Penguins give assistant coach Todd Reirden contract extension, new job title

Todd Reirden has earned a reputation as an assistant coach who makes his team’s defensemen better.

That’s a talent the Penguins are willing to pay for.

The Penguins signed Reirden, 51, to a two-year contract extension and upgraded his title from assistant coach to associate coach, the team announced Thursday.

“Todd plays an important role on our coaching staff,” general manager Ron Hextall said in a release. “He’s had a proven impact on the defensemen and contributes to the coaching staff as a whole with his wealth of knowledge from over a decade as an NHL coach. We are excited to extend his contract.”

In addition to overseeing the team’s defensemen, Reirden also works with the power play.

Last year, the Penguins finished fifth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 2.71 goals per game, and 19th in the league on the power play with a 20.2% success rate.

The year before, in the pandemic-shortened 2010 season, the Penguins were 14th in the league in goals allowed at 3.45 per game but were fourth best on the power play at 23.7%.

Reirden’s teams have made the playoffs in all 12 seasons he’s spent behind an NHL bench, and he was part of Stanley Cup-winning staffs in 2009 with the Penguins and 2018 with the Washington Capitals.

“As a coaching staff we value Todd’s knowledge, experience and passion for the game,” coach Mike Sullivan said in a release. “He challenges us, as coaches, to be better every day, and his relationships with the players are invaluable. He is deserving of this promotion, and we are excited for him.”

Reirden is two seasons into his second stint as a Penguins assistant. His first stint began in 2008 as an assistant in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was promoted to AHL head coach midseason when Dan Bylsma replaced Michel Therrien in 2009 and bumped up to NHL assistant in 2010.

The Penguins parted ways with Reirden when Bylsma was let go in 2014, at which point he joined the Capitals as an assistant. Reirden was promoted to head coach of the Capitals in 2018 and held that position for two seasons before being let go. He rejoined the Penguins in 2020.