We now know two new head coaches for the 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season. Andrew Brunette has been named the new head coach of the Nashville Predators according to the Associated Press, and the Washington Capitals have named Spencer Carbery as their new head coach according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN.
Predators and Capitals missed the playoffs
Both Nashville and Washington did not make the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Predators were tenth in the Western Conference at 92 points (42 wins, 32 regulation losses and eight losses in extra time), while the Capitals were 12th in the Eastern Conference at 80 points (35 wins, 37 regulation losses and 10 losses in extra time).
Canadians replacing Americans
The Predators and Capitals both hired a Canadian coach and fired an American one. Brunette is from Sudbury, Ontario, and Carbery is from Victoria, British Columbia. Former Predators head coach John Hynes is from Warwick, Rhode Island, while former Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette is from Franklin, Massachusetts.
Hynes release was a minor surprise
The release of Hynes was a bit of a surprise. That is because the Predators had several injuries last season and the fact Nashville were in playoff contention until the end of the season was credit to Hynes’s strong coaching skills. It seems that incoming Predators general manager Barry Trotz wanted his own coach, and that is why there was a change.
Andrew Brunette
Brunette spent one season as the Florida Panthers’ head coach in 2021-22 and won the Presidents’ Trophy. It was a surprise that he only spent one season coaching the Panthers, as Florida went with Paul Maurice this past season instead. Brunette played one season playing for the Predators. He had 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points during the 1998-99 season. Brunette’s coach at the time was Trotz.
Spencer Carbery
Carbery never played in the NHL. He has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carbery has significant experience as a player and coach with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.
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