TORONTO – Dan Bylsma’s incredible and improbable run to a Stanley Cup has earned him the NHL coach of the year award as selected by The Hockey News.
From the moment he stepped behind the Penguins bench in mid-February, Bylsma encouraged an aggressive approach that meshed perfectly with the mentality of the team’s young core.
The 38-year-old from Grand Haven, Mich., led Pittsburgh to an 18-2-4 regular season finish, before repeating as Eastern Conference playoff champions and winning the Cup in a thrilling seven-game final over the Detroit Red Wings.
The architect of that Wings team, Ken Holland, earned our GM-of-the-year honors for his work in very nearly leading Detroit to back-to-back championships.
The Hockey News’ annual coach and GM accolades take into account both regular season and playoff performance.
Holland continued to show incredible acumen in his position, signing franchise cornerstone Henrik Zetterberg and power forward Johan Franzen to long-term, salary cap friendly deals and refusing to panic over the play of Chris Osgood when the veteran goalie stumbled badly during the regular season.
Also in the running for top GM honors were Ray Shero of the Penguins and Jim Rutherford for his work in patching together a Carolina roster that advanced to the East final.
Bylsma bested worthy coaching candidates Claude Julien, who guided Boston to the best regular season record in the East, and Chicago’s Joel Quenneville, who, like Bylsma, also showed great intuition working with a young, skill-laden squad.
In Play! magazine
