Fantasy Impact: The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired former Portland Winterhawks coach/GM Mike Johnston to be their next head coach.
Johnston joined the Canucks’ coaching staff in 1999 and was there for six seasons before joining the Los Angeles Kings in a similar capacity. He then moved to the WHL in 2008 and was coach and general manager of Portland. Portland made it to the WHL championship four of those years, winning it once (in 2012-13).
Portland’s team record for fewest goals allowed in a season was set in 2012-13 when they allowed just 169 goals. The 334 goals the team scored that year led the WHL by a wide margin (Kelowna second with 309). The Winterhawks scored 338 times this past season, again leading the league by a wide margin. The team boasted Ty Rattie, Nic Petan, Brendan Leipsic, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seth Jones, Tyler Wotherspoon and Derrick Pouliot in 2012-13, so he’s used to coaching the best in the league and he knows at least one Penguin (Pouliot) quite well.
It looks like the 57-year-old Johnston is set up for success in the season ahead, with perhaps even a few more goals scored (and fewer allowed) versus last year.
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
Starting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| BRAD MARCHAND |
 FLA | |
| SAM REINHART |
FLA | |
| BOWEN BYRAM |
 BUF | |
| EVAN BOUCHARD |
 EDM | |
| SAM BENNETT |
FLA
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| JOHN GIBSON |
 ANA | |
| KAREL VEJMELKA |
 UTA | |
| DUSTIN WOLF |
 CGY | |
| ILYA SOROKIN |
 NYI | |
| ELVIS MERZLIKINS |
 CBJ
| |
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 DET Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 21.9 | AUSTIN WATSON CRAIG SMITH TYLER MOTTE | |
| 21.3 | MARCO KASPER PATRICK KANE ALEX DEBRINCAT | |
| 17.2 | VLADIMIR TARASENKO MICHAEL RASMUSSEN J.T. COMPHER | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Keeping Karlsson: Kreider Down South
Elan and Brian check in on the NHL playoffs (and the Keeping Karlsson Playoff Pool), announce a change to the draft rules for Season 11 of the Keeping Karlsson Ultimate Patron Fantasy League (KKUPFL), share thoughts on the one single relevant offseason transaction so far, and put a handful of 2024-25 breakout performances under the microscope to see if they’ll continue into 2025-26.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Montreal Canadiens with Ryan Szporer
Ryan Szporer is back to report on the Montreal Canadiens. Jesse and Victor interview Ryan about returning pros Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, Patrik Laine, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Sam Montembeault, and Jakub Dobes. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down Jakub Dobes, Cayden Primeau, and Jacob […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Chicago Blackhawks with Ben Pope
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is here to report on the Chicago Blackhawks.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Detroit Red Wings with Max Bultman
Max Bultman of the Athletic is here to report on the Detroit Red Wings. Jesse and Victor interview Max about returning pros Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Marco Kasper, JT Compher, Elmer Soderblom, Andrew Copp, Vladimir Tarasenko, Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, Erik Gustafsson, Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Utah Mammoth with Brogan Houston
Brogan Houston is here to report on the Utah Mammoth.