John Madden is now the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, wait what? No, not that John Madden. This is John Madden of New Jersey Devils fame, the player who has three Stanley Cups on his resume. Most recently, Madden was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers. The Panthers have made big improvements the past few seasons and Madden was a name many were circling.
Madden had this to say via a Blue Jackets press release:
“I am really excited and would like to thank the Blue Jackets organization for the opportunity to serve as head coach of the defending Calder Cup champion Cleveland Monsters, I am looking forward to working with Toby Petersen, Steve McCarthy, Manny Legace and the staff in Cleveland to continue to develop the young players in this organization in an environment that demands excellence on and off the ice.”
Blue Jackets assistant GM Bill Zito used to be John Madden's agent back in the day.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) August 29, 2016
The Bill Zito and John Madden connection is interesting, if only for the fact that Zito has been given some leash in regard to the Monsters.
Jarmo Kekalainen even said as much to the Dispatch:
#CBJ asst GM Bill Zito gave Kekalainen top recommendation on Madden. JK: "Cleveland just won a championship. I'm going to listen to Billy."
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 29, 2016
The turn around was quick, the Jackets obviously had him in their sights as someone they wanted to bring in. The Monsters will want to repeat as Calder Cup champs. Madden has a few short weeks to prepare, not an easy situation to be in for the first time head coach.
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