Report: Penguins coaching search down to 2 candidates, decision imminent

The Pittsburgh Penguins are close to naming a successor to Dan Byslma and are down to selecting between two finalists, according to a report from TVA's Louis Jean:

The Penguins have reportedly interviewed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach John Hynes, former Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson, TSN analyst Marc Crawford, and New York Rangers assistant Ulf Samulesson during this process. In all, TSN's Darren Dreger suggested on Wednesday that roughly 10 candidates had interviewed.

The Penguins were reportedly interested in Texas Stars head coach Willie Desjardins, although there's conflicting reports on whether or not he's a serious contender for the Penguins job.

"Whoever our head coach is has to have the right relationship, the right communication, and be able to get the most out of all our players, especially those top ones," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Wednesday. "The coach doesn't have to be the players' friend. He has a job to do. They have a job to do. The coach and players only have to respect each other."

Rutherford also told Rossi that he was on schedule to hire a new head coach by July 1, and that NHL experience wasn't a prerequisite for the job. 

So who are the final two candidates? Presumably we'll know soon enough.