Rick Tocchet insists he's not in as high demand as it might seem.
The Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach is downplaying the notion that he's a candidate for one of the two vacant NHL head coaching positions.
"I'd love to have another kick at it, but honestly I haven't been contacted by anybody," Tocchet told NHL.com's Dan Rosen on Sunday. "I'm just focused on (the Stanley Cup Final). I have no idea what's going to happen at the end of the (season)."
The former NHL forward, ex-Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, and longtime assistant with several organizations believes he's only getting attention now because the Penguins have been so competitive.
"When you're a successful team and you win other teams like to look at the people in that organization," Tocchet said. "That's good. That's a good thing with being with Pittsburgh, you get looked at because we've won a lot of games the last couple of years. We've got a really good staff. Mike Sullivan is a great (head) coach. I've gone way back with him and that helps. But I don't know what's going to happen after the season."
The Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers are the only NHL clubs without a head coach at the moment.
Tocchet has been a Penguins assistant since June 2014.
He went 53-69-26 as head coach of the Lightning from 2008-10, and served as interim head coach of the then-Phoenix Coyotes for five games when Wayne Gretzky took a leave of absence in 2005.
