Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves

[Chuck Murray]

Your boy Swayman seems to be the real deal, early returns have been encouraging, and he seems to be the B's future #1, possibly as soon as next season. I noticed it was Vladar who got lit up by the Caps last night. Gotta think that short of an unexpected deep playoff run from Rask, the road is relatively clear for Swayman, and the B's job next season is his to lose.

[NorthMike]

Larrys article today in BDN, his coach candidate list:

Capuano- yeah right
Corkum
Guite
Lang- no way
Leahman - seriously Larry?
Monty- we all know this isnt happening
Moore - I would be excited about this.
Ron Rolston - wonder why he thinks this.

[amkirby10]

Larrys article today in BDN, his coach candidate list:

Capuano- yeah right
Corkum
Guite
Lang- no way
Leahman - seriously Larry?
Monty- we all know this isnt happening
Moore - I would be excited about this.
Ron Rolston - wonder why he thinks this.

Nothing about Ben Barr out of Amherst? I heard his name is around basically every vacancy in D1.

[Chuck Murray]

Larrys article today in BDN, his coach candidate list:

Capuano- yeah right
Corkum
Guite
Lang- no way
Leahman - seriously Larry?
Monty- we all know this isnt happening
Moore - I would be excited about this.
Ron Rolston - wonder why he thinks this.

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/04/...-coaching-job/

Some very interesting possibilities in that mix. I don't see Leaman for sure, and I'm guessing folks like Corkum and Guite aren't going to be considered, due to connections with the program's failing recent history - although Mahoney raises what seems to be a valid point about a potential Guite interim hire, especially if Plan A needs to wait a year? Moore and Lang are compelling, and Capuano may be at the stage of his career (and with the local presence) where this would make sense to him to consider. Montgomery would be the "home run" of course; Rolston strikes me as being on this list because he has interest in the position, and approached Mahoney to interject himself into the race.

My guesses, as an unbiased neutral interested in seeing how this plays out, are ranked as follows:

(1) Capuano
(2) Moore
(3) Montgomery
(4) Guite (holding for Corkum?)
(5) Rolston

[Drew S.]

Nothing about Ben Barr out of Amherst? I heard his name is around basically every vacancy in D1.

I thought the same thing. Maybe Larry knows something we don't or it's some sort of smokescreen?

Of the names on the list I would have zero interest in Rolston or Corkum for multiple reasons. Lang might be worth kicking the tires on but I don't really see him as the answer. As others have said Leaman and Montgomery probably aren't happening. Capuano is in the same boat and I'm not sure how well he would work out anyway where he has never coached in college.

I would be very interested and Moore and wouldn't be disappointed if he got the job. He obviously is from Maine and had a great career at Maine. He is a little light on experience but the experience he has is very relevant and it sounds like he has some strong recruiting connections.

With all that being said I think the best option is Guite, which I doubt many people will agree with me on. The reasons I see it working is he obviously is very respected, it will work financially(which in my opionion is likely to be an important consideration), and by hiring him you don't have to completely start over. One big thing for me in his favor is he played under Shawn and won a national championship. I think being able to show that ring off when you're closing a recruit is a big deal.

My dream scenario would be to hire Tyler Walsh as Ben's replacement and send him out on the road. My guess is he is someone Maine could comfortably afford and if he is anything like his dad would have no problem selling the program to recruits. I think having a young, fun, energetic coaching staff of Ben, Alfie, and Tyler would be appealing to recruits and would have a lot of goodwill with fans. Whoever is in charge needs to work like hell to make the program fun and exciting again, beyond just winning.

[NorthMike]

Nothing about Ben Barr out of Amherst? I heard his name is around basically every vacancy in D1.

I found that interesting as well. Wonder how much research or hard nosed reporting was put into his list. Or he just winged it.

[NorthMike]

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/04/...-coaching-job/

Some very interesting possibilities in that mix. I don't see Leaman for sure, and I'm guessing folks like Corkum and Guite aren't going to be considered, due to connections with the program's failing recent history - although Mahoney raises what seems to be a valid point about a potential Guite interim hire, especially if Plan A needs to wait a year? Moore and Lang are compelling, and Capuano may be at the stage of his career (and with the local presence) where this would make sense to him to consider. Montgomery would be the "home run" of course; Rolston strikes me as being on this list because he has interest in the position, and approached Mahoney to interject himself into the race.

My guesses, as an unbiased neutral interested in seeing how this plays out, are ranked as follows:

(1) Capuano
(2) Moore
(3) Montgomery
(4) Guite (holding for Corkum?)
(5) Rolston

Capuano? I just dont think he has the appropriate experience to be effective in college. But maybe hes a good coach and good with young players, which could transfer into college.

