Jim Rutherford’s first act as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new general manager was to fire head coach Dan Bylsma. The Penguins confirmed the decision along with the hiring of Rutherford.
Bylsma took over as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bench boss late into the 2008-09 campaign and led them to the 2009 Stanley Cup championship. He won the Jack Adams Award in 2011, but the decision to let him go still isn’t surprising given the Penguins desire to start fresh after years of coming up short in the playoffs.
The Penguins were expected dismiss him when they fired former GM Ray Shero, but they decided to keep Bylsma on board until they found Shero’s replacement so that their new GM would have the option of retaining his services. That also prevented Bylsma from being an option for the rival Washington Capitals during their search for a new bench boss.
All the same, Bylsma is likely to find a new coaching position rather quickly as the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, and Rutherford’s old team, the Carolina Hurricanes, still have head coaching vacancies.
Bylsma is leaving the Penguins with a 252-117-32 record, which is the all-time best regular season points percentage among coaches that have overseen at least 400 games. He also has a 43-35 record in the playoffs.
