Friday Poll: The next Penguins head coach
Help name who the community thinks should be the next Penguin coach!
The Friday Poll series of May 2025 ends today on the same topic it began with this month, on the topic of the next Penguins head coach. The Pens are still without a leader but much has changed over the last four weeks, as can be seen with the results of one of the early polls.
The top two choices are off the board after developments of this month. David Carle gave a “thanks but no thanks” to the entire NHL by signing an extension to remain on at his post at the University of Denver. The second highest community choice, Rick Tocchet, was never linked to the Pens much beyond general fan hopefulness that the popular former Penguin player and assistant coach might be a candidate. Tocchet ended up jumping to other side of the Commonwealth for one of the longest and most lucrative contracts in the whole NHL coaching market on a five-year deal believed to be worth north of $5 million annually.
David Quinn and Jay Woodcroft have been tertiary candidates to interview with the Pens, but at this point it seems the front-runners or at least recent interviews late in the process have gone to Washington assistant coach Mitch Love and Los Angeles assistant DJ Smith.
Given those names, let’s try this again. Who of the main candidates do you want to see behind the bench next season in Pittsburgh?