Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Butch Goring and Rod Langway were among the NHL's elite. In the year 2000, both of these guys want to be back in the NHL. But this time they won't be playing. Instead they want to be coaching.

Rod Langway by Meredith Martini

Butch Goring was a clever and popular player who could play any style you wanted. He toiled in relative obscurity with the Los Angeles Kings before being traded to the New York Islanders in 1980. Goring is considered to be the last piece of the puzzle for the Isles, as he helped to raise that team from contender to four-time champions.

Goring was traded to the Boston Bruins late in his career. He was a role model and teacher for his short time as a Bruins player, and was later named as the Bruins head coach despite not having any bench boss experience. He led the Bruins to a 37-31-12 record for a .538 winning percentage but was swept in three games in the playoffs. Goring only coached 13 games in 1986-87 but was fired despite a 7-5-1 record.

Since his stint in the NHL, Goring has gone on to coach at high levels, most notably the AHL and IHL. He has won a couple of Turner Cup (IHL) championships and has long been considered a prime candidate to return to the NHL.

In 1998 it looked like Butch would return to the NHL with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. All indications were that he was the guy but the Ducks made a last minute decision to opt for Craig Hartsburg instead.

This year, Goring has made it very clear that he wants the Los Angeles Kings bench job.

"I've let them know that I'm interested and hopefully things will work out positively for everyone." said Goring, who is one of the greatest players to ever wear the Kings jersey.

My Prediction: Goring will get the L.A. job unless another big name coach is released by his current club and interests the Kings more. Goring has paid his dues and would be a smart acquisition by the Kings, or for that matter anyone else.

Rod Langway was a great defensive defenseman during his day. He is the only defensive blueliner to win the Norris Trophy since the pre-Bobby Orr days. That in itself tells you how good this guy was. He was also the runner up to a young Wayne Gretzky in the 1984 Hart Trophy race.

Since retiring from the NHL, Langway has gone on to coach at the ECHL, IHL and AHL levels. In fact, he played in the ECHL and IHL as a playing coach!

Unlike Goring, Langway doesn't want a head coaching job. He prefers to be an assistant.

"I don't want to have the headaches and play the mind games that the head guy has to do. My goal is to be an assistant coach because I love to teach and I love to be one of the guys. The head coach can't be one of the guys," says Langway.

Langway is an excellent teacher. While in Washington he helped youngsters like Scott Stevens, Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy emerge into stars as well as helping countless others enjoy long NHL careers.

Langway was an assistant in 1998-99 for the Boston Bruins farm team.

My Prediction: Langway most likely won't get a promotion to the NHL, but I think the perfect fit would be in Vancouver. The Canucks are bragging about all these great young d-men they have: Adrian Aucoin, Mattias Ohlund, Ed Jovanovski, Bryan McCabe, Bryan Allen... but the fact of the matter is that without proper guidance these guys won't amount to a whole lot. The Canucks don't have a veteran guy to help these kids out (Murray Baron doesn't count!) and Langway could come in and help these youngsters with their positioning and defensive play. Rumor has it current 'Nucks assistant coach Glen Hanlon will leave for a head coaching job in the minors and assistant Stan Smyl's days may also be numbered.

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