The Hitch in Philadelphia yesterday did not throw the slightest hitch into Glen Sather’s patient approach to hiring a head coach for the Rangers.
Indeed, as Ken Hitchcock went through what is widely believed a mere formality of an interview with the Flyers before becoming Bob Clarke’s fifth coach since Terry Murray was fired following the choking situation in the 1997 Finals, Sather was busy at his Palm Springs home interviewing Kings assistant Dave Tippett.
Sather had neither placed a follow-up call to Hitchcock, whom he had interviewed on Apr. 19, nor had he received one from Hitchcock since the former Dallas coach’s return late last week from Sweden, where he had been a member of Team Canada’s staff at the World Championships.
While Herb Brooks is the leader in the Ranger clubhouse, and is likely to chat with Sather again today, some nine days after spending the day with the GM, Tippett went into Palm Springs as a legitimate alternative to the U.S. Olympic coach.
While he has no experience as an NHL head coach, Tippett, who will turn 41 in late August, won the 1999 Turner Cup championship in his third and final year as coach of Houston’s IHL franchise.
Compared in style and substance to Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, Tippett will also be interviewed in Dallas this week, though the Stars have not formally dismissed Hitchcock successor Rick Wilson.
In addition, Tippett, who has earned high marks for preparation and presentation in prior interviews – he was runner-up to Jacques Lemaire in Minnesota two years ago – is believed to be a candidate in Anaheim, if not as well in Washington.