Patrick Roy said in the past that ruined Junior Hockey but Boucher has been successful with it.

The problem is it would be a tough system to play and handcuff the Penguins top talent and how would Boucher play in the room due to being Sidney Crosby’s former coach?

The way Boucher’s 1-3-1 system works is the first skater into the zone steers the puck toward the outside, the left-side defenseman skates along the left wall with two forwards to his right and the right-side defenseman trailing the play.

Boucher’s system is famous for that game in Philadelphia where Steve Yzerman was livid and felt embarrassed the NHL.

Look for lots of talk over the next couple weeks of a Julien BriseBois/Guy Boucher GM-coach combo.

BriseBois a top contender for the job will interview for the job and is very high on the Penguins wishlist. The Penguins who are just starting to begin official interviews, are also expected to interview Norm MavIver, Jason Botterill and tv analyst Pierre McGuire within the next week.

The Penguins reached out to Canadiens assistant GM Rick Dudley on Monday but it’s not clear if he will interview.

The Penguins are believed to be considering six candidates on their shortlist right now. It’s unknown if the list will grow.