Former Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Mike Kitchen turned down a job offer from the Minnesota Wild recently, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Kitchen was fired from the Blackhawks in April after seven seasons with the team.
Minnesota is looking for a new assistant coach under Bruce Boudreau to replace Scott Stevens, who resigned from his job with the Wild in late May. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports that Sabres assistant coach Bob Woods, who has also coached with the Ducks and Capitals, is the frontrunner to get the gig.
But that may only be because Kitchen turned down the job already if Shannon’s tweet is accurate.
It’s unclear why Kitchen wouldn’t take the job in Minnesota. He’s coached with several teams over the years, including multiple stops under Joel Quenneville. The most recent one started with the Hawks in 2010, and they won two Stanley Cups together. But Kitchen’s work on defense and the PK left a lot to be desired last season, and in the end he became a fall guy for the team’s sweep against the Predators.
So Kitchen has lots of championship experience, and it makes sense that another team would come knocking. We’ll see what kind of job offer would get him back into the coaching world soon enough.