The Panthers are coming off their best regular season to date in franchise history; they also are coming off an underwhelming second-round sweep at the hands of their in-state rival Lightning.
Now comes an offseason where the Panthers' front office should have one main focus: Head coach.
Andrew Brunette just finished his first season as interim head coach. He was hired by Florida ahead of the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach, but he took over the Panthers' bench when Joel Quenneville resigned as head coach in late October of '21.
Under Brunette, the team went 51-18-6, on their way to the best record in the NHL. They were one of the most consistently dominant teams all season thanks to a dangerous, high-scoring offense.
That seemed to fizzle out in the playoffs. It's one thing to lose to the defending back-to-back champions; it's another to have your game completely vanish when the lights turn the brightest.
As a result, the question is: Should the Panthers promote Brunette to be their next head coach, or should they look elsewhere for a better fit for their future?
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Making the case for promoting Brunette
The Panthers just finished their best regular season ever in franchise history, winning the President's Trophy for the best record in the league. They went on to win the franchise's first playoff series since 1996. Brunette was the coach for all of that success, so how can they not bring him back?
Sure, the team was undefeated under Quenneville and very well could have had the same exact success without Brunette, but no one will know. What we do know is that at the helm of the Panthers' sensational 2021-22 campaign is a man who should have his interim tag removed.
Florida had the best offense this season, finishing as the only team in the league to average more than four goals per game (4.11). It also had a top-five power play, converting at a rate of 24.4 percent. As a result, Brunette was named one of the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.
There's also been recent success of teams promoting their interim head coach to full-time status.
Craig Berube won the Stanley Cup as interim head coach of the Blues and has since led the team to three straight postseason appearances. The Bruins have yet to miss the playoffs since Bruce Cassidy took over and went from interim to head coach in 2017. Dean Evason had his interim tag dropped ahead of the '20-21 season, and the Wild just finished their best regular season in history.
Bottom line, a club typically wants to prioritize continuity and familiarity within an organization. Brunette knows this team, and as evidenced by this season, knows how to make this team a success. There's no reason to change that.
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Making the case against promoting Brunette
It's hard to put the postseason failure solely on Brunette (or any individual for that matter). However, the lack of translation of dominance from the regular season over to the playoffs is concerning. Even in the team's first-round win over the Capitals, they looked far from the Panthers we saw for most of the regular season, especially when they were a goal away from falling behind 3-1 in the series.
In any other offseason, I would say it's highly unlikely Brunette isn't brought back, but with the coaches available this offseason, I wouldn't be shocked to see Florida go with someone that has a proven ability to win come playoff time.
I'm talking about Barry Trotz, of course. The legendary coach was let go by the Islanders after a disappointing 2021-22 season, immediately giving any team with a coaching vacancy a No. 1 target.
Trotz not only has the third-most wins in NHL history, but he also has a Stanley Cup win under his belt and is 64-48 in the postseason dating back to 2015, winning at least one round every year.
The Panthers are a very desirable location. In addition to being located in sunny Florida, they also are a team that's built to win now. Trotz could be the factor that pushes them over the edge come playoff time. He proved he could do it with the Capitals and the Islanders, so why not with the Panthers?
It's not just Trotz either. John Tortorella is available, and he has extensive experience making deep playoff runs to along with a Cup win on his resume. There's also Paul Maurice, who has 24 years of experience at the helm of an NHL bench.
Panthers GM Bill Zito has to determine whether there's a better option out there than Brunette because if there is ever a time to go get that someone, it's now.
