Don't forget that Tippet is also the beneficiary of the best GM we've had in the last 20 years, not to mention the maturation of 2 of the best players (and a couple others) we've had since the Gretzky days.
This. I’m super surprised Mclellan didn’t get more love, I would argue that the 2017 team was much better coached then this years team. It’s not his fault Chia tore down the team in the offseason and essentially the entire roster a year later.
Renney was also a good coach, he was just given an awful roster.
Nelson should have never been fired, he got a lot out of a bad roster. I’m amazed he’s never been given an NHL shot at head again, his name has surfaced a tonne. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the stars, till this season, have fared better with him as an assistant. He should have got the Red wings job over Blashill. He went 17-22-7 with the Oilers horrible roster, most young guys played great under him. Eakins went 9-17-5 with the same roster.
I would go
Mclellan
Nelson
Tippett
Renney
Kruger
Hitchcock
Quinn, great coach he was just done here, Whitney told some funny stories on his podcast about how done Quinn was
A thousand meters of ****
Eakins, he’s by far one of if not the worst NHL coach in his stint here
I’ll get dragged for putting Tippett third, but he’s been reliant on 2 superstar talents and world class special teams, which are usually the assistants. His structure has been solid defensively, but offensively he hasn’t really boosted anyone on our roster either.