Top Coach Bails on Hiring Process, and the NHL Is Reeling

A top coach stepping away from a hiring process always sends a shockwave through the league, and this one has people doing double takes. When a name like this exits the board, every GM in the room starts recalculating his shortlist and wondering who blinked first. The NHL loves a quiet process right up until it becomes very loud, and this is now the kind of situation that can reshape a market before the first handshake.