Penguins hire Mike Stothers as assistant coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Mike Stothers as an assistant coach. That appointment was announced Monday.

Stothers, 63, is expected to oversee the team’s defensemen and penalty kill.

A native of Toronto, Stothers has an extensive history as a coach at various levels, starting in 1991 when he was an assistant coach and player for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). He served as a full-time assistant coach with that club between 1992 and 1996.

At the NHL level, he has been an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers (2000-03), Atlanta Thrashers (2010-11) and Anaheim Ducks (2021-23).

Elsewhere in AHL, Stothers has been head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins (2007-08), Manchester Monarchs (2014-15) and Ontario Reign (2015-20).

In the junior ranks, Stothers’ resume includes entries as head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack (2002-07) and Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors (2011-14).

Stothers, who was diagnosed with melanoma in March of 2003, did not work in hockey during the 2024-25 season after serving as a senior advisor for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in 2023-24.

As a player, Stothers was a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) of the Flyers in 1980. Largely an enforcer, Stothers appeared in 20 NHL games with the Flyers and Maple Leafs, accumulating two assists and 65 penalty minutes.

The vast majority of his playing career unfolded in the AHL where he recorded a handful of seasons with more than 200 penalty minutes.

Stothers joins a mostly new coaching staff under new Penguins head coach Dan Muse. Assistants coaches Nick Bonino, Rich Clune and Todd Nelson as well as assistant video coach Troy Paquette were hired June 20.