Pat Bingham’s reign as coach of the Fort Wayne Komets was successful.
And it was short.
Bingham guided the Komets to a 51-21-4 record and the Tarry Cup regular-season championship in his first season with the team. Then he said goodbye Monday, accepting a position as an assistant coach with the Bridgeport (Conn.) Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.
Bingham, 38, held the same post with the Sound Tigers in the 2005-06 season, but he was a victim of housecleaning by the team’s parent club, the NHL’s New York Islanders.
“The opportunity to be hired by the Islanders as an assistant with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport is a great opportunity for me and my family,” Bingham said in a statement. “Fort Wayne was a great place to coach and everyone treated me well. I'm proud of the great season we just completed and the next coach in Fort Wayne will be a lucky person.”
Bingham, who had been a head coach for five seasons in the UHL, Central Hockey League and ECHL, wound up one of two finalists for the Komets’ head-coaching post last summer. It came down to him and John Marks, his elder by 21 years.
In the end, one of the attributes the Komets liked about Bingham was his ambition to succeed so he could move up. That could come back to haunt them; he’s leaving halfway through his two-year contract with the Komets.
“It’s a great move for his career and for him. Bridgeport, they wanted Pat. It’s not like he went after it, they came after him,” said Bruce Richardson, a player/assistant coach with the Komets last season.
“He’s getting one step closer to the NHL and his goal. Any athlete or coach, if they have the chance to get to the next level, they’d take the job. … He’s cashing in on the season we had and he deserves it. I told him, ‘You have to take that job.’”
With the Sound Tigers, Bingham will work under head coach Jack Capuano. Bingham will be the senior assistant coach – that’s a new position – and he’ll be charged with working with forwards, the power play and doing extensive video breakdown.
“I think Pat brings to the table incredible leadership, wonderful coaching ability and knowledge,” Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said. “He’s won at every level and there’s no doubt, he’s a winner. … Remember one thing: I know the man and he deserved the opportunity to come back. When we had an opening at the American Hockey League level, he was the first phone call we made.”
Komets general manager David Franke couldn’t be reached for comment.
-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette
You can't blame or fault the guy for wanting to put himself in a better position, that's a career move he needs to make and also a family move. Likewise, any player looking to make a move-up is, of course, expected. Obviously, we'll miss him.... who knows what the heck is going on anyway, I don't blame him for moving up let alone moving on.
Posted by: Brad Lyons | May 21, 2007 at 04:50 PM