With Mike Sullivan off the list, Bruins’ coaching search goes on

As Mike Sullivan is fitted for Broadway Blue instead of Black and Gold the Bruins coaching search continues Where it will land is still anyone s guess at this point The consummation of the Sullivan-Rangers marriage publicized on Friday morning happened so hurriedly it s doubtful that the B s even got up to bat Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins officially parted strategies on Monday and by Thursday night he and the Rangers were already deep into contract discussions By Friday morning the announcement was made There were consistently road blocks for Sullivan to return to Boston First off the Rangers made it clear that they were not going to be denied in their pursuit of him and Bruins ownership has not been one to go into a bidding war for coaches There was also the complicating factor of the B s No defenseman Charlie McAvoy being Sullivan s son-in-law While that might sound like a nice story the ups and downs of an -game schedule provide ample opportunities for awkwardness And there is also the widely held belief that the Rangers massively underachieved in - and are closer to competing for a Stanley Cup than the Bruins GM Don Sweeney can a number of different routes There is the option of going after a former NHL head coach often derisively referred to as retreads though they have been known to have success Boston once boasted four retread head coaches in the four major sports who won championships here Franklin s Peter Laviolette just dismissed from the Rangers has taken three different teams to the Cup finals winning it on his first trip with Carolina in - He took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in his first year before this season s DNQ Rick Tocchet is also on the sector after choosing to leave Vancouver though the natural landing spot seems for him seems to be the opening with the Flyers There is Gerard Gallant whom players often rave about but has relatively short stints in Columbus Florida Vegas and New York Also Jay Woodcroft is looking for his second chance after being bounced in Edmonton during the - season Joel Quenneville who has reportedly interviewed with Anaheim has a resume that is second-to-none as a three-time Cup winner in Chicago but is right now out of work for his part whatever it was in the sex abuse disgrace involving a video coach and a prospect It would seem unlikely that the Bruins would want the smoke that would come with hiring Quenneville especially with the blow-back they received over the Mitchell Miller saga Another name is Jeff Blashill who had the misfortune of getting the Detroit Red Wings head job in just as the Wings vaunted talent pool was bottoming out He s been an assistant in Tampa for the last three seasons Another highway would be the college coach The prize in that field is the University of Denver s David Carle but so far he s shown enough sanity to remain in the college event This year looked like the year he was ready to take the plunge but he reportedly pulled himself out of the running with the prospect-rich Chicago Blackhawks Another name is newly crowned NCAA champion Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler who has already interviewed with the Flyers according to a analysis from ESPN Ferschweiler would also check the box of NHL exposure that Sweeney revealed would weigh heavily in his decision Ferschweiler was an assistant on Blashill s Red Wings staff from - Jay Pandolfo is and will inevitably be an engaging name The former Bruins assistant and current Boston University would seemingly check all the boxes if he wished to come back to the pros though he may want to wait to coach his son who is now a strong prep school prospect A third journey going with an NHL assistant looking for his first chance is the one that is bulk be intriguing at the moment because of the success of Spencer Carbery with the Washington Capitals An in-house candidate would be Jay Leach When he was brought back into the Bruins fold as an assistant on Jim Montgomery s staff last summer after his stint as an assistant in Seattle he had a whiff of heir apparent to him having been the head coach in Providence But when the B s season was going off the rails in November it made more sense to turn to the more experienced Joe Sacco to try and manage the situation Turning to Leach now would seem like a tough sell though that doesn t necessarily mean it s the wrong move There are other options and one with Bruin ties Marco Sturm who is now the head coach of the Kings AHL affiliate Ontario Reign who had been on the Los Angeles staff for four seasons We ll have to see what happens in LA and current head coach Jim Hiller after the Kings collapse against Edmonton Also on the list is long-time Lightning assistant Jeff Halpern though if the rumblings about Jon Cooper moving on prove to be true he would be a prime candidate for the top job in Tampa There are undoubtedly more names that could go on the list and given Sweeney s detail-oriented approach he ll possibly talk to a lot of them Also specific candidates may still be working in the playoffs But with nearly a third of the NHL looking for a new coach time may be pressing more than he d like it to be