Chicago Blackhawks assistant Mike Haviland will interview for the coaching position in Winnipeg, NHL.com has learned.
Haviland, who turns 44 next month, has spent the past three seasons behind Chicago’s bench and helped the Hawks win their first Stanley Cup since 1961 when the Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games last spring.
The Middletown, N.J., native won ECHL championships with two different teams (Atlantic City in 2003 and Trenton in 2005) and was the AHL’s Coach of the Year in 2007, when he guided the Norfolk Admirals to a 50-win season. In his seven years as a coach in the minor leagues, Haviland never missed the playoffs. He posted a .600 winning percentage in six of those seven seasons.
Haviland joins a list of candidates that also includes Craig Ramsay, who was Atlanta’s coach this season. TSN reported Wednesday that former Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish will interview with new Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Claude Noel, coach of the Winnipeg-based AHL Manitoba coach, has also been reported to be a candidate.
Cheveldayoff, hired last week by the group that is buying the Thrashers and moving them to Winnipeg, was an assistant general manager with the Blackhawks for the past two seasons.
Follow Brian Compton on Twitter: @BComptonNHL
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