Named in honor of Rick Tocchet, who admitted he was involved in an illegal gambling operation while working as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes, The Tocchet Line is an occasional feature on NHL FanHouse in which we even out the odds for the likelihood of various hockey-related happenings. (By the way, when is the NHL going to get around to either punishing or reinstating Mr. Tocchet?)The good fans of Atlanta have more important things on their minds these days -- like their state being about two months away from descending into a chaotic FutureWorld where water is the greatest commodity -- but the search for the Thrashers' next head coach continues. After a glimmer of hope against the NY Rangers in general manager Don Waddell's first game behind the bench, the Thrash have settled back into being "teh suck" (as the kids call it) with a blow-out loss to the Lightning, 6-2.
Can anyone salvage this season? The Tocchet Line handicaps the field for the Atlanta Thrashers' next head coach:
John Anderson (3:1) - A fantastic choice, as I consider "The Gates of Delirium" to be a progressive rock milestone ... oh, wait: John Anderson, coach of the AHL Chicago Wolves, and not the guy from Yes? Got it. The former Maple Leafs star has a winning record in every season since 1997 with the Thrashers' minor league affiliate, winning two Turner Cups and one Calder Cup. He's on record as wanting the gig, and used to be a player/coach for Waddell in San Diego of the IHL. He's the favorite out of the gate.
Randy Cunneyworth (5:1) - Head coach of the AHL Rochester Americans, he nearly left for an assistant coaching gig in Florida during the off-season according to Swords and Pucks. He's considered to be one of the top developers of talent in the AHL, which should come in handy if he takes over a team currently playing like it has AHL talent.
Pat Quinn (20:1) - In case the Thrashers are looking for a coach who's old enough to be a grandfather to most of the team's roster, Quinn said he's in. Patty actually played his final few seasons with the Atlanta Flames, and was on a team with Bill Clement in 1977 ... who played an announcer in the action film "Sudden Death" with Powers Boothe ... who was in "Red Dawn" with Patrick Swayze ... who was in "The Outsiders" with Tom Cruise ... who was in "A Few Good Men" with, you guessed it, Kevin Bacon.
Pat Burns (35:1) - Getting past the obvious health concerns, Burns wants to coach again and usually brings immediate results. It should be noted, however, that he hasn't coached a game of NHL 2.0 hockey.
Scott Mellanby (50:1) - Ray Slover of The Sporting News has Mellanby as a potential candidate for the Thrashers job, but the retired captain said he wants to wait until his daughter is out of high school before entering into coaching. Which I believe is code for, "If I thought this team could win again, I wouldn't have retired, dummies."
Mike Dunham (100:1) - Sure, he just became a coach for the New York Islanders in the off-season; but for the next 4-to-6 weeks, he'd be perfect as a goalie/coach for the Thrashers.
Igor Larionov (75:1) - Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution floated the wacky notion of Larionov stepping behind the bench to light a fire under Slava Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk. One thing's for sure: There'd never be a shortage of Merlot in the locker room.
Bobby Cox (500:1) - Hey, if there's anybody who understands what it's like to win your division and then crap out in the postseason...
Bruce "Butch" Cassidy (5,000:1) - Never, ever forget.