Guite as a one year interim, this is a very likely scenario but one without alot of enthusiasm. Maybe if you gave him five years to develop head coach skills.

Rolston, not an interesting choice, just dont see that as something that would turn around the program.

I feel like Lang can hold out for a better opportunity.

[J.D.]

Drew, I think you're nuts if you don't think Lang would be a good hire. Ultimately I don't know what Maine's ceiling is in the current Hockey East landscape but if BC were to ever go outside the family to replace York, Lang is near the top of my list. It's tough to put into words how bad AIC was before Lang. And not just a short period of time. They were moribund for a very, very long time.

[Runsub5]

I think Guite stays on as the interim head coach for the coming year. Nothing against Guite, as he is an unknown in terms of his head coaching ability. In my opinion the athletic department would be wise to start searching immediately for a head coach. It would make a statement that the AD is in fact serious about winning. He talks a good line about wanting to win, but actively searching for another coach with a proven resume would send a strong message.

[NorthMike]

Announced, Guite is interim coach.
They didnt say how long or if a search was commencing.

[BlackBearFan19]

News out of Orono is that Guite has been named interim head coach. This is a tough time for Maine hockey right now and this is the right move. If you had asked me last week, I would have said let's bring in a new staff. Now, I think Guite needs to lead the program through the next season. We need to let the players and coaches grieve and get through this difficult time. Stability is going to be key. I've always liked Guite and there's a chance he might surprise us. The players seem to respond well to him. Keeping the recruiting class intact and not losing players to transfer is going to be really important. Let's support Guite and reevaluate at the end of this coming season.

[ticapnews]

I wonder if Larry was able to keep a straight face when he was writing that Leaman was a potential head coach at Maine. And coaches in the professional ranks? Sure. Maybe delusions are a side effect of his vaccination.

The two people I want to see aren't even on his list.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

I wonder if Larry was able to keep a straight face when he was writing that Leaman was a potential head coach at Maine. And coaches in the professional ranks? Sure. Maybe delusions are a side effect of his vaccination.

The two people I want to see aren't even on his list.

Sneddon and Barr? ;-)

[AMC]

Interesting that they did not mention what the timeframe is on Guite's interim tag. Is it for a few weeks to a month until a permanent coach is hired? Is he steering the team through 2021-22?

With the lack of revenue from the past year, you have to imagine that money is tight in Orono. It may make sense to have Guite manage things for a year without having to commit to a new hire with a raise. If he does well, great, there's our guy. If he doesn't, well, a year of butts in seats may help in putting together a better financial package to hire someone long term next Spring. It's not like things can get much worse.

Of the guys Larry listed, I don't get the initial hate for Lang. AIC was maybe the toughest job in the country, and he managed to advocate for increased institutional support and turn that program into a consistent winner at the AHA level. He's been to more NCAA tournaments in the past decade with AIC than Maine. Doing something with less is going to be a key skill the next coach needs. No matter what happens, financially BC, BU, Providence, Northeastern, UMass, and probably Lowell and UNH are going to run circles around Maine for the foreseeable future.

Leaman is clearly not going to happen. Maine is objectively a worse job than PC right now. The only argument for Maine is that maybe the ceiling is a bit higher? If he can get Maine rolling, the fan support will be better than PC, which will always be a basketball school. The hill to climb to get to that point may be insurmountable, though, and he's got a real good thing going.

Monty, it's not an on ice issue, obviously. I think if Maine was willing to be creative, with an incentive laden contract, no buyout clause (i.e. Maine can let him go for free if he relapses), it could be doable, but it would take some stones and maybe political capital to do it.

Moore/Corkum/Capuano- I dunno. Of the three I guess I would prefer Moore, but I'm skeptical of his level of interest. He's an AHL head coach. If he has ambitions to coach in the NHL, that's probably a clearer path. Capuano is in his 50's at this point and has never coached in college. You'd think that opportunities would have been there if he had interest. At this point, would he be looking at it as a retirement job? Does he want to step into rebuilding having never recruited? Corkum, I dunno. Obviously he's unavailable right now. Punt on that decision for now.

I'd actually be okay with Rolston. He's essentially got Capuano's resume plus college experience.

I am curious about Barr's omission- I'd say it's because we can't afford him, but we also can't afford Leaman, so I dunno.

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Way too quick of a move...too quick imo. They could have made this move in 3 weeks after checking around in interested Coaches...and then go with Guite. With that said this has the feeling more of a money move by Ralph. Trust me I have no problems with Guite, and will support him and the Program. Another question will be who do they bring in as a assistant with Michuad.?