Via Ryan Wilson, who covers the Penguins for HockeyBuzz, we’ll just present this without comment:
One reason I don’t think you hear Bylsma’s name in these coaching searches is because I am led to believe he is holding out for PHI job.
— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) December 27, 2014
HOW CRAZY WOULD THAT BE? Dan Bylsma coaching the Flyers would be an insane story on par with when Jaromir Jagr spurned the Penguins in free agency and chose Philadelphia instead. It would be awesome from a trolling Pittsburgh perspective, especially because the Flyers are already in the Penguins’ head. Having Pittsburgh’s Cup-winning coach behind the Philadelphia bench would be just hilarious.
Also, Bylsma was one of the few likable pieces of the Penguins back when he was their coach. Remember the first installment of HBO 24/7 back in 2010-11? Bylsma seemed like a really awesome guy to play for and root for, and that’s still the truth today.
But OK, back to reality for a second … does this rumor make any actual sense? It is interesting that Bylsma hasn’t been mentioned in rumors around many existing or recently-vacant coaching jobs, and if he’s holding out for a particular one, that would make some sense. But holding out for the Flyers job … eh, it seems like a bad career move. When there are only 30 jobs in the league, it’s not smart to be choosy. Besides, we don’t know when or even if Craig Berube will be out as Flyers head coach, and all signs are pointing to him sticking around until this upcoming offseason at the very least.
And would the Flyers even want him? Bylsma won the Stanley Cup with a really fantastic hockey team, and there’s plenty of evidence to show that he’s not particularly strong at adapting and making adjustments in-game, be it with the Penguins or with the USA Olympic team in Sochi. Peter Laviolette out-coached him on a regular basis during some of those big recent Flyers vs. Penguins battles, too.
As fun as this could potentially be, I just don’t know if it stands up to the smell test.
