PITTSBURGH—The Penguins formally introduced Dan Muse as their new head coach Wednesday.
As Muse stepped onto a podium at PPG Paints Arena for the first time, took a seat next to president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and the two started to talk, it quickly became evident that this unexpected partnership was more about passion and people skills than it was putting in place the right neutral-zone forecheck.
That is not to say that Muse, a first-time NHL head coach, isn’t a capable tactician. He is known to be a student of the game, and he gave a glimpse of that Wednesday when he geeked out as he discussed the need to attack as a five-man unit.
But while Muse talked about his unusual path to Pittsburgh and as Dubas detailed the team’s long coaching search, the conversation kept coming back to relationships.
That’s what Muse mentioned first when asked to lay out his coaching philosophy.
“I want to make sure I get to know each person, myself and the coaching staff. Until you get to actually know the people that you’re working with every day, I think it’s hard to truly be able to be able to properly work together with them,” Muse said.
That is everyone from management and fellow coaches down to all of his players.
Muse added that one of the most exciting things about his discussions with Dubas and Pittsburgh’s hockey operations staff was their shared spirit of collaboration.
“Through the interview process, all the staff members that I’ve had an opportunity to talk to and meet with, they’re amazing people with incredible ideas,” Muse said.
As he listened to his new coach continue on, Dubas had a clear look of satisfaction.
The Penguins, in a bit of a surprise, hired Muse on June 4 after a five-week search that began in late April. Dubas went into the search without a clear frontrunner in mind. Instead, he felt it was “imperative that we were extraordinarily thorough.”
Dubas said Muse was “not somebody that I knew personally” going into the search.
“If we hadn’t gone through that whole process and I had just turned to somebody I had either worked with in the past or knew very well, we wouldn’t have found what I believe is the best coach for the Penguins right now, which is Dan,” he said.
Dubas said that once they spoke on the phone then via Zoom — and especially after Muse was in town for an in-person interview two weeks ago — it would become clear to him that Muse will be “extraordinarily well-suited to develop all of our players.”
Dubas then made a point to say that applied to all players, not just the young ones.
He added that during the search he spoke with players whom Muse worked with previously, from the junior ranks to his most recent role as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers, and heard Muse had “made a strong impact on all of them.”
Dubas also highlighted the fact that Muse enjoyed team success at every stop, too.
“Finally, and probably the most important [reason for picking Muse], was just the character,” Dubas stated. “Everything about him. As we got through it and further into the process, it became clear he was going to be a great fit to help us, partner with us and help lead us through this transition — and then back into contention.”
And so Dubas and the Penguins decided on the 42-year-old as the 23rd head coach in team history. He takes over for a two-time Stanley Cup champion in Mike Sullivan.
Muse called it a “tremendous honor” to have an NHL team tab him as head coach.
“It’s a dream come true. And I couldn’t be more thankful,” Muse said. “On a day like today, you reflect back. I just want to say thank you to all the different coaches, staff members, players that I’ve had an opportunity to work with and learn from.”
He also thanked his wife, Maureen, and their four young kids, who were seated near the back.
“I love you guys and thank you for being a part of all this,” Muse said, smiling wide.
Maureen has been by Muse’s side since his coaching journey started two decades ago. His first big break was becoming an assistant at Yale, where he helped to lead the Bulldogs to an NCAA title. Muse took home another trophy in the United States Hockey League then coached with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
He earned a stellar reputation for player development for his work on those teams.
Muse also spent five years as an NHL assistant under Peter Laviolette in Nashville and then New York. He spent the past two years as an assistant with the Rangers.
“I feel extremely fortunate for all the steps along the way,” Muse said Wednesday.
Those steps led him to Pittsburgh, where he is tasked with shepherding a team in transition. The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. But Dubas is in the early stages of a rebuild, with Cup contention seemingly far off.
“Through this process, you see what an exciting time it is to come in here. You have legendary players of our game here in Pittsburgh — future Hall of Famers. You have these exciting young players that are coming up. And then you have a little bit of everything in between,” he said. “I just can’t tell you how exciting an opportunity that is.”
Muse spoke to Crosby and Letang on his first day on the job. He estimated that as of Wednesday, he had talked to 95% of the players Pittsburgh has under contract.
Over the last week, Muse has also been busy interviewing candidates for assistant coaches. He has nothing to announce yet. Like Dubas, Muse wants to be thorough.
Muse didn’t dive into specifics about how he envisions his Penguins teams playing. He will require a commitment to detail, with players “working on both sides of the puck.” And there are core characteristics that he will try to establish right away.
“There’s a foundation that has to be built that has nothing to do with a forechecking system or your D-zone coverage,” he explained. “But once that base is there, then we will build out. I have, in my mind, ideas on the way I would like it to be played.”
First things first, Muse wants to build relationships. The Xs and Os can come later.
“I think everything to me, in regards to coaching, kind of starts with that,” he said.