John MacLean Has Joined The Arizona Coyotes' Coaching Staff, And I Wish Him The Best

Coyotes GM John Chayka confirms team has hired John MacLean & Scott Allen as Rick Tocchet's new assistants today: https://t.co/c6YRQaUvaP

— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) July 26, 2017

Rick Tocchet: "I played against @jmaclean15 my entire career; always felt his hockey IQ was outstanding." Good luck Mac!

— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) July 26, 2017

Congrats to @jmaclean15 and good luck as an assistant coach with the @ArizonaCoyotes! pic.twitter.com/xyopMjI5BI

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) July 26, 2017

You know what, I'm happy for John MacLean. I'm genuinely glad that he's getting another shot behind an NHL bench. That's partially because that NHL bench doesn't belong to the New Jersey Devils and partially because I think MSG could do better in terms of on-screen personalities, but mostly because I think he's a good guy that can be successful in a limited coaching role. I'm not sure I would want my team to test that last theory after the traumatizing debacle that was 2011, but I have no problem applauding another team's decision to do so from a distance.

At the end of the day, he's a guy that's been around the game for decades and has won a Stanley Cup in multiple capacities as a player and an assistant. His legacy should only be mildly tarnished in the eyes of even the most young and naive Devils' fan, and it's a legacy that makes him an integral figure in the franchise's history. Hopefully he can continue coaching long enough to make people forget about the one disastrous season he had calling the shots, because - with a career as great as his - he deserves at least one mulligan.