Cancer can take a lot out of a person.

And Mike Stothers is no exception.

But it didn’t strip away his sense of humor.

On Sunday, when a reporter noted he looked “pretty good” for someone who overcame a 2023 diagnosis of stage 3 melanoma of the lymph node, Stothers interrupted the query with his sharp wit.

“I only look pretty good?” Stothers replied with a perfect deadpan. “That stings. I came in here feeling pretty great. I guess I’ve got some work to do.”

Returning to work in a vocation he cherishes is no small thing for Stothers after he took a year off from the sport for the sake of his recovery as well as his family.

The Penguins hired the 63-year-old as an assistant coach to oversee the team’s defensemen and penalty kill June 30. His appointment rounded out the staff of new head coach Dan Muse.

About 10 days earlier, the bulk of those staff hires were announced, including another assistant coach in 38-year-old Rich Clune, no stranger to challenges himself.

Clune, who once described himself as an “alcoholic and addict,” has openly chronicled his battles with substance abuse and mental health. His struggles were laid bare in a 2020 documentary film titled, “Hi, My Name is Dicky.”

“The people that I’ve always looked up to, I feel like I’ve related to people that have overcome a challenge or persevered through something,” Clune said Saturday at the team’s practice facility in Cranberry. “I’m no different. Every day brings a new challenge. I wouldn’t change anything I’ve gone through in my life.”

For Stothers and Clune, joining the Penguins is a continuation of lives they find rewarding as coaches.

Stothers is the definition of what is commonly termed as a “hockey lifer.” A first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1980 as a defenseman, he became coach in 1991 when he joined the Hershey Bears as an assistant. Over the past 30-plus years, he has been on a nomadic journey to exotic locales such as Owen Sound (Ontario) and Ontario (California).

His resume, which includes stops as an assistant coach with the Flyers, Atlanta Thrashers and Anaheim Ducks, looks like a Johnny Cash song. That’s to say he’s been everywhere.

In March 2023, Stothers was diagnosed with cancer while with the Ducks. As he recovered, he served as a senior adviser with the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, in 2023-24.

While grateful for that role during his convalescence, it didn’t offer the same appeal as a coaching position. And with his family based mostly in eastern Canada, the Toronto native opted to sit out the 2024-25 season.

“(The adviser role) was more behind the scenes,” Stothers said. “That was fine, but coaching is my passion. I felt maybe it was time to step back. I wanted to be a little bit more present in my family’s lives. So, when you’re out in California and you’re three time zones away, you can tell everybody back home that you’re fine and you’re feeling good. Nobody believes you. They just say you’re saying that to make them feel better. I wanted to get back with my wife and get back to my daughters and my grandkids and my parents. Just spent some more time with them so they could see that, yes, I was recovered, recuperated and feeling better.

“It helped me. And I don’t think that I even realized until I took that time, how much of an emotional drain the whole process was. I think it was good for everybody. Now, I just feel so energized and ready to go. The juices are flowing. It might have been a good thing with how it played out, but I did miss the day-to-day of being in the trenches with the players and the other coaches.”

Clune speaks of the coaching profession in similar terms.

AP Mike Stothers was an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks between 2021 and 2023.  

A third-round draft pick (No. 71 overall) of the Dallas Stars in 2005, Clune played 16 seasons as a forward in the professional ranks, including parts of five campaigns in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2022, he retired as a player and was hired as a development coach with the Maple Leafs by general manager Kyle Dubas, today the president of hockey operations of the Penguins.

That led to an assistant coaching role with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies then eventually an assistant role with the Ducks in 2024-25.

In his role with the Penguins, Clune will work as the so-called “eye in the sky,” situated in the press box and communicating observations to those on the bench. Additionally, he will have a developmental role with the club’s younger players and prospects.

“When I retired (as a player), that was my first job in Toronto,” Clune said. “I immediately got to work with the amateur players at the NCAA and junior levels across Canada. That was a big reason I wanted to get into that. When I was a young player, I benefited from working with skill coaches, retired players, people that didn’t play in pro hockey but have studied the game.

“So, I really wanted to get into that. That led to me working with the Marlies and the Leafs. Having that foundation and that experience allowed me to step into coaching with maybe a different lens. I’m continually drawing back to my time doing that.”

Clune, who recently celebrated his 15th anniversary of sobriety, also utilizes the lessons he learned through his personal struggles as well as the challenges of others, such as Penguins scout Kevin Stevens, another former player who has openly battled addiction.

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A post shared by Rich Clune (@richclune)

“I definitely draw on certain experiences in certain times,” Clune said. “Not forcing anything. I just act like myself every day. It’s shaped who I have become as a human being and as a player and a coach.

“The biggest thing is I just love hockey. I’m really grateful to be here. I’m pretty lucky to work in hockey every day. I’ve been through a lot. I got to meet Kevin Stevens (on Saturday), who’s been an advocate and his story has been pretty inspirational to a person like me. I draw on people that talk like that. If I can help out or someone can draw inspiration, great.”

Like Clune, Stothers can offer inspiration, especially when he is asked about being a coach.

“It’s the second-best thing to playing,” said Stothers, who played with Clune’s father, Tom, as a youth. “The reward is … the relationships you make with the players. … It’s not always X’s and O’s. It’s communications, it’s relationships.

“I just exude energy for it. You just want to get out there. Being on the bench, man, you’re down there in the action, it’s awesome.”

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