Winterhawks in Transition

The WHL will be having new faces in the head coaching position for eight teams, and two of them were in the Conference Finals last season.  As mentioned yesterday, the Kelowna Rockets saw Ryan Huska leave them for a head coaching job with the Adirondack Flames (previously the Abbotsbord Heat) of the AHL.  Dan Lambert was promoted to the head coaching job for the Rockets from assistant.

Today, it was the Portland Winterhawks' turn, as they will be looking to replace Mike Johnston, as he accepted the job coaching Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Both players, as you may remember, play for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.  This move means that the Winterhawks will be looking to replace a head coach and a general manager, since Johnston was both since the 2008-09 season.  This move is on the heels of last year's Winterhawks coaching staff purge, when Travis Green, who was an assistant coach and interim coach when Johnston was suspended for much of the 2012-13 season, was tabbed to coach the Utica Comets of the AHL.  As for Johnston, he leaves behind a team that he took from the basement to four straight Western Conference titles and a WHL title, as well as six players that would be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft.