Before being recruited by the Washington Capitals in 2023, Mitch Love was already a known name in the hockey community. A two-time AHL coach of the year honoree, Love was expected to do great things with the Caps. However, as fate would have it, just weeks before his third season with the 2018 NHL champs, Spencer Carbery’s coaching staff had his world turned upside down.
NHL Network’s David Pagnotta took to X on September 14 to share how the Capitals’ defense coach faces a tumultuous time in his career. Sharing the OG post by Washington, which notes that Love has been placed on team-imposed leave, Pagnotta wrote, “Per sources, NHL began to investigate a matter during the off-season, around the time he was interviewing with clubs about vacant HC roles.”
While the official Capitals’ account refrained from commenting on the matter, some industry insiders claim that the NHL began its investigation after it received a letter about Love’s personal conduct. However, the important factor to note here is that the allegations against Love’s conduct were from the time before he was part of Carbery’s staff.
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According to some news sources, Love had been interviewing with several NHL franchises over the summer for a possible head coach role. From the Seattle Kraken and the Boston Bruins to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Capitals’ assistant coach’s name has been linked with several of their peers in recent weeks.
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